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Upgrading from Sky to Freesat

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellite box with a Freesat one.

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellit
published on UK Free TV

If you have an existing Sky or fSfS (Freesat from Sky) installation and want to go to upgrade to Freesat, it is a simple process.

First, buy the Freesat box from a Argos, Curry.digital, Comet, John Lewes or your local independent shop:



In the box you will find the Freesat box:



Also included will be a remote control, and this model also comes with a SCART cable, a HDMI cable and a stereo-with-composite cable. Unpack the ones you need:



You old Sky box looks like this:



Unplug the mains first from the Sky box, then pull out the SCART (or SCARTs) and then unscrew the connection to the satellite dish.



Remove the Sky box and fit the Freesat box. Reconnect the satellite cable (take care as to not damage the connection) and then the SCART and finally connect the mains power:



The box will look like this:



The box also contains the manual, which has full installation instructions. Finally fit the batteries into the remote control.



The TV screen first displays the box's logo



The first set-up screen allows you to select the TV type, widescreen mode and resolution:



Next the box checks for the satellite signal:



Then there is a check for updated software:



Then you enter your postcode and the box checks it:



The next step is a scan for channels. This takes about 30 seconds:



And that's it. You can now view channels, like 108 for BBC HD:



Or press the GUIDE button for the EPG:



(Apologies for the photos not being of the top quality)



Help with Free satellite?
What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fau1
Can I receive UK TV in Ghana?2
What is a CA module?3
My box says "No Satellite signal being received"4
Is there any way I can get free channels via satellite and have the kind of hard5
In this section
Freesat adds a plethora of new channels in time for Christmas including channel 1
A tale of a two Freesat boxes2
Yesterday, Drama and Really joining Freesat this month3
PBS America joins Freesat for Halloween4
Fixing the Freesat Freetime internet connection problem5
Satellite TV operators FRANSAT, TIVUSAT and our Freesat launch FreeTV Alliance 6

Comments
Monday, 18 April 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

12:46 AM

Eric:

You'll still get BBC 1 HD, BBC HD, ITV1 HD (if you live in England and Wales) and Channel Four HD. These HD channels are all available on Freesat.

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Peter Henderson's 75 posts GB flag
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

12:52 AM

Paul:

Freesat is completely free. There is no additional charge to watch the HD channels.

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Peter Henderson's 75 posts GB flag
P
Peter Henderson
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

12:56 AM

P.S. A second hand Sky plus HD box will only receive BBC1 HD, BBC HD and ITV 1 HD. You'll also lose the PVR function i.e. you won't be able to record(unless you pay Sky £10 per month). The Freesat plus pvr is the better option, in my opinion.

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Peter Henderson's 75 posts GB flag
M
Maggie
1:38 AM
Gillingham

My Mum's Freeview channels seem to have packed up this evening. Getting BBC loud and clear but not the rest. We are in Gillingham Kent. Anyone else around this area experiencing probs?

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Maggie's 1 post GB flag
Maggie's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Friday, 22 April 2011
A
Alan hughes
10:23 AM

with a freesat box am Iable subscribe to sky to receive a sports channel?
with thanks Alan

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Alan hughes's 1 post GB flag
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

7:15 AM

Alan hughes: No, of course not. You have to subscribe to Sky to do that.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Paul M. Timmins
12:29 PM
Skegness

Re: Sky to FreeSat HDR+

All i did was simply ADD the FreeSat Humax Fox HDR to my quad LNB dish and it's working a treat! I now have the Sky Freeview channels in my living room on the old but still working Toshiba tonne telly, and FreeSat+ Humax in the bedroom connected to a small HD telly! The HD channels are superb quality and what's more THEY'RE FREE!!!

Now I'm no whizz with TV's or their connections but it was as simple as ABC, and so I'm sure others will soon "latch on" to the idea that not all the best TV is chargeable. I'm looking forward to the month and years (hopefully) of FREE TV and best of all HD too!

Thanks to ALL for your help, it's been very much appreciated!



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Paul M. Timmins's 6 posts GB flag
Paul's: mapP's Freeview map terrainP's terrain plot wavesP's frequency data P's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

12:54 PM

Paul M. Timmins: Thanks for that. I'm pleased to hear you have it all working.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
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