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.
ET: No, without a subscription you can't record/pause/play with a Sky+ box.
However, you can just swap a Sky+ box for a Freesat+ or Freesat+HD box, where you can record/pause/play for no charge.
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8:36 AM
ET - No you won't be able to to record and pause as SKY will disable this facility. You could get your own "Freesat" receiver which will allow you to do this. If your on a budget there's one of the "Freesat" receivers the Technisat HDFS which will allow you to Pause and record while watching another but can only be set to schedule one recording at a time, but can series record as oppposed to others more expensive that can be set to record two while watching another. The differnce in price is around £100. The technisat can stream to and from your PC and access iplayer. I personally have both types of receiver at home and both are excellant performers. You can expect to pay just under £150 for a Technisat with single tuner and around just under £250 for a "Freesat" DTR with twin twin tuners ( there are several to choose from) Really depends on how much recording your doing.
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8:42 AM
P.S> The Tecnisat requires either a high capacity pendrive or external laptop 2.5 HDD drive where as the twin tuners have an onboard 320 or 500GB Hard Drive.
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1:59 PM
i have a sky dish that currently has two wires coming from a plastic attachment on the front 'arm' coming from the lower centre of the dish. I can't see any other connections to allow me to wire in another sky box on a freesat card basis for my bedroom. is my dish just old? or can i do something with it to allow me to wire in a second sky box? I have seen some sky dishes with four connectors on the rear of the, something mine dowsn't have.
what are my options?
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Hi Craig,
The vast majority of sky + (two wire) installs have a four output quad lnb however you may not be able to see the extra connections due to a pull down cover that protects the connections from the rain.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi Les & Brian,
Im testing a technomate TM-5492HD CI+ super as a single freesat recorder, coupled with a sky card & 640gb usb (all available on a well known auction site) I bbc1 london on 1 bbc2 wales on 2 / itv1 hd on 3 / channel4 hd on 4 & five hd on 5 & my other channels (freesat& non freesat) are in the order I want them, I have a epg & record from epg function & any recordings I make can be viewed on any device that can read the file such a phone or computer, Its early days as its only been available for a month or so but so far its been very good. The other nice thing is as the receiver has a programable card slot & a cam slot aswell as full diseq & usals motor control its not likely to become redundant any time soon. Its not the receiver for a novice but for enthusiast or pro its a usefull bit of kit.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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Hi all,
That should read TM-5402 !
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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7:23 PM
Mark - Yes - Great little box. These guys selling on that well known site must be bulk buying from trade wholesalers in the hope of a quick turnover. This receiver packs a lot in and is fully featured Technomate put a lot into their receivers and are well quoted in "WotSat" reviews. I've supplied a number of the 5200 series and a 5402 very recently as a motorised installation. Very happy customer with this one and his "footie" sourced elsewhere!!
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8:26 PM
i have a standard sky+ subscription, if i bought a sky+ hd box (for the larger hard drive) would i be able to use my current viewing card and still watch/record normal sky+ channels?
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Hi Lee,
Yes you would, but you would need to ring sky to get them to pair the card to the new box.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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