Thinking about Freesat HD

[Graham-P]

I'm thinking of leaving Sky as my +HD box freezes every day despite rebuilding the planner etc.... I'm thinking of getting a Freesat HD box but I will need 'something' else in addition to view the channels that Freesat don't cover.
I'm in the process of upgrading to my broadband to fibre so hopefully anything that requires Internet shouldn't be a problem.
I'm not one for watching films and the only 'Sky' channels I watch are Discovery/Travel and maybe Sky1/Atlantic. The F1 I'll just have to watch on the beeb when they show it and I watch Eurosport for Le Mans, not sure what I'll do for that at the moment.
Any advice would be appreciated on what extra boxes I need to cover the above viewing or if there's an alternative to Freesat that would satisfy my needs.
I don't mind pay a subscription so long as it less than the £40/month I'm paying Sky.

G

[Bullett]

Now TV could be an option. Comes over the internet.

[clockworks]

BT TV. £10 a month if you have BT Infinity

[igiveup]

Have a read through this http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[skoff]

We have been having the same problem on our Sky box for a few months... Regular freezing, failed recordings, recordings not stopping, etc. I finally got so fed up with doing planner re-builds every day I called sky to try and squeeze a new box out of them, they wouldn't entertain the idea until I did a full reset / reinstall of the box.

I was pretty skeptical this would make a difference but they wouldn't go any further without my trying it. Anyway I did and so far the box has been superb again.

The only downside is that you lose all your recordings (though if you have the inclination you can back it up using whatever the latest version of copy+ is), but if you can come to terms with that (we had a lot of recorded stuff), then it's definitely worth a go. The chap I spoke to also said that there was a new update being released to the EPG software soon, though what 'soon' means he wouldn't say.

If you are going to dump sky for this reason it's worth giving it a go.

[FlossyThePig]

Bullett said:

Now TV could be an option. Comes over the internet.

The basic Entertainment pack includes Sky1, Atlantic and Discovery (13 channels in total) plus catchup of main terrestrial channels, BBC, ITV, 4 and 5.

• Basic box £9.99
• Basic box + 3 months Entertainment Pack £19.99
• Basic box + 6 months Entertainment Pack £34.99
• Entertainment Pack £6.99 / month
• Sports pack is £6.99 for a day(only pay for the days you want), £10.99 for a week, giving access to all Sky Sports channels

clockworks said:

BT TV. £10 a month if you have BT Infinity

The YouView box they supply is FreeView not FreeSat

[Graham-P]

TBH this isn't the only reason for wanting to change but it has been a pain in the last few months. I'm also looking at the cost of Sky (£40/month) when I'm only watching a few Sky channels but mainly watching main stream, plus upping my broadband (extra cost) to fibre, so I was thinking about a one off payment plus an additional box to cover missing Freesat channels, which would be cheaper in the long run. I will do a hard reset though while I'm making my mind up.
Cheers

[clockworks]

Yes, BT TV is Freeview, but all the extra channels are delivered via the internet. No real need for Freesat.

[AC43]

FlossyThePig said:

Bullett said:

Now TV could be an option. Comes over the internet.

The basic Entertainment pack includes Sky1, Atlantic and Discovery (13 channels in total) plus catchup of main terrestrial channels, BBC, ITV, 4 and 5.

• Basic box £9.99
• Basic box + 3 months Entertainment Pack £19.99
• Basic box + 6 months Entertainment Pack £34.99
• Entertainment Pack £6.99 / month
• Sports pack is £6.99 for a day(only pay for the days you want), £10.99 for a week, giving access to all Sky Sports channels

You can have all that (ie the Now TV stuff) delivered over Chromecast.

[Troubleatmill]

Roku? Amazon Prime and Netflix?

[FlossyThePig]

AC43 said:

FlossyThePig said:

Bullett said:

Now TV could be an option. Comes over the internet.

The basic Entertainment pack includes Sky1, Atlantic and Discovery (13 channels in total) plus catchup of main terrestrial channels, BBC, ITV, 4 and 5.

• Basic box £9.99
• Basic box + 3 months Entertainment Pack £19.99
• Basic box + 6 months Entertainment Pack £34.99
• Entertainment Pack £6.99 / month
• Sports pack is £6.99 for a day(only pay for the days you want), £10.99 for a week, giving access to all Sky Sports channels

You can have all that (ie the Now TV stuff) delivered over Chromecast.

Not having an Android or iOS device, how do I use a Chromecast while sitting in front of the TV?

[Troubleatmill]

FlossyThePig said:

AC43 said:

FlossyThePig said:

Bullett said:

Now TV could be an option. Comes over the internet.

The basic Entertainment pack includes Sky1, Atlantic and Discovery (13 channels in total) plus catchup of main terrestrial channels, BBC, ITV, 4 and 5.

• Basic box £9.99
• Basic box + 3 months Entertainment Pack £19.99
• Basic box + 6 months Entertainment Pack £34.99
• Entertainment Pack £6.99 / month
• Sports pack is £6.99 for a day(only pay for the days you want), £10.99 for a week, giving access to all Sky Sports channels

You can have all that (ie the Now TV stuff) delivered over Chromecast.

Not having an Android or iOS device, how do I use a Chromecast while sitting in front of the TV?

You plug it into the back of your TV
https://www.google.co.uk/chrome/devices/chromecast...

[marshalla]

Troubleatmill said:

You plug it into the back of your TV
https://www.google.co.uk/chrome/devices/chromecast...

And then you have to control it from a PC or Mac (if you don't have an Android or iOS device)

[FlossyThePig]

marshalla said:

Troubleatmill said:

You plug it into the back of your TV
https://www.google.co.uk/chrome/devices/chromecast...

And then you have to control it from a PC or Mac (if you don't have an Android or iOS device)

So I have to go into a different room to control it and them come back to watch it. That's where Now TV, and Roku, have the advantage as they do not require another device to control them.

[helidan]

Graham-P said:

I'm thinking of leaving Sky as my +HD box freezes every day despite rebuilding the planner etc.... I'm thinking of getting a Freesat HD box but I will need 'something' else in addition to view the channels that Freesat don't cover.
I'm in the process of upgrading to my broadband to fibre so hopefully anything that requires Internet shouldn't be a problem.
I'm not one for watching films and the only 'Sky' channels I watch are Discovery/Travel and maybe Sky1/Atlantic. The F1 I'll just have to watch on the beeb when they show it and I watch Eurosport for Le Mans, not sure what I'll do for that at the moment.
Any advice would be appreciated on what extra boxes I need to cover the above viewing or if there's an alternative to Freesat that would satisfy my needs.
I don't mind pay a subscription so long as it less than the £40/month I'm paying Sky.

G

What channels do you want apart from what's already on Freesat?

[Graham-P]

Tend to watch some Discovery HD, Nat Geo, some Sky Altantic and Sky1 and sometimes SyFy.

[helidan]

Graham-P said:

Tend to watch some Discovery HD, Nat Geo, some Sky Altantic and Sky1 and sometimes SyFy.

They're all part of Sky's subscription service, I don't think there's a way of viewing them without paying. Those channels are encrypted.