Leave Sky and go to Freesat - Any good?

james.h291183

Hi,

I have been with Sky for a while, currently paying £36 a month for broadband and the basic Sky package (basically what you get with Freeview).

Can anyone give any suggestions for a way of receiving Freeview and being able to record tv + broadband which is cheaper than the £36 a month I currently pay. If I have an initial outlay for a bit of new tech it's okay, providing it saves me money during the first 6 months.

I have looked at the new NowTv box but it only allows 30 minutes of pausing tv and with the kids bedtime routine we rarely get to watch anything when it is on.

[Deleted User]

james.h291183 wrote: »

Hi,

I have been with Sky for a while, currently paying £36 a month for broadband and the basic Sky package (basically what you get with Freeview).

Can anyone give any suggestions for a way of receiving Freeview and being able to record tv + broadband which is cheaper than the £36 a month I currently pay. If I have an initial outlay for a bit of new tech it's okay, providing it saves me money during the first 6 months.

I have looked at the new NowTv box but it only allows 30 minutes of pausing tv and with the kids bedtime routine we rarely get to watch anything when it is on.

The easiest option which will give you a top class recording box (and retain Sky Atlantic & Sky 1) is to cancel your TV package and then get a better offer off them. What's the breakdown of your payments to Sky?

james.h291183

Original - including discounts £14.10 (TV)
Sky Broadband Unlimited - including discounts £3.75
Sky Talk Line Rental£17.40

Bigphil1474

I have PlusNet TV along with their fibre broadband and phone - currently costs around £35 for me with their anytime call package (includes calls to mobiles), but I've got a few quid off for the first 12 months of an 18 month contract, so will be about £44 for the last 6 months. I think their standard BB is about £7 cheaper but not sure.
They provided a Youview+ box which can record, pause, and rewind TV channels. They gave me the box for free, but normally there is an activation charge plus P&P - worth haggling. PlusNet TV includes the usual extra channels like Discovery, NatGeo, and basic BT sport (about 20 channels in total in addition to normal free view), and you can pay extra for more sports channels. The Youview box is excellent (other people rave about Humax boxes as well). I've been happy to recommend PlusNet to anyone who is listening, as I've always had good service from them, so always worth checking out what they can offer you. I think you may need to get fibre to get the box, so may not be cheaper, but you get to keep the box after your contract is over, and it would just work like a normal PVR.

[Deleted User]

james.h291183 wrote: »

Original - including discounts £14.10 (TV)
Sky Broadband Unlimited - including discounts £3.75
Sky Talk Line Rental£17.40

If you've got a discount on the Original TV package does that mean you're still in contract? I'm on Boxsets for the same £14.10 with free ADSL BB and a discount of £1.59 on the line rental to keep it to the £17.40 level when the price goes up at the end of next month so there's definitely some wriggle room for you.

james.h291183

Yep, still in contract until May, just doing some research so I know how to proceed come contract end.

Is it looking like I don't have too bad a deal at the moment?

[Deleted User]

james.h291183 wrote: »

Yep, still in contract until May, just doing some research so I know how to proceed come contract end.

Is it looking like I don't have too bad a deal at the moment?

That's like asking how long is a piece of string really, I've always thought that if you're happy then it doesn't matter what anyone else has or even thinks about it.

I posted my deal as it gives you a yardstick for what you can get without much effort and without having it turned off.

If you're happy with your BB/line rental service then you can certainly knock a little off as you can change providers now without penalty due to the price increases coming.

The TV is a little trickier since you can't leave until May but you could try and get a better discount along with a new longer term contract by utilising your right to leave the BB/phone line package.

james.h291183

So with the line rental increases I am free to leave during the contract?

[Deleted User]

james.h291183 wrote: »

So with the line rental increases I am free to leave during the contract?

It gives you the right to leave the BB/line rental package (not TV) at no penalty to yourself, you have to tell them that you're invoking this right.

It also of course gives you the option to renegotiate your deal but will tie you in to a new deal.

AndyPK

buy a humax freeview box and connect to an aerial for recording

If you don't have an aerial, you need a freesat PVR