Freeview set top box

[Av Gorritt]

Couple of questions from a (very ) silver surfer . 1) I have a flat screen LG telly , connects to my wi fi no problem . how can I tell if this is freeview compat ? 2) if it isn't , I see set top freeview boxes from sub £20.00 to £200.00 + , difference presumably because of the recording capacity ? Can any user recommend a good quality box please ? ( without going over the top !) I see some "works refurb" Humax at around the £70 ( returns , damaged boxes or shop floor items ?. Worthwhile ?)

 

[J B]

If it's 'flat screen and connects to the wi fi' then it must either be freeview (via a traditional TV aerial) or freesat (via a dish)
Presumably you have one or t'other, but are they connected to the TV?
Option3 would be to connect the TV to TV apps (via wi-fi) which are probably (?) already installed on your TV such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub etc, but with this 3rd option you are at the vagrancies of your internet connection.

 

[Kidds]

Humax freesat recorder.
Works off a dish, can record,can pause live telly, can rewind live telly. Easy to use, sorts channels into logical order for you (Old one had BBC2, ITV, BBC1, C4 and couldn't put them in right order)
50 channels at a guess but as usual they are all pretty rubbish, Don't know how old mine is but more than 5 years, might be closer to 10.

 

[Av Gorritt]

My telly connects through a normal tv aerial up on the chimney . It also gets Wi- fi from a range extender in the kitchen I'm on fibre to the box , and regularly get 35 Mpps dl and 8.5 to 9 upload . should this be enough ?

 

[Av Gorritt]

When I retune I always get a wide range of tv and also a range of radio channels ( Cumbria , Merseyside , Lancashire etc . So am I getting Freeview .and not recognising it ? And please don't ask how anybody can be so technologically immature , as not to know anything so simple .

 

[J B]

Can you clarify please?
You ask if your TV is freeview compatible, but then say you have loads of channels via the aerial - how are you "not recognising it?"
You don't need wifi to watch freeview TV, but you do need wifi to watch 'catch up' with the likes of BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub etc
If you want a 'machine' to record programs, then feel free to get one, but not the one that Kidds recomended as that works off a dish, which you say you don't have.

 

[Av Gorritt]

To clarify . I had hold of entirely the wrong end of the stick with this . I was under the impression that "Freeview" was an "entity" similar to Amazon prime or Netflix . . I thought that in order to access Freeview I would need to click on it's program number , and then a list of available programmes would reveal itself. What I obviously didn't realise , was that the programmes I could get , and there were quite a few -100 ish - were freeview . Just put it down to seniority - or worse. Thanks for the trouble everyone has taken , it is greatly appreciated (And of course the patience shown ! )

 

[Highland Mule]

Yep - Freeview is the 100+ channels you get through the aerial. If your TV manages to connect to wifi also it’s a smart TVs and has access to a chunk of stuff through the various web based providers - iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Netflicks etc. Some of these charge, some are free.

 

[J B]

...and I *think* that if your TV is quite modern, you can get 'freeview plus' whereby you just look on the EPG and can go back a few days to view something you've missed.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Regarding a recording box, we've had 2 Hitachis, ok but not very long life, a Philips which got thrown out within months! I asked our aerial installer what he would recommend and he said Humax every time. We've got one Freeview and one Freesat and they work very well.

 

[JP1]

Yep - Freeview is the 100+ channels you get through the aerial. If your TV manages to connect to wifi also it’s a smart TVs and has access to a chunk of stuff through the various web based providers - iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Netflicks etc. Some of these charge, some are free.

Just bought a new Samsung smart TV. I've discovered that they stopped coming loaded with Freeview in about 2016. I have therefore resurrected my freeview box, aerial in to that, HDMI from box to TV

 

[bobk]

As much as I hate to say it , sky boxes are the best for live pause / record

 

[Av Gorritt]

...and I *think* that if your TV is quite modern, you can get 'freeview plus' whereby you just look on the EPG and can go back a few days to view something you've missed.

Didn't know about "Freeview plus" BUT , whilst my tv is quite modern , perhaps not that modern . No I think if I decide to do it , the recording box might be the way to go . On the subject of recording tv programmes , my Canadian B-in-L has a big flat screen in each room , and underneath each he has a bank of recorders , recording just about everything . The way Canadian/ American tv is - overloaded with ads , inane mostly , I can understand it all , He simply sits there with the zapper and fast forwards all the ads .

 

[Lazy Sod]

If you've got a smart TV, just plug the aerial in and on the telly control select "inputs" and select the aerial option and you will have all the digital TV and radio channels, but you won't be able to record anything. To do that, you'll need a hard drive recorder, preferably a Humax.

 

[JP1]

If you've got a smart TV, just plug the aerial in and on the telly control select "inputs" and select the aerial option and you will have all the digital TV and radio channels, but you won't be able to record anything. To do that, you'll need a hard drive recorder, preferably a Humax.

Don't think you're correct there for new Samsungs

 

[Campbell]

I don't think you need a 'smart tv' to watch freeview. It works via a decoder, either built in to the TV or through a set top device, and connects to a std roof Aerial. Freeview and Freesat are different systems.

 

[bobk]

I don't think you need a 'smart tv' to watch freeview. It works via a decoder, either built in to the TV or through a set top device, and connects to a std roof Aerial. Freeview and Freesat are different systems.

In reality if you have a smart tv you don't need freeview

 

[Mur Huwcun]

With a smart tv you can also plug an USB stick in and pause live tv, the program will record on the stick

 

[Y Fan Wen]

I don't think you need a 'smart tv' to watch freeview. It works via a decoder, either built in to the TV or through a set top device, and connects to a std roof Aerial. Freeview and Freesat are different systems.

Been watching Freeview since broadcasting went digital. Until 2018 on a CRT tv that Mrs Y bought for 2.00 at a household auction.

 

[Lazy Sod]

The channels you are already getting via the aerial, @Av Gorritt are coming to you via Feeview. It is the default free tv service