# Is Sky required to notify me before my contract ends?



## geriatric (3 Jan 2022)

Hi

Are Sky obliged to let you know that your TV contract is coming to an end?

Mine expired in Nov 21 and they've charged me €43 since then for Signature package? Up from €22.

Thanks


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## joer (3 Jan 2022)

geriatric said:


> Hi
> 
> Are Sky obliged to let you know that your TV contract is coming to an end?
> 
> Mine expired in Nov 21 and they've charged me €43 since then for Signature package? Up from €22.





geriatric said:


> Hi
> 
> Are Sky obliged to let you know that your TV contract is coming to an end?
> 
> ...


They will not let you know . You can go on live chat and ask when your contract is up though.


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## NoRegretsCoyote (3 Jan 2022)

I know I get a letter every time the price of the package is changing.


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## Cervelo (3 Jan 2022)

I would have said no they don't but from their website FAQ section

"All our TV packages start with Sky Signature or Sky Ultimate TV, which is an 12 month minimum contract. Our Sky Broadband packages also have an 12 month minimum term.
If you need to move house whilst you'’re in contract don’t worry – we’ll move your equipment and get you set up for free when you register for Sky VIP rewards after placing your order.
We’ll notify you of your contract end date after placing your order, and *we’ll remind you one month before when it's time to renew let you know of the latest deals available for you*."


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## geriatric (3 Jan 2022)

Thanks for your replies.

Seeing that in the UK Ofcom require notification to the customer to happen. Just wondering is the same here regulated by Comreg?


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## joer (3 Jan 2022)

I was with them for many years and I always knew when my contract was up but I never got any notification from them as to when it was up , never. Perhaps it has changed in the last two years .


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## PebbleBeach2020 (3 Jan 2022)

Was with sky for 12 years I'd say. Our basic package was 29 euros and went to 39 euro next month. I've given notice and gone from sky in 2 weeks time. 

The quality of fare on this atrocious now for 39 euro a month.


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## Pinoy adventure (3 Jan 2022)

Our current situation with sky is my sibling had a sky account set up in the family home costing €75 a month.for the renewal it jumped up too €83 a month. After haggling it reduced too €75 once again.

I heard the price she was getting so I decided too shop around and got the same package with sky for €49 a month.

It says they will inform you 30 days in advance of renewal.

I cannot get my head around why they charge existing customers more than new customers.
Surely they should be treated equally…


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## MrEarl (3 Jan 2022)

Pinoy adventure said:


> I cannot get my head around why they charge existing customers more than new customers.
> Surely they should be treated equally…


They do it, because they can get away with it, and make increased profits, as a result.

Its the same with many other service providers, be it electricity,  gas, mobile phone, motor insurance etc.

While it's fundamentally wrong, the Irish Government or our Regulators won't do anything to bring an end to it, while we as a population tend to tolerate it - rather than vote with our feet, each time our contracts expire.

I left Sky a couple of years ago, having been paying them about €1,700 per year. I'd been a long time customer, had endless lengthy telephone conversations with them to get short term discounts etc. The bottom line is that I'm delighted that I left them,  there's lots of alternative TV offerings out there, for almost everything that you might want to watch,  and for a lot less money!

Cancel your subscription, expect a barrage of "come back, we love you" type emails and calls, but don't give in... Get yourself a combo Saorview plus Free to Air Satellite box, and then follow up with the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney etc. as required. You'll save a fortune!


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## muinteoir (3 Jan 2022)

geriatric said:


> Thanks for your replies.
> 
> Seeing that in the UK Ofcom require notification to the customer to happen. Just wondering is the same here regulated by Comreg?


When I asked about the renewal date they said that they would not contact me to remind me of the date. I have to notify them of any change in the month before the renewal.


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## muinteoir (3 Jan 2022)

MrEarl said:


> They do it, because they can get away with it, and make increased profits, as a result.
> 
> Its the same with many other service providers, be it electricity,  gas, mobile phone, motor insurance etc.
> 
> ...


who do you have internet with?


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## Pinoy adventure (3 Jan 2022)

MrEarl said:


> They do it, because they can get away with it, and make increased profits, as a result.
> 
> Its the same with many other service providers, be it electricity,  gas, mobile phone, motor insurance etc.
> 
> ...


Im quite surprised we didn’t get any come back we love you type of emails but the only thing that is different is the name on the account,everything else is the same apart from a decent savings on the monthly price paid


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## roker (13 Jan 2022)

geriatric said:


> Hi
> 
> Are Sky obliged to let you know that your TV contract is coming to an end?
> 
> ...


