When choosing a Freeview receiver you first need to make sure that you have the correct type for your home.
The two types are:
- aerialBox or Freeview|HD - these require a UHF TV aerial to operate.
- satBox or Freeview Satellite - these require a satellite dish to operate.
The reason there are these two types is that right from the start of Freeview, it was decided that if every Kiwi was to be able to receive the service, the UHF transmission, called Freeview|HD, would not be good enough. New Zealand is too rugged. Not everyone can receive a good signal. Even in some cities if you live behind a hill or behind a large concrete and steel building, you can't get a good UHF signal.
So the Freeview satellite service provides an option so everyone can receive Freeview.
What's the difference between the two? Basically the main difference is Freeview satellite is only broadcast in Standard Definition (SD), while the Freeview|HD UHF service has some High Definition (HD) channels, with more to come. Why? Because it costs too much to broadcast HD via satellite, and now with expansion of the UHF service up to 87% of the population can receive Freeview|HD via UHF.
Fortunately some of our satBoxs have a built-in 1080P chipset that up-scales the SD video to 1080P HD video. While a purist will say that this HD is not as good as true native HD video, the reality is that up-scaled 1080P HD looks very good on an HDTV - most people wouldn't pick it as up-scaled when comparing it to SD. So if you do decide to buy a satBox and want HD - choose a model with 1080P HDMI output.
But there is something else to consider before you decide which type of receiver to buy. There are also other TV channels broadcast into New Zealand via satellite. These are not broadcast by Freeview. If you are keen to get as many channels as you can, have a look at our channels page for information. After reading the information, feel free to send us an email asking more questions. Bear in mind that getting these channels usually requires having more than one satellite dish and you will either have to spend time installing it yourself using our DIY Guides or pay a local installer to do it for you. For some people this requires more effort than they want to expend to get a few TV channels. You decide.
One last point, in both types of Freeview receiver - aerialBox and satBox - you will of course find a range of features. From the base models that are cheaper, to the ones with built-in hard-drives and dual tuners for recording two channels at once. Have a look at our products using the menu to the left and decide for yourself what you would like.
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