Everything about Freesat totally explained
freesat is a
British digital satellite television platform developed by the
BBC and
ITV plc. The service began broadcasting on
6 May 2008 and offers a satellite equivalent of the
Freeview service, with a selection of channels available without subscription for users purchasing a receiver. The service makes use of the additional capacity available on digital satellite broadcasting to offer
high-definition channels.
History
Background
BBC and ITV, the two biggest free-to-air broadcasters in the UK, have made their services available digitally through two routes, digital terrestrial and digital satellite.
On
digital terrestrial, the channels have always been available
free-to-air with the appropriate equipment. However, Freeview is currently available to only 73% of the population.
After
analogue TV services are replaced in the planned
digital switchover, this will increase to 98.5% for the
public service channels and 90% for the full Freeview service. In order to provide more widespread coverage and a larger number of channels, a digital satellite alternative is necessary.
The digital satellite platform has largely been controlled by the commercial operator
BSkyB. Initially, both the BBC's and ITV's channels were encrypted since the original satellites used for Sky Digital broadcast to most of Europe but the broadcasters' rights for premium content such as films and sports typically covered the UK only.
The use of encryption meant that any viewer wishing to view the channels had to purchase equipment from Sky and pay for a
free-to-view viewing card in order to decrypt the channels. Similarly, in order to use the
Videoguard encryption, the broadcasters needed to pay a fee to
NDS Group.
Move to free-to-air
In May 2003 the BBC moved all of their channels onto the
Astra 2D satellite which has a footprint that focuses more tightly on the UK. This move allowed the BBC to stop encrypting their broadcasts while continuing to meet their licence obligations. They dropped the encryption two months later.
In September 2005, the BBC and ITV announced that they'd collaborate on a free-to-air satellite service to complement Freeview. Two months later, ITV also moved their channels over to Astra 2D and then made them free-to-air.
The free-to-air channels could then be received using any standard digital satellite (
DVB-S) receiver. However, the Freesat project aims to provide a more managed service with an
Electronic Programme Guide,
interactive features and approved receivers, similar to the Freeview service launched three years earlier.
The initial plan was to release the service in early 2006. This was postponed to Autumn 2007 as approval from the BBC Trust was only received in April 2007. However, the service was further delayed and was officially launched on
6 May 2008.
High definition
BBC HD was available on Freesat from launch day, with ITV HD scheduled to be added later. As of May 2008, no high definition channels are available via digital terrestrial, however, Ofcom have confirmed that from 2009 high definition will be available on Freeview, requiring an HD Freeview box.
Channels
See also: List of channels on freesat
Launch channels
The service launched officially on
May 6 2008. From the launch, Freesat advertised all national television channels from
BBC and
ITV as being available on the platform (excluding ITV2 +1), as well as all national BBC radio networks.
Channel 4 also managed to make most of their channels free-to-air in preparation for the launch, not including Channel 4 HD which was still encrypted. ITV HD wasn't available at the launch, making BBC HD the only high definition channel available at launch. In addition some channels from other broadcasters such as
Chello Zone,
CSC Media Group,
Al-Jazeera English and
Euronews were included on the channel list. Five and its sister channels were notably absent at launch, as were channels from BSkyB, MTV Networks and UKTV.
Future channels
Freesat have said that they expect 200 channels to be available by the end of 2008, adding an additional 30 channels each month.
Channels from one of the main terrestrial broadcasters in the UK,
Five, are currently encrypted on digital satellite. Their contract for encryption is believed to end in July 2008. At launch, Freesat confirmed that Five would be added to the channel lineup during 2008.
The Irish public broadcaster
RTÉ recently announced that its new international channel,
Diaspora TV, would be made available on the Freesat service by St. Patrick's Day 2009.
ITV HD will be exclusive to Freesat when it's launched in 2008, initially as a red-button interactive service.
Unavailable channels
Due to contractual issues, a number of channels which are available on Freeview won't be available on Freesat.
Virgin 1,
TMF,
The Hits,
UKTV History,
Dave,
Sky Three and
Sky Sports News are all available on Freeview but encrypted on digital satellite. Unless these channels also become free-to-air, that'll be unavailable on Freesat.
Reception equipment
Receivers
There are two types of FreeSat receiver currently announced — standard definition-only receivers and high definition-capable receivers. These receivers will be sold through official retailers such as
Argos,
Comet,
Currys and
John Lewis as well as some independent retailers.
To date, four high definition Freesat receivers have been announced:
Three standard definition receivers have also been announced:
Bush — £49.99
Goodmans GFSAT100SD — £69.99
Grundig GUFSAT01 — £49.99.
Satellite dish
The service makes use of the same fleet of satellites as the popular subscription satellite service Sky Digital: Astra 2 and Eurobird 1. This means that any satellite dish which has been used to receive this service will be capable of receiving Freesat, with the addition of a receiver.
For users who don't currently have a satellite dish, Freesat offers an installation service which is made available through retailers and which is advertised in a leaflet included with Freesat receivers. The national retailers John Lewis, Argos and Comet charge £80 for this service.
Outside the UK
It may be possible to receive freesat outside the UK, but with a larger dish as the Astra 2D footprint is intended to cover just the UK.
Receivers ask for a postcode during installation, but this is just to determine which regional services to select.
Technical details
Freesat broadcasts from the same fleet of satellites (Astra 2 and Eurobird 1) as Sky Digital. Channels are broadcast using DVB-S. The Freesat electronic programme guide is broadcast from the Eurobird 1 satellite situated at 28.5° east.
All the channels broadcasting to date are broadcasting using DVB-S. Standard definition channels are broadcast using MPEG-2 for compatibility with Sky Digital boxes. BBC HD is broadcast using MPEG-4 since it doesn't need to be compatible with Sky's non-HD boxes. Currently, BBC HD uses DVB-S since the channel shares a transponder with several SD channels.
Alternatives
Prior to the release of Freesat by the BBC and ITV, other alternatives for receiving non subscription satellite have been provided.
Freesat from Sky offered, for a one off installation fee, a non HD receiver, a viewing card and installation. This wouldn't show Sky's premium channels, but would show a lot of other Free to Air satellite channels.
Also Free To Air satellite receivers and kits could be bought from specialist shops such as Maplin. These systems wouldn't show encrypted content, and would only show "clear" unencrypted satellite broadcasts. However, because they were aimed at an amateur enthusiast audience in the UK, they'd often also include DiSEqC controls so that other satellites for example, which broadcast other European countries TV programs (E.g. Russia, Poland, Germany, France, Ukraine etc) could also be watched if the user had more than one dish pointing to different satellites or a specialised motor on their dish.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Freesat'.
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