Getting rid of Sky TV. What are my options

thomasthomas19

I am thinking of taking out Sky plus TV. I want to be able to record the saor view channel and watch UK channels. What box should i be looking for

Digifriendly

thomasthomas19 wrote: »

I am thinking of taking out Sky plus TV. I want to be able to record the saorview channel and watch UK channels. What box should i be looking for

You need either a Saorview PVR connected to an aerial and a Freesat box which will receive UK FTA channels with a full epg; or you could purchase a combi box that has both Saorview (connected via an aerial) and FTA (connected via Sky dish). The latter combi box will allow you to record both Saorview and UK channels. Look at other threads on this forum for more info. re combi boxes and their specs. Both Freesat box and combi box can be connected to same dish you used for Sky. Alternatively you could keep Sky box (no Irish or other subscription channels) and use it to watch FTA UK channels. You won't be able to record though without a subscription. You would still need a separate PVR to record Saorview. Only one which has series link is the Walker but any Freeview HD PVRS will enable you to record Saorview channels. Hope this helps.

Thurston?

thomasthomas19 wrote: »

I am thinking of taking out Sky plus TV. I want to be able to record the saor view channel and watch UK channels. What box should i be looking for

Are you reliant on satellite for UK reception or do you also have reliable UK terrestrial reception?

thomasthomas19

Thurston? wrote: »

Are you reliant on satellite for UK reception or do you also have reliable UK terrestrial reception?

Not sure about terrestrial. . Would have to check that out .

allthedoyles

Can I keep the thread going with a question.................For someone who has got rid of sky wants to know is there a way to get channels without card, because one time when you have card removed , BBC1 was channel 101 , but not any more with the skyplus box.

And is it possible to add channels manually

swoofer

yes get a UK FTV card, look on ebay. then when in box you will get UK epg and you can add channels. Sky have made the Irish box redundant ie no good without card. What channels do you want to add?

Nadie84

HELP! PLEASE! got rid of Sky now i have a satellite and a new Samsung TV (on its way) which i'm told has a tuner that can pick up Saorview and the UK equivalent..... so i don't need a box, right? now how do I get it set up that i can record one channel and watch another, guessing i need another piece of kit but now sure.

Gerry Wicklow

Saorview, the irish channels, requires the use of a conventional rooftop aerial. If you are near an RTÉ mast you might get away with an indoor aerial but they are not recommended. The UK equivalent is called FreeView which also needs a rooftop aerial but is only available near the border or some parts of the East coast within range of a UK signal.
A better option uses a box called FreeSat which uses your existing satellite dish to give you the free UK channels. However, the Irish channels are NOT free on the UK satellite system. If you want the ability to record a satellite channel while watching another, make sure the box has two satellite tuners.
For Saorview, it's possible your tv will have a basic recording facility using an external HDD

Nadie84

Thanks Gerry

Stuxnet

I cut the chord, went with the Freeat Humax box, built in wifi, epg, showcase is excellent, series link. Just plug in the old sky sat cables. Absolutely no regrets. No terrestrial channels, but ya I can live with that.

liam7831

Stuxnet wrote: »

I cut the chord, went with the Freeat Humax box, built in wifi, epg, showcase is excellent, series link. Just plug in the old sky sat cables. Absolutely no regrets. No terrestrial channels, but ya I can live with that.

Do you get sports and movies etc ?

icdg

Liam7831, be careful where you are going with that question.

liam7831

icdg wrote: »

Liam7831, be careful where you are going with that question.

I mean Film 4 etc

Gerry Wicklow

liam7831 wrote: »

Do you get sports and movies etc ?

Here is the list of channels a FreeSat branded box gets. There are also some lesser free channels available from the same satellites.

liam7831

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Here is the list of channels a FreeSat branded box gets. There are also some lesser free channels available from the same satellites.

Great, just what I wanted !!!!

The Cush

You can see the full channel lineup here - http://www.tvchannellists.com/List_of_channels_on_Freesat_(UK)

Capt'n Midnight

Stuxnet wrote: »

I cut the chord, went with the Freeat Humax box, built in wifi, epg, showcase is excellent, series link. Just plug in the old sky sat cables. Absolutely no regrets. No terrestrial channels, but ya I can live with that.

By definition any new TV should be getting the Saorview channels anyway. Just means a using two remotes or a universal or a freesat remote that can control your tv.

And UTV is so much better in HD, same is true of the TV3/3e imports. If you have Freesat most of what you watch on Saorview ends up being RTE and TG4 content that isn't available on Freesat.


If you want footie or films less than a year old then you are stuck with Pay TV. (but some foreign channels show footie cheaper than SKY or even free if you go down the route of foreign satellite but some may find it hard work - depends on which team you follow too)

Films older than a year end up on terresterial and unlike SKY you don't need a sub to view recordings.

If you don't mind older documentaries, there are plenty on PBS and Yesterday. BBC, C4 and C5 do new ones in HD too. NKH do some too, they can be simplistic but some have lovely images.

Looks like there's a fifth HD news channel coming freesat soon


A bit late now but there were 8 channels of BBC sport on Freesat for the Olympics.