Buying 2nd hand sky hd box - advice needed

spannerism

Hi guys,

I have a very old SD sky box. It does not have a sky sub. I use it to watch some international news chans that are on the sky epg. The box has a viewing card. The tuner has gone belly up

As a result of the tuner going belly up, I'm in the process of getting a 2nd hand sky hd box from adverts without a card?

Will the international news chans still work without a card?

Can I plug in the card from the old box? I'm not interested in getting a sub at all.

Sam Russell

If you do not have a Sky sub, why not get a Freesat or combi box as it will be much easier to use and is a direct replacement. The Sky box without a sub is like having an electric bicycle with a dead battery that will not hold charge - you have to pedal harder than if you had a lightweight bicycle for no extra benefit.

spannerism

Thanks Sam. Love the reply! Made me laugh.

I guess I'm leaning towards a sky box because I can get one cheap enough on adverts (€20-40). Also, my family are familiar with the epg so they can easily navigate and also the box as an rf out which helps move the signal into the kitchen.

Anyhow, if u can help me out on the q's it would be great.

blade1

I have a sky hd box in the bedroom with a really old blue viewing card in it.
I can record and pause the fta channels.

Only use it for the bbc really.

Grab All Association

Sky+HD box remembers what card was last in it so if you buy a +HD box that was used with an Irish viewing card you will not get Channel 4, E4, More 4, ITV1, 2, 3, 4 BE and a number of other channels in the line up. You have to manually tune and go to other channels to view.

Sky+HD http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/8013i73956BC06CF242B1/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1


The standard HD (multiroom) box is the same but unlike the +HD box if left plugged out for a few weeks reverts to the UK line up (101 BBC 1 102 BBC2 103 ITV 104 C4 etc)

Sky Multiroom HD box http://www.sky.com/shop/export/sites/www.sky.com/shop/__16ColImages/tv/sky-multiroom/Multiroom_Box_Detail.png_727392433.png

muffler

Chris___ wrote: »

Sky+HD box remembers what card was last in it so if you buy a +HD box that was used with an Irish viewing card you will not get Channel 4, E4, More 4, ITV1, 2, 3, 4 BE and a number of other channels in the line up. You have to manually tune and go to other channels to view.

But for €5 approx an expired UK sub card will allow all those channels on the EPG. Plenty of them for sale on Adverts and Ebay

spannerism

A lot to consider for me.

Will the hd box + work with out a card?

Also, how will a SD plus box work without a card?

Sam Russell

spannerism wrote: »

A lot to consider for me.

Will the hd box + work with out a card?

Also, how will a SD plus box work without a card?

Why get an old, useless Sky box when a Freesat +HD box will give you the ease of use you had including live puse, full EPG, series recording, etc. The Sky box is hobbled without a sub.

They are available on ebay in the UK. Just an example.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Humax-FOXSAT-HDR-Twin-Tuner-Freesat-HD-Receiver-Box-320GB-HDD-PVR-Recorder-HDMI-/121569956347?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4e2251fb

swoofer

1. The latest sky hd boxes if they are originally paired to an irish card then to make them work you have to have the irish card inserted. All the news channels will work.

2. An SD plus box will work without a card as it is old technology and will default to the UK epg ie the london version.

Look on adverts, if you have an HD TV get the HD box and then look closer on adverts and you can get a card for 4 euro or 7 euro.

watty

Waste of money,
A Freesat HD box is better value.

spannerism

swoofer wrote: »

1. The latest sky hd boxes if they are originally paired to an irish card then to make them work you have to have the irish card inserted. All the news channels will work.

Thanks woofer

If I use the card from my broken box in the HD box, would the hd box work?

muffler

spannerism wrote: »

I guess I'm leaning towards a sky box because I can get one cheap enough on adverts (€20-40). Also, my family are familiar with the epg so they can easily navigate and also the box as an rf out which helps move the signal into the kitchen.

muffler wrote: »

But for €5 approx an expired UK sub card will allow all those channels on the EPG. Plenty of them for sale on Adverts and Ebay

watty wrote: »

Waste of money,
A Freesat HD box is better value.

