We have decided to dump Sky as it is just getting to expensive and I am fed up of the charade of phoning them up every once in a while to re-negotiate a discount - which never quite brings it down to what it was before.
We don't have an aerial so I would like to keep using the Sky dish. I believe that FreeSat uses the same satellites as Sky?
Can anyone recommend a good FreeSat HD recorder please?
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...Freesat took most of their (recording) set-top boxes "in-house" some time ago, so if you're looking for something non-obsolescent you're probably limited to a small number of "own-brand (Freesat)" boxes with minor variations (in HDD size).
They do seem to be reasonably well reviewed, however.
(Manhattan, Humax, etc. have fallen by the wayside as regards recordable boxes).
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Humax was "the" brand a few years ago.
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Can you split the cables from the satellite dish with a "Y" connector to go to a box in another room?
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Isn't the normal way to do that by using a quad LNB? I don't think that'd be expensive.
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..depending on the boxes to be fed, you'd need to be careful about the type of (multiple) LNB to be used (wideband, hybrid, etc) but an upgraded multiple LNB with a single dish should provide for two boxes.
It would need the appropriate (additional) coax down from the dish to the box location.
You can't easily split the signal, since the tuning is controlled by the box, but achieved up at the LNB (which won't take kindly to two tuning signals).
As mentioned, Humax were the go to brand, but were taken out by Freesat going in-house, and removing their licencing.
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I may have a quad LNB somewhere (in the gadget boxes)
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>> Can you split the cables from the satellite dish with a "Y" connector to go
>> to a box in another room?
No, the tuner choses the polarisation of the LNB, you'd not be able to tune the channel you want unless one was off, plus signal is pretty low, wont like the extra impedance of split cables and tuners.
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>>(Manhattan, Humax, etc. have fallen by the wayside as regards recordable boxes).
That's a shame as I still use my 10 year-old Humax Foxsat most days and wonder what I'll replace it with if and when it goes kaput.
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I was paying for TV services, not Sky, through my TalkTalk broadband service. The price kept increasing and like you tired of regularly calling to get the price down.
Bought a Roku stick. Wireless connection through router. Used for all catch-up TV + Netflix, Disney, NOW TV. I believe Sky can already be accessed on line with some free channels and subscription service for any additional channels.
I kept the old Humax box from TalkTalk which happily records freeview broadcasts. Not sure how to record from Roku, although I assume catch up services would be available with a Sky sub if you need that functionality.
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We had this discussion only a few weeks ago, and I feel the big problem with Roku and Firesticks is not having a consolidated view of what's on now. Otherwise they are great, especially for travelling. (I have Firesticks in all 3 TVs in this house, but the main TV is still connected to TiVo for most viewing)
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My previous Humax box had a problem with recording and a new HDD didn't fix it. I got the last model Humax on EBay for £75. Some people are asking silly prices for these but if you persevere you should get one for the same price as I paid.
The latest Freesat box doesn't get good reviews on Digital Spy so a good used Humax would be a good bet. If you want a satellite connection in another room you need to go for a quad LNB and run two connections in each room if you want to record two channels simultaneously.
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Dumping Sky TV-Recommend Hard Disk Recorder Please - tyrednemotional
