Free channels at 28.2°E/28.5°E

THERE WILL BE NO MORE UPDATES TO THIS INFORMATION. My Sky Digibox is not starting up, and those few times when it does, it cannot 'see' the satellite.
I do all my viewing with a little free-to-air receiver, but this doesn't help when it comes to Sky channel allocations!

According to an entry on Wikipedia:

Early decoders seemingly support only 700 channels approximately in their channel listing, as Sky has announced it is halting channels launch applications for a year¹, with over 100 awaiting launch, over 600 existing channels, and an average closure rate of 1 per week.

Perhaps of greater worry to us is this line in the Sky description on Wiki:

Sky recently stopped taking channel launch applications for its Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). Ofcom said that it will give existing channels an unfair advantage and may force Sky to replace older set-top boxes for customers with the newer ones.

Reading between the lines, it would be fair to surmise that if this is a technical problem that cannot easily be overcome, and OFCOM does require Sky to replace those older receivers, then what will happen to the large number of people who are no longer subscribers or are living out of the country in the 'grey market'? Will their receivers become obsoleted?

You can read the first entry at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digibox_%28Sky_Digital%29
You can read the referenced article at: http://www.rapidtvnews.com/default.asp?[etc]
You can read the second entry at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Digital_%28UK_%26_Ireland%29

Channel lists:

Choose which channel list to view (last updated 2007/12/08):

Everything! (338 channels)
Television channels only (249 channels)
Radio channels only (89 channels)

Please note that this is a privately-maintained list of FTA channels. Those that do not require any form of viewing card.
If you are looking for a more complete list of channels, then I would refer you to the authoritive source...

The Lyngsat list for Astra 2/Eurobird at http://www.lyngsat.com/28east.html

This list is technically detailed but does not include EPG numbers as those are specific to the Digibox and of no use to people not using that specific type of receiver.
Alternatively, for an easier to read list without the fluff, targetted directly at the Digibox viewer...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_on_Sky_Digital_in_the_UK_and_Ireland

Channel list databases:

The channel database is available as a Works database, a Psion database (specifically for my software - Data won't load it), and as a CSV file.

Download the channel database (CSV format, 45K; last updated 2007/12/08)
You should download this for updating FTAChannels, general use, or importing into non-Microsoft software.
Important: This file will not correctly update versions of FTAChannels prior to version 1.05. You should update the version of FTAChannels that you are using. You can also read specifics on the database fields.
Download the channel database (Works 4.0 database, 69K; last updated 2007/12/08)
If you wish to update/modify/extend the database, this may be your best option. The 'form' view is a lot easier to manage than writing CSV in a text editor!
Download the channel database (Psion DBF, 5.31K; last updated 2007/05/07 - older)
This is the database file for FTAchnls for the Acorn PocketBook II / Psion 3a/3c organisers.
This data file is specifically for my software. The Psion Data application will not load this file (it uses integer fields); if you wish for a Psion Data compatible version - use PsiWin 1.x to convert from the CSV file above...
This is an OLDER version of the channel data.

Channel-related software:

I provide here a channel 'browser' for Windows computers, and for the Psion 3a/c/mx and Pocketbook II organisers.

Download FTAChannels v1.07, 483K
FTAChannels is a channel browser for Windows computers. You can see the channel numbers, names, and for most channels: descriptions, as well as indicators if the channel has interactive services and/or videotext.
You can view all channels, television channels only, or radio channels only.
You can easily update FTAChannels by downloading the CSV file (above). Refer to the documentation for more details on updating.

What's new?
- Internet connectivity to allow FTAChannels to be able to update itself, to make things a lot less complicated.
  This process is still interactive, and is fully described in the on-line help.
- The help is now provided in HTMLhelp format instead of as a plain text file.
- The software has been extended to provide tuning details (frequency, polarisation, symbol rate, FEC, if is HD, VID, AUID and PRCID) which will be of use to those who are using FTA receivers and not a Digibox; tuning information has been provided for the main channels and also those that are defined on my FTA receiver.
- Various bug fixes and UI updates.
This software is available for free, and is completely ready to go! Simply download it and run it to install!
For Windows 95 or later.
Software version 1.07 2007/12/09; channel database 2007/12/08.
This contains the latest channel data, you do not need to download the CSV file above if you are installing this version.
In addition, this version of the software is capable of checking for updates by itself.

