Before you change the LNB, make a note of signal strength & quality with the old box. You are looking for as good as (or better) with the new box. Be prepared to tweak the dish as the heavier LNB pulls it down a bit.
When you call Sky, patient persistence seems to pay off - ask for someone in "New Sky Business" they should be able to set you up with just Sky+ functionality. If they insist it can't be done, either hang up and call straight back (you may get a more enlightened CS rep) or ask to speak to a supervisor in the Lothian office.
Be ready with some memorable data (ie mother's maiden name) together with immediate payment (credit card etc) for the first month and direct debit details (for the ongoing sub). You'll be asked for these over the phone.
Box arrived this morning and I have connected it up to my single LNB to make sure it all works.
Programmed the remote to control my telly.
The number I ended up phoning sky was 08702 424242.
This is the new "sky new business number" and got me to the uk office who understood my request.
You need a "Second hand" contract for Sky+. (This means no phone line is required).
The fee to enable the PVR features is £10.
He said they could not update my Free2View card and would have to send me a new card. The advantage here is that if cards get updated I should get a new one from Sky free and not have to pay a £20 fee to buy a new one.
I had to give a Credit card number for the first payment and bank details for the Direct debit.
New card should be in the post tomorrow.
I now have a sky customer number !!!!
I called about 23:00 at night and had a nice chat with the CS rep on the merits of Tivo and SKy+. He had some pretty unbiased opinions on both. He used to sell the Tivo system in the past.
So, so far so good.
A PVR system for £10 a month and a £60 box off ebay.
Whats the diff between manual recording and auto recording? Sky Engineer came around today to install a basic sky box. I persuaded him to install a quad lnb and now looking for a Sky+ box off ebay. I know i wont be able to record to the box without a subscription but will i be able to rewind/fast frwrd through programmes without a subscription?
Whats the diff between manual recording and auto recording? Sky Engineer came around today to install a basic sky box. I persuaded him to install a quad lnb and now looking for a Sky+ box off ebay. I know i wont be able to record to the box without a subscription but will i be able to rewind/fast frwrd through programmes without a subscription?
NO - none of the Sky+ features are available without the sub.
This might sound a little daft here... So sorry in advance...
But what actual do we get for our 10 pounds a month, we get to record FTA programs which we have already paid for via the license fee and other commercial channels, and in my opinion this is even worse when the box is out of the 12 month contract period, or if you bought the box off eBay.
Don’t get me wrong here, I love sky+, I think it’s great. But it’s a bit of ripe off when you think about it...... are we all mugs giving sky (or Murdoch) a tenner a month.... and they give us nothing for it!!!
I can confirm non of the sky+ features work without a sky+ enabled card.
My card arrived today and I duly called Sky to have it enabled.
Its a Sky+ card for the Free2View Channels only.
The CS rep asked me to confirm the phone line was connected.
I said no.....
She started to tell me there would be a charge of £25 or something as I had no telephone line....
I reminded her that I had a "second hand" contract and did not require a phone line. she apologized for her mistake and we proceeded to go through the card enable routine.
Version number, box serial number etc.
(This annoys me as so many people would have done what they were told and paid more money or trotted off and got a phone line).
It took about 40 minutes for the card to become live and Ch4 and Ch5 to clear, also the recording features did not work until then either.
I still only have a single o/p LNB but I can now record and pause live TV.
When I change the LNB I will be able to change channels at the same time.
I can confirm non of the sky+ features work without a sky+ enabled card.
My card arrived today and I duly called Sky to have it enabled.
Its a Sky+ card for the Free2View Channels only.
The CS rep asked me to confirm the phone line was connected.
I said no.....
She started to tell me there would be a charge of £25 or something as I had no telephone line....
I reminded her that I had a "second hand" contract and did not require a phone line. she apologized for her mistake and we proceeded to go through the card enable routine.
Version number, box serial number etc.
