Leave Sky and go to Freesat - Any good?

[Deleted User]

albionrovers wrote: »

Anyone who pays for these must be zipped up the back.

Actually, the "interactive discount" on equipment wasn't available in Sky's earliest days.

Nowadays, you certainly still have to pay for the 2tb Sky+HD , for example, and early adopters of the original Sky+ had to pay £300 (plus Sky+ subscription) back in the day...

den25

hi all can anyone tell if i can plug my sky box back in to the dish, can i receive freesat or do i need to get a freesat box. thank you for your help.

[Deleted User]

den25 wrote: »

hi all can anyone tell if i can plug my sky box back in to the dish, can i receive freesat or do i need to get a freesat box. thank you for your help.

It depends how long ago you cancelled your Sky subscription. If it was only recently then your viewing card should provide all the free-to-air channels. If the box has been unplugged for a very long time though, you might need to purchase a Freesat-From-Sky viewing card in order to view..

almillar

den25 - it's confusing.
If you plug your Sky box back in, you'll receive some channels, but not the encrypted ones. The BBC channels, and loads of the rubbish ones, aren't encrypted as an example.
If you've still got a subscription card in the Sky box, it'll decrypt the encrypted channels for you - you effectively now have Freesatfromsky. You have to pay £10 per month if you want to record (if we're talking about a Sky+ box). If you don't have a card, Sky will sell you one for £25.
I don't know the context of your question, but I think the best option, if this is for your main TV, would be a FreeSat recorder. Humax <freetime> is the best and includes easy to use catch up content thru internet, but you can get much cheaper ones. You need 2 cables from the dish to make the most of a recorder.

albionrovers

Daft daft question but answer not completely apparent from above.

Is there a viewing card slot on the Humax and does the Sky card fit into it? Or is it really just a straight plug in to existing Sky dish at the back of the PVR and then you're up and running?

Kite2010

albionrovers wrote: »

Daft daft question but answer not completely apparent from above.

Is there a viewing card slot on the Humax and does the Sky card fit into it? Or is it really just a straight plug in to existing Sky dish at the back of the PVR and then you're up and running?

The Humax is on Freesat, which is a different service than freesat by sky, which is the service you get with a skybox.

Plug the wires into the back, do a scan on setup and you should be up and running.

[Deleted User]

albionrovers wrote: »

Is there a viewing card slot on the Humax and does the Sky card fit into it?

Sky viewing cards are primarily for viewing Sky subscription channels but they do allow non subscription channels to be viewed after cancellation but only on a Sky decoder

albionrovers wrote: »

Or is it really just a straight plug in to existing Sky dish at the back of the PVR and then you're up and running?

Correct.

brovahelpa

Does anyone know why my freesat from sky has suddenly showed as tho vertical and horizontal holds have gone. Was working ok earlier, when turned back on this is what happened. I've taken the card out for a while but it hasn't worked. The box is about 8 yrs old, could it be finished. Any help please.

roonaldo

what do you mean, any pictures you can post?

penrhyn

Does the TV work from its internal tuner?