How do you make that out or have you read what the OP was looking for? For €35 or €40 approx he can get a box and card that will allow him to receive the UK FTA channels and some news channels. I dont see how spending close on a couple of hundred Euro on a Freesat HD box is "better value"

Sam Russell

You can pick up a second hand Humac Freesat box for that kind of money on www.ebay.co.uk

swoofer

If its a uk card then yes it will give you uk epg

muffler

Sam Russell wrote: »

You can pick up a second hand Humac Freesat box for that kind of money on www.ebay.co.uk

I had a quick search there and leaving aside one dodgy looking box (seller wont post here anyhow) the cheapest I could see, incl. delivery, was over €100. Maybe if I searched in a week or two I might find a couple a bit cheaper but personally Im loathed to spend anything over €20 on Ebay as there are so many scammers there.

There's a guy / business (possibly in Laois??) who sells the Sky boxes and gives a few months guarantee which would be peace of mind if nothing else.

hallo dare

OP, if you buy a second hand HD box you can ring sky when you have it ready to go and they will pair the card you have now with the new box, "BUT".... only if there isn't an outstanding payment to be made from the original HD box holder.

So basically, if whoever you are buying it from owes Sky money, Sky will not pair your card to the box.

I'm not sure how it works in your position though of not already having a sub.

Sam Russell

muffler wrote: »

I had a quick search there and leaving aside one dodgy looking box (seller wont post here anyhow) the cheapest I could see, incl. delivery, was over €100. Maybe if I searched in a week or two I might find a couple a bit cheaper but personally Im loathed to spend anything over €20 on Ebay as there are so many scammers there.

There's a guy / business (possibly in Laois??) who sells the Sky boxes and gives a few months guarantee which would be peace of mind if nothing else.

Be aware that there are different Humax boxes.

1. Freesat wihout recording - Foxsat HD. New these were about £60 to £80

2. Freesat with recording - Foxsat HDR. New these were over £200, depending on HD size. They have not been manufactured for a few years.

Edit - I checked ebay.co.uk and there are more than a dozen Humax Foxsat HD boxes under £20.



Edit: I checked ebay.co.uk and there are more than a dozen Humax Foxsat HD boxes under £20.

3. Current range of recording Freesat receivers all about £200 or so.
- HDR-1000S/500GB Freesat+ with Freetime
- HDR-1010S Freesat+ with Freetime
- HB-1000S Freesat HD with Freetime
- HDR-1000S/2TB Freesat+ with Freetime
- HDR-1000S/1TB Freesat+ with Freetime

Now that the Sky box is out of sub, it is equivalent to the first item. I think that you should be able to find a Humax for £20 or so.

More than a dozen on ebay.co.uk at the moment.

muffler

@Sam Russell. Thanks for that. I checked that last night and just entered humax HD box and then filtered by "used" and "buy it now" and got about 18 I think.

As I said there was one £20 model but the reason for selling...parents joining Sky...just didnt sit right so I ignored that as the guy didnt post here in any event. The next cheapest was £45 I think and then £30 for delivery but that was to the UK so would have cost more to here. That would have been over a €100.

I suppose it helps if you know what you are looking for exactly.

Selhurst

I got a freesat sky card of amazon UK
but have not used it yet
just using up the last of my sky sub.
Saw some on amazon UK but it does not say freesat.
But If people keep an eye on amazon UK
might be some available.
got it through parcel motel.

Technofobe

Why pay up to 40 for a secondhand sky box when you can have
http://www.freetv.ie/amiko-mini-combo.html for €89 inc vat new with a 1 year warranty
Saorview and free to air ( free as in can be received with your existing sky disk before the whingers start going on ) in one box with one remote control
HD picture ( for free ) and free delivery
Rearrange the channels in any order you like

My father in law has one of these and its a great little box tiny compared to my amiko alien 2
Its so small you could hide it behind the tv and it comes with its own free remote extender for doing just that
No need for sky card

Bang on a saorview aeriel and off you go ( you will still need this with a sky box without a sub anyway to get rte )