Using Sky communal satellite for FTA

jakdublin

Hiya. I have a Sky sub via a communal Sky dish in my apartment complex. I'm thinking of cancelling my sub but will I still be able to use my Sky HD box to access FTA channels like BBC, ITV etc from the dish?

winston_1

jakdublin wrote: »

Hiya. I have a Sky sub via a communal Sky dish in my apartment complex. I'm thinking of cancelling my sub but will I still be able to use my Sky HD box to access FTA channels like BBC, ITV etc from the dish?

Yes.

jakdublin

I thought that, but when I take the card out I can't get any channels. I guess it won't work without the card but leaving the card in will enable the FTA channels. Thanks.

ei9go

Get a UK card and then you will get the UK epg with BBC1 on 101 etc.

Lots on Adverts for a couple of Euro

jakdublin

Will I not be able to get them just by cancelling the sub and leaving the current card in?

ei9go

The UK card is the way to go because you get all the UK channels in a logical order and on the epg.

No more "other channels"

By the way, you do know that the SKY+ won't work when you stop paying

jakdublin

Yeah, I figured I'd lose the Sky+. OK, I think I understand now. If I do nothing and keep the current card in I can access channels but only through 'other channels' and if I get a UK card they'll appear in the epg. And if I decided later that I wanted to record I'd have to ditch the sky box and get a combo box or something (I'm assuming any box will connect to the communal Sky dish in our complex).

ei9go

Thats it in a nutshell

Humax Freesat recorder is the way to go if you want record.

No subscriptions, no cards needed.

You enter a UK postcode for whatever region you want and that's it.

Simply swap out the Sky+ box

The Cush

Also once you cancel your Sky sub the Irish channels will no longer be available thru the satellite dish, an aerial connected to a Saorview TV or STB will be required.

jakdublin

The Cush wrote: »

Also once you cancel your Sky sub the Irish channels will no longer be available thru the satellite dish, an aerial connected to a Saorview TV or STB will be required.

Yeah, I knew that much. I'm hoping the old rabbit ears will do the job. It's a cheap Saorview approved TV that I'm picking up on Thursday.

winston_1

jakdublin wrote: »

Yeah, I knew that much. I'm hoping the old rabbit ears will do the job. It's a cheap Saorview approved TV that I'm picking up on Thursday.

So called rabbits ears are VHF aerials for FM and DAB radio. You need a UHF aerial for TV, preferably on the roof but this may do:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search/searchTerm/telecam.htm

jakdublin

Thanks winston. I'm not totally tech clueless but flapping around in the dark a bit with this so every bit of info is saving me money. Wouldn't have known that.