Switching to Freesat

After realising that I don't watch much more than the free channels on my
Sky subscription, I'm considering cancelling my subscription, saving myself
£20/month, and moving to either Freeview or Freesat.

If I cancel my subscription, will I need to buy one of those Freesat cards,
or will I be able to pick up Freesat using the card which is currently
plugged into my Sky STB?

If I need to get a card, can I buy one directly from Sky? I see there are
offering a Freesat system for £150 (all in), although all I need is the card
(which I've seen on places such as eBay for around £20 - Although they
generally say something like "if you register this card it will stop
working", which worries me slightly!).

Thanks,
A.

"Adds" wrote in message
.uk...
After realising that I don't watch much more than the free channels on my
Sky subscription, I'm considering cancelling my subscription, saving
myself £20/month, and moving to either Freeview or Freesat.

If I cancel my subscription, will I need to buy one of those Freesat
cards, or will I be able to pick up Freesat using the card which is
currently plugged into my Sky STB?

If I need to get a card, can I buy one directly from Sky? I see there are
offering a Freesat system for £150 (all in), although all I need is the
card (which I've seen on places such as eBay for around £20 - Although
they generally say something like "if you register this card it will stop
working", which worries me slightly!).

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the next lot
of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

--
Regards
David

Please reply to News Group

David wrote:

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the next lot
of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

Does that include CH4 and CH5? I was sure they stopped when we cancelled
Sky on one Digibox - which is why I then bought the £20.00 freesat card.

Colin Forrester wrote:
David wrote:

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the next lot
of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

Does that include CH4 and CH5? I was sure they stopped when we cancelled
Sky on one Digibox - which is why I then bought the £20.00 freesat card.

C4 and C5 (and Sky Three) are not cancelled if you cancel a Sky sub,
the card continues to decode them, you shouldn't have needed the
Freesat card. Had the original Sky card been in a box that had been
completely powered down for more than a couple of weeks ?

"Colin Forrester" wrote in message
...
David wrote:

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the next
lot of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

Does that include CH4 and CH5? I was sure they stopped when we cancelled
Sky on one Digibox - which is why I then bought the £20.00 freesat card.

Got 2 old subscription cards both ok on CH4 and Five.
--
Regards
David

Please reply to News Group

"Mark Carver" wrote in message

.. Had the original Sky card been in a box that had been
completely powered down for more than a couple of weeks ?

When I got my 2 old subscription cards it took a couple of days for them to
sort themselves out but OK after that.
--
Regards
David

Please reply to News Group

Mark Carver wrote:

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the next lot
of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

Does that include CH4 and CH5? I was sure they stopped when we cancelled
Sky on one Digibox - which is why I then bought the £20.00 freesat card.

C4 and C5 (and Sky Three) are not cancelled if you cancel a Sky sub,
the card continues to decode them, you shouldn't have needed the
Freesat card. Had the original Sky card been in a box that had been
completely powered down for more than a couple of weeks ?

It had been off for more like six months. Thanks for the follow-up.

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the
next lot
of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

Does that include CH4 and CH5? I was sure they stopped when we cancelled
Sky on one Digibox - which is why I then bought the £20.00 freesat card.

C4 and C5 (and Sky Three) are not cancelled if you cancel a Sky sub,
the card continues to decode them, you shouldn't have needed the
Freesat card. Had the original Sky card been in a box that had been
completely powered down for more than a couple of weeks ?

Thanks chaps. That is my understanding after doing a bit more Googling.

However, I've just phoned Sky to cancel, and of course they've offered me
quite a good deal to stay. Means I'll keep Sky1 and Discovery which I do
watch occationally (well, to be more precise, my TiVo watches occationally
and I deleted :-). £7.50/month, which is pretty much on par with Topup TV
and better than the £21/month I was paying.

I think I'll stick with that for a few months and figure out just how much
Sky1/Discovery I watch, and if it turns out to be very little, I'll cancel
completely and stick to FTV/FTA.

Thanks,
A.

Colin Forrester wrote:
David wrote:

Just cancel your card should be OK for the free stations untill the
next lot of cards are issued. Then pay Sky the £20 card charge.

Does that include CH4 and CH5? I was sure they stopped when we
cancelled
Sky on one Digibox - which is why I then bought the £20.00 freesat
card.

Tou shouldn't have needed a new card, an ex-subscription Sky card will still
decrypt, Channel 4, five and Sky 3.
--
Adrian