Free sat from my sky dish

[Ruggers]

I have sky tv in my house which can be watched in 3 rooms via RF 2 out and have had free view fitted to so that i can watch this in 2 of the upstairs rooms if i dont want to watch whats on sky in the main room.

Because of my area we can only pick up 20 channels on freeview so i'm interested in fitting free sat instead.

My current set up is sky plus no multiroom. freeview aerial runs to sky box, a cable from RF 2 out to a splitter and then from the splitter to 2 upstairs tv's.

Am i able to receive free sat by simply using one of the 2 spare ports on my quad LNB and runnng this to the free sat box or is there more to it?

 

[FourFootMedia]

Am i able to receive free sat by simply using one of the 2 spare ports on my quad LNB and runnng this to the free sat box or is there more to it?

That's pretty much it. Unless your freesat box has twin tuners (so you can record one thing, watch another - like your sky+) in which case you'll need 2 cables from 2 ports on your LNB.

 

[Ruggers]

So can i just take it from either of the 2 spare ports and am i able to watch th efree sat in the extra rooms while someone watches sky downstairs or can the dish not do free sat and sky at same time?

 

[xr4x4]

sky and freesat dishs point in the same direction then?

 

[FourFootMedia]

So can i just take it from either of the 2 spare ports and am i able to watch th efree sat in the extra rooms while someone watches sky downstairs

Correct.

 

[Ruggers]

sorry i but does that mean i can or cant watch free sat whislt the sky is on to?

 

[ChrisFrost]

Yes. For lack of a better description, a quad LNB is four satellite receiving antennas in a single box. Each one is controlled independently from the satellite receiver it is connected to. A twin tuner sat receiver such a Sky+ box talks to two of the antennas so you can watch one channel whilst recording another. The other two are free to be used with another satellite receiver.

The reason why satellite dishes have twin-, quad- or even octo-LNBs (8 receiving antennas) is because satellite signals work in a different way to TV signals.

Satellite signals are polarised hi, low, horizontal and vertical. Each one of the 2, 4 or 8 LNBs on the satellite dish can be switched between all four states. The LNB is switched to match the appropriate polarisation for the channel you want to watch, and this switching is controlled by the satellite receiver under your TV. That's why you can't take a single wire from a sat LNB and split it to feed two satellite boxes. If the channels are on different polarisations then the LNB can't be in two different polarisations at the same time.

 

[big-all]

i thought the dish had to be lined up differently for each!!!

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

i thought the dish had to be lined up differently for each!!!

I am no expert but as i see it in my simple way is you point the dish at a satellite and if you want more than one TV you need a cable for each TV direct from its own LND
Each TV needs its own box to watch different programs

A motorized dish for more than one satellite

 

[FourFootMedia]

i thought the dish had to be lined up differently for each!!!

Nope, same one (infact, "freesat" and "sky" pick up the same signals for each channel, it's the box and card that handle it differently - i.e. allow you to watch it or not)

 

[FourFootMedia]

sorry i but does that mean i can or cant watch free sat whislt the sky is on to?

Don't think it can be made any clearer; your assumption of "I can watch freesat in the other rooms whilst someone watches sky downstairs" is correct.

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

is there a way i can get freesat and astra 2 on the same TV

 

[ericmark]

I have sky tv in my house which can be watched in 3 rooms via RF 2 out and have had free view fitted to so that i can watch this in 2 of the upstairs rooms if i dont want to watch whats on sky in the main room.

Because of my area we can only pick up 20 channels on freeview so i'm interested in fitting free sat instead.

My current set up is sky plus no multiroom. freeview aerial runs to sky box, a cable from RF 2 out to a splitter and then from the splitter to 2 upstairs tv's.

Am i able to receive free sat by simply using one of the 2 spare ports on my quad LNB and runnng this to the free sat box or is there more to it?

Yes I do just that. In my case I also use an RF box so I can distribute Free-to-air and DVD output to bedrooms as well as Sky.

Do be aware Free-to-air and Free-sat are not the same. Although use same dish.
Free-sat has once only payment and has a full 7 day program guide and often can't be used with non Astra.
Free-to-view often does not have 7 day guide and will not receive some programs like Five-US but does not use a card and can be used on nearly any satellite and cost 1/3 of price.

 

[Ruggers]

thanks for te detailed description chris and everyone else thats helped, i have everything i need now.appreciated.