Help: Can I use my ex-contract sky digital satellite receiver to get Freeview channels?
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Can I use my ex-contract sky digital satellite receiver to get Freeview channels?


Can I use my ex-contract sky digital satellite receiver to get

You can get the following Freeview channels on with an ex-contract digital satellite receiver (once it is connected). Items marked with a star require either a Freesat from Sky (fSfS) card, or a expired Sky subscription card to view.



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Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

firstFirst comments prevEarlier comments  ◊  Later commentsnext Latest commentslast

Your comments are always welcome. Please use the form below to add your thoughts or questions to this page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

K
Kim Smith
Wednesday 6 May 2009 5:49AM
When are the major high street retailers likely to receive more supplies of freesat sd boxes
G
Gary W
Thursday 7 May 2009 12:09AM Hemel Hempstead
hello i have been recieving free satellite through an old sky box with the sky freeview card [blue with a yellow house on it] for about 18 months up until last week when i now turn my box on it just says no satellite signal is being recieved ? any ideas as to what is happening as i have difficulty getting normal freeview an the prospect of 4 channels is quite scary ha ha . . . . . . any ideas as to whats happened an how to sort it would be greatly appreciated
R
RUPERT MURDOCH IN TEARS
Friday 15 May 2009 4:42PM
Hi Gary, I had a similar problem and got sent to www.freesatbox.net from another forum. I now have free tv on my sky box, NO CARD NEEDED, and no subscription. Got c4, c5 itv, bbc, film 4 channels and loads more for free. Plus on my other free to air satbox, i have up to 3,000 free channels from all over europe. They sent me a simple set up guide to adjust my dish without a satmeter and a reset code for my skybox. I had to pay a few quid, but its a very informative book and has saved me a bomb in engineers costs and opened a new world up to me.
P
peter
Friday 15 May 2009 8:41PM
c4, c5 itv, bbc, film 4 channels are all FTA, you don't need a book...

Why are you plugging this book eveywhere?
R
RUPERT MURDOCH IN TEARS
Friday 15 May 2009 11:21PM
Because I thought it was worth letting others know that there is a place where proper info can be had. Not the usual ill informed copy and pasted drivel seen on most blogs.
S
STEVEN
Sunday 24 May 2009 1:01AM
I need a sky card for free
S
Sue
Monday 29 June 2009 11:38AM
I have had freesat plus for a few weeks, and cancelled Sky subscription. Until 2 days ago I also got the freeview channels on the Sky box which was handy as I could still tape onto video from it. I have suddenly lost the channels, and get a blue screen saying 'searching for listings'. I know I should be able to get the freeview channels but what do I do to get them back?
S
sharealam
Monday 29 June 2009 12:36PM
sue,press services button on you remote and press 01 select and wait a few minutes untill the freeview channels come on,if its still same repeat it again and you get all the channels back.
S
sharealam
Monday 29 June 2009 1:03PM
gary w,disconnect the sky plug out of the socket and reconnect it,that will do the trick,it works for me.
S
Sue
Monday 29 June 2009 2:56PM
sharealam, thanks for that. I'm not sure what did it, but I tried what you said twice, and nothing happened, then I pulled one of the leads out (no idea which one!) and tried it again and hey presto!
M
martin
Sunday 19 July 2009 4:46PM
SKY have changed there blue sky cards to white one's and unless you get a new white card your box will not work so try and buy 1
Briantist
Monday 20 July 2009 8:33AM
martin: No card is required to watch the free channels with a Sky box. Much cheaper.
J
John
Sunday 2 August 2009 10:00AM
I live abroad and struggle to watch uktv, however, a friend has told me that EU countries must make their TV available to other EU countries by December this year.

I've searched the net but cant find any info.

Has anyone else heard anything about this.

Regards

John
Briantist
Monday 3 August 2009 9:19AM
John: The Television Without Frontiers directive provides for this. It allows broadcasts to be received over borders, but makes no requirement of any broadcaster to extend their reception areas.
J
jacqueline
Friday 7 August 2009 1:06AM Banbury
Until recently I was using a freeview box with an old tv and it worked really well - receiving channels 1 to 4 and all freeview channels. However the tv broke! I invested in a new samsung digital tv- but find that many channels come and go, and are unwatchable - is it the tv or the signal? why did the old one work and new one not??
Briantist
Friday 7 August 2009 9:59AM
jacqueline: It could be the "fly" cable to the TV, rather than a fault with the set itself, this is quite a common cause of your kind of problem.

