Satellite TV options question

hjb123

We are looking at getting Sky/Satellite TV in two upstairs rooms as our analogue aerial is past it and the cables are complicated so decided satellite is the way to go

At the moment we have Sky+ in the main living room, we pay £10 per month for that and only have the Freesat channels on it. If we look at getting multiroom I realise that is is probably going to be £10 per box per additional room - but is there a cost for the boxes in those rooms?

Also would we have to have a sky box - do other boxes connect to the sky dish on the side of the house?

Also the Sky dish is right outside my window - is there a way of just running a cable from it to my bedroom window and just getting some sort of a box/dish to get satellite tv?

thanks

McKneff

If you all want to watch the same prog all at the same time it is just simply a wiring job from your sky box..

If you all want to watch different progs at the same time you have to have a box for each multiroom and pay £10 a month for each of them

scotsbob

hjb123 wrote: »

Also would we have to have a sky box - do other boxes connect to the sky dish on the side of the house?

Also the Sky dish is right outside my window - is there a way of just running a cable from it to my bedroom window and just getting some sort of a box/dish to get satellite tv?

thanks

Yes you can connect any receiver, such as Technomate, Manhatten, Telestar etc etc. You could then get all the Free To Air channels on the Astra satellite and would not need any cards or subscription.

hjb123

so I would be able to buy a couple of freesat/sky boxes of some sort and get the cables connected and not have to pay multiroom subscription? or would I still have to pay multiroom?

scotsbob

Read my previous reply carefully, you are not buying Sky or Freesat boxes.
You asked about other boxes.
The brands I mentioned have no connection with Sky or Freesat therefore you don't have to worry about multi room.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

You have to read scotsbob's other thread to see what he's on about.

The term multiroom from SKY is only used when you have an active subscription with them. If you want another Sky+ box in another room, you will have to run 2 cables from the LNB on the dish to your new location. If you want to record with the new box, then I believe you would have to pay another £10/month for that box.

The Freesat option is usually to go with the Humax pvr. You will still need to run the cables though. There is no other charges once you've bought the box.

scotsbob - Do Topfield make satellite PVR's? I know they usually come out high in recommendations.

samba

Phantom_Flan_Flinger wrote: »

The Freesat option is usually to go with the Humax pvr. You will still need to run the cables though. There is now other charges once you've bought the box.

The pvr is not the only Freesat box around but it is certainly the most expensive at £260-300. If you don't want/need recording facilities, and do not have a HDTV or intend to buy one soon, then there are several SD Freesat boxes available from places such as Argos starting from just £50. You can even connect it up to your old video recorder or dvd recorder if you want.

Also, I would steer clear of the "enthusiasts" boxes that Scotsbob recommends as they do not carry a full 7-day EPG, only providing now/next program information, making it a right royal pita to schedule recordings.

hjb123

thanks, have read the posts better now:D

so if I bought a box from elsewhere are they quite simple to set up, i.e. would we be able to manage it ourselves?

ive managed to get totally lost among it today, am just trying to find the cheapest way of getting satellite tv to the other two rooms:D

scotsbob

samba wrote: »

Also, I would steer clear of the "enthusiasts" boxes that Scotsbob recommends as they do not carry a full 7-day EPG, only providing now/next program information, making it a right royal pita to schedule recordings.

That's a valid point, although it is a question of swings and roundabouts.

If the priority is to have an extended EPG then you either pay Sky's prices or accept the limitations of Freesat.

I have thousands of channels to choose from, with lots of HD channels and full PVR facilities with no subscriptions. The price I pay is limited EPG guides. Personally I can live with that.

scotsbob

Phantom_Flan_Flinger wrote: »

scotsbob - Do Topfield make satellite PVR's? I know they usually come out high in recommendations.

This is their product range at the moment

http://www.topfield.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=1&Itemid=2

I know that their Freeview products always get favourable reviews and are very popular

samba

scotsbob wrote: »

That's a valid point, although it is a question of swings and roundabouts.

If the priority is to have an extended EPG then you either pay Sky's prices or accept the limitations of Freesat.

I have thousands of channels to choose from, with lots of HD channels and full PVR facilities with no subscriptions. The price I pay is limited EPG guides. Personally I can live with that.

I'm not sure it's a question of swings and roundabouts as at least one of the "limited" Freesat boxes is also capable of running a Diseqc 1.2 compatible motor, just the same as the box you have, thereby giving access to all the channels you have. However, the Freesat box does not allow you to circumvent the encryption like your box does.

Given the nature of this forum as a moneysaving site, I believe the general advice given to people here should be to go for Freesat, as it is far cheaper than Sky in the long run and is tailored for UK users with a full EPG for UK channels (and it allows access to all the FTA channels available up there using a diseqc motor if desired). There are plenty of other internet forums dedicated to the discussion of enthusiast boxes, and judging from the legal disclaimers that are printed in large red letters at the top of most of these fora, that's where the discussion should stay.