atypical_boro
Well-known member
Isn’t freesat getting switched off soon though?
How do I find out about my telly having built in encoder?
Do I own my Sky dish?
- Thread starter atypical_boro
- Start date
How do I find out about my telly having built in encoder?
I'm not aware of Freesat ending.
Check the back of your tv. The Sky leads from the dish have little nuts which you can thread onto the sockets on the back of the tv. I'm pretty sure all smart tvs have that capability.
atypical_boro
Well-known member
Fair enough. Mine must do then as it’s fairly new. Ta.
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
Freely will replace freeview and freesat eventually, but they will continue to operate for the foreseeable. Makes sense really as broadband gets faster to deliver channels via internet rather than satellites
Just google your tv model number + freesat or check if it has a cable input for the satellite coax
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
They don't all, they need to have a freesat decoder built in. My current tv has it, my previous tv didn't
atypical_boro
Well-known member
So mine has a freesat decoder. Do I just smash the cables that currently go into my Sky Q box into the back of my telly now then, and hey presto I’ve got freesat?
Yep. Thats what i did. you'll need to retune the TV though.
S7DiscoDown
Well-known member
I binned sky and sent sky Q back over a year ago. I still have my dish and they've never asked for it. It never even came up in conversation.
I actually used it with Freesat for a few months. Just plugged the sky leads from the dish straight into the Freesat box.
Note on sky Q box. Keep the recorded delivery receipt when you post everything back. I heard nothing for months. Then they sent me an email stating I had a week to return everything or I'd be billed. I'd sent it back over 6 weeks ago. They denied receiving it.
Fortunately I'd kept the receipt and checked tracking details and it had arrived at sky and been signed for. Dropped the threat instantly. A classic 'sorry we've made a mistake'. Cheeky f*ckers trying to get £300 odd quid out of me
I actually used it with Freesat for a few months. Just plugged the sky leads from the dish straight into the Freesat box.
Note on sky Q box. Keep the recorded delivery receipt when you post everything back. I heard nothing for months. Then they sent me an email stating I had a week to return everything or I'd be billed. I'd sent it back over 6 weeks ago. They denied receiving it.
Fortunately I'd kept the receipt and checked tracking details and it had arrived at sky and been signed for. Dropped the threat instantly. A classic 'sorry we've made a mistake'. Cheeky f*ckers trying to get £300 odd quid out of me
You might need to change the LNB on the dish, we had sky Q and binned it last month, screwfix sell them for about 15 quid, easy enough to do, although our dish is only 10ft or so off the ground
atypical_boro
Well-known member
That's fine. Thanks. But there is a left and right cable in the back of my sky box, which one do I plug into my telly then, which only has one 'sat input'?
atypical_boro
Well-known member
Hmm, ours is higher, might that mean I don't have to?
atypical_boro
Well-known member
Its stuff like this that just makes me loathe them. But thanks for the warning.I binned sky and sent sky Q back over a year ago. I still have my dish and they've never asked for it. It never even came up in conversation.
I actually used it with Freesat for a few months. Just plugged the sky leads from the dish straight into the Freesat box.
Note on sky Q box. Keep the recorded delivery receipt when you post everything back. I heard nothing for months. Then they sent me an email stating I had a week to return everything or I'd be billed. I'd sent it back over 6 weeks ago. They denied receiving it.
Fortunately I'd kept the receipt and checked tracking details and it had arrived at sky and been signed for. Dropped the threat instantly. A classic 'sorry we've made a mistake'. Cheeky f*ckers trying to get £300 odd quid out of me
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changingman
Well-known member
My Sky Stream arrived this morning (not activated yet though, switching from Virgin).
Anyone had any experience? Online reviews look excellent.
Anyone had any experience? Online reviews look excellent.
Either cable works
If your sky dish has two outputs it’s more than likely a wide band LNB this works with sky Q box or a freesat 4k box
If your wanting to just plug it into your freesat input in your tv, you’ll need an ordinary LNB
Alternatively you could change to a hybrid LNB which has both (in case you went back to sky) we have a new LG tv and plugging the wire in didn’t work until I changed the LNB
atypical_boro
Well-known member
Ah ok. Ours is a new(ish, well 2022 I think) LG. But there's zero chance I'll ever go back to Sky (with a dish anyway, its all being done away with in the coming years) so I def don't mind changing the LNB and just get a few years of freesat from it. Is it easy to do?Either cable works
If your sky dish has two outputs it’s more than likely a wide band LNB this works with sky Q box or a freesat 4k box
If your wanting to just plug it into your freesat input in your tv, you’ll need an ordinary LNB
Alternatively you could change to a hybrid LNB which has both (in case you went back to sky) we have a new LG tv and plugging the wire in didn’t work until I changed the LNB
Yeah, just try not to move the dish too much when your replacing it, I took a photo of the orientation of the one that was installed so I knew roughly how the new one should be
Disconnect the two cables
Remove the plastic plug from old LNB and remove LNB from dish
Align new LNB and insert plastic plug so keep in place
Reconnect two cables
Connect either of the cables inside your house to TV
Job done
Like I said my dish wasn’t high, so not being a fan of heights wasn’t a problem
atypical_boro
Well-known member
Am beginning to wonder if just getting a cheap/second hand 4K Freesat box might be the way forward. The way my lounge is configured (media wall type thing etc) I'd have to buy extensions for those satellite cables to plug them into the telly. But if I just get a new box to replace the Sky Q box, I guess I won't have to buy anything else and I won't have to climb up any ladders?
Freesat box will work (4k one) and nothing will need changing on the dish
If my dish was at the top of the house I would have gone down this route too
chickenrunner
Well-known member
Recently bought a recordable 500GB Freesat box from Currys to replace an ancient Sky box (wasn't HD so BBC progs were gradually disappearing) that I'd used for Freesat for quite a few years. Fortunately the previous occupants Sky dish had 2 cables so I can record a couple of channels at once or watch a prog and record another. I think if you had Sky Q you may be able to record more than 2 progs with the Freesat box.
Connection and set up were very straight forward and the Freesat box will connect to Wifi for catch up.