Sky+ and freeview - HELP REQUIRED

squeaky

i8change wrote: »

Just get a Humax PVR-9150T. Up to 100 hours recording, series link and pause/rewind etc. Only £119.95 from Richer Sounds website and a 5 year guarantee for 10% extra ( Humax guarantee it for 2 years anyway). I love mine and would not be without one now. Very cheap option if you already have a digital aerial installed.

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=HUMA-PVR9150

Erm... I don't have a digital aerial and it wouldn't do me any good if I did. You see, I live down in a dip and my extended aerial pole still cannot see clearly over the top of the bank next to my house that has a dual carriageway running along it - so every time a lorry goes by my picture disappears. That's why I have Sky... no interference.

So what I'm looking for is a box that would replace my Sky+ box and allow me to view the Free To Air programming that is currently being received via my existing sky dish.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

squeaky wrote: »

So what I'm looking for is a box that would replace my Sky+ box and allow me to view the Free To Air programming that is currently being received via my existing sky dish.

Then you're looking at this from Humax.

squeaky

Phantom_Flan_Flinger wrote: »

Then you're looking at this from Humax.

Right, I think we're getting there, thanks

It seems to be very much orientated to HD and I don't have HD and am unlikely to have it (unless it becomes free) in the foreseeable future. So if there's a cheaper non HD option kicking around that would help. Esp. since the best price I've managed to spot for this is £284 so far. ** erm are they takling HiDef or HardDrive here?

While it states clearly that I can record two channels at the same time, non of the blurb mentions being able to pause live TV which, while not essential, is a handy option to have.
Edit:- Section 12 of the user manual says it will pause live TV. You'd think that would be something they'd be proud to mention in the basic specs.

The whole point of this exercise for me is that being on benefits and with my basic household bills such as utilities and rent all screaming upwards (total increase >£70 per month over the last year while my benefit has increased by a whole £4) I have to give up my Sky which, when all said and done, is a luxury. What I'd very much like to keep is the use of the dish since my terrestrial reception is awful. And, I have to say the sky+ side of things is brilliant and I'd really like not to lose it.

The story so far... I rang Sky to cancel my subscription (£16.50) and to say that I'd like to have only the free to air programming. Yes fine, they said - but you'd also lose your sky+ facilities. EH??? Say's I. Why? I asked. I own the box - the software is in it... You lose it without a Sky contract, sorry. But, sez them, you can keep the Sky+ for ten pounds a month. Ouch! That would give me a net saving of only £6.50 a month and I really need to save more than that.
Oh, well... they say... Since you are a loyal customer we can offer you a single package for just £5 per month which would also allow you to keep your Sky+.
This offer lasts for just four months and then you would revert to the standard £16.50 charge at the end of that period unless you ring us again to cancel.

So, done deal. Since I've only just paid my month's fee it means that the credit will pay for the first three months of this new contract and I'll only have to make one payment of £5 to keep me going until 23rd August.

After that it's going to be a whole new ball game. If they don't offer another deal I'm just going to have to cancel the whole thing and, sadly, lose my lovely Sky+.

So, in order to keep the facilities that Sky+ makes available - here I am, looking for a box that will use my existing dish set-up and provides the twin channel recording and pause live TV etc that I have now. If I cost the (new) box against what I have to pay just to have Sky+ (A tenner, remember) then I'd like a reasonable pay back time - say a year to eighteen months.
The whole point is to save money over all, and It's not exactly as if I have loads of the stuff available right now either - so an initial outlay of £284, even though I know that "eventually" I'll be ahead of the game just won't work because plain and simple, I don't have it.

I "think" that by August I'll be able to spend between £100 - £150 on a suitable replacement box, but if I need to spend any more than that then I'll just have to bite the bullet and give it all up <sob>

I really REALLY like the freedom of viewing options that Sky+ allows me but, when all's said and done it's still a "luxury". One I'd hate to lose, but unless I can find a low cost way of keeping it then it's gotta go.


So; the criteria here for me...

1. I cannot use my terrestrial aerial
2. Need to be able to use my Sky dish
3. Would like twin channel recording and pause live TV etc i.e. sky+ standard
4. Don't need HiDef
5. Don't need a huge drive - 160GB is more than ample.
6. Basic funds available £100 to £150
7. And I clearly need as much help as I can get because I'm finding this a nightmare to try and sort out on my own.

If I've left anything unanswered or unclear here please let me know.

More to the point - if you think I'm still confused about terminology or standards here (and you'll almost certainly be right) then by all means put me straight. Just be gentle with me 'cos my brain hurts

MX5huggy

Unfortantly they don't make an non HD freesat box that does recording as well (ie the same thing as Sky+) which is what you want.

On the HD thing if you got this HD freesat box you dont have to pay to view the HD channels so if you have a HD TV ie quite a new one you will be using its HD function.

In your position I would just ditch Sky and save money with the +1 channels and iplayer and such like I don't very oftern find I wish I could record somthing pausing and fast fowarding would be nice but for £10 a month or £300 its not worth it.

The olny other thing to do is get another sat box so you have 2 and plug this into a hard disk recorder but thats a bit of a hash but would come in on your budget.

Jaffa.

gm_xone wrote: »

You cannot use the recording features without an active Sky subscription.
The Sky+ box will act as a standard digibox allowing you to view the FTA (Free To Air) channels only, if you have no active contract.

Freeview is only available through a televison aerial, and not a satellite dish.

You will get freesat chanels like BBC3 and scuzz, you should be able to record them.

sysadmin

Can i add an argument to this . . .

Like the OP my parents had a SKY subscription and a SKY+ box. They then stopped the subscription but use the sky+ box for freeview.

They do not pay sky anything per month but can still use the sky+ box to record programs on freeview. I know this because I did it for them the other night before we went out.

So it can work

seadee

Just to keep the terminology right.

You cannot get Freeview through a dish only an aerial.

What they are watching is Free to Air

And to the OP there is no such thing as a digital aerial - just a load of old marketing nonsense