Freesat vs Sky Freesat HELP! - Freesat

munta · 11-11-2009, 09:27

I'm not sure which is the best way to go for me on this so some help would be appriciated.

I've been a sky subscriber for a fair few years and moved to Sky HD as soon as that was released. However, my Sky HD box is now broken due to the dreaded capacitor issue. So at the moment I'm paying for a full Sky package with HD and Sky+ but I'm having to use my old standard Sky amstrad box which, since the card isn't registered with my Amstrad box, I cannot get movies and sports etc.

Given that i'm not watching movies and sports at the moment and to be honest arn't really missing them I thought I would ditch the Sky package and go for some sort of freesat. So on to my questions....

I do watch a fair bit of Discovery. Although not essential, do any freesat options have this?
If I was to get my Sky HD fixed, would I get any HD channels and would Sky+ work on Sky Freesat?
Does Sky+ on freesat require extra payment?
Is there a good website which compares the two systems and channels available?
I assume freesat requires a new box and Sky Freesat requires a £20 viewing card. Is this correct?
Are there any other options available to me given that I have no TV aerial?

Although I used to use Sky+ and watch Discovery a lot, these would be nice to haves but not essential since I can save £55 a month and I'm sure that would be put to better use than the occasion program of Mythbusters

So, whos got some good advice for me?

Thanks.

Tern · 11-11-2009, 09:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

I do watch a fair bit of Discovery. Although not essential, do any freesat options have this?
If I was to get my Sky HD fixed, would I get any HD channels and would Sky+ work on Sky Freesat?
Does Sky+ on freesat require extra payment?
Is there a good website which compares the two systems and channels available?
I assume freesat requires a new box and Sky Freesat requires a £20 viewing card. Is this correct?
Are there any other options available to me given that I have no TV aerial?

1) No
2)Yes you would get the same HD channels as Feeesat + ITV HD - Luxe.
3) You have to pay Sky £10 for to be allowed to use your own equipment for Sky+ if you don't have any other package.
4) ...
5) Freesat requires a new box but Freesat from Sky doesn't. Your current viewing card should work pro tem in a Sky box for the encrypted FTV channels.
6) An internet or cable based system.

Andrue · 11-11-2009, 10:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

I do watch a fair bit of Discovery. Although not essential, do any freesat options have this?
If I was to get my Sky HD fixed, would I get any HD channels and would Sky+ work on Sky Freesat?
Does Sky+ on freesat require extra payment?
Is there a good website which compares the two systems and channels available?
I assume freesat requires a new box and Sky Freesat requires a £20 viewing card. Is this correct?
Are there any other options available to me given that I have no TV aerial?

(1)No.
(2)Yes. You would get everything that Freesat offers and also C4HD.
(3)There's no such thing. Your Sky box becomes what is known as 'Freesat from Sky'. It's a different service. There is no subscription but periodically (every three years) you have to buy a new card when Sky update their cards. You should by now have the new white card so that will last you another three years. You don't have to have the card inserted to use the box but several channels require it.

If you want to record using a Sky box you will need to pay £10pcm. From what I hear it can be a bit of a trial getting that 'package' from some CS operators but it does exist. Personally I would suggest it's a lousy package. For an extra £7 you could have the basic sub. If you are sure that you don't want to go back to Sky then long-term getting a Freesat PVR is going to be cheaper. You lose a few channels but nothing major.

(4)Dunno.
(5)Your existing white card will be fine until the next time Sky issue new ones - probably three years. If you only have the blue and yellow card it'd be wise to wait for the new one but tbh everyone should have their new card by now.
(6)BT Vision? Tiscali TV? Virgin (if you have access to it)? Also rumours of something called Real Digital coming soon-ish.

Andrue · 11-11-2009, 10:37

To summarise for clarity:

An existing Sky subscriber can switch to 'Freesat from Sky' just by cancelling their subscription. No further action is required if you only want to watch.

Freesat from Sky offers a few more channels than Freesat but nothing particularly outstanding.

The deal breaker is the recording facility of the Sky box. Paying £10pcm just to unlock a feature built into the box is irritating. After two years you'll have paid enough to cover the cost of one Freesat PVR.

coopermanyorks · 11-11-2009, 10:40

Whilst you make up your mind ring Sky and pair the card from the HD box to the Amstrad box at least you will get to view the premium channels or ring and cancel them

The Hd box can be fixed for between £15 (Diy) and £30+ for a local repairer to fix it for you

I guess you need to ask yourself what channels you need and are you willing to buy a new box to run the alternative system freesat.co.uk which can include the + function and some Hd content,if you go for the HD PVR box.
Or are you willing to pay Sky £17.50 for the 1 mix that includes Discovery and gets you the + function , but if you want the Extra Hd channels, add on a further £10 pm

The two systems are different offerings, which is right for you is to be based on your channel requirement and the £'s available

munta · 11-11-2009, 10:49

Thanks guys. Thats plenty for me to be going on with.

looks like the best bet is for me to just cancel my current Sky account and go with Sky Freesat. I can cope without the PVR and HD for the moment and since i'm probably moving in with my girfriend in the next year I'll deal with that then.