Eircom does the same thing


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## peemac (14 Jan 2022)

A new trick Sky plays (has done for last couple of years) is to try and get you to bundle your Netflix subscription with their service.

Only "advantage" is you make a single payment rather than individual payments to two services. No difference in price.

Once you bundle Netflix (or anything else like broadband), you tend to be more tied to them as it means interruption to multiple services and you are less likely to want the hassle and therefore by giving them more business, you give them more control, and they repay you bay charging you more/ offering less discount

BTW, its really easy to get the basic package for €21.50 (its barely worth this these days) - simply tell them that you watch very little TV and its nearly 100% netflix / amazon prime.

They will mention some sky series / box sets - simply say its not your thing and such programmes hold no interest and you'd only consider staying if it was about €15 a month and even then you think its expensive

You'll have a 50% off offer very quickly. 

But the real value is in the freeview/saorview combination. Approx €300 and no more sky subscriptions ever and still a huge array of channels


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## RetirementPlan (14 Jan 2022)

peemac said:


> But the real value is in the freeview/saorview combination. Approx €300 and no more sky subscriptions ever and still a huge array of channels


Are there quality providers who will come and install dish and boxes and aerial to make this happen? I contacted one crowd in Dublin around October to be told they booked out up to Christmas. I can't get any response from them now.

You do still have to get your broadband from somewhere though.


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## peemac (14 Jan 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Are there quality providers who will come and install dish and boxes and aerial to make this happen? I contacted one crowd in Dublin around October to be told they booked out up to Christmas. I can't get any response from them now.
> 
> You do still have to get your broadband from somewhere though.


Plenty of providers out there - a google search will give many options

Plenty of broadband options too. Pure Telecom are a decent no-frills option.

More and more service companies are looking at bundling to stop churn rates and charge higher fees. You'll probably see electricity, gas and waste all bundled together (I think Panda already do this). The more interruption something causes you, the less likely you are to change.

I can't find the article now, but it was a study into churn rates and preventing it.

Netflix are now seen as being very clever - on their premium package they allow 4 people to watch at the same time. They say it should be "one household" but in reality they know it is shared between friends.

The clever bit is they know you are less likely to cancel if it disrupts others, hence they have an enviable low churn rate.


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## Gervan (14 Jan 2022)

It took me 3 years to get away from Sky. Each time I rang to cancel (contract says you have to call them) they would just talk me into the ground, 20 mins, 45 mins, until I accepted some minor change. I would never go back to them.

Currently have cancelled Virgin, which was very easy, even though I had to phone. The price doubled when the contract expired, but I didn't want to cancel before now while I had multiple people working from home and schooling from home. Moving to Digiweb, who have been very pleasant to deal with so far.


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## Leo (14 Jan 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Are there quality providers who will come and install dish and boxes and aerial to make this happen?


If you already have a Sky dish and feeds to where you want them, all you need to buy is a combo box (you don't even need that if your TV has a satellite input). Freesat is broadcast from the same Astra satellites as Sky, so no need to adjust the dish.


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## Cervelo (14 Jan 2022)

Leo said:


> If you already have a Sky dish and feeds to where you want them, all you need to buy is a combo box (you don't even need that if your TV has a satellite input). Freesat is broadcast from the same Astra satellites as Sky, so no need to adjust the dish.


Is this true for all Sky dish's, I was of the opinion that the older dish's had an LNB that would allow you do this 
But if you got a new dish from Sky in the last couple of years that the LNB wont work with anything other than a Sky Q box ??


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## Steven Barrett (14 Jan 2022)

I've had Sky for 17 years and I am never leaving them. I use them more and more. They Watch Anytime is brilliant. All the most up to date boxsets available at any time. They have all the sports packages between Sky and BT. They aren't cheap but I like watching sport and so I am prepared to pay for it. Besides sport, we don't watch a huge amount of tv and Sky would be the one we use the most. 

When I notice my direct debit gone up, I phone them up and get a discount. There's never any hassle getting one.


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## Leo (14 Jan 2022)

Cervelo said:


> Is this true for all Sky dish's, I was of the opinion that the older dish's had an LNB that would allow you do this
> But if you got a new dish from Sky in the last couple of years that the LNB wont work with anything other than a Sky Q box ??


Ah, that's a good point. If you have one of those newer LNBs, you'd need to replace that with a universal LNB. Easy enough if you can access the dish.


