Freesat V Freeview Pvrs

[notalot]

Is it possible to connect a Freesat PVR to a Sky dish without being a Sky TV subscriber? Also, given the choice, which is better, if either, Freeview or Freesat?

[RATTER15]

Yes you can and I think Freeview is the better choice, not really sure though to be honest.

[RATTER15]

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs-entertainment/1402307/freeview-play-vs-freesat-vs-youview-deciding-which-free-to-view-tv-service

[bhg481]

If you want Freeview you'll need an aerial. Freesat is roughly the equivalent of Freeview but loses some stations.

[alavahalf]

Since Freesat appeared all I have ever had is the setup you describe. In the earlier days I opted for Freesat as I had an existing dish and to have Freeview involved fitting an ariel.
Plus Freesat had a far more reliable signal than the ariel. Now that we are all digital I expect the signals are equal.

[Buenchico]

Freeview offers these channels:
https://www.freeview.co.uk/app/uploads/2016/10/Freeview-Channel-Guide-2016.pdf

A generic satellite receiver gets you these channels:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_free-to-air_channels_at_28%C2%B0E

A Sky box without a subscription acts as a generic satellite receiver.

A Freesat receiver is configured to natively receive just a subset of those FTA channels
http://www.freesat.co.uk/channels
but can be manually configured to receive the missing ones.

Up until fairly recently a major disadvantage (for many people) of Freesat was that UKTV's subscription-free services, which are available on Freeview, weren't available via satellite. Most of them have now been added to the line-up (meaning that Drama, Yesterday and Really are now available to Freesat viewers) but Dave still can't be received via satellite.

So satellite reception offers more channels (but many people don't want things like obscure religious or Asian channels anyway) albeit with the loss of Dave (and possibly one or two other little-watched channels).

[notalot]

Many thanks, guys, especially Buenchico. Happy viewing everyone!

[notalot]

Quick update - took the plunge and bought a Humax Freesat box whilst price reduced and everything works fine. Three recordings made last night. Would be helpful if retailers mentioned the need for two RF cables though. Still, the saving paid for the cables and the petrol for the shopping trip!
Thanks again for all the advice.