New digital service launch

Freesat the new digital delivery service launched yesterday to enormous fanfare (yeah it only just blipped up on my radar); 'but', I hear you ask, 'hasn't Freesat been around for ages?' No, no silly people you're thinking of Freesat this is Freesat (B5 fans add your own Zathras joke here).

This is the service launched by the BBC and ITV to provide free-to-view channels to the 13% of the country who won't be able to get the full Freeview service when the analogue broadcast is switched off. It's also offering HD services from the off without requiring a subscription unlike Sky+, and it'll also hook up to your broadband connection so you can use services such as the BBC's iPlayer.

Installation seems to be set at £80, but you may be able to use your current satellite dish; the el-cheapo boxs seem to be around the £50 mark, but you'll need to pony up around £120 if you want HD. If you want one that has a built-in recorder who knows. One is listed, but doesn't actually seem to be a recorder not having a hard-drive spec. Oh and so far they're all single tuners so that means you can watch one and only one channel at a time.

To be fair on that last point this is exactly the same situation that met the start of the Freeview boxes; to be even more fair that was several years ago and the launch range of Freesat boxes should at least be comparable with its older sibling.

So far the channel line-up matches the basic Freeview except for some tweaks - you don't have Five yet, nor Virgin1, Sky3, or UK History (and a couple of others) . You do get three extra Childrens channels, a couple of entertainment channels (I use the term loosely), and some movie channels - Movies4 Men seemingly dedicated to war and westerns, and two True Movie channels broadcasting the type of low-budget daytime soap true-story movies that Channel 4 and Five occasionally broadcast on an afternoon when they're feeling particularly vindictive towards their viewers.

Hopefully that will change with spokespeople saying they hope to add another 30 odd channels of crap each month to reach around 300 channels with nothing on that you want to watch. Well they didn't quite say that, but that's what the result will be.

[sigh] Okay as I've discussed before OFCOM are going to frick about with the Freeview channels to shoehorn in a couple of HD broadcasts, which only purchasers of new equipment will be able to watch and the scope for expansion on terrestrial broadcasting is limited. So this is an inevitable step

If you absolutely have to have HD broadcasts now then you've probably already got Sky+ and at the moment despite it's "free" tag the BBC/ITV Freesat service isn't worth it. If you haven't gone digital yet, then Freesat is worth looking at, but wait until the IDTV's are out alongside the recorders and twin-tuners. If you've already got Freeview then you won't really get anything out of Freesat at the moment, but if the line-up improves along with HD broadcasts it might be worth switching in a few years.

Prediction time - come 2012, thanks to the take-up of Freesat, terrestrial broadcasting will start to be phased out. The government will talk about the lack of expansion and coverage etc. and won't mention the huge amount of wonga they'll be getting by selling off this chunk of the spectrum to various interests. Expect petitions from owners of listed and conservation buildings who can't erect satellite dishes and the announcement of Freeband, whereby your normal TV line-up is sent down your telephone line and decoded using a special box.

Come 2020 expect Freesat to be phased out in favour of Freeband for exactly the same reasons.