How can I watch Channel 4 and five on satellite if I have no card or a free-to-view card?
Get a replacement card from Freesat from Sky (fSfS)
Get a new free-to-view installation from Sky, by calling their hot-line on 0870-240 5651 and choose option 1. You can pay for a replacement Freesat from Sky (fSfS) card by paying £20 with a credit or debit card.
Get new Sky free-to-view installation
Get a new free-to-view installation from Sky, by calling their hot-line on 0870-606 1111. You will get a new dish, a new Digibox, a new free-to-view card and full installation.
Get a Freeview box
From £20: If you are in a Freeview reception area (see
Freeview Reception) then you can get a Freeview box from a local store. This will give you several additional TV channels ( f-tn, The Box, TMF, UK Bright Ideas, UK History, Sky Sports News) and some extra radio stations.
This will keep your digital wide-screen reception of Channel 4 and five.
Subscribe to Sky for a year
From £157.50: If you have never had a free box and dish from Sky, then the best way is to get the offer from Sky and get a free Digibox, and subscribe to the Value Pack for one year.
Either phone 08705-800874 or visit
http://www.sky.com/ordersky/home
Re-subscribe to Sky
From £15: If you have been a Sky subscriber in the past, you should not have to complete the minimum term of one year. You can re-subscribe to Sky on the Value Pack and cancel again after one month.
Either phone 08708-501 607 or visit
http://www.sky.com/ordersky/home
Watch on analogue cable
From Free: If you have ever had a cable TV service (analogue or digital), the law requires that itv-1, Channel 4 and five are kept available as an analogue service, even if you have stopped a subscription many years ago.
Most systems now use a digital TV receiver to produce the analogue picture for these channels, so the quality is good. However, it is not wide-screen.
You will need a cable to connect the TV Out socket on the cable box using a suitable cable (made from parts 16-0605 and 16-0445 from
www.rapidelectronics.co.uk) and you will have to re-tune your TV or video.
Because of the way that digital TV is carried on cable systems, you must connect the video and TV by a SCART cable, and tune in the video only.
Watch on analogue UHF
From Free: As a final backup, you may still be able to receive an analogue. The picture quality may be poor, and will not be wide-screen.
Updated 27/2/06 to reflect ITV channels being free-to-air
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Your comments
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Latest comments
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.
Marlene RamudoFriday 16 December 2005 10:37PM
Hi there,
Something has happened to my TV today which has altered the tunning and which I can not fix for some reason. Today its Friday and as tomorrow I wanted to watch The X-Factor I need to look into watching it online, is this possible? and if so, what link would I need to access?
I would appreciate it if you could let me know asap as I'm working towards my dissertation at the moment and The X-Factor is what keeps me happy!
Cheers and Happy Christmas :o)
Marlene RamudoAndy NewarkThursday 26 January 2006 12:59PM
Interesting you state that I should get ITV Meridian Southampton on 103. Since August 2005, I have been getting the Meridian Kent/East Sussex operation on 103 under "ITV1 MerSE".
All my efforts at lobbying Sky and ITV have failed, so I hope that Sky EPG changes on 28 Feb will return me to Meridian South which of course is provided on the Midhurst analogue and digital transmitters.
Anything UKFree can do would be much appreciated. I know how to manually tune Meridian South, but it is the tenet of having the correct sub-region on 103 that is the point.
Regards
Andy Nick DaviesTuesday 14 March 2006 8:38PM
Is there any information available about the proposed BBC/ITV satellite service please? I heard that they may be launching a service, but have not heard anything at all since.See the comments here for the latest news from ITV. P.danielsFriday 14 April 2006 2:28PM
Hi I had installed a satellite system in spain about 4 years ago but for the last three years I cannot pick anything up from the television I am told that I must pay another £1000 to get another satellite dish installed is there any way that I can get around this as it is only a holiday home and we have already payed out once for the dish we live in the Valencia area of spainBrianMonday 24 July 2006 9:24AM
I already receive Free to air BBC ITV etc from Astra 2D with my EchoStar Satelite receiver. Does anyone know the Frquency that the Film 4 is transmited.
I have seen the well advertised hype but I do not want to have a sky digibox.
Film4 is on transponder 42 - 10.729Mhz Vertical with SR 22,000 and FEC 5/6. F J BattenFriday 24 November 2006 12:18PM
Hi there,
I have fitted a fully operational multi satellite system with 30 satellites available in the east to west 45' hemisphere. I have now fitted a 60cm fixed dish for Freeview by satellite.Two questions I ask. What manufacturer produces a dedicated satellite Freeview decoder (not Sky)? Why do I need a card to receive these Free View channels, or to activate them ?I have a collegue who can receive ch 4 & ch 5 without a card!!