Otherwise, why not attach your Freeview box to your new TV?
J
joe
Thursday 13 August 2009 3:10PM
i have lost utv on my sky box i need the frequency and fec to restor it
R
Richard
Tuesday 15 September 2009 9:52PM
On 6th of September Rte2 coverage of a hurling cup final was relayed on info channel 167 on Sky digital. Next Sunday there is a Gaelic Football final in Croke Park at 3.30.Viewers in UK who may be interested may be able to view the game on one of the info channels 166 or 167. I discovered coverage of the hurling final by accident. Ido not know why game was relayed.
The game next Sunday may not be relayed but check it out anyway
A
a truter
Sunday 1 November 2009 2:29PM
since switchover i have got a freeview built in tv which foir some reaso wilol not get five usa or fiver and quest came and went also alba, came and went and sometines cant get any pic at all on s ome chanenls at different times of day. i have another freeview box whihc shows up five and fiver on an old tv but tv small and has a video built in so also old. wven though these channells show up cant get good signal, have reswcanned and retuned millions of times on the freeview built in tv and still no five usa or fiver etc, help?
M
Mike G
Monday 9 November 2009 11:11PM
I recently terminated my Sky contract. Since contract end, I am able to receive Freeview channels but have been unable to use the hard-disk to record and denied access to previously recorded Freeview programs. Will purchase of a Freeview or Freesat card from Sky restore use of the hard-drive?
S
steve,bedworth
Tuesday 10 November 2009 12:29AM
once you stop contract you lose the ability to record and get any recordings to play, it works the same with virgin and top up tv.
you can ask sky for a freesat card but they will charge you for it approx 140 quid I think. you are better off buying a humax hd freesat recordable box and then you will get bbc and itv hd free and the ability to record and playback. easy to fit as you take the cable from back of sky box and put them onto new one.. why pay sky 140 quid for a card when you can put it towards a box which does same job?
Briantist
Tuesday 10 November 2009 9:13AM
Mike G: You can pay Sky £10 a month for the PVR to work. Freesat cards are £20 from www.freesatfromsky.co.uk link icon 
Home - FREESAT from Sky
but they won't give you PVR. You will be much better off getting a Freesat+ box.
P
paul
Saturday 28 November 2009 7:29PM
can i pair my sky box with someone elses sky card
Briantist
Monday 30 November 2009 7:35AM
paul: Not "pair", but you can take a Sky subscription card and use it in other boxes for non-premium content, but it won't work for Sky Sports, for example.
L
Liz
Thursday 21 January 2010 8:56AM Dunfermline
Hi, i need help. I bought a Panasonic blu ray recorder DMR-BS750 but i can't set it up. I have a HD ready TV with freeview, but no satellite dish. Is there any way i can get this set up without a dish? I have scart lead and HDMI. Hope i can get some help as this is driving me mad. Thanks.
H
helen
Sunday 21 March 2010 11:02PM
where do i get a freesat card...
Briantist
Tuesday 23 March 2010 7:39AM
helen: Freesat cards are £20 from
Home - www.freesatfromsky.co.uk link icon 
Home - FREESAT from Sky
A
Allan
Saturday 24 April 2010 7:21PM
Hi, I have just installed a satellite dish and cable to my son’s old Skybox. I have a satellite finder meter and have adjusted the dish until I get the best signal but when I check on the TV it says ‘No Signal’! Could you tell me what I’m doing wrong? Thanks Allan
J
Jordy
Saturday 24 April 2010 8:32PM
Allan - Problem with a satellite finder is they tell when you've found a satellite not necessarily the 28.2 East one you need. There are clusters of satellites up there and honestly you're just wasting your time. Firstly have a look at your neighbours sky dishes, take a rough baring check for tall buildings and trees. Open a window close to the dish turn the sky program guide on, volume up full and align the dish slowly and gently until you hear the music come on. Lock the dish at the sides (You'll see small numbers along the side, 25-30 degrees is where you want to lock the bolts) If you lock the dish when the music is playing (Get some else to help you who can check the screen) Check the signal bars (Quality not strength) and use these bars to improve the quality when happy tightly lock the dish with a 10mm spanner. Turn box off and then on again for happy viewing, For a happy life call a good local aerial engineer who'll likely do it for the price of a £30 call out...
T
tracey
Tuesday 27 April 2010 2:59PM
got a tv with freeview can i connect it up to my sky dish to recieve the freeview
Briantist
Thursday 29 April 2010 6:18AM
tracey: No, you need a FreeSAT box to connect to a dish, or an aerial to connect to a FreeVIEW set.
G
gary
Sunday 9 May 2010 6:47PM
could i receive any sky hd channels with a hd satellite receiver if connected to a sky dish
Briantist
Monday 10 May 2010 8:26AM
gary: No, all Sky channels are encrypted, but BBC HD and ITV1 HD are free to air.
P
Patrick G
Friday 14 May 2010 9:26AM
Hello, I have a Sky box with an expired card, and no longer subscribe to Sky. (1)I wish to receive freeview/freesat channels via the Sky box. Is this possible? (2)I also wish to record the channels, is this possible. (3) Will I require a freesat box in order to be able to do the above and can I use it with the Sky dish? I'd much appreciate any help on my queries.
Briantist
Friday 14 May 2010 11:47AM
Patrick G: (1) You get Freesat with that box, not Freeview, that requires a box suitable for terrestrial reception.

