Sky Multiroom installation

You don't need to go through Sky for installation. Any installer can install the wiring and boxes. Sky simply ring an installer for you and pocket the difference.

Is your current sitting room box a plus recording box?

Any recording box needs two cables all the way to the dish, so if you want recording in both rooms you need 4 cables to the dish. On the dish itself there may be already 4 connectors or there only may be one connector. If only one connector then a part of the dish (the LNB) would need to be changed for a 4 connector version.

Multiroom costs 15 Euro per month extra. Normal multiroom installation only includes one cable, so if you want a second one that could be extra.

Sky insist BOTH boxes for multiroom MUST have a landline connected at all times. This stops you loaning the box to a neighbour for cheap Sky.

Have you considered a Sky eye? This allows the person in the bedroom to watch the picture from the main Sky box. It costs NOTHING extra per month (an annual savings of 180 Euro) however you can only watch the same channel as the main TV. However if you have a plus box you can record and watch a show. Also if you have a spare Sky box you also have the option of some free channels on both TVs without paying for multiroom. This helps in the case you both urgently want to watch TV (and don't want to record one of the shows) then you can still view the free channels on the bedroom TV.

For proper multiroom along with the cables and boxes installed you would also need a second card from Sky. This needs to be paired to the box.

If you can install required cables yourself there is no installation charge. Normally an installer should charge around 100 Euro depending on what he needs to do. If your dish is more than 5 years old I would recommend getting a new dish (worth about 40 Euro) while he/she visits.

Actually on reading the fine print

* First box free when taking a new Sky Multiroom subscription. Limited to one free box per household (and not available to customers who have already received a free standard box) otherwise €49.
† There are no additional set-up costs for additional boxes for new Sky TV customers taking Sky Multiroom.

from here:
http://www.sky.com/ireland/tv/sky-multiroom/

It seems as if a basic box with no recording is free both supplied and installed, however you would need two cables to the dish your recording box to work to it's full potential.

Laois_Man wrote: »

By the sounds of it, I will be able to get the Sky installer to do this for me,

Yes you would need to agree a price on the day. If the installer rings the day before try to get a fixed price or a max price before he/she arrives.

but the kitchen will only have the free Sky stations without the Irish stations (except when I move the Sky viewing card between boxes).

You cannot move cards between boxes. They are locked to one box only. You will only have one card, not two.

So in order to get the Irish stations in the kitchen, I will have to install an aeriel and buy a set top box to connect to the 10 year old TV. The installer will not be able to give me a card to allow me to get RTE/TV3 in the kitchen

Is everything I state here correct? If not, where am I wrong please?

Correct. A combo box might be better for the kitchen TV. A very good installer could set up the numbering similar to a Sky box numbers E.g. 101 RTE1 etc. A Saorview box is 50-80 Euro, A Saorview with combo is 130+.

The installer who arrives may not be set up to install TV aerials. Generally Sky installers arrive as a pack of two people, and intend doing 5 installs a day, so they have max 45 minutes on site per site and commitments elsewhere. The weeks coming up to X-mas are a busy time but you could be lucky.