Friday, 16 January 2015
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geoffrey o'neill4:26 PM
what is the best dongle to get
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Thursday, 22 January 2015
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Paul7:29 PM
so many combinations
so I have an old Amstrad sky +HD box connected to a communal dish with two lnb inputs so recording ability is there with the right set up
at present there is no telephone or internet connection the tv is fitted with a freeview NON HD tuner there is an old sky card in it from my previous time with sky but I don't subscribe to anything now
so the burning question apart from buying a freesat card from sky at £25 and painstaking comparing all the services whats my best bet putting out there for all your feedback
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MikeB9:08 PM
Paul: Assuming you dont want to go back to Sky, a Freesat PVR is the easy choice. About 169 quid for the current Humax 1000S, and an easy swapout for the Sky HD box.
If you cant be bothered to record, then you can get a Freesat receiver (albeit one that will get you Iplayer, ect) for as little as 50 notes.
Do you have an aerial? If so, then that increases your choices a lot, and if your after a new TV anyway, then that might throw up so choices, since many will have a sat tuner of some kind.
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Thursday, 9 April 2015
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trevor sansom3:21 PM
We're looking to cancel our Sky subscription. Can you see any other platform that would make the Sky Arts channels available. Would need subtitles in as many channels as possible too.
Hope you can assist.
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Dave Lindsay
3:25 PM
3:25 PM
trevor sansom: According to Wikipedia it's also available TalkTalk Plus TV and Virgin Media cable:
Sky Arts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Saturday, 30 May 2015
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Talitha10:35 AM
The way that this information is presented is making my head swim. Is there a simple spreadsheet style list with all the channels going down and all the providers across and tick boxes for the channels that are offered? I have Freesat at the moment but just bought a Freeview box. I want to know whether I should replace one with the other or if I need to keep both and switch between the 2.
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Friday, 5 June 2015
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ILiash7:05 PM
London
Can I watch sky(no card), means free channels in my usb tv tuner connected to my computer just by connecting the dish cable into that tv tuner?
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ILiash's: mapI's Freeview map terrainI's terrain plot wavesI's frequency data I's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 20 June 2015
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Liam9:37 PM
I currently have an LG7700 tv which rpovides both Freeview HD and Freesat HD via its built-in tuners. Switching between the two is a simple one button press. Looking at newer sets it appears you have to go into the MENU and select a preference for which service you wish to use. This involves several button presses and is not nearly as simple.Anybody know a 4K tv (42 to 47 inch) which has both tuners built in and a very simple switching processRegards,Liam
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MikeB11:31 PM
Liam: Most LG's and Sony's have a generic sat. tuner built in. One or two Panasonic's have them now (used to be a lot more common). Higher level Samsung's will have one or even two Freesat tuners built in, depending on the model.
Off the top of my head, the 4K Samsungs with Freesat will be the 7000/8000 series (actually has two), and 6410's (the 10 generally denotes a white TV, and for some strange reason, Freesat bunged in). In fact this page will have the list of the ones available (although it misses out the Samsung 8000's for some reason): http://www.johnlewis.com/…3t43
As for easy switching, I'm not actually sure, since all the TV's tend to be on a central box via HDMI's, so that everything comes off one source. Panasonic's a couple of years back were pretty simple, you just hit 'source', and it would start with the Freeview tuner, go onto the Freesat tuner if it had one, and then AV1, etc. Best bet would be to look at the manual for a new TV, but since I'm working tomorrow I will try to check it out! Its a useful point, since I'd now like to know myself!
If your not too worried by Freesat v a generic tuner, you will give yourself a bigger selection. I really rated the Sony x8 series last year as a great entry 4K - looked good, great refresh, and decently priced - its looks even better this year. The x9 was all our favorite, but not cheap. I wasn't so happy with some of the entry level Pannies last year, but their x9 isn't bad - the x8 and it seem to have a similar spec in terms of the panel.
The LG 9 has a generic sat. tuner, and when I looked at it when working on Friday night its refresh wasn't all that great. Its a shame, and perhaps it was just that model/size (a 65in), but LG havn't quite hit the high notes with 4K for the past year (apart from the OLED).
Samsung has the most choice in 4K with Freesat. The 9000 series is very good (it blew the 65in LG away) on 2K, which is what I'm looking for. The 8000 series has slightly lower processing (the cynical amoungst us might argue that PQI is just old refresh rate times two), but a very good set indeed (last years 8500 really stood out). The 7000 isn't bad at all (a bit variable last year), and I'm pleasantly surprised by the 6400 series. You'd be looking at the 6410, which is a bit more that the one without Freesat, depending on size. Decent entry 4K at a decent price.
When your buying any TV, your really paying for the panel - the better it is, the better the picture and the more it costs. The two parts to that is the contrast ratio and the refresh rate - better blacks, sharper movement. If the store where your looking (and you really must look at the TV before you buy) can run film credits, thats great - its the test we use. Black background, white print and it moves - perfect test. Its tough, and its not the only test, but it will sort the wheat from the chaff. Watch a 4K on 2K/HD if poss - your going to be watching 2K content most of the time for a while, so make sure it copes as well as possible with 2K and upscaling. If it looks worse than your current TV, thats a no no.
Picks this year? Decent entry - the Samsung 6400 range, but the Freesat version is a bit more pricey that without - about 100 quid more for the 55in.
No freesat, but generic - the Sony x8, without a doubt. More expensive than Samsung at the moment, but Samsung got their models out first, so its been in the market longer. Arguably its competing with the Samsung 7000 series as well.
Top level - Sony x9 without Freesat (havn't seen it yet, but...), and the Samsung 8000 series with. They are all going to be curved, but very nice bits of kit. cash back offer by Samsung might help justify buying one. The 7000 are looking good as well.
Have a look at the Pannies as well - I havn't really compared them yet, but the x6 was pretty much par or slightly ahead of the Samsung 6 series.
JL starts Clearance on Thursday, so have a look there - they will have red tickets on them (called Branch markdowns). Generally come back from customers for various reasons, but normal warrenties, etc. I've sold a number of 2014 55in Samsung H8500's for about 1450 - thats cracking value for what your getting, so you might do well. And of course Currys will be doing some sort of summer sale, which means their prices will get matched elsewhere. Its not long after the start of the year, but Brands are already giving away free soundbars, etc.
I'll try and check about switching between tuners tomorrow - its the sort of knowledge that might come in handy!
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Sunday, 21 June 2015
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Liam12:15 PM
Thank you for you prompt reply.I looked at the Samsung 43" 7000 in Currys which looked ideal on paper but switching from terrestrial to Sat involved something like Menu - TV - then selecting your preference between Aerial / Dish / Cable, making a choice and then backing out to watch TV. It looked like they reckoned you would set it up to use one or the other rather than keep switching.The new TV is for a non-techie lady who will be mixing Freesat (or generic SAT) with Saorview. The LG7700 approach was ideal, but the Menu approach might be a nono.Liam
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