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## skrooge (14 Jan 2022)

Leo said:


> Ah, that's a good point. If you have one of those newer LNBs, you'd need to replace that with a universal LNB. Easy enough if you can access the dish.


And if not easy to get you there are plenty of non-sky companies that will do it for a price. The cost of which you'll make back soon enough.


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## Leo (14 Jan 2022)

skrooge said:


> And if not easy to get you there are plenty of non-sky companies that will do it for a price. The cost of which you'll make make soon enough.


Yep, and I forgot to mention you might also need to change the LNB holder when replacing the Sky LNB.

I've posted previously as well that if you live in an area with marginal Saorview coverage, you can get LNBs that will add the terrestrial signal to the satellite feeds, then just use a splitter at the receiver to separate them out again.


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## RetirementPlan (14 Jan 2022)

Leo said:


> If you already have a Sky dish and feeds to where you want them, all you need to buy is a combo box (you don't even need that if your TV has a satellite input). Freesat is broadcast from the same Astra satellites as Sky, so no need to adjust the dish.


No dish, no aerial, so starting from scratch. Most of what I've seen online seems to aimed at the person who's happy to get their hands dirty on set up and software updates. I'd prefer to be hands-off, just want to get something that works reliably for all the family, non-technical audience.


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## Leo (17 Jan 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> No dish, no aerial, so starting from scratch. Most of what I've seen online seems to aimed at the person who's happy to get their hands dirty on set up and software updates. I'd prefer to be hands-off, just want to get something that works reliably for all the family, non-technical audience.


That's where Sky makes sense. I've had a few of the alternative boxes and none so far have come close in terms of usability or user interface.


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## RetirementPlan (17 Jan 2022)

Leo said:


> That's where Sky makes sense. I've had a few of the alternative boxes and none so far have come close in terms of usability or user interface.


Yeah, they do seem to know their stuff on designing usable interfaces. That would defeat the purpose of getting away from Virgin and ongoing bills in my case at least though. 

If anyone has any good suggestions about installers with boxes with good interfaces and low maintenance, feel free to jump in.


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## Leo (17 Jan 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Yeah, they do seem to know their stuff on designing usable interfaces. That would defeat the purpose of getting away from Virgin and ongoing bills in my case at least though.
> 
> If anyone has any good suggestions about installers with boxes with good interfaces and low maintenance, feel free to jump in.


Freesat, SatWorld, & Satellite.ie in Dublin and Dalton TV serving the south east are a few options. If there are smaller independent electrical suppliers in your area they will likely have details for other installers in the area.


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## Tonysatellite (17 Jan 2022)

Leo said:


> Freesat, SatWorld, & Satellite.ie in Dublin and Dalton TV serving the south east are a few options. If there are smaller independent electrical suppliers in your area they will likely have details for other installers in the area.


Thanks for the link to my site Leo . As already mentioned if you are replacing a SKY Q box the LNB must be changed, a sky plus box uses a standard LNB. You must also add a small aerial to receive saorview and depending on what direction the aerial has to face (saorview coverage checker will help you with this) you may be able to utilize one of the existing two cables coming from your dish. Most free to air boxes just use one cable from the dish.

Hope this info is helpful Tony satellite.ie


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## RetirementPlan (17 Jan 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> Thanks for the link to my site Leo . As already mentioned if you are replacing a SKY Q box the LNB must be changed, a sky plus box uses a standard LNB. You must also add a small aerial to receive saorview and depending on what direction the aerial has to face (saorview coverage checker will help you with this) you may be able to utilize one of the existing two cables coming from your dish. Most free to air boxes just use one cable from the dish.
> 
> Hope this info is helpful Tony satellite.ie


Thanks Tony. Have you any suggestions for boxes / controllers that are particularly easy to use for a non-technical audience?


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## Tonysatellite (18 Jan 2022)

Most of the free to air combo boxes are pretty similar interface wise. Popular at the moment is the Amiko combo box but it does not auto update channels (some of the lesser known channels can change frequency ) and not every retailer will pre load the channel list.(if you scan channels yourself on a FTA box you need to do a lot of editing afterwards) Having said that it is pretty straightforward to re tune channels and its a rare enough occurrence.
Any Tv bought in the last 5 years will have saorview built in so another option would be to buy a "Freesat" only box which has a nice interface and does auto update, the slight downside is you have to switch sources on your TV between Saorview and Freesat UK channels. Another caveat is that Freesat boxes do not carry all the free to air channels, CNN being one example.