How can this be possible?
He is picking up astra 2 (28deg)
Using an amstrad receiver bought in wales about 6-8 weeks ago
101 is BBC wales and 104 is SC4
117 is ch 4
Can anyone explain
Cheers
Mick MDUFriday 8 December 2006 7:40AM
i need to know if i can get nice free to air channels on a DSTV multichoice decoder on PAS7/10. mick jones: it is the card that determines which BBC and ITV regions you can get - it seems likely that the card is hidden by a slot. Hengist PodWednesday 13 December 2006 1:35PM
I have just ordered a Freeview card from Sky so I can access Channel 4 and 5 in the UK.
My receiver is not a Sky Digibox, so it won't pick the channels up automatically.
Does anyone know the tuning parameters for these channels so I can manually add them?
Cheers!Hengist PodWednesday 13 December 2006 1:36PM
Sorry - I meant a Freesat card, of course ... ;)Hengist Pod: I don't think the cards work in any boxes other than BSkyB's digiboxes... HengistWednesday 13 December 2006 8:12PM
From Sky's own website - and confirmed that it should work with my system by the phone operator from whom I bought the card ...
"I already have digital satellite equipment - what else do I need?
All you need to get access to the free channels available on the digital satellite platform is a freesat viewing card which costs just £20."
Hengist: I'm sure they mean THIER satellite eqipment! Maggie RadcliffeTuesday 9 January 2007 7:51PM
Hi I just moved to Crete, Greece and desperately need to get access to some English TV without paying a fortune. I am told the only options are either Nova or Sky from the UK both of which are expensive subscriptions, plus the sky needs a super large dish!!!
Anyone got any ideas or information?
thanks
Maggie
Maggie Radcliffe: there is no requirement to subscribe to Sky to receive the Freesat services, just point a large dish at 28.2 degrees East (Astra 2 satellites) and use a generic DBV-S reciever or Sky Digibox. Andy JenkinsonMonday 29 January 2007 9:41AM
I've heard that Ch4 & 5 are going FTA sometime this year. Does anyone have any info on this?Andy Jenkinson: C4's current encryption contract runs out in 2008, but both channels have pledged to be part of the BBC/ITV Freesat service which is due to launch later THIS year. Adel KiriakosTuesday 30 January 2007 2:24AM
I live in Sydny area ( Australia) .I have dish 60 cm and the reciever is Qmax, how can I connect it to the TV( we have 6 channels on our Tv.)without using card.Adel Kiriakos: I'm not sure if I can advise... this is UK free TV!!! Agin the WindWednesday 14 February 2007 6:00PM
I have a Bskyb 2200. 600 mm dish, £20 ch4/5 card, activated ,so they say, but cannot find O7d4. On my strogest best signal using a finder I get O7fd most of the time I try searching, with at least 130 channels,but no ch4 or 5. I use default transponder 10.773 H 22.0 5/6 but have tried 10.803 ditto and 12.19 V 27.5 2/3. Moving around slightly I get transport streams 0800,0801,041d,0908,o7ff ,all network 2. I live up Cumbria. Are there any other transponders etc I should be trying?Agin the Wind: when you select C4/five/Sky Three/Five Life/Five US, what is the expact message your digibox gives you? DerekFriday 23 March 2007 1:11PM
hi there my is derek and i am new on this website,hw can i watch other channel besides the usual free to air channels like sports,i am using a wiztec decoderdavid john barrettThursday 29 March 2007 9:16AM
Hi There
Could you please advise on equipment needed to get TV in europe (France, Spain etc) in my motorhome. I have an Aumax TV with freeview pre-installed which I use in the UK with no problems. Bear in mind I need to use 12 volt DC when not hooked up to 240 volts.Please keep your advice simple as I am a complete beginner.
Many Thanks
Daviddavid john barrett: complete beginner are always welcome here at ukfree.tv! Reception of Freeview is from ground-based transmitters, so you can't use Freeview equipment outside the UK. If you want to watch UK programmes from France and Spain you will need a (quite large) satellite dish and a Freesat receiver. mark harringtonSunday 15 April 2007 12:34PM
Mark.h. ;hi i have recently moved to perth australia, could you please advise if u.k television be accessed here and if so what equipment is needed. Many thanksmark harrington: it is not possible to receive UK TV in Austrilia... not exactly a goog line of sight to the satellites! LadybirdMonday 28 May 2007 1:48PM
HI - does anyone know WHEN we will be able to pick up channel 4 and 5? And how? We're in South France.. Any news welcome!
