Can Sky+ Box & Dish Be Addapted?

[msutton1984]

Ive had my contract with Sky+ for almost the 12months now and don't
want to continue with them after. Is it possible to use the equiptment I
recieved from them to get free Satalite TV channels.
So far ive figurd out that i have:-
Mini Dish
Universal Quad LNB
Thompson DSI8210CSI (Sky+ Box) - Which all i know is, its got 80gb space, 2 card slots, 2 usb ports, dolby and 2 dish inputs.

I have read up already on the LNB Quad and have a good understanding of what thats about, but i have no clue of whether the dish or box is of any use of me in the future.

[charlie1966]

You need to do nothing to use the sky box to receive free to air satellite. It will work as it is.

[msutton1984]

Thing is tho it doesnt?
Ive been cut off twice before and loose a lot of free to air channels.

I did read an article regarding Sky channels being recieved for free and it said its not possible but whats the difference between a freeview box and setting yourself up with (for example) the kid of equiptment it shows in your signature charlie??
would you get more channels?

[charlie1966]

Don't take any insult from this but are you sure when your sky was cut off, that it was free to air channels that were lost? Ie which channels did you loose?

The sky receiver in my signature is doing exactly what you want your Sky receiver to do, ie it has no sub and can get all the fta channels. The tm6900 is used for HD and its recording facilities with an external Hard Disk for FTA. The Protek receiver is an IP receiver for foreign satellites on the 1mtr dish. It doesn't seem to be supported on this site but many simular options are. The advantages of this type of receiver are slowly but surely being shut down at the moment.

By the way the recording facility will be lost when you cancel teh sub unless you continue to pay Sky.

[msutton1984]

Sorry i thinks it must be me being confused by terms...
Is FTA different to Freeview channels??
Because basically (not all) but quite a few of the channels we would receive on freeview are always cut off.
I read in another post that unless you pay sky you cant get sky, so does that mean if i dont pay sky i woulnt ever be able to recieve sky channels such as, Sky1-2-3, Sky Sports and Sky Movies??
I think im also being confused because people who i know that are set up to receive these channels are doing it through cable...

BTW (None Taken - Insult) Im really greatfull for your help understanding!

[charlie1966]

FTA is the free channels available on satellite so if you cancel your sky subscription you will still get BBC,ITV,C4,C5 and many more.
Freeview is terrestrial based, ie via an outdoor aerial usually but not always. The Irish system is or will be different to the UK so I can't comment further on that.

You can't get Sky on satellite with out a subscription.

I don't deal with cable so I can't advise you on that. The cable forum may be able to answer questions on that subject.

[msutton1984]

OK thanks charlie, big help!

[nanochickin]

You can use the dish and lnb and thats about it.

The PVR function on the Sky+ box will only work if you have a valid subscription, although it should work as just a receiver on other channels on other satellites as long as the symbol rate is either 27500 or 22000 You will also need to periodically point the dish back at Astra 2 28.2e as Sky boxes go a bit screwy when they haven't got the data off transponder 4 (11778 V) for a while.

The box should still be able to receiver both Free to air and Free to view channels as long as it has a valid Sky card in the slot.

If you intend to use it for free to view i would wait a few months before you cancel, at least until you receive your new viewing card. They are due sometime around April. The blue card with the Yellow house will cease to work soon after the new cards come out



Nano

[Robbo]

Originally Posted by msutton1984

Thing is tho it doesnt?
Ive been cut off twice before and loose a lot of free to air channels.

You will not lose any satellite FTA or Free to view channels if you cancel the subscription.

Name a channel that you lose, and it will be a subcription channel,in which case you can't have it. Also some Free To View channels are also available FTA should you remove the Sky card or when Sky do a card swap.

[DAVEYEFF]

Originally Posted by nanochickin

You can use the dish and lnb and thats about it.

The PVR function on the Sky+ box will only work if you have a valid subscription, although it should work as just a receiver on other channels on other satellites as long as the symbol rate is either 27500 or 22000 You will also need to periodically point the dish back at Astra 2 28.2e as Sky boxes go a bit screwy when they haven't got the data off transponder 4 (11778 V) for a while.

The box should still be able to receiver both Free to air and Free to view channels as long as it has a valid Sky card in the slot.

If you intend to use it for free to view i would wait a few months before you cancel, at least until you receive your new viewing card. They are due sometime around April. The blue card with the Yellow house will cease to work soon after the new cards come out



Nano

hey nano, when u say the box wont work with the old card after they send out the new ones, what would i need to do, can u buy them? cos am using my old sky box in the bedroom as a freesat box from sky. so if it gans off, am i doomed?