Freesat Installation Across the UK
Freesat is the UK's subscription-free satellite TV service, broadcast from Astra 28.2°E. It uses the same dish as Sky and delivers 170+ channels including all the main BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 networks in HD.
When Freesat is the right answer
Freesat suits you if:
- Your Freeview reception is poor (weak transmitter, terrain shadow, no aerial possible).
- You’ve cancelled Sky and want to keep the dish + main channels.
- You live in an area with no terrestrial coverage (parts of rural Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland).
- You want HD channels without paying Sky.
It doesn’t suit you if:
- You already get Freeview cleanly and don’t want extra channels.
- You can’t mount a south-facing dish (listed building, north-facing roof with no line-of-sight, severe tree obstruction).
What Freesat installation involves
- Dish installation — same as standard satellite (see Satellite Installation).
- Freesat receiver — Manhattan T4-R and Humax HDR-1100S are the current popular boxes. Some smart TVs (Panasonic, Hisense) have Freesat tuners built in.
- Channel scan and tuning — ten-minute first-time setup. We leave it scanned and aligned with the EPG working.
Freeview vs Freesat — the short version
| Freeview | Freesat | |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment | Aerial | Dish |
| Channel count | ~75 | ~170 |
| HD channels | ~15 | ~15 (same broadcasters) |
| Reception requires | Transmitter line-of-sight | South-facing line-of-sight |
| Best for | Most of the UK | Weak-Freeview / coverage gaps |
The fuller comparison is in our Freeview vs Freesat 2026 guide.