Can I stop paying Sky and use my satellite receiver to get Freeview ?
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV Yes, but only "sort of".
Freeview is the name of the (BBC-backed) digital TV system that uses hilltop transmitters to rooftop aerials. It is run separately from the "Sky" satellite-to-dish service.
free-to-VIEW is a term for satellite channels that need a viewing card to watch, but not to collect a subscription. free-to-AIR channels are ones that can be received without needing a viewing card or subscription.
The free-to-AIR satelite service backed by the BBC and ITV is called Freesat. The free-to-VIEW service operated by Sky is called fSfS or Freesat from Sky.
As long as you have finished your first year, you can leave Sky when you want.
To do this just give Sky a call and tell them you don't want to subscribe any more.
If you stop subscribing you will be able to watch the hundred or so free-to-air channels listed on free channels list. This service is called Freesat from Sky (fSfS).
Some of the channels on the Freeview service are subscription only on satellite, specifically: 4Music, Challenge, Dave, Dave ja vu, Quest, VIVA and Yesterday . See these links to compare the TV channels on Freesat-from-Sky and Freeview, and to compare radio stations on Freeview and fSfS. Many homes have free satellite and Freeview to get the full range of channels.
You will still need to keep your Sky viewing card. If you stop subscribing on a Sky contract, you can keep using that card to watch 5USA, 5* and PICK TV, the so-called "free-to-view" channels. (All ITV channels are free-to-air).
It is not possible to plug an aerial into a Sky Digibox to receive Freeview channels because the boxes have not been designed this way.
You will continue to get the full Sky EPG listings; you just will not be able to watch subscription channels.
If you want to go for High Definition, HD, you can swap out your Sky box for a Freesat one very easily.
A card is not needed to watch BBC services, but it is needed to get the correct BBC ONE and BBC TWO regions on 101 and 102.
Another option is to disconnect your Sky Digibox altogether and Upgrade from Sky to Freesat - ukfree.tv. If you have an HD-Ready TV and a standard Sky box, this is a good option.
10:00 PM
SKY Italia offers 3 basic,3 premium packs, HD included for 60 euro/month.One cinema pack consisting of 12 film channels,sports pack 8 channels and one other sports pack dedicated to Serie A football.Basic packs also consist of several channels,news, doumentaries,family entertainment.Cost in sterling at present exchange rate is £50.
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10:15 PM
SKY are promising a price freeze until 2013. Does this mean that they will continue to ripoff their customers until then.Sky has the most expensive pay tv when compared to prices in France,Germany,Spain and Italy.SKY has the most suscribers in the British market boosted by Irish suscribers.It rewards those who show loyalty by charging £20-£25/monthly extra for similar packages offered cheaper in other markets.I suppose those over indulged,over paid footballers cost more t65han they are worth.
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12:07 PM
We have a standard sky tv box and what we need to know is can we cancel our sky subscription and then use our existing equipment to watch free channels or does sky require the equipment back? Do we need a freeview box and will this work with the sky sat dish?
Thanks!
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4:09 PM
Alan: If you are still within the mandatory years contract then Sky will charge for the remainder of the time to run plus possibly a pro-rata charge for the box, if however you are outside of this time then no charge will be made.
You can still use the Sky box to watch all free channels, however, although free, some are encrypted (Ch5 and some ITV areas) and it depends on whether or not Sky will leave access to them on the viewing card, others will possibly know better than me about this, as if not you will have to fork out (believe £25.00) for a free viewing card from Sky, a bit of a contradictory statement but that's the way it works, the card said to last 5 years although I have never had to make any repeat payments for mine.
The Sky dish is perfectly OK with a "Freesat" box, as the dish doesn't discriminate against what is connected to it.
"Freesat" being what I take it you meant, as Freeview is received via a normal aerial.
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11:39 AM
I have just upgraded to Sky+HD from SD. The engineer eventually turned up at 20:00 hrs (after an am booking!!) and installed the new box , dish and cables.
I then used my old cable and routed from a spare connection on the new 4-way LNB dish to my old Grundig Sky SD box in another room and now get perfect FSFS channels. This equipment is outside of the contract period, and is a fair few years old
I have no phone line plugged in, nor a viewing card, but it seems to work fine. Perhaps to good to be true!
Will sky be able to detect me receiving this and could I incur charges, ie deemed as multi-room?
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3:34 PM
Mark Sanders: The answer is NO on both your queries, as what you do with equipment that's outside of its original contract period is really your own business.
The only thing that you will possibly find is that some channels, although free, will not work without a card, 5* and ITV1 in some areas.
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4:09 PM
Mark Sanders; Just an addition to clarify another little point, being that all you are really doing is what many people do, that is use their old Sky box to watch channels that do not require a subscription.
The only thing though that I would recommend is, if any problems cropped up with your new box / dish combination during its guarantee period I would temporarily uncouple the connection you made to the spare outlet on the new quad block, as although some service engineers would not bother about this its best not taking the chance of providing an overly officious type an excuse to "manufacture" a link between what you have done and the cause of the new equipment failure, as some are always looking for ways to justify making a call out charge.
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6:44 PM
Can you help... I have a samsung t.v with build in free view,however my existing outside ariel fell short of the transmitor signal,so I could not get a good picture.so I got sky installed. Now with digital t.v apon us will my existing ariel be ok or will I need a new ariel.
Q2 I want to get rid off my sky( and bought a freest box will this work on my samsung free view t.v,
The reason being I have tried to set the freesat box up and it says no signal.
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7:50 PM
John shaw: You are really referring to two different things here, but as far as the Freesat box is concerned if you have (or had) an operational Sky dish then the Freesat box will work perfectly OK with it, as indeed it will with your TV, as the Freesat box would be coupled to it using a scart connector, the existing normal aerial would not be required.
As far as Freeview on your TV goes, you don't mention where you are located so its impossible to know what kind of signal you would receive strength wise.
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