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.
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.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 ??
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.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.
Yep, and I forgot to mention you might also need to change the LNB holder when replacing the Sky LNB.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.
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.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.
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.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.
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.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.
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.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.
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.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 Tony. Have you any suggestions for boxes / controllers that are particularly easy to use for a non-technical audience?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, good feedback there.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.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 agree. Sky Q interface is very intuitive and it does the basic tasks as nicely as Netflix or Amazon.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 haven't seen any of those boxes offer native support for Netflix or Disney, most use a variant of the Linux operating system.is it possible to run Netflix or Disney+ or Now TV or similar directly off those combo boxes?
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.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)
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.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.
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.Why would i want to pay a subscription to sky, when 90% of the channels are available, subsciption free on Fresat.
Thanks for clarification, so a Chromecast or similar would be the only option for Netflix or Now TV I guess?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)
So I'm wondering if we can access streaming services directly, or would we have to go the Chromecast route?
What exactly do you mean?Thanks for clarification, so a Chromecast or similar would be the only option for Netflix or Now TV I guess?
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