smary 14 #1 Posted May 21, 2020 Can I use my old sky box as a freesat receiver and if yes how do I go about it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
speleo1 10 #2 Posted May 21, 2020 Just use it as you are doing now without subscriptions, you will be limited to what you can see, ,maybe need retuning, and maybe better with a Freesat box. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
willman 10 #3 Posted May 22, 2020 Once upon a time you needed a card to facilitate the free stuff,don't know if thats still the case these days now that its Comsat owned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
iansheff 88 #4 Posted May 22, 2020 1 hour ago, willman said: Once upon a time you needed a card to facilitate the free stuff, don't know if thats still the case these days now that its Comsat owned. Yes I looked at getting a card for my Sky box, think it was about £20, I didn't bother. I still use my Sky box to watch the Freeview channels because it gives me the +1 option if there are 2 programmes I like on at the same time. With the catch up services available now such as Freeview play you can catch up with a lot of the channels that is if you have smart TV or something like a Roku box. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
alchresearch 214 #5 Posted May 22, 2020 "If you’ve previously had Sky TV, you can simply connect your Sky box to the existing cables in your home, your Sky Viewing card automatically became a Freesat card once your monthly Sky TV subscription ended." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Ghozer 112 #6 Posted May 22, 2020 But yes, you do need a card (even if it's an expired Sky one) to be able to decrypt some of the channels! You will be VERY limited without a card! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
smary 14 #7 Posted May 30, 2020 Just to let you know - Sky box up and running. thanks for all the help Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
richb99 10 #8 Posted May 31, 2020 I have used old sky boxes as freeview boxes and suggest you use the "Favourites" function to include all the stations you CAN view and avoid having to go through all the stations which are encrypted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Longy67 23 #9 Posted June 7, 2020 So, if I get an old sky box, I can just plug the wires into it from the dish to watch freeview stuff, I just need a card??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Ghozer 112 #10 Posted June 8, 2020 2 hours ago, Longy67 said: So, if I get an old sky box, I can just plug the wires into it from the dish to watch freeview stuff, I just need a card??? Pretty much, yeah - there will be some channels (although not many) that will work without a card... but having a card offers decryption of more channels (Even if an inactive card) - but you could call sky and get an old card converted to a 'freeview' card... (There are also other tricks you can do to receive other channels, such as searching for different MUX's online, and entering the polarization mux and channel info etc.... Some times you may need to realign the dish too.. - but dont worry about all that :) if you're just wanting to normal freeview! :) ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Longy67 23 #11 Posted June 11, 2020 On 08/06/2020 at 02:43, Ghozer said: Pretty much, yeah - there will be some channels (although not many) that will work without a card... but having a card offers decryption of more channels (Even if an inactive card) - but you could call sky and get an old card converted to a 'freeview' card... (There are also other tricks you can do to receive other channels, such as searching for different MUX's online, and entering the polarization mux and channel info etc.... Some times you may need to realign the dish too.. - but dont worry about all that if you're just wanting to normal freeview! ) Cheers Ghozer...👍👍👍 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
PlayStation 10 #12 Posted June 11, 2020 you won't be able to use the live pause, rewind and recording features. so just keep that in mind. don't know if it is still the same but years ago when we got rid of sky and just used it as a freesat box, they said if we paid £10 we could still use the record function. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...