Anyone jumped from Sky to Freeview? Advice needed!

webbhost

Hi all,

Okay, a couple of things are making me and my dad (I live with him) consider switching to free-view rather than sky, the following being the main reasons:

- today my dads sky box has came up with a system fault which means he cannot record, pause etc live TV. All attempts to fully reset the box have failed, and updates did no good. I think the hard -drives bust.

- Were paying a stupid £50 a month on sky, and we only watch a few very occasional channels that are not available on freeview.
- Freeview has HD channels doesn't it? Bit disgraceful that sky don't offer these channels for customers without paying extra expense..

Anyway, given that were spending £50 a month on sky, I figure paying £200 for 2 good freeview boxes is a pretty good investment.

My only problem is I don't know which freeview boxes are available that would do what I want, and I want to know if other people that have previously switched ever regretted doing it?

Also if I cancel sky but keep the sky-box, can I still get freeview channels on the sky box, with the sky+ features and pause / rewind still etc?


If I had to get a free-view box, I would want the following features... if you have one that does this, please state the make and model so I can look further into it!

- Want to be able to pause live TV,
- Want to be able to record TV.
- Want the freeview box to be HD-Ready so that I can watch the few HD channels that are available..

Thanks for any information anyone can provide... if there's anything I've not covered or asked that you feel is important then please tell me

webbhost

also is it possible to hook up a freeview box to the sky-satellite?

Heinz

Easiest solution is phone Sky and tell them you box is on the blink and, as money's tight, you want to cancel.

They'll offer you a £65 service call out and fix. Decline that - say money's tight and you want to save the £50 per month you're currently paying.

They should then offer you a free service call out and fix - which will probably mean a replacement secondhand box. Decline that and repeat you want to save the £50 per month you're currently paying.

They should then offer you a brand new (possible 2TB) Sky+HD box and free installation.

Inner_Zone

webbhost wrote: »

- Were paying a stupid £50 a month on sky, and we only watch a few very occasional channels that are not available on freeview.
- Freeview has HD channels doesn't it? Bit disgraceful that sky don't offer these channels for customers without paying extra expense.

There are four HD channels on Freeview and the same four are on Sky for free. In both cases you will need HD capable box.

webbhost wrote: »

Anyway, given that were spending £50 a month on sky, I figure paying £200 for 2 good freeview boxes is a pretty good investment.

You are unlikey to get two recordable HD boxes for £200, £300 up would be nearer for two.

webbhost wrote: »

Also if I cancel sky but keep the sky-box, can I still get freeview channels on the sky box, with the sky+ features and pause / rewind still etc?

You can't get Freeview on a Sky box, you will get Freesat from Sky if you keep the card in. If you pay Sky £10 a month you can still record etc, but:

webbhost wrote: »

- today my dads sky box has came up with a system fault which means he cannot record, pause etc live TV. All attempts to fully reset the box have failed, and updates did no good. I think the hard -drives bust.

webbhost wrote: »

If I had to get a free-view box, I would want the following features... if you have one that does this, please state the make and model so I can look further into it!

- Want to be able to pause live TV,
- Want to be able to record TV.
- Want the freeview box to be HD-Ready so that I can watch the few HD channels that are available..

You will get recommendations for Humax on here but there are others like DigitalStream.

macman

You can't any Freeeview channels via your sat dish-Freeview is a terrestial service via an aerial, so for Freeview you will need a working external aerial.
You can get a replacement Sky+ box for free on freegle or for peanuts on Bay. However, if you cancel your Sky sub thn then the PVR functions will cease to operate, though you will still receive all the Sky FTV channels (Freesat From Sky).
If you want PVR functions and HD then a Freesat box (Humax Foxsat) might be the better option, as no aerial is required-it's just a straight box swap.

Inner_Zone

webbhost wrote: »

also is it possible to hook up a freeview box to the sky-satellite?

No, would need a very long cable, neither can you connect it to the Sky dish.

webbhost

Hi,

Thanks for the responses people!..

I've had a quick look around and I've been able to find 2 x HD freeview boxes for £250, Triax T2-HD217. Anyone had any experience with these, is it a good box?

Think I've got it all figured out now, we still have a terrestrial areal in the loft which is used for 2 x standard freeview boxes at the minute, so wiring up 2 more shouldn't be much of a problem.


Whats the deal with freeSat (never heard of this before)? Is this exactly the same as freeview but via a satellite instead? Is the channels the same as freeview or different? I'm assuming in this case, I could simply plug in a free-sat box into the sky satellite and it would work without having to re-align etc?

C_Mababejive

Most broadcast tv output these days is sh!te anyway save for some gems notably from the BBC. My route here is that i have a simple freeview box £24 from comet and it serves me well. I dont pay any subscription services. I would ditch the box and not pay a licence but others in the home disagree. I wouldnt pay sky or anyone else good money for mostly pap.

macman

Freesat offers a similar (but not identical) channel line-up to Freeview, see the websites for channel info. You use your existing Sky mini-dish on the same alignment-which was why I stated that Freesat requires only a straight box swap.
NB: Plugging ito the 'Sky-satellite' would be tricky unless you have a cable that is about 24,500 miles long...

C_Mababejive

macman wrote: »

Freesat offers a similar (but not identical) channel line-up to Freeview, see the websites for channel info. You use your existing Sky mini-dish on the same alignment-which was why I stated that Freesat requires only a straight box swap.
NB: Plugging ito the 'Sky-satellite' would be tricky unless you have a cable that is about 24,500 miles long...

As this is MSE,the same result can be obtained by lining your dustbin lid with Bacofoil and fixing it rigidly to your washing line post ensuring that it is carefully aligned thus..


http://www.satpointer.com/

zzzLazyDaisy

I changed from Sky to a freesat HD Humax box

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Humax-500GB-Recorder-Requires-Satellite/dp/B0039J42LM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1349708550&sr=1-1

(there is also a 1tb version)


It records and plays in HD, and you can also set it to record a series of programmes same as sky+ (this only works if you alreadu have sky+ though as you need two leads for the plug-in thingy).

I am not technical but I literally took it out of the box, unplugged the Sky+ box and plugged in the Humax box in the same place.

After a year it had paid for itself with the savings on the sky subscription and three years later it is still going strong. I am very pleased with it.