Connecting Sony XR-55A80J to Freesat

[break]

Hi there,

We own a Sony XR-55A80J and currently receive TV via Sky but are hoping to switch over to Freesat. According to the manual, on page 7, it seems to suggest that it does have the capacity to receive the DVB-S/DVB-S2 standard and on the TV itself, it does have the capacity to at least scan for Freesat channels (though I understand that is typically via some sort of box).

After unscrewing the two satellite cables from the Sky box and screwing them into the two ports on the TV itself (see image below), I then scanned for channels via the Sony settings menu. Sure enough, the channels do come up (after the TV complains it cannot use the SUB wire; this is fine as I do not need recording, yet, though if someone has some advice on this, that would be great).

I use the recommended settings Freesat provides to do all of this but have tried it by specifying that there is a SUB cable, and swapped the wires around (not sure if that makes any difference).

The problem is when it comes to trying to watch anything; the TV complains that the there is an 'issue with the antenna' and shows nothing. The odd thing is when I auto tune using the 'general satellite' option, without changing any settings, some channels (much less than via Freesat) do show up and I can actually watch them. BBC, ITV, and Channel 5 are missing, but Channel 4 works without any issue, as well as a number of obscure channels (like QUEST).

I am hoping someone here might be able to tell me where I am going wrong. If needed, I can try to provide the settings for the auto tune via Freesat and 'general satellite'. As far as I understand it, the satellite should be pointing in the right direction, given we have a dish for Sky? Thank you in advance.

 

[sparkymarka]

Is it sky + ? If so it won’t work

 

[break]

Is it sky + ? If so it won’t work

Hi there, thank you for your reply. It is a Sky Q box, so it does have Sky+. Do you mean the satellite cables won't connect to the TV or provide a signal? I am not sure then why the 'general satellite' does (partially) work in that case.

 

[sparkymarka]

Sorry I should have said sky Q ….i think the disk points to a different satellite, than the freesat or it’s a different LNB

 

[sparkymarka]

See below

 

[break]

See below

Ah I see what you mean, so it looks like I am going to need to get some kind of legacy LNB and replace the wideband LNB (we do not require the hybrid model as there is no intention to continue with Sky Q). Thanks very much for your help!

 

[foxhole]

Ah I see what you mean, so it looks like I am going to need to get some kind of legacy LNB and replace the wideband LNB (we do not require the hybrid model as there is no intention to continue with Sky Q). Thanks very much for your help!

Quite a simple swop , did this for a relative .

 

[break]

Quite a simple swop , did this for a relative .

Thanks very much! That's good to know when we make the switch over.

 

[Lucid]

Ah I see what you mean, so it looks like I am going to need to get some kind of legacy LNB and replace the wideband LNB (we do not require the hybrid model as there is no intention to continue with Sky Q). Thanks very much for your help!

The hybrid LNB might not be a bad option depending on whether you plan to record.

We sacked Sky going on for 2-years ago. I watch most of my programming via streaming services, so I worked out that I hadn't watched a film or TV series off Sky for about 6 months. My wife and I then looked at what she was watching, and it was mostly stuff on the Freesat/free-to-view channels. The only things I still miss about Sky is the pause/rewind live TV and the ease of recording.

Most people in your position reply that the TV can do these things. It probably can do some, but not all.

Pause and rewind live TV shouldn't be too much of an issue. You'll need a USB pen drive or external hard disc drive (HDD), of course. If a pen drive, it should be one that's pretty heat tolerant too. I recently had a Samsung pen drive die just from being left plugged into the TV. When it comes to recording, you might find that your options are way more limited than you expected. It's common to find that the TV will only record the currently viewed channel. A similar limitation applies to timer recording. Watching one channel whilst recording another might not be available to you.

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/simultaneous-recordings-on-xr-55a80j/td-p/3846487

An external recorder solves all of this. Currently there's only one company making the latest generation Freesat recorders. They can work in the same way as an older Sky+HD box; watch/pause/rewind live TV whilst recording another channel, or record two simultaneously with the box in standby. This is legacy mode, and it's how the box will run if connected to the sort of Quad LNB you might be considering. However, the new generation Freesat recorders can also take the wideband signal from a Q LNB. When this happens it enables some extra features. You can have three overlapping recordings and still pause/rewind the live channel.

Swapping to a hybrid LNB will give you a legacy feed direct to the TV, or maybe two if the TV has dual tuner mode enabled. This is a bit of a question mark though. The two wideband feeds can go to a recorder.

You've been using a separate recorder in the Sky Q system I presume, so it wouldn't be too much of a culture shock to swap out the Q box for one of the new Arris 4K Freesat boxes. Just a thought.

 

[break]

The hybrid LNB might not be a bad option depending on whether you plan to record.

We sacked Sky going on for 2-years ago. I watch most of my programming via streaming services, so I worked out that I hadn't watched a film or TV series off Sky for about 6 months. My wife and I then looked at what she was watching, and it was mostly stuff on the Freesat/free-to-view channels. The only things I still miss about Sky is the pause/rewind live TV and the ease of recording.

Most people in your position reply that the TV can do these things. It probably can do some, but not all.

Pause and rewind live TV shouldn't be too much of an issue. You'll need a USB pen drive or external hard disc drive (HDD), of course. If a pen drive, it should be one that's pretty heat tolerant too. I recently had a Samsung pen drive die just from being left plugged into the TV. When it comes to recording, you might find that your options are way more limited than you expected. It's common to find that the TV will only record the currently viewed channel. A similar limitation applies to timer recording. Watching one channel whilst recording another might not be available to you.

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/android-tv/simultaneous-recordings-on-xr-55a80j/td-p/3846487

An external recorder solves all of this. Currently there's only one company making the latest generation Freesat recorders. They can work in the same way as an older Sky+HD box; watch/pause/rewind live TV whilst recording another channel, or record two simultaneously with the box in standby. This is legacy mode, and it's how the box will run if connected to the sort of Quad LNB you might be considering. However, the new generation Freesat recorders can also take the wideband signal from a Q LNB. When this happens it enables some extra features. You can have three overlapping recordings and still pause/rewind the live channel.

Swapping to a hybrid LNB will give you a legacy feed direct to the TV, or maybe two if the TV has dual tuner mode enabled. This is a bit of a question mark though. The two wideband feeds can go to a recorder.

You've been using a separate recorder in the Sky Q system I presume, so it wouldn't be too much of a culture shock to swap out the Q box for one of the new Arris 4K Freesat boxes. Just a thought.

Hi there, apologies for the delay, and thank you very much for this reply. I think considering the hybrid LNB might be a good idea. We are still undecided on whether or not to record (and still in the arbitrarily lengthy process of disentangling from Sky) but perhaps having a Freesat recorder would make the transition smoother.

It would be great also to try Freesat before completely ditching Sky without any PVR capability and see how that feels too.

Thank you also for the recommendation of the Arris Freesat boxes too, I shall take a look into that.