Kind regardsLadybird: The plan is "next spring". Confused HarlesdeniteMonday 11 June 2007 11:51PM
I recently bought a cheapo satellite system from Lidl not long ago with the promise of over 1500 channels. So far, I have only got 118 and only 3 are English speaking. Is there any way that I am able to get the extensive list of English Channels that are on built into the channel listing?BobTuesday 12 June 2007 12:21PM
Depends purely where your dish is pointing. For the English channels, the dish should be pointing at 28.2 east. See www.lyngsat.com for a full list of the satellites.Confused Harlesdenite: You are getting analogue services from the Astra 1 satellite - which are at 19.2 degrees over the equator. For english lanaguage services move the dish to point at the Astra 2 cluster - over the equator at 28.2 degrees east. sandra WheelerMonday 30 July 2007 11:50PM
Llanbrynmair We purchased, from the elctrical shop in our nearest town a sky box minibox 'Pace' which has a slot for a viewing card and an interactive card. The satelite dish was already in place so they only had to locate the wiring. We purchased this in October 2003 and were charged £310 but received no cards? Should we have done so and how do we rectify this?
ThanksallyTuesday 28 August 2007 1:40PM
hi, i used to use sky, now im using it again but i get no channel 4, 5 or those other channels, i do have a sky viewing card but i get a message saying please insert your sky viewing card on some channels, but ch 4 and those others just dont appear in my listingsally: Please try this - remove the card from the box and turn off the power. Wait 30 seconds. Restore the power without inserting the card. Wait a few minutes until the EPG is shown again, switch to 104 and only then insert your viewing card again. This should resolve the problem. BettySaturday 20 October 2007 11:28AM
hi everyone I will move to Italy (Milan) next spring do you think there is any chance I can watch the english channes(in particular channel 4 and 5? will I have to buy sky Uk? thanksAndreaThursday 15 November 2007 1:11PM
I live in Milan and I can receive the 4 BBc and ITV channels and all regional variations with an 80cm satellite dish; Channel4 and 5 are not yet on satellite FTAYuzMonday 26 November 2007 3:51PM
I recently moved to Naples (Italy) and a few days ago I purchased an 80cm sat dish. I am trying hard to get the 4 BBC channels, ITV and channel Four … I read somewhere that they are on Astra 2D … I tried a few time to search for them on this sat … no way … the names of the mentioned channels don’t come up at all.
I read Andrea got part of them on satellite FTA … what’s that?
It is not included in my receiver sat list.
Anyone can help? Cheers.
Yuz
Yaz: You need a much larger dish (2 meters) to receive from Astra 2D at your location. James BeamMonday 24 December 2007 3:35PM
Please be beware of ill-informed postings.
Please note: buying a sky-compatible receiver with card via ebay will NOT get you channel 4 or Five. You have to phone the number on the card to activate Channel 4 and Five. When you do, the operator will link the card number with the receiver's serial number AND check that you are in the UK, via a return call and possibly a phone call to the digibox. If you try and do this with someone else's receiver in the UK (at their address), you will therefore screw up their subscription and you won't get your card working either.
Having spent (and wasted) over a hundred quid learning all this, I am sharing this info with you guys. The best strategy is to buy a simple cheapo digital receiver with a cheap, large dish (1.2m) dishes are dirt cheap now, and wait for Channel 4 and Five to get divorced from Murdoch, something they should have done years ago.Patrick DuffySaturday 22 March 2008 4:21PM
Dunoon Just to say thank you. Was looking for info on recieving free to view on sky, with some difficulty but there it was right here. Thanks.Steve MorseMonday 28 April 2008 8:48PM
Hi,
I hope you can help me sort out Channel 4 - esp. Hollyoaks for my daughters new flat!
Will a new Sky freesat card (£20) work in a third party sat receiver slot? (Comark SL 35)
Look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards,
Steve M
Hi Steve, you dont need the card, channel 4 is now in the clear on astra 2d.
channel 4 in the clear, labelled 8350
10729 V 22000 5/6
you need to enter these perameters into you receiver & scan for it. Mark Aberfan Aerials Steve Morse: And to add, no, you can only use Sky cards in Sky boxes. Steve MorseTuesday 29 April 2008 10:04PM
Brilliant - many thanks for sharing your knowledge with a complete novice to satellite TV. I'll give this a try tomorrow night. William KirkpatrickSunday 18 May 2008 10:14PM
Hi.
When Freesat was first announced some 18 months ago I bought from Maplins a satellite receiver that does not have a slot for a card. Does anyone know if and when I will be able to receive channel 4 and 5 also UK history.Thanks
Bill KirkpatrickfrankWednesday 28 May 2008 11:23AM
Do I need a flat screen tv to benefit from HD freesat?frank: You do get a better picture on a normal TV with Freesat HD, but if you want the whole experience then a widescreen HD screen is necessary. For HD you need a HD ready set, HDMI lead and an HD receiver. 
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