Essentials package

[mdc4566]

• ?

[mdc4566]

It's a loaded firestick ...totally legal .

[kingkenny12]

Not Shure if this is relevant but people are talking about troble downloading from the I players in HD I record all the time in HD on my Sky+ box with my essentials pack. It works perfect. I can't comment on sky Q as I don't have it. As for the HD channels I receive around 16 Channels in HD all the channels I want to view. But my favourite channel is talking pictures in SD but that does not bother me as I love that film channel. So for me the Sky+ box is brilliant and for a rolling fiver a month i am not complaining. The one thing about they mite be old but the Sky+hd boxes  have a great user interface and they are so reliable.

[AlexRDL]

🤣I can't tell if this is sarcasm anymore

[AlexRDL]

I assume you get the same content on your fiver essentials as is available to Q users, or even Stream users? Same content just double cheap!

[kingkenny12]

I just get sky Freesat I don't get sky Atlantic but I have no interest in that I just get all the channels you get when you take your viewing card out.  And all the I players with the live pause record and rewind it's excellent value for a fiver. Because it's all the channels I watch.

[AlexRDL]

Ahh, I see. I thought sky freesat had been withdrawn. Is that just for new new customers coming to it, rather than existing customers taking it at end of contracts?

[kingkenny12]

• I can only talk for myself I phoned up sky last November to cancel my contract and the gentleman asked me would I be interested in moving to skyQ I replied no thanks as I am happy with sky+ and I just wanted Freesat after my channels went off. He then asked would I be interested in sky essentials on a rolling £5 a month deal. I said ok that would be good. Just to add this was one of them black Friday promotions. Hope this helps. 

[nigea99]

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@AlexRDL wrote:

Ahh, I see. I thought sky freesat had been withdrawn. Is that just for new new customers coming to it, rather than existing customers taking it at end of contracts?

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hi @AlexRDL 

This is more or less terminology I think

Essentials on SKY Q is effectively the Freesat (actually the Free to Air channels in an EPG) that can be recorded & includes the use of a SKY Q box (which needs to be returned when all subscriptions are terminated)

SKY HD boxes can be used without subscriptions for the same Free to Air channels but do need a subscription to be able to Record/Playback - the SKY HD Boxes are owned by customers and as I say can be used to view only without a subscription (unlike SKY Q)

[AlexRDL]

I'm sure I had to pay an upfront fee for my box, seems mad that I don't own it after 9 years 😅

[kingkenny12]

Are you using a sky Q box as I believe they belong to sky. I know my Sky + box is owned by myself.

[nigea99]

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@AlexRDL wrote:

I'm sure I had to pay an upfront fee for my box, seems mad that I don't own it after 9 years 😅

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hi @AlexRDL 

Yes often there were 'Admin' fees for SKY Q boxes - especially the 2TB variants.

Many with the original 1TB non UHD or 2TB UHD but not HDR boxes needed to pay an admin around £99 to upgrade

These, however, are/were admin fees not purchase costs and the SKY Q boxes are still owned by SKY and need returning when the subscription ceases

[AlexRDL]

🤣 what a joke. Hide them as an admin fee rather than a box fee. What admin were they doing that cost £200?!

[PandJ2020]

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@AlexRDL wrote:

🤣what a joke. Hide them as an admin fee rather than a box fee. What admin were they doing that cost £200?!

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All in the terms you agreed.

Frankly, they charge it because they can.

[TimmyBGood]

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@AlexRDL wrote:

Hide them as an admin fee rather than a box fee. What admin were they doing that cost £200?!

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High up-front fees existed so that they could be discounted where the new user signed up for additional content such as Cinema and Sports.  £249 for a Sky Q Silver back in 2016 almost always became something more like £49.