Sky "Pay Once,Watch Forever" and "FreeSat"

[Chris]

Originally Posted by ntluser

Having a quad-LNB is something I have been thinking of but if you have a Sky system who fits the quad-LNB please? And what sort of costs are involved?

As Graham said, if you're interested in Sky, then a Sky installer will come and do it. However I would recommend a true Freesat box for your spare room rather than a FreesatFromSky box, unless you're thinking about upgrading the second box to receive subscription channels at some point. True Freesat is a far better proposition if you know you're never going to need any of the clutter that Sky installs in all its boxes, whether or not they are for free channels only. You can get any independent aerial contractor in to do it in that case.

I'm afraid I don't know exactly what the cost would be; the only time I've called in an independent installer was for a job off the mainland, and they always charge more for that sort of thing. I would hope that they would supply and fit everything for no more than about £150 (excluding the Freesat box, which would cost you anything from about £40 for a very basic SD one up to about £295 for a full-on HD PVR).

[ntluser]

Cheers Graham / Chris,

Thanks for that. Did not want to take any action and find myself in hot water with Sky.

My current basic Sky box cannot receive the ITV HD signal, which is receivable on a proper FreeSAT box and is also receivable on a number of PC satellite cards.

Having a separate box is useful in the event that my finances decline and I have to give up Sky in the future.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Humax HD box but would appreciate any recommendations about other FreeSAT boxes, including the "official" FreeSAT box.

As it is, before I buy anything these days I tend to research its specifications on the internet so that what I buy meets my requirements and is future-proofed.

Thanks again for your help.

[Chris]

I've seen two Freesat boxes in action; a SD Goodmans and the Humax Foxsat HD PVR. The Goodmans is mine; I'm happy with it for what we wanted, which was to get digital TV in our holiday flat. The menus are basic but more functional than Sky's EPG, yet without any clutter (i.e. channels you're not subscribed to).

Some friends down the road from us have the Humax and are delighted with it. It's attached to the HD telly in their living room. I've not played with it myself but it certainly seems nice.

Any box with the Freesat logo is an 'official' Freesat product, in that it will carry the Freesat EPG and satisfies the technical specifications laid down by Freesat, which crucially include an ethernet port so broadband interactivity can be added at a future point, e.g. the BBC iPlayer. Of course you can pick up any unencrypted satellite TV channel with any free-to-air satellite receiver but now Freesat is here I can't see why anyone would want to do that, unless they were a bit of a hobbyist and wanted some specific features only available on certain boxes.

Freesat are not intending to limit the number of manufacturers that can produce Freesat boxes, but they are insisting on working with each manufacturer to ensure that the products meet the spec before they are allowed to use the logo, which is why there is a relatively limited range available at the moment. For example Humax has the only PVR for the time being, although I understand Metronic hope to have one out by late spring.

[Kymmy]

I must see if there's a new firmware for my Mutant that'll work with the freesat EPG...but still keeps it's capabiltiy with the other sats..