sky news on freesat - humax freesat hd+ box

[david_now]

Hi,
I was thinking of dropping my sky subscription and investing in a humax freesat hd+ box.

I like the idea of accessing BBC Iplayer as well as cutting down costs.

My concern is over accessing sky news channel, which I watch a lot.

I've read it is available but not through the Freesat EPG.

Is it possible to view sky news ?

and is it convenient to switch between sky news and EPG channels ?

I've never used Freesat so would appreciate comments from those with experience.

Not just interested to know if it is possible, but is it practical ?

Thanks

[Scubbie]

From what I've read elsewhere, this is actually a nice satellite STB. It does many things that Sky should have brought in ages ago, but as far as technology is concerned, they seem to be about 4 years behind everyone else.

If you have a couple of spare LNB ports, you could actually connect it up now and have both STBs running concurrently.

I have also read that if you insert an expired Sky Viewing Card, you can view a few FTV channels into the bargain. I wonder if this is how you can view Sky News.

[david_now]

Well, I've currently got a sky+ box (old model) with a valid viewing card and a dual LNB.

I didn't know Freesat boxes had card slots , I could certainly put my old card in if it allowed me to pick up sky news.

I guess another option might be to put one LNB feed to the sky box and one to a humax box, and view sky news from the sky+ box on freesat from sky.

Forgive my ignorance, but with only one feed to the humax freesat hd+ would I still be able to record , assuming i wasn't trying to record while watching another channel ?

Or do yo need 2 feeds to do any recording ?

sorry if this is a dumb question.

Changing the LNB is not so easy , I live on top floor of 4 storey block of flats. I'd need to get a friendly fitter in. :-)

[dms05]

Basically you need the same number of LNB leads as your receiver(s) have LNB inputs. So as the Sky+ box and the Freesat box have 2 each you'd need 4 for full operation of all functions of all machines. However if you only plan to use the Sky+ box as a receiver you would only need one lead for that.

I'm fairly sure you can 'Add' Sky News to the Freesat box but not in HD. For that you'd need a valid Sky HD subscription through a Sky box. It might be possible to use a CAM in the PCMCIA slot in the Freesat box (along with a Sky Viewing Card) but it's all 'if's and but's' and not cheap as well as been against Sky's T&C's. http://php.rozzamozza.com/drupal/?q=node/view/52 . It may also not work with the newer white viewing cards.

[Scubbie]

Well, I've currently got a sky+ box (old model) with a valid viewing card and a dual LNB.

I didn't know Freesat boxes had card slots , I could certainly put my old card in if it allowed me to pick up sky news.

I did read about this in an on-line copy of the User Manual for the STB. I'm having little luck this morning in finding it, so please do feel free to look around like I did.

The card is used purely to confirm that the box is owned by someone in the UK (worthy of a laugh) and to allow access to the FTV, not just FTA, content.

From memory it unlocked some channels like ITV2 HD, but please check before purchasing.

This is one site, there are others:

Humax Foxsat HDR £209.00 | Freesat PVR | Satellite receivers | Digital TV Receivers

[david_now]

thanks for the general feedback, but could I go back to original question.

Has anyone used one of these humax devices, and if so was it possible / convenient to access sky news

thanks

[Isitme]

I don't know about Freesat, but Sky News is available on Freeview (82) only in SD though, I have not been able to find the HD version.

[dms05]

I said this in post #4

"I'm fairly sure you can 'Add' Sky News to the Freesat box but not in HD. For that you'd need a valid Sky HD subscription through a Sky box."

[stjimmy1980]

i have a humax hd freesat box, that i dont use anymore
within the menus is 'non freesat' mode that picks up all the channels that are not on the freesat epg.
sky news and other channels can be found on this menu.
its simple to do just a click of a button!
freesat boxes do not have card slots or cams, although there has been speculation about this for the future.
the bbc i player is great on humax, i find it more stable than the ps3 and online iplayer.
regards jimmy

[Scubbie]

freesat boxes do not have card slots or cams, although there has been speculation about this for the future.

Sorry, I had to look this up again.

Humax Foxsat HDR £209.00 | Freesat PVR | Satellite receivers | Digital TV Receivers

Can I receive SKY's free to Air Channels (FTA) with the Humax Foxsat HDR?

Yes; your sky card can be used in the Humax Foxsat HDR CI Module slot. This can be bought separately. This will give you give you Channel 4, Five, Five Life, Five US and Sky 3.