Sky: Will the HD box still show Freeview if I leave?

james00744

I'm currently paying £72 for standard TV Sky channels + Sky Sports. This is without Broadband... I know... rip-off.

With summer here, I'm wanting to watch less TV and more time out and about.

When I phone up and cancel everything, will the Sky+ HD box (never got Sky Q), show plenty of freeview/freesat channels? I understand I won't be able to record/rewind.

brewerdave

In a word -yes. Also make sure that anything that you have recorded already, has been watched and isn't required in the future.

james00744

brewerdave said:

In a word -yes. Also make sure that anything that you have recorded already, has been watched and isn't required in the future.

Great. If I phone up before my next bill is due, will I still need to pay that bill (month after I've cancelled)?

I'm on a rolling contract, and I paid in advance when I took out the contract.

Neil_Jones

james00744 said:

brewerdave said:

In a word -yes. Also make sure that anything that you have recorded already, has been watched and isn't required in the future.

Great. If I phone up before my next bill is due, will I still need to pay that bill (month after I've cancelled)?

I'm on a rolling contract, and I paid in advance when I took out the contract.

31 days notice.

If a new bill gets generated (and at 31 days notice it will be) you get a pro-rata refund afterwards.

Sky+HD boxes without an active Sky subscription become Freesat from Sky boxes, and there is no recording facilities.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/tv-providers-and-services/article/free-tv/what-is-freesat-from-sky-amza75r9TetZ

wild666

The Sky box will show free sat channels, which vary slightly from Freeview so if there is a Freeview channel you watch that isn't on the list of free sat channels you could have to pay money, the last I knew it was £1 per month to view a channel not on free sat but on Freeview, it might be more now. 
You might get a channel or two that's on free sat but not on Freeview so it's best to have an aerial connected to get the best of both.

Rodders53

Do you have a terrestrial UHF TV aerial? 
If so, and it's connected to the TV check how it works for Freeview reception.  If that's enough for you ditch the box completely.

Some TV sets have satellite tuners built in (some even have freesat).  So check for that, too.  (A screw connector is the usual give-away for one for a satellite input).

Free satellite via an ex $ky HD box will work but is a pretty energy-inefficient way of doing so:
The darned things consume 30 Watts in standby (30x24x365 = 262 kWh per annum) a tad more when on.  Admittedly it might go down to 1 Watt for a few hours overnight if eco mode is enabled. 

There are alternative freesat boxes out there, both receiver only and recording.  They may make a good investment if you want to record stuff?

wolfehouse

Does anyone know if it is a difficult procedure to use the sky hd+box for free sat. 

 I  want to ditch the basic tv package I currently pay for as it is only the free sat channels anyway and I don’t record things.  

But I am technically challenged so just want to make sure there isn’t a lot of setting new codes etc. to do this.  

Looking for any advice or experiences if you’ve done this.  Thanks.

Neil_Jones

wolfehouse said:

Does anyone know if it is a difficult procedure to use the sky hd+box for free sat. 

 I  want to ditch the basic tv package I currently pay for as it is only the free sat channels anyway and I don’t record things.  

But I am technically challenged so just want to make sure there isn’t a lot of setting new codes etc. to do this.  

Looking for any advice or experiences if you’ve done this.  Thanks.

It'll just work.

But there will be no recording/playback (and I believe no On-Demand either from any provider).  And its Freesat from Sky, not Freesat as such, though the only difference is an extra channel or two.