Sky HD - 2nd box viewing card

[iaintd]

This thread has saved me a lot of time. I've been going through the steps you have already been through. I agree that it's ridiculous that although I'm a sky customer and have 2 x Q boxes (for which I pay over £100 a month) I would also need to pay sky £25 for a new card to watch free view channels (available free on other recieving devices) on my now "unused' sky+ HD box. 

Sky - you really should rethink this in respect to your paying customers. I wonder if Virgin or BT would do this to their customers? 

[oj01]

@iaintd Assuming that you have a Hybrid LNB fitted on your dish (otherwise your Sky +HD box can't get a signal), your Sky +HD box should function as a Freesat box without paying for a card. There's very little benefit in terms of extra channels that you get by having a card. 

[robjc]

@iaintd 

As @oj01  has said you do not need a card to watch the 'Free to Air' channels.

All a card  would do (I don't think Sky sell them anymore anyway) is regionalise your BBC1 / ITV1

region according to your post code.

Regards

[Retchete]

I have just 'upgraded' from Sky+ HD to Sky Q. I was on a legacy package & the price was just creeping up & up so rung them & told them I was cancelling  down to freesat. A good & much cheaper deal was offered.

The engineer who came was a star. I explained that I wanted to keep my old box/veiwing card & use it for freesat. He explained that the new LNB he was going to install wouldn't do that but he had a hybrid in the van which he would fit instead. I had thought the old LNB (it had 2 pairs of conectors) would have been left in situ & had been intending to refit/install the old Sky+ myself. However he then went on to fit the cable to the old box with a through the window cable which I'm sure he probably wsn't supposed to do. During set up of the SkyQ box there was an issue with blocky pixelation so he then replaced the dish. This improved the pixelation but it still occured occasionally. He thought it could be my internal cabling & so in case the pixelating didn't settle down, he left a long length of cable for me to replace/reroute/resite the cabling to the SkyQ box should I need to. I didn't want him drilling holes in my walls; there's no saying what he might have hit and undoutably he would have done it the way it was easiest for him not the way I wanted or the most aesthetical way.  There was not enough time for me to find my tools & longgg drill to do the drilling myself.

I agree that trying to find info on the freesat card is more or less impossible but as I retained my old veiwing card & old Sky+ box I didn't have that issue; nor the pairing problem. Be aware that if you want to use an old box as well a Sky Q to make sure that the engineer fits a hybrid LNB; pretty sure Sky don't want you to do this as they prob think that this would reduce the sale of additional box subscriptions. "Keep the customer ignorant so they are reliant on Sky".

Good luck

I'm now off to search for the answer to the self ejecting SkyQ veiwing card?!?

[Miklaus]

@Retchete 

I'm new to this "community chat"  but saw your post and wondered if you could advise me .

I have SKY Q at home 3 years now, and have had SKY for 21 years, mainly because i live inbetween two hills in Sheffield and the Ariel can't pick up Emily moor. (one of neighbours has an ariel on a pole attached to chimney, the pole is about 8 feet high - im surprised the chimney's not come down yet)

So i have in the loft FIVE old SKY+ boxes, 2 white ones, 2 black and silver ones and the last being the sleek black 2TB box. (all have cards in them)

I'm in the process of buying a static caravan at the "seaside"  and am aware i cant have sky Q in there without broadband and a seperate subscription - but would i be able to use one of the old sky + HD boxes  with a subscription ?  (may get a bit of a deal - i'm black diamond VIP)

As i know theyre heading away from the old technology, but as one of my brothers and my mum have the old boxes (stuff on they dont want to lose)  the technology still exists.  OR should i just fit an ariel and use that

Thanks in advance 

M

[Mark39]

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@Miklaus wrote:

I'm in the process of buying a static caravan at the "seaside"  and am aware i cant have sky Q in there without broadband and a seperate subscription - but would i be able to use one of the old sky + HD boxes  with a subscription ? 

---

I'm afraid Sky no longer sell Sky+ subscriptions, except where a communal dish supplying multiple households hasn't been upgraded to accommodate Sky Q. You could,  of course use  a Sky+ box to receive, but not record, the Freesat channels without a subscription. 

[Miklaus]

@Mark39 - Thanks for the swift reply Mark, wasn't aware of that , never mind, at least I know , maybe I could use sky go and cast it to the "big telly" - or just use my sky and set record to home box for owt unmissable ! 
thanks anyway matey ! 
👍

[oj01]

@Miklaus Sky Q works without an internet connection. Obviously lots of features don't, but live TV and recording is via the dish, no different to Sky +HD. 

[Miklaus]

@oj01 , thanks for the info , you learn something everyday ! Technology seems to have overtaken my level of capabilities  !! 
but again big thanks for the reply and taking time to inform me of the sky Q working parameters .

M

[TimmyBGood]

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@Miklaus wrote:

I'm in the process of buying a static caravan at the "seaside"  and am aware i cant have sky Q in there without broadband and a seperate subscription - but would i be able to use one of the old sky + HD boxes  with a subscription ?  (may get a bit of a deal - i'm black diamond VIP)

As i know theyre heading away from the old technology, but as one of my brothers and my mum have the old boxes (stuff on they dont want to lose)  the technology still exists.  OR should i just fit an ariel and use that

---

An aerial will work for Freeview (digital terrestrial) television if there's adequate signal from a Freeview transmitter (mast) somewhere in the vicinity: you'd need either a Freeview box or a TV set with a Freeview tuner on-board.

Your Sky+ box(es) can be used for Freesat reception (but not recording) without a Sky subscription, but this would require a cable feed from a properly aligned satellite dish.

[Miklaus]

@TimmyBGood  - Thanks for the info - ive got a tuner that records (in a box in loft) - probably go that route .

cheers

M

[Johnomark]

Hi the problem is if you change from sky + to sky Q they put something on the dish to change the signal.

Thus if you leave the sky + box still connected, say in a bedroom, the box doesn't receive the signal and you can't even get freeview through that box, 

As my smart tv in my bedroom gets freeview, i just bought a freesat ariel and connected it and it all works, so this idea could be used in your caravan.

[Miklaus]

@Johnomark , just noticed your reply , yes I was thinking of something along the same lines ,

so thanks to you and everyone else for the informative replies, it always helps to get other peoples solutions to a similar problem ! 

🙂

[Anonymous]

For an updated list of channels available on Freesat-from-Sky, have a look at https://www.tvchannellists.com/w/List_of_channels_on_Sky_Q_(United_Kingdom_%26_Ireland). 

All free-to-air and free-to-view channels are available. 

The only free-to-view channels are:

(These channels are region locked) 

STV HD (Aberdeen & the North)

STV HD (Edinburgh & the East)

STV HD (Dundee & Tayside)

London Live

Local TV

Adult channels:

Television X (05:30-22:10 only)

Adult Channel (05:30-22:00 only)

Babes & Brazzers (05:30-22:00 only)

XXX Public Pickups (20:00-22:10 only)

TVX+ 40 (20:00-22:10 only)

XXX Girl Gril (20:00-22:10 only)

XXX College (20:00-22:10 only)

XXX Mums (20:00-22:10 only)

So, I don't think paying £25 for a Freesat-from-Sky card is viable today.