Can I stop paying Sky and use my satellite receiver to get Freeview ?
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV Yes, but only "sort of".
Freeview is the name of the (BBC-backed) digital TV system that uses hilltop transmitters to rooftop aerials. It is run separately from the "Sky" satellite-to-dish service.
free-to-VIEW is a term for satellite channels that need a viewing card to watch, but not to collect a subscription. free-to-AIR channels are ones that can be received without needing a viewing card or subscription.
The free-to-AIR satelite service backed by the BBC and ITV is called Freesat. The free-to-VIEW service operated by Sky is called fSfS or Freesat from Sky.
As long as you have finished your first year, you can leave Sky when you want.
To do this just give Sky a call and tell them you don't want to subscribe any more.
If you stop subscribing you will be able to watch the hundred or so free-to-air channels listed on free channels list. This service is called Freesat from Sky (fSfS).
Some of the channels on the Freeview service are subscription only on satellite, specifically: 4Music, Challenge, Dave, Dave ja vu, Quest, VIVA and Yesterday . See these links to compare the TV channels on Freesat-from-Sky and Freeview, and to compare radio stations on Freeview and fSfS. Many homes have free satellite and Freeview to get the full range of channels.
You will still need to keep your Sky viewing card. If you stop subscribing on a Sky contract, you can keep using that card to watch 5USA, 5* and PICK TV, the so-called "free-to-view" channels. (All ITV channels are free-to-air).
It is not possible to plug an aerial into a Sky Digibox to receive Freeview channels because the boxes have not been designed this way.
You will continue to get the full Sky EPG listings; you just will not be able to watch subscription channels.
If you want to go for High Definition, HD, you can swap out your Sky box for a Freesat one very easily.
A card is not needed to watch BBC services, but it is needed to get the correct BBC ONE and BBC TWO regions on 101 and 102.
Another option is to disconnect your Sky Digibox altogether and Upgrade from Sky to Freesat - ukfree.tv. If you have an HD-Ready TV and a standard Sky box, this is a good option.
5:34 PM
we had to cancel our sky subscription 2 months ago.We receive the free channels but
we would like to record some programs.We have sky+ HD and also sky plus box in the bedroom.What do we need to record?
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5:53 PM
T.King: Should you be thinking along the lines of using the Sky+ box then you cannot record or playback anything on a Sky+ box without paying a subscription to Sky and which I believe to be in the region of £10.00 per month, because as you will probably already be aware of Sky controls access to this side of the box on a permanent basis and will only send the release codes (into the Sky card) when the aforementioned subscription is taken out.
Although its initially quite an expense, but you would be better purchasing a twin tuner Freesat PVR (recorder) as once purchased there are no further running costs whatsoever, these operating in a similar fashion to Sky+ and with Freesat devices (all) being 100% compatible with Sky dishes.
If you are interested in HD then you should look along the lines of a Humax device, these obtainable with hard drives up to 1TB.
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1:05 PM
I was with Top up TV for two years with a free digibox recorder made by Thomson. I finished my subscription with them last week and the moment I did the machine suddenly went dead... I was under the impression I could still watch the normal channels (BBC1 BBc2 ITV etc) on it and was also told that I could. Could it be that the machine has just reached its natural end (I've currently had this machine for just over a year). It is making a very quite single beeping noise when plugged in.
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8:49 AM
Am i able to just buy a used viewing card and put it in a spare sky+ box and get freesat? (cabling has been sorted), do I need to do anything to get it work?
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3:39 PM
Hi. I have previously used a Sky Box to receive Free to Air TV, BBC, C4, ITV etc but my friend had to take the Sky Box with her when she moved out. I have gotten another SKY box from a friend and have connected it to the TV via Scart Lead. The machine starts up but the message "cannot locate satellite" or something similar keeps showing up. I was wondering do I need to have a SKY card in the box in order for it to work (I don't think the last box I had had one)? All the aerials and cables for SKY have been installed in the house.
In case you haven't noticed, I am a complete tech no hope!
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4:43 PM
Katherine: You do not require a card in "any" Sky box to be able to view non dedicated to Sky channels, and so your new acquisition is either defective or it requires resetting, or possibly that your dish has been accidentally moved (blown or knocked by a ball) slightly out of alignment.
As far as the box is concerned try the following procedure.
1:- Press Sky followed by Services.
2:- Highlight System Setup (4) and press select.
3:- Press: " 0 -1 - Select " and the installers menu will appear with LNB
set up screen being highlighted.
4:- Press select again to access the LNB setup screen.
5:- Press the red button to re-set the block to the default settings. (may
already be on them but still press Reset)
6:- Scroll down and press on "Save New Settings"
7:- Press select to confirm that the settings have been reset.
The correct LNB Set Up values should read:
1:- LNB Type: Standard
2:- Low Band frequency: 9.75
3:- High Band LO Frequency: 10.60
4:- LNB Power Supply: ON
5:- 22 KHz Command: ON
The correct Default Transponder values should read:
1:- Frequency: 11.778
2:- Polarisation: V
3:- Symbol Rate (Mbaud): 27.5
4:- FEC: 2/3
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4:53 PM
Kevin: Just by any chance in case you havent found out by now, but a card is not required at all in a Sky box except for the purpose of providing the correct local news service for your area.
I did also note that you referred to a Sky+ box, please be aware that you only require one input for a Sky+ box if you are not a subscriber, this is because the recording and playback side of it will have been disabled by Sky when the contract was cancelled and there is no way of over-riding this.
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9:46 AM
Is it true that my friends in Portugal will soon be denied Freesat because Sky are moving to a bird with a tighter footprint? cheers Martyn
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martyn: That's a strange mix of questions.
The free-to-air transmissions used by Freesat (and Freesat-from-Sky) already use the UK beams that require a 2m dish in Portugal. And they have for many years (they were on Astra 2D before). See Satellite footprint maps | ukfree.tv - 10 years of independent, free digital TV advice for details of those.
There are no plans for the Sky subscription services to move satellites.
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