sky and freeview query . advice please!

whizzkid_3

hi,
i am a sky subscriber who has just bought a hd ready lcd tv which has built in freeview .

have i just done a really stupid thing as i'm beginning to wonder if sky can be viewed separate of the freeview channels ?

i've only just got it today so still not sure about tuning in to sky separately


it was the same price as one without built in freeview !

anybody advise me please?

amosworks

Freeview is not (currently) HDTV ready. Sky do a HDTV service for an arm and a leg. HDTV ready means just that - it is ready to support it when it becomes available but you need a HD source to take advantage of this feature. Until HD becomes more readily available for sensible prices, I would continue to enjoy your normal channels safe in the knowledge that when you do feel rich enough to splash out on whatever HD services are around at the time, your new LCD TV will already support them

Getting HDTV ready devices is more like future proofing at the moment, and is not really wide-spread. You will need to upgrade a lot of stuff to take advantage of it, from the DVD-replacement "blu ray" stuff or whatever it's called to Sky HD. But as I mentioned, all of which is extremely expensive. I think the PS3 will support HD and I know the XBox and XBox 360 can already do HD if you're brave enough to mod it and splice some of your own cables together.

The only other cheap alternative (and primarily illegal alternative) is if you download HD media from the Internet and can connect your TV to your PC through a VGA cable. BitTorrent has many HDTV shows which you can steal and play back using your PC and output on your TV with the right connectors.

I guess it's up to you but if you like the TV then it's definitely not a waste of money, as don't forget that the analog services will be switched off soon and everything will be HDTV eventually.

HTH

whizzkid_3

i may not have made myself too clear so i will try to word it better.

my new tv has automatically tuned in to the freeview channels and i am not able to access my normal sky channels eg skysports 1 and 2 etc

what am i doing wrong and how do i access all sky programmes as before?

cheers

amosworks

lol well basically it sounds like you need to change the input device your TV is receiving from. If the Freeview is built in you might need to select a SCART socket or AV input or something. There should be a button either on your remote and/or your TV's panel that allows you to select the source. Unfortunately it's different for each manufacturer and doesn't really have a standardised icon, so look in your manual to find out which one yours is. Of course, it's worth double checking that the connection at the back is secure and your SKY box is plugged in and switched on as normal.

Some modern TV's will switch to the last active device automatically, so you could try switching your Sky box off then switching it on again. The TV might take you to the right input automatically if it has this feature. It will typically only work for SCART, HDMI and VGA connections though not RF.