Simple Sky HD question

bylromarha

I've inherited a Sky HD box.

I have a Full HD TV.

Presuming I get all the right cables, I can swap my existing Sky box (that I'm using to watch Freesat) for the Sky HD box and watch BBC HD channel and any other free HD channels in HD?

Just spent 45 mins searching MSE and t'internet and can't find a clear yes/no answer to my question so wondering if some lovely person on here can help.

Thanks

mrbuchay

Simple answer is yes. But you need an HDMI cable, your original sky viewing card put in new box (need to call sky and get them to pair it) and then you can watch the free hd channels even with normal subscription.
Hope this helps and makes sense

bylromarha

Perfect. That was the straightforward answer I spent too long searching for!

Thanks

Edit: actually, when you say subscription, you don't mean money changing hands? Haven't paid Sky for years for our freesat service.

mrbuchay

No you'll be fine - you can use the card for free channels even if you cancelled subscription with Sky

Avoriaz

Have a look at the channels available on Freesat and compare that to those you can receive on a Sky box without a Sky subscription.

I have a Sky+ subscription and Freesat but I rarely use the latter so I'm not really certain of the differences. I think there are Freesat channels that you can't get on a Sky box without a subscription.

If you don't ever plan to take out a Sky subscription, you might be better off selling your two Sky boxes and buying a Freesat receiver with the proceeds.

Inner_Zone

mrbuchay wrote: »

No you'll be fine - you can use the card for free channels even if you cancelled subscription with Sky

You don't need a card for free channels, they are free to air. You will need a card if you want the six or so 'Freesat from Sky' channels including Ch5 HD.

macman

bylromarha wrote: »

Perfect. That was the straightforward answer I spent too long searching for!

Thanks

Edit: actually, when you say subscription, you don't mean money changing hands? Haven't paid Sky for years for our freesat service.

You aren't getting Freesat, you are getting Freesat From Sky (the Sky FTA channels). A different platform.

bylromarha

Just been on the phone to sky.

Basically I can't use the sky hd box unless I buy a £25 card from sky. They won't pair my current viewing card with the hd box as my account was cancelled years ago. They won't put freesat from sky on mum's viewing card, the card paired with the hd box, as I don't have my dead mum's password.

But they can sort it out for me if I pay £25 for a new card to put in the hd box...

Is an hd box worth anything without a viewing card?!

Avoriaz

bylromarha wrote: »

..Is an hd box worth anything without a viewing card?!

Yes it is.

Depending on the model you might get up to £40 or even more on Ebay.

What model is it?

The most recent 890 and 895 boxes are in demand on Ebay. The 500gb 890 sells for around £40. The 895 model, which has a larger 1.5tb disk, sells for more than that. Earlier models will fetch less.

Check your model and have a look at recent sales on Ebay.



Do you live anywhere near Chichester in West Sussex? I want a decent condition 890 box as a spare. I'd give you £30 cash if you have that model. I don't want an 895 or any other model.