{request} Sky Digital ? Wots the story ?

fatboypee

Hey Chaps

I'm trying to arrange a sky installation for my new house, called sky and they tell me that to get two sky boxes I need a landline as they need to call me back to ensure I've still got the box ! What c0ck !! I've no intention of getting a landline as I can only go wireless with Broadband and the way I see it its 35 Euro down the tubes. I can't (and honestly the service sucks so won't) get Chorus, any recommendations ?

I want two boxes as I've got kids and also sometimes wanna watch a channel that may not be showing soaps !!!!

Any advice ?? Wot about Freeview boxes ? What do they offer by way of 'real' channels ??

Cheers

Fatboy..

NollaigDE1

get a box from sky apparently if you get one box there is now an option to pay €37 euro extra if you don't have a landline, but if you opt for multiroom you need a landline so they can check that that box stays in the house that ordered it,

What I would do in that situation is get a Sky subscription from sky and then also get a spare box and put a freesat card in it, then you have one with all the channels and another with the freesat channels,
freesat includes
BBC 1-4, ITV 1-4, channel 4 and channel 5, sky news bbc news 4 or 5 kids channels 4 music channels, and some other lesser channels. I'm selling a freesat card elsewhere but without that card you can get a good few other channels.

fatboypee

NollaigDE1 wrote:

get a box from sky apparently if you get one box there is now an option to pay €37 euro extra if you don't have a landline, but if you opt for multiroom you need a landline so they can check that that box stays in the house that ordered it,

What I would do in that situation is get a Sky subscription from sky and then also get a spare box and put a freesat card in it, then you have one with all the channels and another with the freesat channels,
freesat includes
BBC 1-4, ITV 1-4, channel 4 and channel 5, sky news bbc news 4 or 5 kids channels 4 music channels, and some other lesser channels. I'm selling a freesat card elsewhere but without that card you can get a good few other channels.

Thanks !

I'm new to all this, and this is a thicky question but how do you go about getting the box connected to the dish if its not sky ? Do sky provide more than one box if the second is not supplied with a card ?

EDIT - Just seen Freesat is sky...... sky will fit both then at the same time ??

Fatboy..

NollaigDE1

no freesat is not officially available in Ireland, what I would do is buy a second hand digibox (should be no more than €50) before applying for a sky contract, apply for sky from an idependent retailer not sky themselves and ask them to hook up the other box while they are installing the main sky box, then stick in the freesat card and your done.

fatboypee

NollaigDE1 wrote:

no freesat is not officially available in Ireland, what I would do is buy a second hand digibox (should be no more than €50) before applying for a sky contract, apply for sky from an idependent retailer not sky themselves and ask them to hook up the other box while they are installing the main sky box, then stick in the freesat card and your done.

thanks...

Need to find a man willing to supply and fit the box now tho eh...

Thanks

Fatboy..

Tony

Guys freesat is not sky its a clever marketing gimmick from them. Channels such as BBC and ITV are available in Ireland using a free to air box and you do not need a sky system to get them. Check out the satellite forum for more info.

Duiske

NollaigDE1 wrote:

get a box from sky apparently if you get one box there is now an option to pay €37 euro extra if you don't have a landline, but if you opt for multiroom you need a landline so they can check that that box stays in the house that ordered it,

What I would do in that situation is get a Sky subscription from sky and then also get a spare box and put a freesat card in it, then you have one with all the channels and another with the freesat channels,
freesat includes
BBC 1-4, ITV 1-4, channel 4 and channel 5, sky news bbc news 4 or 5 kids channels 4 music channels, and some other lesser channels. I'm selling a freesat card elsewhere but without that card you can get a good few other channels.

Regarding the phone line for multi-room, does this mean the line will have to be connected to the second box at all times ?

Kristok

yup so it can do random calls back to sky to say hello

dwaned

NollaigDE1 wrote:

no freesat is not officially available in Ireland, what I would do is buy a second hand digibox (should be no more than €50) before applying for a sky contract, apply for sky from an idependent retailer not sky themselves and ask them to hook up the other box while they are installing the main sky box, then stick in the freesat card and your done.

I've sky up and running, can I get a free sat card and stick it in my sky box or do I need a second box. If all I need is a free sat card then where can I get one??

