# Freesat from Sky



## Doug Jarman (Jul 10, 2006)

I am thinking of going for the Freesat set top box from Sky with Sat dish for £150. Will Tivo be able to run with this setup?


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## steveroe (Oct 29, 2002)

Welcome to the forum! Yes, it will.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Yes. You won't find a specific setup for it though, in Guided Setup. You simply choose the "Sky" option and only pick the FTA/FTV (ie non sub) channels in 'Channels I Receive'.

I have attached a recent channel-lineup document for you. It's a little out-of-date, but not much


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## Couchy (Jun 19, 2006)

I've got this set up and it works very well. The guide is better than using the Sky one as once the channels are filtered out you cant recieve it makes browsing through them a lot easier.


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## CountryDriver (Jun 10, 2006)

Doug Jarman said:


> I am thinking of going for the Freesat set top box from Sky with Sat dish for £150. Will Tivo be able to run with this setup?


Yes Freesat works without problem but you would be better off getting Sky to install their Sky Month by Month package satellite box install deal for you and not Sky Freesat.

This costs just £49 for the installation of the Sky dish and the sky digibox and you are then committed to subscribing for only one month at £19 minimum for two basic channel mixes. After the one month you can desubscribe and have no further commitment to Sky but you can subscribe back in at any time for a month or less if you need to watch Test Cricket, Premier Football etc, etc.

I have found in practice that Sky will actually let you subscribe back in for say only one week to watch some sporting event or other on Eurosport (in my case Le Mans or Paris-Dakar rally) and then desubscribe only charging you for one week. The great thing is that unlike standard Sky subscribers who have done a year's contract you don't have to give a months notice to cancel again. They are meant to cancel for you same day.

Only downside is they are supposed to charge you £4 per month more for any Sky channel package on Month by Month than on the regular 12 months minimum sub deal. However in my case at least their computers don't seem able to cope with this and they only charge the regular subscription pice.

Sky Freesat in my opinion is a con because you pay £150 but if you then want to watch even one Sky subscription channel for one week a year after you got the box they will say "sorry mate you now have to sign up for 12 months minimum to become a Sky subscirber and have a subscriber viewing card (different from a Freesat viewing card as far as their systems are concerned). Plus also the awkward rules on having to cancel a month in advance for regular subscribers...........................


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

DAMN! How long have they had this deal going? Sounds perfect for my parents, who didn't want to subscribe to Sky as they sometimes spend time out of the country and didn't want to waste money subscribing to something they might not be able to watch for a month or more at a time.

If it's more than a year or so I'm gonna be real mad


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## Doug Jarman (Jul 10, 2006)

Thanks for all replys. Food for thought!!


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## mccg (Jun 18, 2002)

I'm sure there is a 12 month minimum contract... even for the month-by-month.
I received a leaflet a while ago & it was in the small print.. so it is cheaper to get a 2 mix sub, and then unsubscribe after a year (free install + 12*£15 = £180), than for the month-by-month, and only £30 dearer than the freesat option, but includes a load of pay channels... and possibly free movies/sport for 6 months, depending on offers.

All I could find on sky.com was this (which may not be appropriate for month-by-month):


> If after you've agreed to subscribe, you end your Subscription Contract (other than where you have a right to do so) or break the terms of it in the first 12 months of your subscription, you can be charged our current full standard installation price of £120


No sign of month-by-month, even with a search!


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## mccg (Jun 18, 2002)

According to http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=404529
there is also a Skygift pack for £149 (includes instalation + 2 'mixes')
but I couldn't find it at sky.com


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## frogster (Jan 4, 2006)

CountryDriver said:


> Yes Freesat works without problem but you would be better off getting Sky to install their Sky Month by Month package ...


Never heard of it.


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## CountryDriver (Jun 10, 2006)

frogster said:


> Never heard of it.


Just checked with Sky's telephone sales line and Month by Month is still available at £99 install for the dish and the box and you have to do at least one month's sub on two mixes at £19 (£15+£4 Month by Month surcharge) before you can descubscribe on 14 days notice (presumably you can give the notice 14 days before the end of the first paid month). If it ever was available at £49 for the install (which I rather doubt but which the Digital Spy thread suggested back in June) it must only have been offered to Sky customers who had desubscribed and had several address changes in the previous two or three years.

It emphatically is not a minimum 12 months contract. The whole point of Sky Month by Month is to provide some competition in the more budget priced TopUpTv subscription marketplace for those who do not want to be committed long term to Sky subscription.

Its a better deal than freesatfromsky which charges you £150 for the install but then if you ever want to watch a Sky pay tv channel insists that you sign up for a minimum 12 month contract for at least 2 Sky mixes at a further minimum £180. If you just want to have better quality more reliable picture than Freeview in rural areas this is a cheaper method than Sky Freesat while still letting you watch pay Sky television channels when you really need to.


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## frogster (Jan 4, 2006)

Not a bad offer, though I'm not sure whether it is worth the extra hassle of having to cancel (and running the risk of forgetting to cancel) just to save £30.


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## Jimus (Dec 28, 2005)

Or why not beg or borrow an old digibox and dish and whack it up yourself and order a viewing card for £20 or whatever it is now by post. Probably get the whole kit on ebay for less than £50.

Since people have been upgrading to Sky+ there are lots of old boxes around at car boots etc.

The bloke who came to install my freeview aerial even aimed my dish for me for free, yay!

Much cheapness! Also kicks freeview a** in terms of quality.

Jimus


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## CountryDriver (Jun 10, 2006)

Jimus said:


> Or why not beg or borrow an old digibox and dish and whack it up yourself and order a viewing card for £20 or whatever it is now by post. Probably get the whole kit on ebay for less than £50.


But don't forget this will only be a Freesat box and you will not be able to opt in to any pay sky tv channels unless you agree to take a second hand box contract from them at a minimum 12 months at £15 per month = £180 A Freesat card can only receive the Free channels and Sky subcription people will not let you subscribe that card.

Wherease with Sky Month by Month you get a new box and dish installed for you that can be subscribed again the future if you need to for a total of £118 (£99 plus one months sub at £18).

Of course I expect current low end Sky sub prices to drop like a stone once broadband tv competition from BT and others and its own triple play broadband tv product are launched towards the end of the year.

Also I think most people would find aligning and cabling a satellite box fairly fiddly and find payinbg £58 extra to someone else to do it for you to be money well spent.


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## Jimus (Dec 28, 2005)

CountryDriver said:


> But don't forget this will only be a Freesat box and you will not be able to opt in to any pay sky tv channels unless you agree to take a second hand box contract from them at a minimum 12 months at £15 per month = £180 A Freesat card can only receive the Free channels and Sky subcription people will not let you subscribe that card.
> 
> Wherease with Sky Month by Month you get a new box and dish installed for you that can be subscribed again the future if you need to for a total of £118 (£99 plus one months sub at £18).
> 
> ...


Good points, as someone who had Sky in the past and switched it off I guess I know what I am missing but this may not suit everyone.
In the end, Freeview is probably better value anyway if you can get it.


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## frogster (Jan 4, 2006)

CountryDriver said:


> .... this will only be a Freesat box and you will not be able to opt in to any pay sky tv channels ....


And the bad news is?


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