(2) If you want to record, you will need a Freesat+ box (or Freesat+HD).

(3) Yes.
P
Patrick G
Monday 17 May 2010 3:51PM
Briantist: thanks for the prompt response. I intend to get 2x freesat boxes. Is there a way of spliting the signal/s from the sat-dish to both the freesat boxes? If so, is there a guide somewhere that I can download or buy which takes me through the process and what type of tools/equipment and cabling that may be required? Or, do you think that I will be wasting my time and effort on this route and should just get a digi-box for terrestrial reception?
Briantist
Thursday 20 May 2010 6:20PM
Patrick G: With satellite, you can't split the output from the dish, because a signal is also supplied from the satellite receiver to the dish to power the LNB and to switch the polarity.

If you want to have a recorder with two tuners, two connections are required to the dish, two recorders would be four connections.

For this you need the dish to have a "quad-LNB" fitted that replaces the signal output that would be provided for a Sky SD not-plus installation.

Please see www.ukfree.tv link icon Freesat reception - all about dishes | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
D
Dan
Friday 21 May 2010 7:02PM Chelmsford
I have a sky dish with a QUAD LNB that had 2 sky + boxes running off of it. Originally I was thinking of getting 2 Freeview + boxes to run off of an existing aerial. However, I am now toying with the idea of getting 2 Freesat boxes. 1) Will these run off of my existing dish/cables, 2) Which box "type" do I need where both boxes can record 2 programmes at the same time and/or watch one in "recordings" whilst 2 other programmes are being recorded. Having said that, if someone said to me, Freeview is just as good if not better than Freesat then please enlighten me!
Briantist
Saturday 22 May 2010 6:55AM
Dan: 1) Yes 2) A Freesat+ box. If you want HD, a Freesat+HD box.
M
Mike Bowen
Saturday 22 May 2010 3:31PM
I have a Pace standard sky box (not sky +) and have the basic sky family package (not sport or movies). I would like to get the free HD channels but don't want yet another box as I already have 4 under the tv ! Can I simply buy a sky + hd box and put my existing sky card into it ? Will this then give me access to my current channels and the free hd channels ? Finally, would it be something I could do relatively easily myself ?
M
Mike Bowen
Saturday 22 May 2010 4:11PM
Thanks Briantist, but I don't think the article answers my questions. I'm aware of those options but my main requirements are that I don't want to lose my current sky channels and I don't want the subscription hd channels. I also don't want a 5th box ! Am I trying to have my cake and eat it ?!
L
Leigh
Monday 24 May 2010 7:11PM
I,ve just had my old sky box connected because i couldn,t get all the freeview channels on my new digital tv, and to my delight it worked...until tonight when i tried it and the response keeps showing..searching for listings. I,ve looked on this forum, and seen what to do..ie press services, unplugged sky box and then plugged in but it hasn,t worked. Has anybody got any ideas or will i need to purchase a new viewing card.
D
Dave
Wednesday 26 May 2010 1:03PM
Hi there, i'm just wondering if you can help me, I have Sky Tv in my living room but I also have a small LCD TV in my kitchen and bedroom. I bought an aerial from B&Q but it's terrible, I'm just wondering if I can use the dish to also supply the signal to the TV's in my bedroom and kitchen by means of a splitter? i have seen all that i need to do the job but I'm unsure that it will work, will it? thanks in advance for your help.
Briantist
Wednesday 26 May 2010 6:57PM
Mike Bowen: Sky will give you a Sky+HD box for free as a subscriber, you will have to pay the £10 a month for HD channels for a year.
Briantist
Wednesday 26 May 2010 7:47PM
Dave: No, you can't split the output from a dish - please see www.ukfree.tv link icon Freesat reception - all about dishes | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
M
michael day
Friday 28 May 2010 2:02PM
Hi i have a freesat tv , do i still need a free view hd box to get more free view channels in hd. mikebike.
Briantist
Friday 28 May 2010 5:44PM
michael day: Channel 4 HD is only on Sky HD and Freeview HD at the moment. It is expected to come to Freesat HD sometime soon, but no one knows when.
P
pete
Friday 28 May 2010 10:18PM Chester
hello, can anyone tell me why cant get itv channels on freesat when sky boxes in other rooms are switched on ? running off sky dish with octi lnb.freesat works fine when sky turned off at wall.



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