SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

Hi, just wondered if anyone knows if my sky+ box and my freesat box will be any use in Spain? Or should i leave it here in England?
Thanks
:D

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

We brought our sky box with us, we had to buy a satellite dish and a sky card that cost us 90 euros (not the dsh that was a lot more) but it works. I have heard sky will be changing their frequency's (not sure if that is the correct terms) about April time so new card will be needed then.

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

Yes both boxes will work in Spian...but the channels they receive will of course depend on the size of your dish.

And, a sky+ box with an active sky card (but not one as part of a multiroom contract) will be of much better use than a freesat box.

This is beacause,at the moment, a Sky card can get the very strong FIVES, ITVs, and C4 E4 M4 channels (the last few by using the add channels function on the sky box)

Whereas on a freesat box, although it will work, you will have limited availaility of FIVE and C4 group of channels...as these cannot use the strong encrypted signals the sky box uses.

Hope this helps...

Many channel change their frequencies and settings on the satellite regularly...mainy as the satellite operators shuffle things around according to contracts. And remember Sky dont own any frequencies or satellite they, and all the other UK TV operators rent the frequencies on the satellites.
You may be getting confused with the proposed Sky Card Chnage that is rumoured to be happening in April 2009. Existing viewing cards will be replaced with new ones.

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

Hands up in the air, I think it is obvious that this is all to technical for me:confused:

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

keep your present SKY subscription running though with a bank account for it to come out of. Dont tell SKY you have moved abroad otherwise they will cut you off

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

Hi when I go to Spain and take my Sky card with me that we pay for films and all the sport channels on only sky sports news 405 works and I get a message that this card is not for this box or something similar.Surely if I have paid to watch the channels I should be able to watch them where I want,it's not as if I could watch them in the UK and Spain at the same time. Am I missing something and/or is their a way round this.

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

No you cant watch SKY in Spain as they dont have a licence to broadcast here. The fact that you CAN receive the signal is another thing altogether. If thery know you are viewing from Spain they will cut you off immediately

I get all the channels including film and sport. Admittedly not all of them all the time, but if your dish is big enough it should be OK.

Can you actually change a SKY card from one box to another without re configuration?

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

The card has to be assigned to the box, also Sky do not have a licence to broadcast in Spain only the UK.
If they find out you are in Spain they will zap your card and subscription account.

Re: SKY + BOX & FREESAT
 

A sky viewing card wil work in any sky receiver for the "6 mixes" channels.

The premium channels, Sky Sports and Sky Movies are sky box specific and will only be viewiable on the sky box that your card has been paired to by sky during installation.

Sky Sports News is NOT part of the Sky Sports package - it is one of the 6 mixes - news and events me thinks.

You can get "multicam" recivers, which are generic receiver modified with "special software" to enable the reading of a sky card - these boxes initially dont have any sky card reading software in them. These multicam receiver do allow you to watch the WHOLE of your sky package including the movie and sports channels. but as i said before, generic receivers will not have the full 7 days EPG programme guide (only now and next infromation), you will have to manually retune channels if and when they change frequency, the cahnnels numbers will be different to those on a Sky receiver, some interactive options will not be available correctly (like sky nes active or bbc text / Interactive services), and there is no gaurentee that the next bacth of sky card (rumoured to be issued in April) will work in these multicam receivers.

As JDR says many of the channel on Sky only have UK broadcasting rights. OK you may pay for a Sky subscription, which entitles you to view the channels in the card territory (in this case the UK) and no where else (see the terms and conditions of the sky contract!). But if they dont know you are using a card in Spain, whats to stop you from bringing out to Spain to use.......? But if they do find out you may find your card is cancelled pretty quickly.....