(This annoys me as so many people would have done what they were told and paid more money or trotted off and got a phone line).
It took about 40 minutes for the card to become live and Ch4 and Ch5 to clear, also the recording features did not work until then either.
I still only have a single o/p LNB but I can now record and pause live TV.
When I change the LNB I will be able to change channels at the same time.
Jeff.
If you had connected your phoneline temporarily you could have avoided calling Sky.
Its possible to use the Callback service via the installers menu to activate BRAND NEW CARDS ONLY.(It does not work for existing cards in new boxes of any kind)
I've setup a new basic sky subscription at a new house and asked he engineer to put the quad lnb on. When i get a sky+ box (ebay) will i be able to transfer my subscription over +£10 for the features?
I've setup a new basic sky subscription at a new house and asked he engineer to put the quad lnb on. When i get a sky+ box (ebay) will i be able to transfer my subscription over +£10 for the features?
As its an existing card you can phone Sky and they will activate the Sky+ features on your new box.
Work out the cost of the install,LNB and £10 per month + the cost of the Sky+ and you may find getting one from Sky with a movie or sports sub for a year may be cheaper,and you'll get a years warranty.
Your own setup will cost you £65 if anything goes wrong
As its an existing card you can phone Sky and they will activate the Sky+ features on your new box.
Don't forget to do a callback before you ring, Sky require Sky+ contracts to be connected to the phone, and won't (or shouldn't!) do it without a prior callback. Once you've done the callback you can happily remove the phone lead.
Its possible to use the Callback service via the installers menu to activate BRAND NEW CARDS ONLY.(It does not work for existing cards in new boxes of any kind)
Are you sure about that?
When I had a Pace DS440N flow box replace with a Thomson 4E2106 PVR3 Sky+ box, the VC was moved from the digibox to the sky+ box. 3 callbacks later, and recording and premium channels work. No call to sky made.
Are you sure about that?
When I had a Pace DS440N flow box replace with a Thomson 4E2106 PVR3 Sky+ box, the VC was moved from the digibox to the sky+ box. 3 callbacks later, and recording and premium channels work. No call to sky made.
Apparently 3 is in fact a magic number.
Next one I do I'll give it a try! be nice if it did!
Normally the reason you have to do it is to ask for Sky+ to be added to your portfolio.
As its an existing card you can phone Sky and they will activate the Sky+ features on your new box.
Work out the cost of the install,LNB and £10 per month + the cost of the Sky+ and you may find getting one from Sky with a movie or sports sub for a year may be cheaper,and you'll get a years warranty.
Your own setup will cost you £65 if anything goes wrong
install i can do myself so thats not much of a problem, jus got to get a box, not thinkin about keeping the subscription tho cuz i dnt really watch a lot of the sky channels. The lnb inc fitting for a £10 so tht was quite good. cable should only cost about £5-£7 max if its £1 per metre.
Next one I do I'll give it a try! be nice if it did!
Normally the reason you have to do it is to ask for Sky+ to be added to your portfolio.
(This is about 3 callbacks instead of calling sky)
That you might still have to do, it was a sky installer in a simpsons van that sky sent to do my upgrade, so they knew it was happening, and probably added sky+ to the account/card that morning anyway... i think maybe (not really knowing how sky work)
Still a useful trick for a straight box swap though, to keep premium channels.
Just out of interest, does sky+ functionality pair to a box in the same way as a premium channel?
If you had connected your phoneline temporarily you could have avoided calling Sky.
Its possible to use the Callback service via the installers menu to activate BRAND NEW CARDS ONLY.(It does not work for existing cards in new boxes of any kind)
Once activated you remove the phone connection
ok kevinweisman good point. But I would have had to run about 12M of phone line in or get/make a tempory phone extension lead.
Don't forget to do a callback before you ring, Sky require Sky+ contracts to be connected to the phone, and won't (or shouldn't!) do it without a prior callback. Once you've done the callback you can happily remove the phone lead.