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## RetirementPlan (18 Jan 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> Most of the free to air combo boxes are pretty similar interface wise. Popular at the moment is the Amiko combo box but it does not auto update channels (some of the lesser known channels can change frequency ) and not every retailer will pre load the channel list.(if you scan channels yourself on a FTA box you need to do a lot of editing afterwards) Having said that it is pretty straightforward to re tune channels and its a rare enough occurrence.
> Any Tv bought in the last 5 years will have saorview built in so another option would be to buy a "Freesat" only box which has a nice interface and does auto update, the slight downside is you have to switch sources on your TV between Saorview and Freesat UK channels. Another caveat is that Freesat boxes do not carry all the free to air channels, CNN being one example.


Thanks, good feedback there.


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## RetirementPlan (10 Feb 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> Most of the free to air combo boxes are pretty similar interface wise. Popular at the moment is the Amiko combo box but it does not auto update channels (some of the lesser known channels can change frequency ) and not every retailer will pre load the channel list.(if you scan channels yourself on a FTA box you need to do a lot of editing afterwards) Having said that it is pretty straightforward to re tune channels and its a rare enough occurrence.
> Any Tv bought in the last 5 years will have saorview built in so another option would be to buy a "Freesat" only box which has a nice interface and does auto update, the slight downside is you have to switch sources on your TV between Saorview and Freesat UK channels. Another caveat is that Freesat boxes do not carry all the free to air channels, CNN being one example.


One further query Tony - is it possible to run Netflix or Disney+ or Now TV or similar directly off those combo boxes? We have fairly old TVs, so they're not smart at all. TBH, from what I hear, I think I'd prefer to stick with dumb TVs rather than smart in principle, though the market is obviously going the other way. 

So I'm wondering if we can access streaming services directly, or would we have to go the Chromecast route?


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## NoRegretsCoyote (10 Feb 2022)

Leo said:


> That's where Sky makes sense. I've had a few of the alternative boxes and none so far have come close in terms of usability or user interface.


I agree. Sky Q interface is very intuitive and it does the basic tasks as nicely as Netflix or Amazon.


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## Leo (11 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> is it possible to run Netflix or Disney+ or Now TV or similar directly off those combo boxes?


I haven't seen any of those boxes offer native support for Netflix or Disney, most use a variant of the Linux operating system.


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## Tonysatellite (15 Feb 2022)

Netflix etc control this pretty tightly so no boxes so far have these features. I suggested to Saorview years ago that netflix be included in their box but they declined saying they did not want people switching away from saorview? (which would happen regardless)


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## Leo (17 Feb 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> I suggested to Saorview years ago that netflix be included in their box but they declined saying they did not want people switching away from saorview? (which would happen regardless)


More likely is that they're just not big enough to source a box with the required spec to run the Netflix app and license it.


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## fayf (17 Feb 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> Most of the free to air combo boxes are pretty similar interface wise. Popular at the moment is the Amiko combo box but it does not auto update channels (some of the lesser known channels can change frequency ) and not every retailer will pre load the channel list.(if you scan channels yourself on a FTA box you need to do a lot of editing afterwards) Having said that it is pretty straightforward to re tune channels and its a rare enough occurrence.
> Any Tv bought in the last 5 years will have saorview built in so another option would be to buy a "Freesat" only box which has a nice interface and does auto update, the slight downside is you have to switch sources on your TV between Saorview and Freesat UK channels. Another caveat is that Freesat boxes do not carry all the free to air channels, CNN being one example.


I’ve had a free sat humax box for about 10 years, its full of features, auto updates, series link, record 2 channels at same time, pause live tv, basic but effective EPG. Why would i want to pay a subscription to sky, when 90% of the channels are available, subsciption free on Fresat. CNN was only dropped in recent months, and i don’t miss it.

The switching sources, is a “thing” alright, but i’ve got used to it. 

For my other “box”, i have tried a few, but have an Nvidia Shield for 3 years, and its the best streaming box i’ve ever used, use Netflix, RTE Player, Amazon etc. and you can install whatever streaming apps you want


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## Leo (17 Feb 2022)

fayf said:


> Why would i want to pay a subscription to sky, when 90% of the channels are available, subsciption free on Fresat.


Lots of people like the easier user interface. I've used combo boxes for years, but there's no way I'd set one up for my parents for fear of hours of tech support calls.


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## RetirementPlan (18 Feb 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> Netflix etc control this pretty tightly so no boxes so far have these features. I suggested to Saorview years ago that netflix be included in their box but they declined saying they did not want people switching away from saorview? (which would happen regardless)


Thanks for clarification, so a Chromecast or similar would be the only option for Netflix or Now TV I guess?


