Set top boxes, freeview etc?
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Discussion

Terminator X

Original Poster:

20,890 posts

235 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
Is there any way of getting out of this Sky stranglehold? Are any of the set top boxes similar to Sky with all the channels, Sports, Movies etc + the ability to record programmes and watch them later etc?

Can't get cable in our area either mad

TX.

Mr Pointy

13,421 posts

190 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
There are recording STBs for Freeview, but are you after the Sky channels as well? If so, no there's no (legal) alternative.

p4cks

7,525 posts

230 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
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You could maybe look at MAG boxes?

NDA

25,757 posts

256 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
I've just bought a new TV and it accepts a USB drive at the back to enable scheduled recordings.... quite easy to set up. All on Freeview.

anonymous-user

85 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
Talk talk and BT both offer Youview which has many of the Sky channels including movies and sport....if you are willing to pay.

You can also record 2 shows at once, not as many as Sky Q but enough.

Remember you'll need a TV aerial. If you've been with Sky a long time yours might not be in great nick and Freeview is less tolerant of crap aerials than analogue was so you might need to budget for this.

What exactly do you watch most of on a day to day?

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 14th April 20:55

Terminator X

Original Poster:

20,890 posts

235 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
I don't watch much telly tbf although the wife does. She likes her soaps vs me with movies and sport (only repeats of sport now of course).

TX.

anonymous-user

85 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
Sky sports will be the expensive part. BT and Talk Talk both offer it, but it isn't much cheaper than Sky.

You could also look at Now TV who do sky sports for 33 quid a month but you'd need to sign up elsewhere for some broadband. Now TV doesn't let you record so you'd need to buy a Freeview recording box...unless you are happy with catching up via iPlayer, ITV hub etc.

Bert Cheese

245 posts

123 months

Tuesday 14th April 2020
quotequote all
I dumped Sky in favour of a Humax recordable Freesat box for the basic channels: https://uk.humaxdigital.com/product/hdr-1100s/

It uses the existing Sky connection and is fine once you get used to the different program guide etc.
Mine has already paid for itself and used in conjunction with ITV Hub etc I'm not missing Sky at all.

anonymous-user

85 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
quotequote all
That's not a bad idea and removes the need to have an aerial installed if the OP doesn't already have one.

The sticking point would be Sky sports. The OP will still need to pay Now TV 33 sovs a month for the privilege on top of finding another broadband provider (say £20 a month)


OP, what is your current Sky bill?

Terminator X

Original Poster:

20,890 posts

235 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
quotequote all
Close to £100 a month not incl broadband as I have that with another supplier.

TX.

AJB88

15,936 posts

202 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
quotequote all
I have a Freesat HD Humax plugged into my old Sky dish. You can record on it.

In all fairness thought just use my Amazon FireTV box these days with Amazon, Netflix, Disney+ and BBC, ITV, C4 etc on it.

anonymous-user

85 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
quotequote all
Ok, you can definitely save some cash. Personally I would proceed as follows.

1) decide how you want to watch live TV. If you are lucky you will have a working aerial. Try that first. Any TV less than 10 years old will have a digital tuner. An aerial lead will only cost a fiver or so, you might even have one knocking about.

If that doesn't work, you could get a cheap Freesat box for less than £50 or an old Sky box (not a Sky Q box) and plug it into your existing dish.

2) Tell Sky to do one.

3) Buy a Roku for £20 from Argos, or the 4k one for £30 if your telly supports it. You might want to do this first, because the price might not stay this low.

4) Activate said Roku and install BBC iPlayer, ITV hub, Channel 4 and My 5 onto said Roku. Allow a couple of hours to do this, and don't be afraid to ask for help on here if needed. It's a simple process but you'll need to create accounts with each provider. It's all free.

5) When football comes back, sign up to Now TV for 33 a month. Or pay £10 a day if you are only interested in certain games.

6) Sky movies is a tenner a month on Now TV. Even with both movies and sport you are still paying less than half what you paid for Sky . Or spend your tenner on second hand DVDs, you'll get quite a few at places like CEX for that price.

7) Finally decide over a period of months if you really want recording. If so purchase a recorder for Freeview or Freesat as appropriate. This is the most expensive part, you might decide you can live without it and just use catch up. Worst case you are looking at 100 to 150 sovs.





Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 15th April 11:53

audi321

6,179 posts

244 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
quotequote all
That sounds like a proper hassle!

Or just ring sky and threaten to leave. I do it every 12-18 months and I get the full lot sports and movies for £52 a month. Not broadband.

anonymous-user

85 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
quotequote all
audi321 said:
That sounds like a proper hassle!
All possible in half a day. Maximum. To save at least £600 a year?

When was the last time you got paid over £100 an hour?

But it's the OPs money and it's up to them.

Jamescrs

6,496 posts

96 months

Wednesday 15th April 2020
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I left Virgin media tv services behind around a year ago having got sick of paying near enough £100 a month for TV Broadband and phone.

I still get my broadband from them at £30 a month.
I got my TV aerial replaced by a local guy for around £80 as a one off payment and now all the TV I use is either freeview, Netflix (£7 per month) and Amazon Prime which doubles up for the online shopping services. so my bills for media I guess come to £45 a month all in.

It was strange at first using predominantly online streaming for TV but now it's completely normal to me and I don't miss the traditional Virgin Media box whatsoever, most of my stuff I watch is on Youtube though I do watch box sets on Amazon and Netflix. The freeview is mainly for the kids use for Cbeebies and it's a useful backup if there are broadband supplier issues which is very rare.

I didn't realise how much my TV consumption has changed until I saw a post on here a few days ago talking about TV adverts and I don't think I've seen an advert on TV in months.

I do have Youtube premium also mainly for music streaming from my phone in the car via Youtube Music but it has the added benefit of taking all the ads off Youtube for me too.