OK well we binned SKY this weekend.
I am currently trying out the latest Humax Freesat HD recorder (virgin media not available where I am)
What you get:
Most of the free to air digital channels (no SSN tho) which you can get on the terrestrial version, you could only get this with a Sky Sports subscription on satelite.
BBC HD as a separate channel - nice feature though, if you select an SD programme that is also available in HD it tells you then and there so you can select that instead
ITV HD this is only available as a red button selection and similar to above except it is not available as a channel in its own right.
Channel 4 HD not available, not sure what the deal is on that.
The Humax box isnt as easy to use as the SKY plus ones and takes a bit of getting used to, I think they retail at about £249 ex VAT. I think they are very energy efficient when in standby. One thing during install I only had one satelite feed connected, and had to reset to factory after connecting the second later as it wouldn't recognise it, which prevented the dual record/playback feature.
http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/product.asp?ProdRef=10073&cat=stb
I can still get movies on demand via my media server/xbox/etc although download times particularly for HD are vast even with decent broadband.
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The only thing I'm jealous of is the fact that there will be no coverage of england games or the FA cup in HD as they are on sultana and ITV so you can only see some of those if you have freesat HD in the case of ITV and then not everyone seems able to get that.
ITV HD will be available on sky soon enough and setanta HD will appear once they take setanta sports news off which now virgin customers can get sky sports news will be soon hopefully
Should have done it ages ago.
Used to have freeview in the bedroom, but the other half loves the on demand service so she can catch up with soaps in lazing in bed at the weekend.
Sultana invested in all the HD kit only for Sky to turn around and say there is not enough room for them on the EPG.
Sports in HD is awesome.
find it weird that the BBC think it's better to show repeats of jools holland all the time but not match of the day at all
makes you wonder how you managed to get little 'un into this world. or the adult channel rocking on in the bedroom LOL
Sky HD going for special £49 at mom.
Looking forward to West Indies V England in High Definition.
I understand people making cutbacks but I'd rather change from Waitrose to ASDA instead of dumping SKY, I've had it since '89 and love it.
Come on then, spill the beans, all for under £800, what size screens and whom from?
I've been thinking of doing this for two weeks, but I can't seem to push the button.
Just been into Comet in Crayford at lunchtime, bloody deserted, Currys next door not much better.
Dumped last week also.
What's the box like, EPG, etc compared to Sky HD? Any good? Worth the change, considering I can only get 8mb bb with Sky? Anyone ever had issues with their broadband?
I prefer the way SKY let's you delete stuff quickly and easily without holding up what your doing, and the epg on SKY is easier, the HUMAX box I have is a bit fiddly but you get used to it.
you only get BBC and ITV hd content - no skysports news for example but I pick that up with a freeview box instead.
Reliability is as good or better, particularly with the latest update, and hopefully more future updates will enhance it further
The main bonus of course is you don't have to deal with SKY customer services, or pay their huge subscription charges for sky plus and hd functions, or have SKY big brother monitoring your viewing. I get broadband through work so there's no incentive for me there.
However if you want SKY1, Movies and Sports you will of course be disappointed with Freesat.
It you get a Freesat box, what's the story with the dish? Is it true that I can just plug the box into the old Sky dish and hey presto, or do I need to re-set the dish in some way?
There's also Freeat From Sky. Has anyone got this? This seems appealing as I envisage less messing about, the down side though is that Sky charge (I think about a tenner a month) if you want to keep the SKY+ features. Does anyone have a good workaround on this?
Cheers.
this is what i am using at through moment.
Although i am looking at a freesat + HD box soon
You will obviously have to cancel your subscription but yes, all legit and above board. if you type in sky freesat you can see the channels you can get. Their are more available then normal freesat but they are crap you will never watch. The caravan channel is a fine example
My sky also goes scatty if it rains. .more recently it has started going scatty when its sunny
I miss the ability to record the early hours boxing stuff but other than that it does me fine.