Can I use NTL box for FreeView if I cancel NTL Contract ?

meclive

If you cancel the most you will recieve are channels 1-5 and nothing else will be viewable via the NTL box, although a full signal is usually still sent down the line :whistle:

lipidicman

With the old system you could send the feed directly to the aerial socket on a tv (ie NO box) and get stuff like skyone. Dont think this would work now (its all digital innit?)

nomad222

I was going to start a new thread but this one might answer be similar enough to get an answer.

Basically we are paying £15 a month for a second box upstairs. There was no aerial socket upstairs so NTL was the easiest way to get TV up there as they did all the wiring etc. After seeing a number of NTL boxes advertised on Ebay and such places I am wondering if I can get give my box back to NTL and buy my own.

This all sounds to simple. When they take the box away is it just the box or is it the connection socket on the wall? Would they stop any signal getting to the box or would this work. Is the card in the box important/specific to my account and any other one wouldn't work?

I would try to ring them up and negociate a cheaper rate but they have only recently given me 12 months Sky Sports for free (Thanks MSE boards) so don't think there is much chance.

Any advice gratefully received.

Cheers

P.S. smcicr do you still have your old box lying around I could possibly buy? :A

meclive

lipidicman wrote:

With the old system you could send the feed directly to the aerial socket on a tv (ie NO box) and get stuff like skyone. Dont think this would work now (its all digital innit?)

Most areas still have the analogue signal being sent down the line as well as digital but there are just less chanels.

nomad222 wrote:

This all sounds to simple. When they take the box away is it just the box or is it the connection socket on the wall?

They will just take the box away and leave the socket in the wall, but sometimes they will fill in the connector that comes out the wall with filler so that you cannot use it...

nomad222 wrote:

Would they stop any signal getting to the box or would this work.

...and the signal still comes down the line...

nomad222 wrote:

Is the card in the box important/specific to my account and any other one wouldn't work?

...Each card within the set-top box is specific for that box, they are a matched pair, but you can get some programmable cards that will work. Cards are programmed to your account so if you were to use a different box with a matched card you would need to be able to get it re-programmed for your account...

...The easiest thing to try would be to do as lipidicman suggests and try feed the signal straight to your TV and see if you can get any of the analogue channels.

smcicr

@nomad222 - have sent you a PM

BenL

Have you got an NTl phone line??

I ask because with Telewest you get the basic TV package free with the phoneline.

Ben

TokyoJoe

Hi Yes , I have an NTL phone line. In fact I think this was how I got the setop box in the first place in that NTL were originally doing an offer of free set top box with basic channel when you ordered a phone line. This must have been for a limited peried though as fairly shortly afterwards the £21.50 charges started . I did phone to cancel last month and they added me to Sky sports for "Free" for a 12 month period although when I checked my Bill this month my subscription had actually gone up to approx £46 because although Sky Sports was free I was told that I also needed their "Duel Sports package". have now cancelled all "free " sports channels and asked them to refund the additional charges. It sounds like I just need to take the plunge and buy the free view box.

T4i

We had telewest cable tv and cancelled it. We could still get BBC1, 2, ITV, 4, 5, News24, MTV and one other just by plugging the cable wire into the aerial in socket on the TV.

We found these channels by just doing a scan for channels. In that time of having no cable box I got one from ebay with a card etc......It would only work if I was prepared to pay £50 for a :money: to re-program a card for the box i bought.

We also tried using thwe cable feed as the aerial for a freeview box, but this wouldnt find any channels....

an0key

You could always try removing your card... as this would be just like cancelling your contract and see what channels it lets you watch... I know on my telewest box when it was cancelled it still worked...

reddevilled

T4i wrote:

We had telewest cable tv and cancelled it. We could still get BBC1, 2, ITV, 4, 5, News24, MTV and one other just by plugging the cable wire into the aerial in socket on the TV.

We found these channels by just doing a scan for channels. In that time of having no cable box I got one from ebay with a card etc......It would only work if I was prepared to pay £50 for a :money: to re-program a card for the box i bought.

We also tried using thwe cable feed as the aerial for a freeview box, but this wouldnt find any channels....

Apparently if you plug the cable direct into your TV you introduce noise back into signal which reduces other peoples signal. :eek:

It's also classed as theft of services and illegal

I've only done it once when our box broke for a while and we needed a signal.