Thanks again.

coopermanyorks · 11-11-2009, 10:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

Thanks guys. Thats plenty for me to be going on with.

looks like the best bet is for me to just cancel my current Sky account and go with Sky Freesat. I can cope without the PVR and HD for the moment and since i'm probably moving in with my girfriend in the next year I'll deal with that then.

Thanks again.

The Sky Hd box will sell for around £50 on ebay even as faulty or get it fixed,see here

http://www.satcure.co.uk/psu_fix.htm

You can then at least get BBC HD , ITV HD and CH4 HD

Most likely when you ring to cancel , they will offer a free call out and box replacement

Nigel Goodwin · 11-11-2009, 10:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

looks like the best bet is for me to just cancel my current Sky account and go with Sky Freesat. I can cope without the PVR and HD for the moment

A cancelled Sky HD box/card will still give you more HD than a Freesat box will - it's only the subscription HD channels you lose.

If you aren't bothered about PVR functions, simply cancelling Sky is all you need to do.

munta · 11-11-2009, 11:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by coopermanyorks

The Sky Hd box will sell for around £50 on ebay even as faulty or get it fixed,see here

http://www.satcure.co.uk/psu_fix.htm

You can then at least get BBC HD , ITV HD and CH4 HD

Most likely when you ring to cancel , they will offer a free call out and box replacement

On he phone to them now. They have offered me a free call out and replacement. While it was quite tempting, saving £55 a month is a much better offer

They didn't seem too happy when I turned them down.

coopermanyorks · 11-11-2009, 11:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

On he phone to them now. They have offered me a free call out and replacement. While it was quite tempting, saving £55 a month is a much better offer

They didn't seem too happy when I turned them down.

Classic Sky Response

Personally I would have taken the free call out, got the box replaced and the day after cancelled Sky as you are not locked into a contract you can cancel the day after its been fixed

That way you get a working HD box to use or sell

So you Win Win, they lose,lose .

munta · 11-11-2009, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by coopermanyorks

Classic Sky Response

Personally I would have taken the free call out, got the box replaced and the day after cancelled Sky as you are not locked into a contract you can cancel the day after its been fixed

That way you get a working HD box to use or sell

So you Win Win, they lose,lose .

I wasn't sure if they would have locked me in to a new contract or not so though it was best safe than sorry. I'm a dab hand with a soldering iron so I'll fix it when I get round to it

One thing that did impress me though. They put me on hold at 11 for 2 minutes. The woman seemed a bit embarassed to do so but I'm pleased she did.

TelevisionUser · 12-11-2009, 00:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

I'm not sure which is the best way to go for me on this so some help would be appriciated.

I've been a sky subscriber for a fair few years and moved to Sky HD as soon as that was released. However, my Sky HD box is now broken due to the dreaded capacitor issue. So at the moment I'm paying for a full Sky package with HD and Sky+ but I'm having to use my old standard Sky amstrad box which, since the card isn't registered with my Amstrad box, I cannot get movies and sports etc.

Given that i'm not watching movies and sports at the moment and to be honest arn't really missing them I thought I would ditch the Sky package and go for some sort of freesat. So on to my questions....

I do watch a fair bit of Discovery. Although not essential, do any freesat options have this?
If I was to get my Sky HD fixed, would I get any HD channels and would Sky+ work on Sky Freesat?
Does Sky+ on freesat require extra payment?
Is there a good website which compares the two systems and channels available?
I assume freesat requires a new box and Sky Freesat requires a £20 viewing card. Is this correct?
Are there any other options available to me given that I have no TV aerial?

Although I used to use Sky+ and watch Discovery a lot, these would be nice to haves but not essential since I can save £55 a month and I'm sure that would be put to better use than the occasion program of Mythbusters

So, whos got some good advice for me?

Thanks.

What you could also do, munta, is have your Freesat service and run it in conjunction with a £20 Freeview box as well [one-off cost, no subs] and get the best of both worlds.

That way you could switch between the two at will and get Quest [from Discovery Channel], Yesterday [was UKTV History] and Dave all free-to-air on Freeview.

Ray Cathode · 12-11-2009, 02:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by TelevisionUser

What you could also do, munta, is have your Freesat service and run it in conjunction with a £20 Freeview box as well [one-off cost, no subs] and get the best of both worlds.

