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

[AngelieMumsnet]

This is the feedback thread for the 15 testers who have received a new Freesat+ TV box and who are currently trying it out in their homes.
Freesat say "Hello. We're freesat. We believe you shouldn't have to pay a monthly subscription to watch and listen to 180 channels of the best comedy, drama, sport, lifestyle, music and news. We offer free HD services from ITV, the BBC and Channel 4; freesat+ to record pause and rewind, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand; and all subscription free."

Freesat launched last Autumn which includes a Roll Back TV Guide that allows you to watch programmes you've missed from the previous seven days across 21 channels, a new showcase section providing top TV picks chosen daily by Freesat's reviewers, on-demand services and enhanced recordings.

Freesat is a subscription free service and Freesat+ boxes are available to buy from a range of retailers - RRP from £226.


If you're not a tester, Freesat would love to hear from you. An average satellite TV bill (including On Demand services) is around £30 per month, if you could have Freesat what would you with an extra £30 per month (£360 per year). Everyone who adds a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a Freesat Humax box.

Testers: we'll be asking you to add feedback twice - we'd like your first impressions now and in a couple of weeks (or when you're ready) we would like you to answer the follow-up questions.

So, in terms of your first impressions. please....

~ give your overall impression when it arrived

~ describe the set up: did you set up your Freesat box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your Freesat box?

~ tell us which TV is it on/ in which room

~ share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with

Follow-up questions:
~ How long did it take you to understand how to use Freesat?

~ Has your child/children used Freesat? How long did it take them to understand it and get used to it?

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on Freesat so far?

~ Which of the following services have you most enjoyed so far? Live TV/ on-demand/7 day catch up

~ Who in your family has used your Freesat box the most?

~ What have you found Freesat most useful for so far? Catching up on shows you've missed? Entertaining the kids? Finding something to watch to pass time?

Thanks,

MNHQ

PS: Humax are offering a Mumsnet and Gransnet an exclusive discount code to purchase a 500GB Humax Freesat+ box for £199. Up to 199 MNers and GNers can buy a discounted box using the code FT30

[Steffanoid]

with 360 pounds we'd be able to afford the petrol and over night stay to visit my neice for her first birthday and afford a good present alas we're picking between the trip there and expenses or tyres for the car, the car wins outright

[WaxyBean]

Incredibly boring I know but if I had an extra £360 a year, I'd save it for my kids' futures. It's one of the things I feel really guilty about not having enough money to do.

[Bubbles85]

Oooh an extra £360 would allow me to buy all the cute baby clothes that I usually have to say no to!

[pigsinmud]

Non tester here - I'd put £360 towards a little holiday for dh & I.

[yegodsandlittlefishes]

Non tester. With an extra £360 a year, I'd like to buy a really good camera at last.

[k8vincent]

With that extra £30 a month I would take the kids to the sat am cinema and let them buy pick and mix . . . it costs a fortune.

[RubySparks]

Hmmm I'm sure this is really wrong of me but I'd buy a lottery ticket every day for a year and cross my fingers!

[stephgr]

I'm not a tester but if I had an extra £360 a year I would spend it on a weekend break for my mum and dad because they've helped us so much.

[snowballinafryingpan]

give your overall impression when it arrived -

Well, I must admit to being just a little bit excited so to be honest if it had turned up dripping in marsh slime I would still have embraced it's sleek and shiny curves. I had nothing to compare the box too, never having had an on demand service or gone out of my way to look at what was on offer. So to us it looks just fine, sits unobtrusively with everything else, all very sleek and modern.


describe the set up: did you set up your Freesat box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your Freesat box? -

The engineers installed the dish, they were concerned about the trees next door but managed to get a good signal and installed everything quickly. They commented on how easy Freestat is to install compared to other services and showed me how it all worked, controls etc.
I was a bit worried about linking the box to the internet as our router is in another room. I bought a pair of homeplug adapters, one in the front room linking the box and one in the kitchen linking the router and it works perfectly.

~ tell us which TV is it on/ in which room

It is installed in our living room.

~ share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with

The most important thing is that for the first time in ages we have access to all channels, digital signal here is dire, so to have itv, ch4 etc is brill.
Picture quality is superb, love the fact that I can pause, rewind and record so easily and that we have HD, didn't know our tv was HD ready. We have to press 101, 102 etc to get BBC1, 2 etc which is the only real complaint anyone has had. Ds did comment that it would be handy if programmes were grouped in sections such as kids programmes, all together in a easier index type section but I think the 'home' section might allow us to do that, yet to fully explore that bit.

Follow-up questions:
~ How long did it take you to understand how to use Freesat?

It didn't take long at all, despite us being newbies. The remote is easy to use. Did have a problem with the lip sync in HD for a while though but the settings are easy to navigate and sort out.

