if you dont want sky you can get the pace ds810xe sat/hd dig box 299.99 all europe hd programs. the bbc hd 1 year trial,all world cup plus much more for free .

Can an existing Sky dish be used to receive this or would another one be required?

Allan

quote:

Originally posted by Allan Probin:
Can an existing Sky dish be used to receive this or would another one be required?

Allan

check out the pace shop online its all on there allan.

Munch,

This is what the Pace online shop says I need:

"A satellite dish pointed to Astra 19.2° or 28.2°. Contact your local installer for a quote if you haven’t already got one. Also, if you want to access the BBC HD trial, this is only available on Astra 28.2°"

Which still doesn't answer my question in any direct way. I'll carry on digging.

Allan

Munch,

Ok, sounds promising but how about this: what if I plug this Pace box into a spare LNB output on my SKY dish. Can I continue to use my normal Sky box at the same time (and totaly independently) as using this Pace box?

I've recently installed a Netgem Freeview box (chosen for it's component video output quality) in the cinema room in preparation for the World Cup. Perhaps it's not too late to install one of these as well.

Allan

hi allan cant say yes or no to that one ,but if other box is of idont see why not . i will try and find out let you know tomorrow.

I run two Sky boxes from my 4 way LNB, one is a Sky+ the other a regular Sky box, I do not worry about synchronous running. If I had another Sky box I could feed a third TV - do not if this is relevant to your problem.

Problem is if the dish isn;t in the right position.

Munch,

Yes, thats the HDCI-2000 HD receiver which I've come across whilst looking into this stuff myself in the last couple of days. It's the Humax equivalent to the Pace HD receiver. I've actually uncovered quite a bit of information. For example Astra at 28.2° is more commonly known as Astra 2D. Astra 2D is the satellite that broadcasts the majority of SKY and 'FreeSat' programming to the UK, including the BBC HD trial.

So what do I conclude so far: well I think it's reasonably conclusive that my Sky dish is pointing in the right place to get the UK Freesat channels+BBC-HD on the Humax or Pace boxes whilst at the same time my existing SKY box can carry on receiving the SKY channels unhindered.

Will I get one? Mmmm, not sure. At the moment the only benefit appears to be that I'll be able to watch the BBC (not ITV, theres a 50:50 split) World Cup coverage in HD instead of SD. £300 seems a lot for a few matches. I think I need a bit more persuading. I'll go and find out what more we can expect to be shown on BBC-HD trial channel over the next few months.

Allan

allen they will probably drop in price after world cup. regards munch

Munch,

Demand is high at the moment due to the World Cup and I'm sure you're right that we'll see cuts in the price in a few months time.

Here's what is known at this time about content for the BBC-HD trial channel, summarised from the BBC's web site:

"The BBC HD trial will kick off with the BBC's share of World Cup matches up to and including the Sunday 9 July final. World Cup 2006 will be the first major sporting event to be broadcast in HD in the UK."

"The BBC's summer of HD sport will continue with Wimbledon matches from Centre Court and Court One."

"The BBC's HD trial will last for about 12 months. It will enable the BBC to test technical delivery of HD and to understand how the audience values a BBC HD service. Any ongoing BBC HD service will be subject to approval by the BBC Trust."

"BBC HD will start broadcasting on Monday 15 May with a test stream previewing forthcoming programmes. The first live HD programme will be the opening World Cup match Germany Vs Costa Rica on Friday 9 June."

"BBC commentary and studio coverage in HD will wrap up the HD feed from German host broadcasters HBS (Host Broadcast Services)."

"The BBC HD trial will run for about 12 months. It will feature some of the BBC's most ambitious programmes, such as natural history series Planet Earth and Galapagos, drama documentary Hannibal and some BBC Proms concerts including the First and Last Nights, in HD quality."

"The amount of new programming each day will vary, averaging between one and two hours. Some programmes will be simulcast with BBC ONE or, in a few instances, BBC TWO."

"Others will be time-shifted or offer another chance to view past highlights such as dramas Bleak House and Hotel Babylon in high definition for the first time."


This web site should provide a schedule of programming but certain areas appear to still be under construction:

www.bbc.co.uk/hd/

Allan

thanks for the info allan its like all other chans repete after repete only better picture regards munch

Munch,

Have you got a receiver yet? I went out on my garage roof and replaced the single LNB with a quad LNB today, just in case I might need it one day. I think tomorrow I might run a cable from the dish to the cinema room. You know, just on the off-chance I might need it one day

Allan

hi allan you had a nice day for it.not going to get one for a while.thought about it and i will be in the pub for all the england games so bought naim headline and power supply instead on sat.regards munch

Munch,

I fancy playing around with a new toy and seeing as we've waited many years for HD broadcasting in this country, now it's here I feel like taking part. I've ordered myself the Humax receiver from here. If you're still interested in buying one, drop me an e-mail, allan dot probin at btinternet.com and I'll send you a coupon code that will allow you to buy one for £260 inc del and VAT

Allan

Another lovely day today. Just perfect for installing another run of coax from your satellite dish.



Old single outlet LNB replaced with a Quad LNB.

Allan

hi allan .we have had a nice day here in kent by the sea and the next few are going to be better . i will not be on roof though . thank you for your offer last night. will e mail you tomorrow.regards munch

It's here!



Apologies for the slightly blurry shot. I can assure you that the picture I'm seeing from BBC-HD certainly isn't blurry, it's fantastic.

Allan

hi allan thanks for email what was it like to set up?regards munch

setup was quite straightforward. A setup wizard takes you through the options but the only thing that needed changing was which satellite the dish was pointed to. Just set this to "Astra 2" and away it goes. Takes about 15mins to auto-scan all TV and radio transmissions and the jobs done.

On mine, BBC HD is channel 273 so added it to my 'Favourites' for easy access and made it the default channel when powering up.

By default the EPG is not as intuitive as Sky's as there are 700+ channels tuned in and located in the EPG in the order found. However, there does appear to be a quite extensive EPG editor that allows you to move/rename/delete channels and organise them into 5 blocks of favourites, each block can be named however you want, e.g. Entertainment, News, Sport, etc.

Allan

hi allan what other chans have you got on there? munch

munch,

If you are just using a spare outlet from the SKY minidish you'll get the majority of the 'Freesat' channels (the satellite equivalent of Freeview) with the exception of C4 and C5 as far as I can tell.

It actually picks up everything coming off the Astra satellite, hence the 700+ channels, but not everything is in the clear and the EPG needs a bit of organising if you intend using this as your main receiver.

If you plan to use one of these boxes in the same room as an existing Sky box you don't need to run a seperate feed from the dish. The Humax has an LNB output socket which you connect to the LNB input on the SKY box. When the Humax is in standby the LNB signal is passed through to the Sky box.

Allan

Using the Humax LNB output socket to a Sky+ box I assume that you cannot record 2 channels on the Sky+ and watch a live transmission on the Humax.

To do that you would need the seperate line from the Quad LNB - I guess

Derek,

No I don't think you could record 2 channels on the SKY+ box if one of the channels was going through Humax and the Humax was in use. In that situation, if you just wanted to keep to your existing two feeds you could still be recording one channel whilst watching another on the Humax. However, I've never used SKY+ so I'm not sure if it needs to 'see' two LNBs in record mode.

Allan

hi allan how was the picture for the german game? all so what is your a/v system munch

looked good on my pwb6 even allowing for the downscaling via the tv-drive

hi john.sorry to here about your nv/i are you on cable not sat you never said what your av system was.i have picked up bits from your posts'what is the nv/i going to replace?regards munch