Missing DLL? Missing OCX?
If you experience problems using FTAChannels (missing DLL, missing OCX),
then you may need to download and install the Various Dependencies, 3,240K.
Download FTAchnls.zip v0.03, 15.5K
FTAchnls is a channel browser much the same as the above, except in a reduced form for use on the Acorn PocketBook II / Psion 3a/3c organisers.
You can easily update FTAchnls by downloading the DBF file (above). To update, simply copy the new DBF file into the same APP directory into which you placed the FTAchnls.opa executable (and not into any DAT directory!).

This software is available for free, and is completely ready to go! Simply download it and read the 'ReadMe' for installation instructions. This version of FTAchnls comes with a self-install file for use with PSIWin2.
For the Acorn PocketBook II, Psion 3a, and Psion 3c.
Software version 0.03 2007/12/09; channel database 2007/12/08.
This contains the latest channel data, you do not need to download the DBF file above if you are installing this version.

Channel list changes

This is what has changed since May 2007 (previous database release)...

Channels no longer available:
   135 Life TV        (has this become LifeOne?)
   136 Life24
   137 LifeShowcase
   158 Bonanza
   179 Ontv
   466 ReadMadrid TV  (now requires a viewing card)
   638 Simply Shop
   797 SouthForYou    (now requires a viewing card)
   819 ARY Oneworld
   828 Channel Punjab (now requires a viewing card)
   842 Fortune Fever
   848 Jackpot TV
   964 Smile TV
  0162 Core
  0174 chill
  0173 Cube
  0188 On Air
  0189 Classic Gold
  0192 V.O.Africa
  0208 Music Shop


Changed name:
   631 Bedroom TV     (was "Big Box TV")
  0121 Gold           (was "Capital Gold")
  0128 Smooth         (was "smooth fm")


Changed (other):
  There have been many more channel reallocations.
   143 BBC HD         (was #145)
   194 Ben            (was #146)
   270 Performance    (was #271)
   272 Fashion TV     (was #273)
   273 Real Estate TV (was #279)
   274 Real Estate +1 (was #280)
   275 Wine TV        (was #281)
   277 Wedding TV     (was #289)
   278 Wedding TV + 1 (was #290)
   279 Xleague.tv     (was #291)
   280 Horse&Country  (was #295)
   613 CBBC           (was #616)
   614 CBeebies       (was #617)
   616 Pop            (was #619)
   617 TinyPop        (was #620)
   621 CITV           (was #624)
   786 Bangla TV      (was #791)
   796 Abu Dhabi TV   (was #804)
   801 RecordTV       (was #810)
   803 DM Digital     (was #817)
   804 ARY QTV        (was #820)
   805 DM Gold        (was #822)
   806 ARY The Musik  (was #823)
   812 PTV Global     (was #831)
   817 Aapna Channel  (was #834)
   818 Manu Telugu    (was #835)
   907 Friendly TV    (was #908)
   908 Babeworld.tv   (was #909)
   909 Get Lucky TV   (was #910)
   910 Lucky Star     (was #911)
   911 Playboy One    (was #912)
   912 Turn On TV     (was #915)
   948 Turn On TV 2   (was #961)
   949 House of Fun   (was #962)
   950 LivexxxBabes   (was #963)


New channels:
   149 Zone Romantica
   158 Film24
   196 Simply TV 
   197 Life One 
   198 Creative TV
   199 Anime Central  - whoo-hoo! :-) :-) 
   202 Urban TV 
   204 OBE + 1 
   271 Mainstreet 
   283 SA Direct 
   284 Luxe TV        - available in HD and SD versions
   286 Luxe TV HD     - our second FTA HD channel?
   377 NME TV 
   625 TinyPop+1 
   626 PopGirl 
   627 Pop+1 
   638 JJB Sports TV
   773 Faith 
   774 Angel 
   792 PTV Prime 
   822 Noor TV 
   823 Peace TV
   825 GEO News 
   829 Iqra TV 
   842 PitchGaming
   848 PitchGaming 2
   887 HappyHourGirls 
   914 Over 18 TV     - might require a subscription?
   918 SportxxxBabes  - might require a subscription?
   951 Blue Kiss TV
   953 Babe Central
   954 Northern Birds
   955 Essex Babes
  0188 InsightRadio


Other stuff:
  It appears that Luxe TV is an FTA HD channel (with
  an SD version). This is a GOOD THING in that it is able
  to be accessed by anybody, so those like myself with an
  SD setup can watch, while the HD version provides some
  incentive to go for HD equipment if you can afford it...

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Copyright © 2008 Richard Murray