That way you could switch between the two at will and get Quest [from Discovery Channel], Yesterday [was UKTV History] and Dave all free-to-air on Freeview.

He has no TV aerial but it would be a good investment especially a DIY job.

munta · 12-11-2009, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Cathode

He has no TV aerial but it would be a good investment especially a DIY job.

I hope you're not suggesting that I go up on the roof and put and aerial up. If an inanimate object like an aerial can fall off the roof, theres no way a clumsy idiot like me is going to go up there

Andrue · 12-11-2009, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by munta

I hope you're not suggesting that I go up on the roof and put and aerial up. If an inanimate object like an aerial can fall off the roof, theres no way a clumsy idiot like me is going to go up there

Lol, you should see an installer do it.

I had mine replaced a couple of years ago. Once they'd arrived I put the kettle on - they were done before the kettle. I wish I'd stay to watch them - less than five minutes to climb onto a two storey building and replace an aerial and put the ladder away

..and, yes, they did replace the aerial. They wouldn't take the old one away so I had to dispose of it.

coopermanyorks · 12-11-2009, 12:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrue

..and, yes, they did replace the aerial. They wouldn't take the old one away so I had to dispose of it.

We had an aerial upgrade around the year 2000 ? at a reduced price via an On-digital offer

Would they take the old one down ? , no way its still there.

I would have happily disposed of it but no way would he take it down
The house is a detached house,the aerial is strapped to the chimney stack , so it was quite clear the aerial was ours and not next doors

11-11-2009, 09:27	#1
munta Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Following URZ Services: Dyslexia - for those wishing to pick me up on my spelling Posts: 8,600	Freesat vs Sky Freesat HELP! I'm not sure which is the best way to go for me on this so some help would be appriciated. I've been a sky subscriber for a fair few years and moved to Sky HD as soon as that was released. However, my Sky HD box is now broken due to the dreaded capacitor issue. So at the moment I'm paying for a full Sky package with HD and Sky+ but I'm having to use my old standard Sky amstrad box which, since the card isn't registered with my Amstrad box, I cannot get movies and sports etc. Given that i'm not watching movies and sports at the moment and to be honest arn't really missing them I thought I would ditch the Sky package and go for some sort of freesat. So on to my questions.... I do watch a fair bit of Discovery. Although not essential, do any freesat options have this? If I was to get my Sky HD fixed, would I get any HD channels and would Sky+ work on Sky Freesat? Does Sky+ on freesat require extra payment? Is there a good website which compares the two systems and channels available? I assume freesat requires a new box and Sky Freesat requires a £20 viewing card. Is this correct? Are there any other options available to me given that I have no TV aerial? Although I used to use Sky+ and watch Discovery a lot, these would be nice to haves but not essential since I can save £55 a month and I'm sure that would be put to better use than the occasion program of Mythbusters So, whos got some good advice for me? Thanks.

11-11-2009, 10:37	#4
Andrue Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Brackley, UK Services: Sky HD, Be ADSL (13.5Mb), FreeSat PC Posts: 2,005	To summarise for clarity: An existing Sky subscriber can switch to 'Freesat from Sky' just by cancelling their subscription. No further action is required if you only want to watch. Freesat from Sky offers a few more channels than Freesat but nothing particularly outstanding. The deal breaker is the recording facility of the Sky box. Paying £10pcm just to unlock a feature built into the box is irritating. After two years you'll have paid enough to cover the cost of one Freesat PVR.

11-11-2009, 10:40	#5
coopermanyorks Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Pontefract -In Gods Own County Services: Pace & Thomson HD & Pvr3's in Multiroom-Sky 6 mix & Sports - BB Max Posts: 16,760 Blog Entries: 1	Whilst you make up your mind ring Sky and pair the card from the HD box to the Amstrad box at least you will get to view the premium channels or ring and cancel them The Hd box can be fixed for between £15 (Diy) and £30+ for a local repairer to fix it for you I guess you need to ask yourself what channels you need and are you willing to buy a new box to run the alternative system freesat.co.uk which can include the + function and some Hd content,if you go for the HD PVR box. Or are you willing to pay Sky £17.50 for the 1 mix that includes Discovery and gets you the + function , but if you want the Extra Hd channels, add on a further £10 pm The two systems are different offerings, which is right for you is to be based on your channel requirement and the £'s available

11-11-2009, 10:49	#6
munta Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Following URZ Services: Dyslexia - for those wishing to pick me up on my spelling Posts: 8,600	Thanks guys. Thats plenty for me to be going on with. looks like the best bet is for me to just cancel my current Sky account and go with Sky Freesat. I can cope without the PVR and HD for the moment and since i'm probably moving in with my girfriend in the next year I'll deal with that then. Thanks again.