Be Excellent To Each Other

My block of flats have had a big dish stuck to the side and everyone has a sky plug in their flat now. Never having had Sky, I know not about these things, but can I just get hold of a second hand Sky box and plug it in and get stuff?

You'd just get the Freeview channels without a subscription.

Yes, you will get the free to air channels. You'll need the freesat card from sky if you want the unencrypted channels too though, which costs around £25 I think.

You would be much better off buying a freesat box and using that instead, in my opinion, as you can't use the sky box as a PVR unless you pay Sky £10 a month for the privilege.

Sky Freeview or normal Freeview?

Also, what about one of those, boxes you can buy off ebay?

Freesat channels are different to freeview channels, not that much different though.

It should be obvious, but you get freesat through a satellite dish and freeview through an aerial.

I've never used a dodgy box, but Sky regularly update their cards and encryption, so I assume the dodgy box will only work for so long, if at all...

So with the card I get Freesat, without I get Freeview.

Not quite. With the card you get full freesat, without the card you get limited freesat.

Think of it as :
Freesat on sky with card = Xbox live gold
Freesat on sky without card = Xbox live silver
Freesat on proper freesat receiver = Xbox live gold
Freeview = PSN

I've got a sky+ box you can have for the price of postage (it is quite heavy) they changed for a HD one and left it behind...

I've got one you can take away with you from the Beexbequeue, if you like.

Thanks for the offer Mark, but I think I shall take up Grim...'s kind offer. Assuming it is still there and I remember and stuff, oh and assuming it is scart not HDMI, I don't have an HDMI tv.

Also, I don't recall making this thread, strange.

Er... I think it's both.

Also, I think it's in the cupboard under the stairs. Remember that, because I won't.

Cool, thank you.

You'll need a figure eight power lead, because I've used all mine.

Errr... You did mean this Beexbeeque, right?

Sure.

It's in the cupboard next to where I keep the sambuca. But I'm out of sambuca. That's a shame, isn't it, Bobby?

Pretty sure Sambuca was what the bbq page told me to bring - along with pork, that is.

In that case, I'll throw in a remote.

[edit] You know that the box will only let you view freeview channels, right? It won't record or do anything else.