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## ClubMan (18 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> So I'm wondering if we can access streaming services directly, or would we have to go the Chromecast route?





RetirementPlan said:


> Thanks for clarification, so a Chromecast or similar would be the only option for Netflix or Now TV I guess?


What exactly do you mean?
How are you expecting Chromecast to work in this respect?
What would you be casting to it from?


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## RetirementPlan (18 Feb 2022)

You'd be casting to it from any mobile phone or laptop in the house, I guess. Running Netflix or Now TV on the phone, and casting to a Chromecast directly attached to the TV, as a separate source.


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## ClubMan (18 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> You'd be casting to it from any mobile phone or laptop in the house, I guess. Running Netflix or Now TV on the phone, and casting to a Chromecast directly attached to the TV, as a separate source.


Ok, I was just concerned that you thought that Chromecast could allow you access to such subscription services in and of itself.


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## Tonysatellite (21 Feb 2022)

Leo said:


> More likely is that they're just not big enough to source a box with the required spec to run the Netflix app and license it.


They were at the planning stage of their own box at that point and it did meet the required spec for netflix at that time. Their stated reason was as I mentioned above.



Leo said:


> Lots of people like the easier user interface. I've used combo boxes for years, but there's no way I'd set one up for my parents for fear of hours of tech support calls.


I think you would find that the freesat epg (Fayf said he/she was using a freesat box as opposed to a combo)  and menu are even easier than a combo box. The downside is you would have to switch the source back to the Tv to watch Saorview/RTE etc


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## Leo (21 Feb 2022)

Tonysatellite said:


> Their stated reason was as I mentioned above.


Yeah, just cynical me wondering if that is the real reason. Saorview are in trouble if their decision makers are that naïve    



Tonysatellite said:


> I think you would find that the freesat epg (Fayf said he/she was using a freesat box as opposed to a combo) and menu are even easier than a combo box.


Freesat EPG is pretty good alright. I actually have a '21 Sony TV with dual sat tuners and the worst EPG ever, Sony's response to a question on that was to just use the Freesat app!!


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## Conan (21 Feb 2022)

Rang Sky to consider reducing my bill. Was left holding for over 60 minutes. Rang back and said I wanted to upgrade my package and was answered within 2 minutes. When I asked for a better deal, I was told none was available. I was asked if I wanted to talk to somebody in the “Loyalty” (sic) area and was transferred, but hung up after 30 minutes. 
The Sky “customer service” is just appalling. A fast response if you want an upgrade but no response otherwise. Total joke.


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## Tonysatellite (26 Feb 2022)

Leo said:


> Yeah, just cynical me wondering if that is the real reason. Saorview are in trouble if their decision makers are that naïve
> 
> 
> Freesat EPG is pretty good alright. I actually have a '21 Sony TV with dual sat tuners and the worst EPG ever, Sony's response to a question on that was to just use the Freesat app!!


Helpful answer from Sony


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## RetirementPlan (2 Mar 2022)

Would the Freesat box mentioned in this Boards.ie post give me the option for Netflix and NowTV? I guess the limitation would be no Saorview on the box, so I'd be switching source for Irish channels.


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## Tonysatellite (3 Mar 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Would the Freesat box mentioned in this Boards.ie post give me the option for Netflix and NowTV? I guess the limitation would be no Saorview on the box, so I'd be switching source for Irish channels.


The post does not give a make/model of box so hard to say 100%


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## Leo (3 Mar 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Would the Freesat box mentioned in this Boards.ie post give me the option for Netflix and NowTV? I guess the limitation would be no Saorview on the box, so I'd be switching source for Irish channels.


Some of the options here include Netflix, bit no mention of NowTV.


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## RetirementPlan (9 Mar 2022)

Leo said:


> Some of the options here include Netflix, bit no mention of NowTV.


Thanks, good to know, though I'm not ready to try 'self sufficiency' on this. I really want a box that someone will install and stand over (with dish and aerial).


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## Leo (9 Mar 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Thanks, good to know, though I'm not ready to try 'self sufficiency' on this. I really want a box that someone will install and stand over (with dish and aerial).


Did you try any of the options in post #27?


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## RetirementPlan (9 Mar 2022)

Leo said:


> Did you try any of the options in post #27?


I did contact some of them, one came back with 'we're too busy to talk to you', I don't think I got other meaningful responses.

They all seemed to offer a 'standard box', which didn't seem to address the Netflix option for me.

I'm also going back and forth as to whether we actually need broadband in the house, or can we all work off hotspots.


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