Any way to make my Sky+HD box record with no subscription?

spinningsheep

I have Sky+HD and I simply do not use the HD, so have cancelled the £10 extra subs, I have also worked out that 90% of my viewing is on the "freeview" channels, so my question is, if I was to cancel sky and go with what will effectively be freesat, is there a way that I can still use the pvr function of my box without having to subscribe to £16 a month for Sky basic package? I know I can buy a freesat HD+ box, but I cannot afford to pay out £250 for one, and the year paying £16 on sky works out cheaper anyway!

jrmerchant

hey,
sky have this thing about the sky+hd subscription for 12 months at £10 (now £9.75 as vat gone down) and after that u can stop paying for the hd subscription. this will render your hd box equavilant to the normal sky+box and u can use the record and pause features.
but i doubt if the same box can be used for freesat. as it all depends on the viewing card.
the min payment for sky is £16.50 for one mix and £1 for each additional mix.
but sky do have really nice offers on broadband and talk plans.
right now if u take sky talk with the linerental they have an offer for linerental going at 1/2 price for the first 6 months.
thus there can be a saving in other areas too with sky. they are not that bad a company when it comes to price. :-)

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

Sky charge £10/month to use the recording facility if you have no subscription.

spinningsheep

Ahh so you can pay £10 and JUST have the record facility on "freeview"? Worth considering, thanks!

wayne77

OK...does this mean if I cancel my Sky subscription my Sky+ box will no longer be able to record?

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

wayne77 wrote: »

OK...does this mean if I cancel my Sky subscription my Sky+ box will no longer be able to record?

Yes it does.

david39

Here's an alternative if you are in a good-reception freeview area. I'm not saying it's the best answer, but it's certainly the cheapest -

Buy a USB tv reception plug-in for the back of your computer (about £25) and then you can record the Freeview channels onto your computer Hard Disc via Windows Media Center. You can then transfer the TV programme onto a DVD disc to watch through your normal DVD player and television.

As an optional extra, buy Video-Redo editing software off the web (another £25 approx) and then you can edit out the commercials and any parts of the programme you may not want to watch.

You can use DVD rewritables for programmes you don't want to keep and single-use DVDs for those you want to. The quality of the recording is first class.

OK - I know it takes time to do the editing, but you don't have to do it - On an unedited DVD, you can still skip through the bits you don't want to watch and you won't need to buy the editing software then. However, Video Redo seems to burn DVDs much faster than Media Center. You can use the EPG with Media Center to line up future recordings, both single shows and entire series.

I use this method. Once you've done a couple of programmes, it's very easy. A half-hour television program can be edited and transferred to DVD disc in about 10 minutes, depending on the speed of your computer. It also gives you an extra television in the house - your computer - which, if it's a laptop, becomes a portable television.

After you've bought the TV receptor, and the editing software if you choose, the only-on cost is the DVD discs. It's not an option, though, if your Freeview reception is poor, as the add-on tv-USB units are not quite so reception-sensitive as a normal TV.

Inactive

Or just buy a Freeview PVR.;)

Tesla

Inactive wrote: »

Or just buy a Freeview PVR.;)

Yes, flog the Sky HD box and use the money for a decent Freeview PVR.

scotsbob

If you want to ditch Sky and go Freeview then there are many receivers e.g. "Technomate" (with or without HD depending on model) with PVR which would enable you to use a usb stick to record/playback as well as pause/rewind etc live tv.

danoh

david39 wrote: »

Here's an alternative if you are in a good-reception freeview area. I'm not saying it's the best answer, but it's certainly the cheapest -

Buy a USB tv reception plug-in for the back of your computer (about £25) and then you can record the Freeview channels onto your computer Hard Disc via Windows Media Center. You can then transfer the TV programme onto a DVD disc to watch through your normal DVD player and television.

As an optional extra, buy Video-Redo editing software off the web (another £25 approx) and then you can edit out the commercials and any parts of the programme you may not want to watch.

You can use DVD rewritables for programmes you don't want to keep and single-use DVDs for those you want to. The quality of the recording is first class.

OK - I know it takes time to do the editing, but you don't have to do it - On an unedited DVD, you can still skip through the bits you don't want to watch and you won't need to buy the editing software then. However, Video Redo seems to burn DVDs much faster than Media Center. You can use the EPG with Media Center to line up future recordings, both single shows and entire series.

I use this method. Once you've done a couple of programmes, it's very easy. A half-hour television program can be edited and transferred to DVD disc in about 10 minutes, depending on the speed of your computer. It also gives you an extra television in the house - your computer - which, if it's a laptop, becomes a portable television.

After you've bought the TV receptor, and the editing software if you choose, the only-on cost is the DVD discs. It's not an option, though, if your Freeview reception is poor, as the add-on tv-USB units are not quite so reception-sensitive as a normal TV.

You can always see if your TV has a computer input (VGA or DVI) on the back, then you can watch the programmes straight off the PC, saving money on the cost of the DVDs! That way you can just press fast forward and don't have to edit the ads out.