Quote:
Originally Posted by mikedmc
Just joined forum and just read the 18 pages of this thread. Interesting read but still not answered my reason for finding this site  .
I saw the Ross HD package in B & Q yesterday (£89.99), although since I have found that it is available in Homebase at £79.99.
It looks ok as a start into the world of satellite TV, especially paired with an HD TV. Reading through this thread the verdict still seems undecided. So as I am obviously interested in Sat TV, HD included, what would you recommend as a starter system?
What would be available with this starter system that is not available with the Ross system?
And what potential for expansion does your starter system give me over the Ross system?
As an aside I do have an old Sky Dish and receiver buried in my shed somewhere, assuming I have it right reading through these threads I could use this sky dish and the ross dish to have the receiver pick up from different sats at same time (save moving the dish around etc.) - is my assumption correct? Could the Sky receiver be used to receive some basic free to air channels in a different room?
Any and all advice appreciated. Thank you. |
Whoa! It's all gone a bit red!
Anyhoo. My understanding is this. It's not that the Ross box versus any other will give you any more or less channel availability. The Ross box will pick up any FTA channels the same as a Freesat box but what you won't get is a nice shiny EPG, all you get is a Now & Next selection. You can also add a USB drive to the Ross box so you can record stuff. Again, the menu system for this is a bit clunky but it works.
I've had the Ross kit for about a month now and overall it does pretty much everything I want it to. The dish is located on top of a free standing basket ball hoop thing and with a few exceptions I get every channel on the list (there's a couple of hundred).
I didn't use any sat finding equipment. Just got the direction from the sat finder website, pointed the dish in that direction and bingo! Intrestingly, I did use a Sky HD box with the Ross dish and everything on that worked fine and in some cases a little better than the Ross receiver.
For £70 I think, at the very least, it's an ideal starting point. I may, at some point, get a different receiver only because I would get a 7-day EPG and a better user interface but that's only a cosmetic thing. I can't think why I'd get any more free channels with a different box.
If it makes you feel any better I was (and still am) a complete novice to satellites but I just couldn't resist the offer in B&Q.
John