freesat instead of sky tv.

[baldy1926]

Hi i dont get much use out of my sky tv. I'm thinking of getting rid and just having freesat.
If i do cancel what equipment would sky leave, do they leave the dish? Also i have a spare sky box can i use that for freesat as i presume they take the sky box.
thanks
dave

[Magic919]

They leave it all. You just need to get a viewing card.

[baldy1926]

Thanks for that on *bay there are blue and white viewing cards whats the difference

[Magic919]

You can buy a freesat card from Sky for £20.

[baldy1926]

thanks again

[shtu]

Note that "Freesat" and "Freesat From Sky" are two different things.

The channel lineup is subtly different, check that you will receive the channels you want.

Also, the cynic in me should point out that there's nothing stopping Sky from changing the setup and demanding another £20 for a card at a later date if they feel like it.

You might find Freesat to be a better option if you want PVR facilities, as Sky charge £10 per month for Sky+ if not a subscriber.

[baldy1926]

Thanks i did not realise there was any diffence.Is there much difference channelwise.What is the differene with the blue and white card.

[rotarymazda]

Due to the high power consumption of the Sky boxes I've owned (even when in standby), I found that a Humax Freesat box with a 1 watt standby would pay for itself in a year. And no £20 card required.

[Pontoneer]

You don't need a card , although I now have a Humax Freesat box , I have previously had Sony and other Sky digital boxes , all of which received the free to air channels without needing a card inserted .

[shtu]

baldy1926 said:

Thanks i did not realise there was any diffence.Is there much difference channelwise.What is the differene with the blue and white card.

You need to look at this yourself, I've no idea what you want to watch.

http://www.sky.com/shop/freesat/home/what-can-i-wa...

http://www.freesat.co.uk/what-you-get/our-channels

Ignore the number of channels - there are dozens of channels that are dross on both - check you get what you want.

One example of this is "Dave", a must for Top Gear Addicts. Not available on either platform - Sky subbed, or Terrestrial Freeview only. (Contractural rather than technical reasons)