Mossy Monk

fatboypee wrote:

to get two sky boxes I need a landline as they need to call me back to ensure I've still got the box ! What c0ck !!

could you blame them? if the phone line wasnt a condition anyone with Sky would be getting their neighbour/friends a reduced subscription

fatboypee

Mossy Monk wrote:

could you blame them? if the phone line wasnt a condition anyone with Sky would be getting their neighbour/friends a reduced subscription

There are different methods that could be employed to do this, technology on the dish that is encoded into each box for example, ie an ID which the dish connector passes to the boxes, without that, the box wouldn't work.

I see no reason for paying 35 Euro a month for an extortionately over priced service I will never use simply because Sky are too damn lazy to work on a better solution which does'nt require a phone line. Lets be honest here, how many people actively use a landline these days ? If I want to make international calls I use Skype or VoipBuster. Way, way cheaper if not sometimes free !!!

Fatboy..

Gibs

At the risk of repeating what was said above by tony, you should really check out the satellite forum. All of this stuff has been explored in great detail there.

If you don't want to pay for Sky or don't like the way they operate, you can get dozens of digital channels (including all the BBCs, ITVs, some music channels, kids channels, Sky News etc etc) for free and forever by buying a free to air system. You pay a once off fee for the dish, LNB, receiver and installation (I think its around 300 euro). Then sit back, relax and never have to pay for your viewing again.

You won't get all the channels available to sky subscribers (notably - no Ch4 at the moment) but you will get a lot of them.

Sky operate in a commercial environment, but you don't have to buy their products if you can live without having every single channel.:p

dvoakes

when i was living in kilkenny we had sky with no landline. basically what you do is ring and arrange to have it installed and tell them that you have rang eircon and they're coming out a week after the sky boys leave to install the phone line. if they think your going to get it in then they'll let you have it. it's a joke really cos i still have their box and they can't do anything about it!!

fatboypee

Thanks for the comments guys. Will check out freeview boxes etc... Want it all done in the one go tho if I can...

FBP.

NollaigDE1

dwaned wrote:

I've sky up and running, can I get a free sat card and stick it in my sky box or do I need a second box. If all I need is a free sat card then where can I get one??

No a freesat card can't be used in a box that already has a active Sky subscription,
you need another box or else cancel your sky, get a freesat card (i'm selling one in the FS general section) and you have free TV, inc Channel 4 and 5,

dwaned

NollaigDE1 wrote:

No a freesat card can't be used in a box that already has a active Sky subscription,
you need another box or else cancel your sky, get a freesat card (i'm selling one in the FS general section) and you have free TV, inc Channel 4 and 5,

I think we might have a spare sky box...have to dig it out but do u know if I can connect the two box's to the one dish?? I live up on top of a mountain and need to keep sky but want to get ITV...

NollaigDE1

ITV will be available on your normal sky but only through the menu's
see this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=318569

But you could forget about sky altogether and get a FTV system, all you need is a dish, a box and a FTV card (freesat), then get the Irish stations through an aerial, thats the way I set it up for my brother in Wicklow,

with this system you would have all the irish stations
all the uk stations inc ITV, channel 4, channel 5.
as well as that you would have other channels such as SKY 3, sky news, bbc news, CNN, some kids channels, some music channels, and some others.

connecting 2 boxes to one dish is no problem just need a dual or quad LNB, thats the device at the end of the arm of the dish,

dwaned

NollaigDE1 wrote:

ITV will be available on your normal sky but only through the menu's
see this thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=318569

But you could forget about sky altogether and get a FTV system, all you need is a dish, a box and a FTV card (freesat), then get the Irish stations through an aerial, thats the way I set it up for my brother in Wicklow,

with this system you would have all the irish stations
all the uk stations inc ITV, channel 4, channel 5.
as well as that you would have other channels such as SKY 3, sky news, bbc news, CNN, some kids channels, some music channels, and some others.

connecting 2 boxes to one dish is no problem just need a dual or quad LNB, thats the device at the end of the arm of the dish,

Ok, now I have ITV... Thanks man.. Sorry but I've put in an offer on your FTW card on other thread, I'll be retracting it now.

Now I only have to wait til March when the F1 starts back:-)