Free Sat with Sky or Freeview?

[jjsteph1969]

Hi all, I need advice. At the moment we are on the sky family package and paying about £20.00 a month. We feel, we don't use the package to it's full potential only watching on a evening BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 mostly, sometimes SKY channels.

We are thinking of canelling the family package and going down the route of FREE SAT or FREEVIEW.

My questions are

(1) For a one off payment to SKY of £20. We can use the FREE SAT service provided by SKY, is it any good? I see their is more channels than FREEVIEW.

(2) Buy a FREEVIEW box, it it any good?


Please help which one?

All advice will be welcome

John

[neilmcl]

Yo don't need to buy a freesat card for £20. Your existing viewing card will give you the FTA channels.

Freeview will have the currently under contract FTV channels that you won't get on freesat such as E4, More4.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by jjsteph1969

Hi all, I need advice. At the moment we are on the sky family package and paying about £20.00 a month. We feel, we don't use the package to it's full potential only watching on a evening BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4 mostly, sometimes SKY channels.

We are thinking of canelling the family package and going down the route of FREE SAT or FREEVIEW.

My questions are

(1) For a one off payment to SKY of £20. We can use the FREE SAT service provided by SKY, is it any good? I see their is more channels than FREEVIEW.

Simple economics suggest you stay with Sky and go with the Freesat service for £20 as you already have a fully working system.
If you were to go down the Terrestrial Freeview route you would have to buy a box for around £40 and possibly have to shell out for an aerial upgrade.

[stevelup]

Hi

If you've already got the sky kit installed, I'd recommend keeping it.

You get more channels, less chance of signal quality issues and a much better EPG.

I'd double check but if you've got a working viewing card, I do not believe you need to pay sky the £20 - your existing card will fall back to being a Freesat card when your subscription expires.

Steve

[stevelup]

That'll teach me to answer the phone between typing a message and hitting send!

[LV426]

I guess the only benefit(s) of Freeview are:

1: The channel choice is smaller, but there are a few which are only free on Freeview.

2: (More importantly): If at some point you intend to get a PVR (and it's almost a certainty you will, once you find out how they change the way you watch TV) then, as it stands, the only Sky PVR is Sky and you have to shell out a monthly fee to use it. Whereas there is a choice of Freeview PVRs, all of which are free to use.

Always assuming that you have Freeview coverage where you are.

[mikehb]

Originally Posted by LV426

I guess the only benefit(s) of Freeview are:

1: The channel choice is smaller, but there are a few which are only free on Freeview.

2: (More importantly): If at some point you intend to get a PVR (and it's almost a certainty you will, once you find out how they change the way you watch TV) then, as it stands, the only Sky PVR is Sky and you have to shell out a monthly fee to use it. Whereas there is a choice of Freeview PVRs, all of which are free to use.

Always assuming that you have Freeview coverage where you are.

Am thinking of cancelling sky in a couple of months when my period expires but want to keep sky+ box does anyone know if this is possible oviously am willing to keep paying £10 for the use of the + feature

[neilmcl]

For a start the Sky+ box belongs to you so you can keep it. You can afaik keep the recording facility with just the free channels for the additional £10pcm.

[mhuk05]

I thought a $ky card got you the same channels as a "house" card if you cancelled your subscription- no monthly fees.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by mhuk05

I thought a $ky card got you the same channels as a "house" card if you cancelled your subscription- no monthly fees.

Yes but he has Sky+.

[neilmcl]

Originally Posted by mhuk05

I thought a $ky card got you the same channels as a "house" card if you cancelled your subscription- no monthly fees.

Please read his thread again carefully this time. "oviously am willing to keep paying £10 for the use of the + feature"

[mhuk05]

Please read his thread again carefully this time. "oviously am willing to keep paying £10 for the use of the + feature"

It costs you £10 a month to use the features of $ky+ but with free channels? I didn't know that, hence my question.

[dibs786]

I had a monthly service family package, contract finished (been over three years now) and the card reverted to a basic view only, NO C-4 & C-5 and most of the other international channels, and the new BBC 3 etc or ITC 2.

I paid the £10 for a house Free-Sat card and all if fine.

Only problem is that I can not get E4 and the new More 4 Channels. Tried to update the channels or search for new ones, no results.

Any Suggestions on how to get E4 or More 4 (seem like they have good movies on from time to time) on FreeSat is possible

Cheeers , Dibs

[beerhunter]

I thought that you having a Sky subscription was a pre-req for sky+.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by dibs786

Only problem is that I can not get E4 and the new More 4 Channels. Tried to update the channels or search for new ones, no results.

Any Suggestions on how to get E4 or More 4 (seem like they have good movies on from time to time) on FreeSat is possible

I may be wrong but I don't think these two are available even with a "House Card"...I think you need a subscription on Sky to get them.