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Freesat Receivers

Freesat, the UK's latest package of free-to-air TV channels, this time transmitted from a satellite, has now gone live, allowing comsumers access to standard-definition and HD broadcasting for a single, one-off payment.

What the company couldn't say today is precisely what that payment will be. SD-only kit will be priced from £49, but the entry point for HD-capable receivers was quoted as £120, though the first boxes available, Humax's Foxsat HD and Grundig's wonderfully name Gufsat, are priced at £150. Fortunately, Grundig's Bush subsidiary has a £120 HD box in the works.

Panasonic will be offering two 42in and 46in HDTVs with integrated Freesat receivers in June. A third, 50in screen will go on sale in July.

Freesat is a new satellite TV service providing subscription-free digital television to everyone in the UK. It offers over 80 TV, radio and interactive channels, including High Definition (HD) services from the BBC and ITV. Freesat is a not-for-profit organisation and is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV. For more information visit www.freesat.co.uk

  • Free digital television and HD for everyone – no subscription, no contract
  • BBC HD, ITV and Ch4 available now, ITV HD exclusively on Freesat
  • Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) Click here for more info.
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    The Humax FOXSAT-HD Freesat satellite receiver

    Specification:

    • Receiving HDTV signals (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and MPEG-2)
    • Under 1W power consumption in standby
    • HDMI - digital interface for perfect transmission of picture and sound
    • Simultaneous playing of transmissions over HDMI, YPbPr or Scart
    • Easy installation and operation
    • Resolution format: 1080i, 720p, 576p, 576i
    • DVB-S2 and DVB-S compatible
    • Ethernet support
    • Full colour, high resolution electronic program guide
    • Dolby digital audio output (S/PDIF)
    • Automatic software upgrade via satellite
    • Improving SDTV on a HD LCD TV
    • Audio description / One touch subtitle
    • Dimensions (Width x Height x Depth): 280 x 45 x 200mm
    • Weight: 1.5kg
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    HUMAX FOXSAT HDR FREESAT SATELLITE PVR

     

     The Humax FOXSAT HDR freesat satellite twin tuner personal video recorder is a new product supporting the BBC and ITV backed 'freesat' service. Freesat aims to deliver extra channel choice and High Definition programming - all with no expensive monthly subscription fee.

    The Humax FOXSAT HDR has decoding for all existing freesat digital satellite channels (perfect for after the digital switchover), it also has the ability to decode channels transmitted in High Definition and output them via its HDMI connection. With dedicated HD channels already broadcasting from the BBC and ITV (with more set to join) there's no better time to go 'HD'. Freesat can also boast perfect reception across the whole of the UK as long as you have a correctly installed dish - perfect for the areas with poor traditional TV reception.

    The FOXSAT HDR includes a huge 320GB hard disk drive and twin freesat tuners to allow easy recording of all your favourite standard or high definition programs. With the FOXSAT HDR you can watch one channel whilst you record a second channel or even record two different programmes at once! With the easy to use, full colour on-screen programme guide, favourite channel lists, HDMI connection (with upscaling for standard programming to 1080i or 720p) and a scart output the FOXSAT HDR is the perfect replacement for a Sky Plus box - without any monthly subscription fee at all.

    Humax reckons the Foxsat-HDR's 320GB hard drive is capacious enough to take 80 hours of HD video or 200 of SD (or a mix of the two, of course) which should be more than enough for all but the most avid of recorders. There's also the option to record in HD and SD simultaneously, which is interesting - although I can't actually think why such a feature would be useful.

    Other features include an eight-day EPG, series-recording, that is the automatic recording of all programs in a series, and split recordings (or automatic advert recording avoidance as it might as well be called). And of course the ability to pause and rewind live TV. Although how long a cache the player keeps is unspecified - at least from the beginning of the currently watched programme I would have thought, though.