Re: Wot not FreeSat tuner?
Freesat itself is a package, albeit one of FTA channels with no subscription, in that it's provided as a complete proposition, with a list of participating channels, their numbers, and a unified programme guide.
That is what both BSB and Sky did too, and is the model of the current BSkyB and of operations like Sky Italia.
It's at odds with the view of satellite on the continent, which is much more of satellite as a distribution method. You'd point your dish in the right direction, and get Pro Seiben, Sat 1 and so on, and set your box up how you wanted, and the amount of EPG data you get will vary, depending on what you're watching.
In the UK, thanks to the early introduction of packaged systems, that way of using satellite is very much an enthusiast approach. Our broadcasters like the idea of a packaged platform, because it gives them things like a fixed and known EPG position that they can include in adverts.
But to make that work, the TVs need the right sotware. The Sony ones linked to here have, as far as I can see, the requisite DVB-S/S2 tuners to pick up the channels, but not the software to provide the EPG services that make up the rest of the platform. So, for instance, while you will get the channels you want, the numbers will be all over the place, and it's unlikely you'll get much more than 'now/next' info on any particular channel.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
