menuMENU    UK Free TV logo Freesat

 

 

Click to see updates

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, 10 November 2011
M
Martin bindon
6:42 PM
Cardiff

thanks for replying braintist it has had my totally confused the wire from the sky dish is only 8 or 9 metres long when it was first installed they had to put an extender arm on the dish as to close to my house and he said then if that didnt work he might have to put it on the other side of my house so I've got another extender arm and will try making it even further from my house see if that improves the signal i mean i get most channels so not really worth me shifting it to the other side of my house but it just bugs me i cant get some of the hd channels i also have a single lnb and thinking of swapping it when i put the other extender arm on it

link to this comment
Martin bindon's 9 posts GB flag
Martin's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

6:52 PM

Martin bindon: I am wondering why you needed the "extender arm". Can you explain please?

link to this comment
Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
M
Martin bindon
7:13 PM
Cardiff

the dish is pointing what looks like straight down the side of my house and next doors and the next set of houses in the street are not directly in the way but close but other houses in my street are all a bit weird some have dishes on the same side some have them on the other side am gonna get one of them dish pointer meters off ebay as well just to see if i cant improve the signal a little as it seems to have a good signal strength on most channels around 75% to about 84%

link to this comment
Martin bindon's 9 posts GB flag
Martin's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
Martin bindon
7:24 PM
Cardiff

i dont think there is anything in the way but the way the houses are built it might be pointing back inwards that is at the next set of houses in my street not really sure if that will affect the dish as about 12 to 15 meters from the dish just thought as he said he needed a extender arm when he put it in that if i put another one on there it would push it a little further from my house and as i only need to improve my signal a little bit

link to this comment
Martin bindon's 9 posts GB flag
Martin's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
N
Nelson
8:21 PM

-today I have suddenly lost ITV1,2,yesterday, with the set top box( a humax pvr 9200t) showing plety of signal (84%) but no data integrity (between 0 & 10 %)

this has lasted from about 2 pm to now (8.15)
I have 2 sets, each with its own outdoor aerial, and BOT are affected!

In the past this used to happen to BBC- I lost all channels during the summer, and used analogue - but the BBC sems to have got its act together now
Any ideas? It seems to be sync problems?

link to this comment
Nelson's 2 posts GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

10:20 PM

Nelson: If you could provide a full postcode it might be possible to provide some specific information.

link to this comment
Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Sunday, 27 November 2011
J
joe goodwin
9:40 PM

hi, my sister asked my opinion as i am more technical than her (not that good though) about getting freeview boxes for 3 tv's in her house that do not work because of the switch over, the ariel goes in to a booster which then does tv downstairs and the said 3, one upstairs should work as it is flat scren digital but doesn't so i thought as she has a sky dish she might as well get freesat and then a splitter and a couple of more boxes once it was working ok. tried it today but it just says 0% signal, is it because she no longer has sky? any help greatfully appreciated

link to this comment
joe goodwin's 1 post GB flag
P
Peter Henderson
11:48 PM

Joe:

(1) It may be the booster that is causing Freeview not to work post DSO. A decent aerial installer should be able to remove it and advise you if this is the case.

You should also check with Digital UK's postcode checker just to see what transmitters you should be receiving:

Digital UK - Postcode checker

(2) Freesat does not work with splitters. You need to change the LNB to a multi feed LNB (Check to see what type of LNB is on the dish). These come in various forms i.e. dual (two feeds) Quad (four feeds) and octo (eight feeds) enabling a variaty of Freesat receiver/PVR (recorder) combinations. You need at least a dual LNB to run one Freesat PVR. An octo LNB can accommodate 4 PVRs or 8 receivers, or any combination in between e.g. 1 PVR and 6 receivers, 2 PVR's and 4 receivers etc.

Hope this helps.

link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 12 posts GB flag
P
Peter Henderson
11:56 PM

P.S The booster is probably a distribution amplifier.

Have you checked that the TVs are actually capable of receiving Freeview ?

Just because it's a flatscreen TV doesn't mean it can receive digital TV.

It may simply be a case of buying a few Freeview boxes.

link to this comment
Peter Henderson's 12 posts GB flag
Select more comments

Your comment please
Please post a question, answer or commentUK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.







Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.