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Upgrading from Sky to Freesat

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellite box with a Freesat one.

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellit
published on UK Free TV

If you have an existing Sky or fSfS (Freesat from Sky) installation and want to go to upgrade to Freesat, it is a simple process.

First, buy the Freesat box from a Argos, Curry.digital, Comet, John Lewes or your local independent shop:



In the box you will find the Freesat box:



Also included will be a remote control, and this model also comes with a SCART cable, a HDMI cable and a stereo-with-composite cable. Unpack the ones you need:



You old Sky box looks like this:



Unplug the mains first from the Sky box, then pull out the SCART (or SCARTs) and then unscrew the connection to the satellite dish.



Remove the Sky box and fit the Freesat box. Reconnect the satellite cable (take care as to not damage the connection) and then the SCART and finally connect the mains power:



The box will look like this:



The box also contains the manual, which has full installation instructions. Finally fit the batteries into the remote control.



The TV screen first displays the box's logo



The first set-up screen allows you to select the TV type, widescreen mode and resolution:



Next the box checks for the satellite signal:



Then there is a check for updated software:



Then you enter your postcode and the box checks it:



The next step is a scan for channels. This takes about 30 seconds:



And that's it. You can now view channels, like 108 for BBC HD:



Or press the GUIDE button for the EPG:



(Apologies for the photos not being of the top quality)



Help with Free satellite?
What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fau1
Can I receive UK TV in Ghana?2
What is a CA module?3
My box says "No Satellite signal being received"4
Is there any way I can get free channels via satellite and have the kind of hard5
In this section
Freesat adds a plethora of new channels in time for Christmas including channel 1
A tale of a two Freesat boxes2
Yesterday, Drama and Really joining Freesat this month3
PBS America joins Freesat for Halloween4
Fixing the Freesat Freetime internet connection problem5
Satellite TV operators FRANSAT, TIVUSAT and our Freesat launch FreeTV Alliance 6

Comments
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

5:22 PM

Antonino Barresi: Please see the "Where can I receive it" on All about Freesat | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice and also Astra 2D at 28.2°E - LyngSat SatTracker .

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Paul Timmins
8:19 PM

sorry in advance for my question if youve covered it before! i am gonna end my sky+ subscription and eventually go with FreeSat possibly FreeSat+, if i just stick with the Sky+ box after disconnection (1) how many channels should i receive fromy Sky free? (2) how many channels can/should i get if i go with the FreeSat option instead? In other words how much difference is there between FreeSat & the free channels i'll get after i disconnect Sky?

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Paul Timmins's 6 posts GB flag
Sunday, 23 January 2011
I
Ian Moore
5:01 PM

bet this has been asked before !
I have ordinary sky which im cancelling
I am sure to receive hd freesat _ i need to do something or add something to my ordinary-been-there-ages dish ??
But I cant find the answer anywhere and dont fancy getting ripped off by some tv engineer!!!
ANyone know??
Many thanks

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Ian Moore's 1 post GB flag
P
Peter
5:19 PM

I have moved to a new house.
In my existing house I used a TV aeriel and a free-view box with my Non HD Tv
This new house has a satellite dish installed with two cables running into the house.
There is no TV aeriel.
Is it cheaper for me to have a TV aeriel fitted or do I buy a sky box?
Do I then need a card?
Which of the two cables to use? Both?


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Peter's 1 post GB flag
Les Nicol
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:28 PM

Peter - The existing dish with two cables from the dish would have been for a twin tuner SKY Plus or Plus HD or "Freest" Plus HD receiver where these have twin tuners they require two feeds from the dish. Your options are have a new aerial fitted externally for your current Freeview box - Purchase a "Freesat" receiver - or Subdcibe to SKY. The least costly option here would in my view would be getting youself a "Freesat" receiver as the antenna and wiring is in place. Their is a range of "Freesat" receivers ie; Standard definition High Definition and those which are HD and Record to either an internal HDD or require an external storage device such as a pen drive or HDD. These cost from just under £50 up to just under £250 depending on capability and functionality. I couldn't accurately quote on an aerial installation but can give a "marker" of around £150.

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Les Nicol's 991 posts GB flag
Les Nicol
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:33 PM

Ian moore - your existing dish should suffice - If your SKY receiver is working OK then it's a straight swop over of receivers.

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Les Nicol's 991 posts GB flag
Les Nicol
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:39 PM

P.S> You might need additional feed from the dish and LNB upgraded, but only if you opted for a Freesat receiver with dual recording capablility. There is a model with single tuner recording capablity but needs a pen drive or external storage HDD that uses a single feed from the dish.

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Les Nicol's 991 posts GB flag
Les Nicol
sentiment_satisfiedGold

6:52 PM

Paul Timmins - You will get HD and if you wanted BBCiPlayer (fully functional) and - ITV player (beta testing at the moment only on Humax receivers) plus the extended functionality were you to go with "Freesat" plus HD. In staying with SKY you would lose the recording capablity. You will get the BBC ITV etc and all the free to air channels but you may need a FSFS card from SKY at a cost of £25.

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Les Nicol's 991 posts GB flag
Les Nicol
sentiment_satisfiedGold

7:02 PM

P>S "Freesat" has around upwards of 130 channels but many of these receivers although not all have a non - Freesat mode option thus allowing these receivers to tune to 1000 and more channels with a 5000 channel memory capacity. If going this route check receiver specs before you buy.

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Les Nicol's 991 posts GB flag
E
Edd
11:13 PM

Hi there,

I was wondering if i would need a new dish to get freesat HD as currently i have the Standard Definition sky box?

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Edd's 3 posts GB flag
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