Not for a "second hand" user contract they don't.
So the CS rep told me on the phone.
Although I may be a special case having the sky+ features on the FreeSat card.
My replacement quad LNB arrived on Saturday. It came with a set of adapters to match any ? sky disk.
I first replaced the old LNB with the new one, but had no signal on the services menu. I had to tilt the dish down a little to get a signal back.
The new LNB must be at a slightly different angle than the old one once fitted.
Having got 80 - 90 % signal strength and quality. I tightened the dish and ran a second cable back to the box.
(Another hole in the side of the house!!)
On powering up both show around 80 - 90% Signal and quality.
This might sound a little daft here... So sorry in advance...
But what actual do we get for our 10 pounds a month, we get to record FTA programs which we have already paid for via the license fee and other commercial channels, and in my opinion this is even worse when the box is out of the 12 month contract period, or if you bought the box off eBay.
Don’t get me wrong here, I love sky+, I think it’s great. But it’s a bit of ripe off when you think about it...... are we all mugs giving sky (or Murdoch) a tenner a month.... and they give us nothing for it!!!
Moan over, Jeremy.
They own the technology. It would be more reasonable if they sold it for a one off fee but thats business for you.
Think of it like drug companies. They might make the pill for 1p each but they paid £10million to develop it.
Or your windows opperating system. You own the computer and the programs but they make you pay a licence fee for the OS.
Comments
I have just bought a Pace TDS470N off Ebay for £60 including postage.
Next I need to change my LNB to a dual or Quad and run another line into the house.
I am now bidding on a couple on Ebay.
Swapping the LNB will be easy for me as my Dish is at ground level. :-)
When all this is done I shall run a temporary Phone line to the new box and try to get sky to accept a £10 sub to turn on Sky+ with my FreeView Card.
I will report on my progress and lessons learn't I anyone is interested.
Jeff.
Before you change the LNB, make a note of signal strength & quality with the old box. You are looking for as good as (or better) with the new box. Be prepared to tweak the dish as the heavier LNB pulls it down a bit.
When you call Sky, patient persistence seems to pay off - ask for someone in "New Sky Business" they should be able to set you up with just Sky+ functionality. If they insist it can't be done, either hang up and call straight back (you may get a more enlightened CS rep) or ask to speak to a supervisor in the Lothian office.
Be ready with some memorable data (ie mother's maiden name) together with immediate payment (credit card etc) for the first month and direct debit details (for the ongoing sub). You'll be asked for these over the phone.
Box arrived this morning and I have connected it up to my single LNB to make sure it all works.
Programmed the remote to control my telly.
The number I ended up phoning sky was 08702 424242.
This is the new "sky new business number" and got me to the uk office who understood my request.
You need a "Second hand" contract for Sky+. (This means no phone line is required).
The fee to enable the PVR features is £10.
He said they could not update my Free2View card and would have to send me a new card. The advantage here is that if cards get updated I should get a new one from Sky free and not have to pay a £20 fee to buy a new one.
I had to give a Credit card number for the first payment and bank details for the Direct debit.
New card should be in the post tomorrow.
I now have a sky customer number !!!!
I called about 23:00 at night and had a nice chat with the CS rep on the merits of Tivo and SKy+. He had some pretty unbiased opinions on both. He used to sell the Tivo system in the past.
So, so far so good.
A PVR system for £10 a month and a £60 box off ebay.
Jeff.
IMHO sky + blows everthing else out of the water, i'm pretty sure you'l love it
See http://www.cielplus.com
Yep, will keep me going until 2010 when we get Digital where I live.
NO - none of the Sky+ features are available without the sub.
But what actual do we get for our 10 pounds a month, we get to record FTA programs which we have already paid for via the license fee and other commercial channels, and in my opinion this is even worse when the box is out of the 12 month contract period, or if you bought the box off eBay.