~ Has your child/children used Freesat? How long did it take them to understand it and get used to it?

Ds took to it easily but being a tween he would. he has recorded surf programmes and used Youtube which he was chuffed about.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on Freesat so far?

Catching up on Corrie, programmes in HD and very bizarre American cookery programmes.

~ Which of the following services have you most enjoyed so far? Live TV/ on-demand/7 day catch up

On demand is the favourite feature, we used to access iplayer through the wii box but it was so hit and miss we gave up. On demand has not buffered or faltered once.

~ Who in your family has used your Freesat box the most?

That's probably me, for all the above things.

~ What have you found Freesat most useful for so far? Catching up on shows you've missed? Entertaining the kids? Finding something to watch to pass time?

Catching up on missed programmes is a good feature, like the fact that you can record whole series. It is simple and easy to use all functions, so we use them, unlike the dvd recorder which we have never managed to successfully record anything on ever...

[beeelaine]

wow with an extra £360 a year, thats about £30 a month - if the fuel bills can finally stop going up then I would love to spend that on luxury food for Christmas, Easter and Birthdays and Special Occasions so the whole family could enjoy it!

[LaVitaBellissima]

~ How long did it take you to understand how to use Freesat?

We got the hang of it really quickly, I like the way it works.

~ Has your child/children used Freesat? How long did it take them to understand it and get used to it?

My children have found some new programmes that they enjoy watching like scaredy squirrel! They are nearly 3 so still don't really use the remote.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on Freesat so far?
I had missed the Great British Bake off as I was out on a Tursday night so have loved used I player to watch the series, it is great that it remembers your place too if you turn off so no forwarding to the correct spot.

~ Which of the following services have you most enjoyed so far? Live TV/ on-demand/7 day catch up

I like using on demand and the you tube channel, there are some great educational tools on there like teaching myself to blow dry my hair properly Mr Thorne teaches phonics

~ Who in your family has used your Freesat box the most?

Me TV addict!

~ What have you found Freesat most useful for so far? Catching up on shows you've missed? Entertaining the kids? Finding something to watch to pass time?

I love that I now have a HD TV as the Freesat box has enabled the HD for the first time, the picture quality is just great. Love catching up and recording series to watch at leisure.

[BadlyWrittenPoem]

With an extra £360/year I would overpay my mortgage. Then in 16 years time it would be paid off four years early.

[Chulita]

With an extra £360/year I would pay off the car quicker so we can be debt-free and not have to think about it every month.

[sealight123]

£360 extra a year...an extra mini family day out a month

I know it sounds pretty lame compared to what some people would do with their money but we love going to new places as a family

Museums, farms, big family walks with a posh picnic or even just a nice family meal....it's all about family...it's all about the memories :)

O and more cake...cake is always good

[tinypumpkin]

Non-tester here (sadly!) I would so love Freesat :) I would go out for a meal with the family personally with a spare £30 per month.

[racingheart]

With an extra £360 per year I'd add a weekend break abroad for the family. Could just about squeeze us an overnight in Paris, Barcelona, Venice or Amsterdam with cheap flights. Or a weekend in the UK staying at a gorgeous B&B.

[katiewalters]

With my extra £30 a month I would split it between my two children and put it in their bank accounts

[majjsu]

As a non tester, I would love an extra 30 pounds a month. I would use it for treats ie a family meal out, magazines for my LO and I...

[Spirael]

Non Tester.

I'm another one that would put that amount of money towards having a cleaner. Means we'd actually be able to do something at weekends aside from clean the house, and potentially have time to watch more TV.

[nerysw]

Non tester -- Extra cash would be super handy to spend on a break away somewhere for the family, a weekend of fun!

[isitme1]

With an extra £360 a year I would be able to take ds1 to see the gastro specialist at GOSH. Its £250 for the appointment and the rest getting up there with 2 dc.
Nhs are way too slow in sorting things out

[PostBellumBugsy]

Non-tester

With £360, I would use £300 to take the DC to a hotel with an indoor pool in the UK for a night or two over half-term.

With the remaining £60, I'd organise a really lovely meal for my Mum & Dad to have at their home, as they can't get out and about anymore.

[asuwere]

with an extra £360, I would have a family holiday.

[SleeplessInBedfordshire]

Non tester - with £360 a year I would buy new clothes as they've been low down on my priority list for too long.

[Nerfmother]

An extra £360 each year? I would put 30 pcm into morrissions or tescos or whatever stamps and then use them for Christmas.
Before she died my lovely granny did this for me and we went and bought such exciting cakes and crackers that we wouldn't normally get - dh and I both chose a nice bottle of wine. The kids all chose a really cool Christmas treat food - snow man cake/ party poppers etc. Sadly she died the year she started it, so my granddad kept it up and then gave it to me just before xmas. Welling up thinking about it!