can i still use my spare HD box as a freeview/recorder?

[SkyCaptain]

Just moved into new flat and got a new sky box with the subscription. Still have my old HD box though and the engineer told me i could use it as a freeview box. Well ive just plugged it into the spare telly in the bedroom and it just seems stuck searching for channels.

How do you set it up? Ive go a normal tv arial going into the arial in and a HDMI cable going into the telly from the sky box. I can see the menu ok, although idont seem to able to navigate anywhere, the only option that seems to work is the select button which sends it off looking for channels to display.

Must be doing something wrong as you see these old boxes flogged off on ebay all the time!

 

[Grangey.]

How do you set it up? Ive go a normal tv arial going into the arial in and a HDMI cable going into the telly from the sky box. I can see the menu ok, although idont seem to able to navigate anywhere, the only option that seems to work is the select button which sends it off looking for channels to display.

You need to connect it to a satellite as far as I know. Ariel wont do it.

 

[Interceptor121]

You can use it as a freesat not freeview and you need another satellite feed
Once you have that it won't record

 

[StevieBuck]

You receive 'Freeview' over an aerial. The Sky box however is a satellite TV receiver, and needs to be connected to a satellite dish to pick up any channels. Hence, connecting a TV aerial to the Sky box won't do anything.

If you were to connect the Sky box to your dish it would then allow you to watch a number of free channels. The channels you will get are listed here:

FREESAT from Sky - What's on TV

You will only get access to all of these channels if you have a viewing card in the box (one off cost of £25 if you get it from Sky, as per link below). Without a card in the box you will lose some of these channels. I don't think you lose all that much though.

Without paying Sky a monthly subscription of some sort, you cannot use the recording functions on the box.

FREESAT from Sky - FAQ

 

[grahamlthompson]

If you live in a flat with only 1 satellite feed the box is useless to you. If you have two satellite feeds it will work. It will not work at all connected to a normal terrestrial aerial point. It needs a seperate cable to a spare lnb output on the dish (if you have one)

 

[SkyCaptain]

ahh ok , thanks for the replies all. I'll see if i can flog it off then

 

[logiciel]

Just moved into new flat and got a new sky box with the subscription. Still have my old HD box though and the engineer told me i could use it as a freeview box.

Are you sure he didn't say you could use it as a Freesat box?
That wouldn't have been totally accurate, but would have made some sense.
If he really did say Freeview then it was nonsense, and he shouldn't be working for Sky.
Either way he wasn't an engineer - none of them are - he was an installer at best.
Why don't you want to use your HD receiver?
You might as well use it to get the free HD channels, and sell the new "Sky box" instead.

 

[SkyCaptain]

ive got 2 sky hd boxes now. So might as well get rid of one since i cant use it as a normal recorder.

 

[logiciel]

Of course, the new "Sky box" is also HD.