View Full Version : Sky Digital Without Subscription
OliverScott
16-02-2002, 19:44
We live in an area with VERY poor TV reception and were wondering about how you go about getting sky digital without subscribing to any packages (don't want the extra channels, and don't want to be paying a monthly fee).
Having spoken to some people who live nearby, they told us that they had just done what we are interested in and it had cost them £100 for the dish, digibox and installation, and they were getting all the free to air channels without having to subscribe to sky...
I have looked on the sky website and the amount of information they gve you is absolutely pathetic
No mention of getting sky without subscribing, and very little information about anything for that matter! (or am I missing somthing??)
Found on a government website it quoted as £315 for the box and £100 for the dish and installation - is this out of date or actually right??
http://www.digitaltv.culture.gov.uk/faqs.html#will
Have also done some searches on Google, but have found very few good informative (and current) websites.
Am I right in thinking that you can now get ITV through Sky? What are the Free to Air channels that you can get without subscribing? To get these free 'terestial' channels you have to get a card from the BBC don't you? How easy is it to get/is there a charge?
How much does it realy cost?
Any good sites where I can find this information?
Cheers for any help!!
RoyJones
16-02-2002, 22:34
Wouldn't you be better looking at a Digital TV with built in decoder and getting a high grain ariel.
There are 16 free to air channels.
All you need is a normal telly licence.
guess thats depends if a new TV is needed and if a high grain ariel will give a good enough reception :)
Originally posted by kcxdev
guess thats depends if a new TV is needed and if a high grain ariel will give a good enough reception :)
Does this type of aerial make you *cough* regular, or would they be after a high gain aerial :D
On topic now, we've got a Sky box without subscription and you can call SKY and they will send you a card for all the non-subscription channels but strangely that doesnt include BBC1 etc
Its possible that i'd have to contact another dept to get this but because I dont need it (i have ITV Digital) I have not pursued it. :)
cheekster
16-02-2002, 23:05
The very unhelpful people at Sky have now withdrawn that offer your neighbours had whereby you pay £100 installation for a mini-dish and digibox without having to take out a subscription. Think it was beginning or middle of January this year?
Minimum monthly subscription package now is £10 per month which only gives you five channels in addition to the free-to-air channels. Or £16 for the Entertainment package (approx 50 odd channels).
Kind of expensive when you consider that ya only really after the free channels.
Hope that helps?
Cheekster.
Originally posted by grizzo
Does this type of aerial make you *cough* regular, or would they be after a high gain aerial :D
hey, that was a copy and paste jobby there! :nuts:
Don't C4/E4 give out free to air cards?
OliverScott
17-02-2002, 00:49
Originally posted by cheekster
The very unhelpful people at Sky have now withdrawn that offer your neighbours had whereby you pay £100 installation for a mini-dish and digibox without having to take out a subscription. Think it was beginning or middle of January this year?
Arghhhh!!! Looks like we are too late then :(
Cheers for the info people!
BTW There is no chance of getting digital terestial where I live (in the bottom of a valley in the middle of nowhere) - even with a HUGE arial mounted on a long pole above the roof and some deacent signal boosters, on standard analogue we get BBC1 & CH4 fuzzy, BBC2 fuzzy and flickering to black and white, and no CH5 or ITV :(
Hummmmm...
Would it be possible to buy a second hand digibox and a dish and set it up here - what sort of prices do they go for?
How easy is it to install yourself? :) Or are we talking about imposible?
Cable Monkey
18-02-2002, 08:38
You should be able to pick up a second hand digibox for £40-£50, but installing the dish may need to be a DIY job or find an installer who will negotiate. I'm pretty confident you can get the lot done for less than £100. Contact the BBC for your free to air card. Sky don't even need to know unless you wish to subscribe to others.
pjweston
18-02-2002, 09:29
The £100 offer did, indeed, end at the beginning of this year. I believe that you can still get the digibox without getting a Sky subscription, but since Sky no longer subsidise the box it's £215 to buy and you'll have to pay full whack for the installation. A better option would be to get the digibox with a year's subscription to Sky (£10/ £16pcm) and cancel your subscription at the end of the first year (when the box is yours).
The BBC channels are encrypted on Sky to stop non-license payers from watching them; UK license payers are entitled to receive them free of charge. You can request a suitable 'Free To View' (FTV) card from the BBC if you can find the correct phone number (try their web site or search Google for 'Sky FTV' or 'Sky FTA'). Since the card is identical to the standard Sky viewing card, you should also be able to get Sky to reprogram you existing card when you stop subscribing. Finding someone at Sky who admits to this, though, may be a challenge.
I would strongly recommend buying a copy of 'What Satellite' as there's lots of adverts of places that will be abele to give you more information on doing this sort of thing !
There's also a thread on www.avforums.com for Digital and Satellite TV, so hopefully the forum users over there will be able to help ! ;)
OliverScott
18-02-2002, 10:53
Cheers people!!! :)
sideshowbob
18-02-2002, 11:49
Was reading in the news section of What Hi Fi that Pace are launching a new gadget at the end of March. It's a digital TV adapter for folks who don't have a digibox ... as far as I can work out, it's small, £100 and should sort out folks who don't have a sky box or similar.
malcolmcleugh
18-02-2002, 15:17
Originally posted by sideshowbob
Was reading in the news section of What Hi Fi that Pace are launching a new gadget at the end of March. It's a digital TV adapter for folks who don't have a digibox ... as far as I can work out, it's small, £100 and should sort out folks who don't have a sky box or similar.
This box only receives digital terrestrial so no use if in rural area where there is no coverage :(
Would be feasible to make one for digital satelite but Sky won't release the encryption technology to 3rd parties so would not be able to view BBC, ITV, C4, C5 all of which need the FTV card so no point in releasing it
sideshowbob
18-02-2002, 15:23
Oh :(
OliverScott
19-02-2002, 11:43
Well this is a turn up for the books!
I emailed Sky this question a few days ago (when I first posted this thread) and have just got a reply.
My question (minus the padding):
"I am looking for information on the exact costs involved in accessing the Free to Air channels through Sky Digital."
Their reply:
"The Terms and Conditions of the free system offer state that the
installation charge is subject to a twelve month subscription to Sky Television. Should you wish to take advantage of the free system offer and not subscribe to Sky, the installation charge applicable is £100.00."
So looks like the deal is still on?!? Well thats how I read it anyway! (I guess that 'free system offer' refers to a dish and digibox?)
pjweston
19-02-2002, 12:45
That sounds exactly the same as the old 2001 offer (which AFAIK should no longer be available). If you can get them to do it, go for it!
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