Have cancelled sky - can you help?

DanielL_2

Hi, hope some people can help. I have today cancelled sky. I was paying £450 a year just to watch the channels that are freely available :eek:

I would like to be able to record programmes and also watch some movies and on demand content from itv/bbc player So I think I need a new pvr and either Apple TV or Netflix. My internet speed is poor (about 3mbps).

Can anyone offer any advice to a techno phobe. Thanks

jem16

DanielL wrote: »

I would like to be able to record programmes and also watch some movies and on demand content from itv/bbc player So I think I need a new pvr and either Apple TV or Netflix. My internet speed is poor (about 3mbps).

You would just about manage streaming from Netflix at around DVD quality on 3mb.

Best pvr to consider would be Humax. They have Freeview boxes with YouView which will give you pvr facilities plus On Demand content provided you have an aerial.

Or Humax freesat boxes with freetime for the On demand content.

Have a look at Humax Direct. They also do Manager's Specials.

http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/Direct

Netflix isn't available as yet but there are On demand movies.

macman

Unless you already have a working external aerial, Humax Freesat is the way to go, as you can use your existing dish and LNB-it's just a straight box swap. 3MBps should be perfectly adequate for streaming froom iPlayer etc.

bubblegun

DanielL wrote: »

Hi, hope some people can help. I have today cancelled sky. I was paying £450 a year just to watch the channels that are freely available :eek:

I would like to be able to record programmes and also watch some movies and on demand content from itv/bbc player So I think I need a new pvr and either Apple TV or Netflix. My internet speed is poor (about 3mbps).

Can anyone offer any advice to a techno phobe. Thanks

You could pay Sky £10 per month to record on the freesat channels but you'd only get bbc iplayer if you have a HD box. For £21.50 per month Original package you'd get all terrestrial catch-up services plus Sky's best channels (IMHO) and the recording function on your Sky+HD box. Plus you'd get access to Sky Store for occasional movie watching.

You might get an offer to reduce the Original package cost during or after your notice period.

For the low internet speed the Sky box advantage is that on demand content can be downloaded to the box in advance of when you want to watch. Whereas all the others need a constant speed as they are streamed so, at your speed, you cannot be online when watching.

Can you get Fibre where you live? Unfortunately due to your broadband speed the others will not work too well otherwise.

Old_Git

sorry for hijacking this thread but my sky was turned off last month and I would like to be able to record ,however I do have a coax aerial as in 4 rooms as well as the sky connection in one room . The aerial gives me extra channels so I would like the option to be able to record from that .
Is this possible

jem16

Old_Git wrote: »

sorry for hijacking this thread but my sky was turned off last month and I would like to be able to record ,however I do have a coax aerial as in 4 rooms as well as the sky connection in one room . The aerial gives me extra channels so I would like the option to be able to record from that .
Is this possible

You would need some sort of pvr to give you recording facilities. Some of the newer televisions will allow recording via USB.

Your best bet would be one of the Humax pvr boxes that I linked to earlier. As you have an aerial you could choose either a freesat or freeview box.

almillar

For the OP, a Humax <freetime> box, connected to the same cables as the old Sky box, will give you everything except the movie stuff. PS3s are great fro this IMO as you can choose between Netflix, Amazon, others?
Old Git - everything's coax - do you mean all rooms except one are connected to an aerial? As above, a YouView box is the best thing to connect to an aerial, and a <freetime> box is the best thing to connect to a satellite dish, for subscription free viewing.

DanielL_2

Thanks all for your advice. Probably get a Humax Freesat box and look into Apple TV.

almillar

iTunes for movies then...

DanielL_2

Thanks for the comments so far. I have cancelled Sky and I lose this on the 3rd August (no contact from them too date). Unless they will do Sky Sports for £25 I will definately be leaving. I am no longer prepared to pay such huge prices for what they offer.

I know that my requirements will be the ability to record programmes. As I have an existing dish and 2 inputs I will probably look to get a Freesat PVR.

My existing TV only has 1 HDMI input.

However I would also love to get Netflix due to the good reviews I have heard about this.

My broadband speed is currently 4mbps but I am in the process of miving to Fibre whereby I have been told by BT that I can expect speeds of around 9mbps.

Can anyone recommend equipement based on the above. I was considering a Humax freesat PVR (the white one with built in wifi) and Roku. But believe there may be other PVRs that integrate netflix?

Again, any help would be gratefully received.

Heinz

Reports I have heard are that the UK version of Netflix is very limited in content and you need to use a VPN service to get the US version.

https://www.blockless.com/how_it_works