Using Sky HD Box with Freesat Dish?

Pross
Pross Posts: 40,207
edited March 2013 in The cake stop
I know there's some clever techy types on here so I'm sure someone can help! I'm off to my caravan on Friday for a week where we currently have a Freesat dish and receiver. I would like to watch the Ronde whilst I'm there and I have a spare Sky HD box at home (may also have a standard Sky+ box). I know you can connect a Freesat receiver to a Sky dish but does it work the other way around? Also, are Sky viewing cards coded to a particular box or can you move them around? I had assumed you could move them around so they work if you need to change box but we had an issue when our system was originally set up and the engineer could get a picture which I think was eventually found to be due to the box and card not matching up :?

Comments

  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    A dish is a dish and is interchangeable with Freesat & Sky boxes so no issue at all there. You can run both boxes off the same dish if you have enough LNBs and cables hanging off it.

    Cards are married to the box. It used to be the case that a card wasn't necessary for the free to air channels (BBC, ITV, C4 etc) but things may have moved on since I knew about these things a few years ago. Can you not try plugging the other box in at home to see?

    FWIW we enjoy having the caravan as a tv-free zone. It takes the kids a day or so to adjust but then they revert to being nice young people with whom it's nice to spend some time. :)
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    If you have a Sky system (either HD or none) you can buy a Freesat card from Sky for £25. We are looking to do this also for our house move as can't be bothered with paying for a subscription anymore.

    Not spoken to them about the card (other than to find out the costs as their website is not always the easiest to navigate)

    Though have just found this;
    B. VIEWING CARD TERMS
    1. The Viewing Card
    (a) The Viewing Card acts as a key so that you can unlock encrypted digital satellite services. Having a Viewing Card does not mean you have a right to receive Free to View Channels or any other channels or services.
    (b) We continue to own the Viewing Card after it is sent to you and, if we ask you to, you must return it to us after the period during which we are obliged to provide you with a Viewing Card, or when a replacement Viewing Card is sent to you, or when otherwise reasonably requested by us, for example if you breach these Conditions.
    (c) Only you may use the Viewing Card which we send you. You can only use the Viewing Card at your Address with the Box for which it is first authorised by us to receive encrypted Free to View Channels.

    Which suggests that the card will not work at another address?
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Don't mix up Sky's Freesat with the completely free Freesat supported by the BBC and others. Two different things; there's no need to pay for Freesat.

    You're right that the card won't work at another address, although there's nothing to stop anyone unplugging the box and taking it + card to another location. The box neither knows nor cares where it is. It'll need to be plugged into a phone line to allow it to clock in back at Sky Towers every so often though.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,207
    Cheers, I'll give it a go. I wasn't sure if the dishes pointed the same way for both systems. I might just unplug one of our boxes from home and take that. I know what you mean about a TV free zone and to be fair we all watch far less when down there but given the weather and my eldest having a broken collarbone the usual pastimes aren't an option and I want Eurosport for my own selfish reasons :D