Moving from Sky to Freeview and seeking advice about kit

MIKETMECHANIC

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Hello All,

I am finally realising that i rarely watch anything unique on sky yet i am paying an incredible amount per month for the pleasure. I currently have Sky Q which is great and i want to have a similar setup with Freeview recorder.

Can any of you guys help me out to do a similar setup.

All suggestions except staying with sky are welcomed.

Many thaks

Mike
 
Freeview: You'll need a working UHF TV aerial and a suitable PVR. If you don't have an aerial then you'll need to get one installed but first check your terrestrial reception out at the Freeview Checker <detailed view> lists the transmitter(s) and extra technical information.

Freesat: The current 4k box by Arris is a direct replacement for the Q box. Unplug the leads from Q and into the Arris.
No Channel 4 HD on freesat, though.
 
If you're unsure of your UHF aerial situation or live in a poor Freeview reception area, the easiest solution is to get a Freesat PVR, as Rodders mentioned above. The main downside to this (in addition to the lack of Channel 4 HD) is the lack of choice - the only new option is the Arris box AFAIK, unless you go for a second-hand Humax HDR-1100S. User comments for the Arris Freesat box start around here in the dedicated thread.

If you do have a working aerial and decide it's a Freeview PVR you're after, then the three major manufacturers to chose from are Humax, Panasonic and Manhattan. The PVRs they make all have their strengths and weaknesses and the decision of which to choose has been discussed in this forum in the past - see here and here for starters. I don't have any personal experience of the newer boxes, however I do have an old Humax HDR-Fox T2 which is still reasonably responsive and serves me fine - so much so that I replaced a failing HDD in it recently instead of buying a newer model, as I was lead to believe the replacement (the Humax FVP-5000T) isn't as good.

There are other options for a Freeview PVR if you're prepared to stray from those major manufacturers (see the post near the bottom of this thread for an explanation of the Enigma 2 platform) but these will inevitably involve a lot more tweaking and configuring than the easier 'off the shelf' solutions from the manufacturers mentioned above.
 
I did just that a couple of months ago. I bought a Manhattan T3-R Freeview Play box and can very highly recommend it. Very slick. I previously had a Humax FVP-4000T, which is pretty much the same as the FVP-5000T. The Humax devices are very slow and clunky and I wouldn't recommend them to be honest. See my other post today. Buy from Amazon and you can send it back if it doesn't meet your expectations.
 
Freesat: The current 4k box by Arris is a direct replacement for the Q box. Unplug the leads from Q and into the Arris.
No Channel 4 HD on freesat, though.
I'm thinking of the same migration as the OP but from VM not Sky, do you know if it would be the same installation for VM? Sorry but I'm not very tech minded TBH.
 
Freeview: You'll need a working UHF TV aerial and a suitable PVR. If you don't have an aerial then you'll need to get one installed but first check your terrestrial reception out at the Freeview Checker <detailed view> lists the transmitter(s) and extra technical information.

Freesat: The current 4k box by Arris is a direct replacement for the Q box. Unplug the leads from Q and into the Arris.
No Channel 4 HD on freesat, though.
For sky q you additionally need a new LNB, not to expensive it a straight swap for a non sky q LNB.
 
I'm thinking of the same migration as the OP but from VM not Sky, do you know if it would be the same installation for VM? Sorry but I'm not very tech minded TBH.

No, Virgin supply their services via fibre optic cable. If you want Freeview you'll need a UHF TV aerial and if you want Freesat, you'll need a satellite dish.
 
No, Virgin supply their services via fibre optic cable. If you want Freeview you'll need a UHF TV aerial and if you want Freesat, you'll need a satellite dish.
I still have an old Sky+ dish from having it previous to Virgin so I guess I could Freeview or Freesat if I wanted. Freeview reception should be good as I can see Winter Hill from my house, this is what the checker shows.

Freeview Checker.png
 
Virgin used to use coax from the street box fibre feed into the home. With the same F-plug as satellite use (and is increasingly common on UHF aerial and distribution kit.

The old Sky dish should - barring any failed components (LNB, cables), damage/movement of the dish, or something blocking the view since installed (tree growth, neighbours extension) - work for a freesat receiver. The Arris box will work with that style LNB as well as the Q type. A new wideband Q lnb will allow the Arris box to record more TV channels simultaneously cf the older style.

You need to check the 'detailed view' prediction numbers and colours for your location if considering a Freeview PVR and the installation of a UHF TV aerial.
 
As stated above goes on dish, really easy to change over .
1600628345907.png
 
It is with the Arris Freesat box
 
The one i have bought is the Arris UHD-4X-2000 so in that case with the sky Q LNB work on that box ?
 

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