Don’t get me wrong here, I love sky+, I think it’s great. But it’s a bit of ripe off when you think about it...... are we all mugs giving sky (or Murdoch) a tenner a month.... and they give us nothing for it!!!
Moan over, Jeremy.
My card arrived today and I duly called Sky to have it enabled.
Its a Sky+ card for the Free2View Channels only.
The CS rep asked me to confirm the phone line was connected.
I said no.....
She started to tell me there would be a charge of £25 or something as I had no telephone line....
I reminded her that I had a "second hand" contract and did not require a phone line. she apologized for her mistake and we proceeded to go through the card enable routine.
Version number, box serial number etc.
(This annoys me as so many people would have done what they were told and paid more money or trotted off and got a phone line).
It took about 40 minutes for the card to become live and Ch4 and Ch5 to clear, also the recording features did not work until then either.
I still only have a single o/p LNB but I can now record and pause live TV.
When I change the LNB I will be able to change channels at the same time.
Jeff.
If you had connected your phoneline temporarily you could have avoided calling Sky.
Its possible to use the Callback service via the installers menu to activate BRAND NEW CARDS ONLY.(It does not work for existing cards in new boxes of any kind)
Once activated you remove the phone connection
As its an existing card you can phone Sky and they will activate the Sky+ features on your new box.
Work out the cost of the install,LNB and £10 per month + the cost of the Sky+ and you may find getting one from Sky with a movie or sports sub for a year may be cheaper,and you'll get a years warranty.
Your own setup will cost you £65 if anything goes wrong
Don't forget to do a callback before you ring, Sky require Sky+ contracts to be connected to the phone, and won't (or shouldn't!) do it without a prior callback. Once you've done the callback you can happily remove the phone lead.
Are you sure about that?
When I had a Pace DS440N flow box replace with a Thomson 4E2106 PVR3 Sky+ box, the VC was moved from the digibox to the sky+ box. 3 callbacks later, and recording and premium channels work. No call to sky made.
Apparently 3 is in fact a magic number.
Next one I do I'll give it a try!
Normally the reason you have to do it is to ask for Sky+ to be added to your portfolio.
install i can do myself so thats not much of a problem, jus got to get a box, not thinkin about keeping the subscription tho cuz i dnt really watch a lot of the sky channels. The lnb inc fitting for a £10 so tht was quite good. cable should only cost about £5-£7 max if its £1 per metre.
(This is about 3 callbacks instead of calling sky)
That you might still have to do, it was a sky installer in a simpsons van that sky sent to do my upgrade, so they knew it was happening, and probably added sky+ to the account/card that morning anyway... i think maybe (not really knowing how sky work)
Still a useful trick for a straight box swap though, to keep premium channels.
Just out of interest, does sky+ functionality pair to a box in the same way as a premium channel?
ok kevinweisman good point. But I would have had to run about 12M of phone line in or get/make a tempory phone extension lead.
Not for a "second hand" user contract they don't.
So the CS rep told me on the phone.
Although I may be a special case having the sky+ features on the FreeSat card.
Jeff.
My replacement quad LNB arrived on Saturday. It came with a set of adapters to match any ? sky disk.
I first replaced the old LNB with the new one, but had no signal on the services menu. I had to tilt the dish down a little to get a signal back.
The new LNB must be at a slightly different angle than the old one once fitted.
Having got 80 - 90 % signal strength and quality. I tightened the dish and ran a second cable back to the box.
(Another hole in the side of the house!!)
On powering up both show around 80 - 90% Signal and quality.
So job done. End of story.
They own the technology. It would be more reasonable if they sold it for a one off fee but thats business for you.
Think of it like drug companies. They might make the pill for 1p each but they paid £10million to develop it.
Or your windows opperating system. You own the computer and the programs but they make you pay a licence fee for the OS.
I would think that it would make sense to include the sky+ facility into the HD package as indicated further up this thread.
This would encourage more take up of the HD package.