Leave Sky and go to Freesat - Any good?

richardw

I've just got the Humax freesat box and am really pleased with it, great to get rid of sky and be free from their silliness.

Do you have a smart tv you can get Netflix on? Or perhaps Apple TV ?

greatgimpo

missile wrote: »

Have you considered changing to BT for your internet provider and getting their YouView box? I find it much better than the Humax box I used before.

No I haven't. I've just upgraded the router and booster, and I pay extra for my unusual email address. I don't want the upheaval of setting up a new ISP just for TV.

greatgimpo

richardw wrote: »

I've just got the Humax freesat box and am really pleased with it, great to get rid of sky and be free from their silliness.

Do you have a smart tv you can get Netflix on? Or perhaps Apple TV ?

No, it's a dated 720p Sony. I'm leaning towards the Humax wifi recordable 1010S that was recommended earlier, and maybe Apple TV for extras. I was just interested in Netflix as an option, but it's only TV after all.

zaax

I got a letter yesterday saying they were putting up my pack by £2 which would take it to £16, I cancelled it 15 mins after opening the letter, because I don't watch much TV any. The internet is much more fun and the a Humax freesat+ box can be had for £150 from John Lewis etc,.

http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/products/product.php?gid=135

Inner_Zone

Freesat from Sky (using existing box) = £0, so £150 saved, but no recording facility.

anotheruser

You don't watch much TV, yet the title suggests you got a Freesat+ box?

almillar

You don't watch much TV, yet the title suggests you got a Freesat+ box?

So that you can watch that little bit of TV, whenever you want!
More surprising was paying £14 per month, which would have bought the above box within a year!

audigex

anotheruser wrote: »

You don't watch much TV, yet the title suggests you got a Freesat+ box?

A £150 box could easily last 6 years, at which point it's cheaper than the £2/month price rise on the Sky package. And that's assuming they don't bump the price more than that.

Okay so it's an immediate up front cost, but Freesat is ideal for those who want to watch a bit of TV when convenient (especially if they want to record the few programmes they watch and then play them when convenient). Sky sounds like over-kill for the OP, and the Freesat box will work out cheaper than Sky after 9 months.

Seems fair to me, although I would personally have just cancelled the Sky subscription and got Freesat via my Sky box, which is either free or a £25 one-off cost.

ktcoil

Hi what would be cheapest way to record odd programmes I want when maybe not home or gone to bed, was thinking of freeview recorder boxes but seem pricey and sky/by seem steep, we are saving for a house so maybe when were up and runny may get sky, also liked the look of the new scary ghost story on sky living but again seems to be on sky, seen this now tv box which does have this channel on but can you record in this box? Thanks

almillar

'Cheap'. 'Sky'. Nope!
Cheapest way would be to buy a second hand Freeview recorder. Best one would be a Humax Youview box ( not a talkltalk one) which I'm sure you can get for under £100. This gets you HD and on demand - you can buy cheaper than this of course.
Now TV is an on demand box. As in, you watch when you want. As in - you don't record anything. You'd want, say, at least an 8Mbs internet connection to make a lot of use out of this. And of course, if you want the Sky channels, you'll be paying a sub anyway.
Virgin would be the other way to get Sky channels, but again is not cheap.