Could anyone tell me if it's possible just to unplug my SKY+ box and reconnect to it with a Freesat+ box and get a reception/Freesat+ functionality without any other fiddling?

Thanks

Yes perfectly fine.

yes just plug in and follow the on screen prompts to enter your postcode (to enable your regional BBC & ITV ) and let the box scan for all available channels. Once complete enter non-freesat mode and perform a manual scan to tune all the free to air channels

Excellent. Thanks.

And does anyone know what HD channels they have on freesat?

You get BBC HD channel, and the ITV HD "service" as it isn't a dedicated channel (rather you press the RED button on the normal ITV channel when a HD program is broadcast). You also get Luxe HD in non-Freesat mode, which gets boring quickly. So, not much so far I'm afraid. ITV HD is a waste of time (not much in HD, and when it is, half the time it looks like upscaled SD!)

Cheers

So what is in store for Freesat in the next 12 months? Will there be anymore HD channels and will BBC iPlayer appear on it?

BBC iplayer yes, HD no ones saying, rumoured ITV HD will go near full time (confirmed) and is likely to be on Freesat. CH4 HD maybe if they can juggle Astra 2D channels