Freesat feedback thread - Non Testers: what would you do with an extra £360 a year? You could win a Freesat+ box NOW CLOSED

Hello again,

I think I already answered the follow up questions, sorry, here they are again with additions.

My Grandson hasnt been to try it out, but I have seen him use a remote with no bother at my Sons house and think he will manage the Freesat very easily.
I will record some of the childrens programmes for him to watch here, if he wants to sit down after all the playing he does. There are quite a few to choose from which is good.

I love the choice of movie and news channels plus the travel and holiday programmes, I dont think I will ever say, "there is nothing on tv".
I do like the HD channels too.
I cant find two programmes that are on Freeview, Dave and Yesterday?

Its only me that watches this tv or GS when he comes.

The most useful things have been the catch up, recording, pausing and there is always something to watch, as I do love having my tv on when I am indoors, plus there are lots of music channels.
I still cant get ITV catch up, but get the others, as I said before maybe its because I am in an STV area. That is a shame as I do like a lot of programmes on STV , but I will record them.

I am very happy with the Freesat box as I wouldnt want to pay a monthly fee, and this gives me extra channels with recording, pause and On Demand.

I would spend it on extra treats like a takeaway

First impressions - Very smart and modern

Fitting - Engineers installed a new satellite dish and set-up the box. They said the had no knowledge of connecting to Broadband. They left very quickly before we could ask any questions. The picture was very dark on all channels but we could not find a means to up the brightness, not on the box, the TV or the screen nor was the pamphlet or the on-line help 'helpful'. Dh then committed the cardinal sin of trying to adjust the brightness using the old remote and lost both picture and sound. Later that evening (we were out for a family meal) SIL retuned the box and DD2 showed us how to increase brightness via buttons on TV set. The picture, however, remains poor with a greenish tinge.

Siting - Connected to our only TV in the living room.

Ease of use - We can both find and navigate around the channels with ease.

Used by - Mainly DH as he is the addicted viewer in our home. He has been pleased to find that all his favourite channels and programmes are available via Freesat. We had more channels available via SKY but only watched a fraction of them. We have been afraid to let the DGC loose with the remote after our initial experience but will introduce them to it next week. I am sure they will master it more quickly than we did!

Not yet tried - Unable to connect it to our broadband because our router has only one ethernet cable socket, currently in use for the computer. We are trying to decide whether to upgrade the router or go for a wireless connection instead. Relative's and on-line advice is confusing us.

Overall - So far so good. Hope this means we can get rid of SKY and their ever increasing bills.

I won a freesat box so my wish doesn't count - but seeing oznan's reply, I would start savings accounts for my grandchildren and pay it in every month. I am thinking of doing it anyway, but only for £5 a month each.

I'd buy some bits and pieces for my Grandson to take to University with him

I'd save up to buy the grandchildren a lovely birthday present each

I would treat myself for a change, I would buy the odd book, the odd hot choc with whipped cream, treat myself to the newest blockbuster, maybe a cheeky bottle of wine now and again!

I would use the £360 to have a decent outdoor aerial installed as we rely on a variety of indoor aerials and the picture quality depends on the weather!

I would just save it and be glad I'm not wasting my money unnecessarily!

I'd use it to buy my Grandson his first bike, and safety helmet

I WOULD USE IT TO GIVE TO MY SON WHOS JUST ABOUT TO BE A DAD AND WE ALL KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE BABYS ARE SO THIS WOULD BE GREAT TO TREAT HIM TO BUY SOMETHINK FOR OUR NEW GRANDCHILD

First impressions - lovely sleek black box

Fitting - Engineer completed the whole set-up. Only slight niggle was that I was ensuring bouncy dogs and little DGC did not get underfoot and so OH was shown how to use box in my absence. Not really a problem but it is MY box after all ; ) Its a man thing : (

Siting - Connected to a TV in my kitchen

Ease of use - I love the Programme Guide, like the 'list' facility which means I can narrow down choice by type eg Lifestyle, News etc. It is very easy to navigate.

Used by - to date, mostly OH in the mornings, he likes reruns of old programmes. I like it for the radio as well as cookery programmes. DGC too young to use it.

Not yet tried - OH needs to connect it to the broadband so that we can use the iplayer facility. I plan to record programmes that OH not interested in so that I can watch whilst baking.

Be aware - we went away for a few days and as nothing was set to record and being energy conscious, we switched off box at the wall. On our return the TV said it had no signal (via freesat box). Cables all attached. OH fiddled around with remote and it began to work - he doesn't know how or what he did to get it working unfortunately.

Overall - very impressed and really looking forward to using iplayer : )

I'd spend the savings on days out with the family

It would go towards paying my electricity bills

I'd set up a Trust in memory of my grandson supporting resources for the Children's Ward at our local hospital. Providing toys for children who have to spend Christmas in hospital. That way his name would live on.

I'd save it up and pay it off my mortgage

I'd use it to pay for the tennis lessons my son can't afford

I would be able to buy some things for my gorgeous 2 week old Grandson

I would use it towards a gym membership.....

I would use the extra £30 a month to treat my daughter to ballet classes.

put it towards a new bed

£360? The sensible half of me says squirrel it away in the bank for a rainy day. But what I'd really, really like to do with it is buy a dog!

I would use it for the bills.

I'd buy a new TV to make my Freesat experience even better.

Buy a pair of Jimmy Choo's every year