Sky +HD Box receive Freeview Channels

SportingFun

Hi I am sure this has been asked before so sorry but any help would be great. I had a freeview box for UK channels which died on me recently. Aerial etc still ok as checked with another box, a friend has offered me a Sky+ HD box for €40 will the box act as a freeview box not really bothered if get any extra features I just want to be to watch the UK channels.

again apologies for asking a question which I am sure has been asked before but I could not find the answer

Alun

A Sky box (of any sort) will require the installation of a satellite dish.

SportingFun

Alun wrote: »

A Sky box (of any sort) will require the installation of a satellite dish.

I have a dish cables etc that the freeview box was using all still working and ready to go. My question was will the Sky + box pick up the freeview channels with the dish I use to pick up my freeview channels before.

Alun

SportingFun wrote: »

I have a dish cables etc that the freeview box was using all still working and ready to go. My question was will the Sky + box pick up the freeview channels with the dish I use to pick up my freeview channels before.

OK, so you had a FreeSAT box then, not a FreeVIEW one (which works off an aerial, not a dish) and you were asking in the Terrestrial forum, not the Satellite one

Anyway, yes, as far as I know a Sky box of any sort without a viewing card in will pick up all the available free channels including the UK ones (BBC, ITV, Ch4 etc.). Might not be an ideal solution though ... no EPG apart from now/next for example.

SportingFun

Alun wrote: »

OK, so you had a FreeSAT box then, not a FreeVIEW one (which works off an aerial, not a dish) and you were asking in the Terrestrial forum, not the Satellite one

Anyway, yes, as far as I know a Sky box of any sort without a viewing card in will pick up all the available free channels including the UK ones (BBC, ITV, Ch4 etc.). Might not be an ideal solution though ... no EPG apart from now/next for example.

Sorry my fault I always get the FreeSAT FreeView mixed up.

The EPG I had before was like that so what I am used to. Are there FreeSat boxes out there that allow you have more options my old one was quiet old and very basic

Alun

If it's a proper branded Freesat box (http://www.freesat.co.uk/), as opposed to a generic Free to Air (FTA) box, then it will have a full 7-day EPG. If you also want the HD channels then, you'll need a Freesat HD box of course. Another advantage of a Freesat box is that any frequency changes, or new or deleted channels, get done automatically for you rather than having to go in and perform transponder scans or mess around with channel lists. Then of course there are Freesat+ boxes that offer recording to hard disk and series link, but the price goes up accordingly.

You can get a simple single feed SD Freesat box for as little as £30 up north in Argos or an HD one for £70.

SportingFun

Alun wrote: »

If it's a proper branded Freesat box (http://www.freesat.co.uk/), as opposed to a generic Free to Air (FTA) box, then it will have a full 7-day EPG. If you also want the HD channels then, you'll need a Freesat HD box of course. Another advantage of a Freesat box is that any frequency changes, or new or deleted channels, get done automatically for you rather than having to go in and perform transponder scans or mess around with channel lists. Then of course there are Freesat+ boxes that offer recording to hard disk and series link, but the price goes up accordingly.

You can get a simple single feed SD Freesat box for as little as £30 up north in Argos or an HD one for £70.

Thanks for info. Sorry just one more question are there any that can record available for FreeSat in Ireland?

winston_1

There is no Freesat in Ireland unless you are thinking of Saorsat which uses a different satellite and dish. The Irish channels on 28E which Sky uses are subscription only.

Your €40 sky box is poor value just for fee to air channels. Sky boxes use around €30 more in electricity per year over a free to air box for the simple reason that they don't get turned off in standby, only the video/audio output gets turned off. The reason for this is so sky can talk to the box, make it phone back, and so they can interrogate the card.

New free to air boxes can be got for around that price anyway.

EDIT. Reading your post again perhaps "Freesat in Ireland" did not mean what I thought. Freesat PVRs are available in NI, not sure about the south.

The Cush

winston_1 wrote: »

EDIT. Reading your post again perhaps "Freesat in Ireland" did not mean what I thought. Freesat PVRs are available in NI, not sure about the south.

Various Irish online retailers stock Freesat receivers such as TV Trade, Freesat.ie, satellitetv.ie and others