[Closed] Going Sky free?

2 years clean now and 6 month from Now TV.

There’s a thread on here somewhere.

Never had sky, seem to cope fine.

3 years clean for us and feeling good.
We missed the record function initially but soon forgot all about it.

There is enough on Freeview and the free catch up services (iPlayer, All4, etc) to mean your hours can still be filled with drivel.

If you really want to watch some of the SKY offering just get a NowTV box and pay £7/month. You can watch live TV and there are plenty of catch up programmes and box sets available.

Must be 15 years since I had it, Netflix, prime and freeview do us tbh.

Never been with them and never felt like I’m missing out. Freeview only here.

Freesat with a HD recorder, Netflix and Prime (pay for that for the delivery benefits etc. - the video service is a perk) here. Not had Sky for a couple of years now. Not missing it at all.

Did pay for a couple of months of NowTV to see the final GoT series (binged the rest on DVD - remember those?) but that's been our only lapse.

10yrs....

I'd not go back

3 or 4 years free now. We switched to Freesat but haven't even used that in over a year. I can't remember the last time time we watched live TV. We just watch catchup services and streaming services such as Netflix.

Never been with them and never felt like I’m missing out. Freeview only here. been with them and never felt like I’m missing out. Freeview only here.

Same here. Never felt the need either. Life seems too busy.

That and the thought of giving any of my hard earned to that obnoxious score Murdoch and his cronies makes me sick.

If you need a record facility as well try a Youview box. I picked up a cheap BT one a few years ago and it's still going strong.

We got to a point where we weren't using it 2 years or so ago. Netflix and Prime and not really missing it with the exception of the pause and record features in very rare occasions.

My biggest problem with catch-up TV is all4 isn't high def. So just watch good stuff on that when it's actually on.

£40-50 a month back and not paying into the Murdoch empire works for me too.

We were without it for a year when we moved house.

Now paying £40 for TV, Fibre, Telephone.

The Sky Box is loads better than Freesat box.

We couldn’t get Fibre & Telephone as cheap by other means so why not. If they do try to ramp the price up we prob would leave though

We've canned ours a few years ago. Netflix and prime and continued to use the sky box. Still records and wotnot. Got a Roku Now TV thing as well now. Still a fraction of what we were paying for sky. Could probably do without prime quite easily.

just a few months in, I really don't miss it. We've freeview on the TV, which can record but it's dodgy, as the scheduler doesn't populate well*. So were tending to watch stuff off more4, iplay, etc. We also have amazon prime, so aren't without watchable boxsets.
If anything were just watching less TV.

*the sky box will do the scheduler reliably but won't record.. unless someone can tell me differently?

Got shot ages ago. Just Freeview and Netflix.

My default live TV channel is Dave so no point in paying extra for it.

Never had Sky... Freeview with Humax PVR for recording then supplemented with Netflix & NowTV

Been thinking about this a lot lately. If I was to ditch sky, does the box still work? Can I still use the box for the free to view channels? BBC/ITV etc

Freesat with a Humax recorder for TV (you swap the cables across - takes a minute or so).

Wife has Netflix.

Plusnet for broadband.

Happy Days.

If I was to ditch sky, does the box still work?

Yes, except no recording/rewinding/pausing etc. In theory they could ask for it back, but I've never heard of them doing that.

Never given a penny to Murdoch and never will. freeview only

In theory they could ask for it back, but I’ve never heard of them doing that

Sky said they want both of their Q boxes back and will be sending prepaid packaging for them.

Ah, this was a conventional Sky+ box, rather than a fancy-pants Q box. 🙂

Don't know if it would have worked as a standalone either.

Ah, this was a conventional Sky+ box, rather than a fancy-pants Q box

This is what's causing the doubt at the moment, mrsspursn17 likes the way she can record 3 things at once. I don't mind using the online catch-up services such as iPlayer and all4, but she likes an old school recording and doesn't handle tech stuff well.

In that case you'll need a Freesat recorder box - if you get one with two or more tuners, it will be able to record and watch stuff simultaneously, maybe not three things at once though.

11 yrs , wouldn't have it if they paid me!

Yes, except no recording/rewinding/pausing etc.

Ours still records and pauses live TV.

Ours still records and pauses live TV.

Keep quiet about it! Ours definitely lost all the Sky+ features when we left. You could carry on giving them a few quid a month to keep them.

Sky do this every year to me. I then do the annual 'I'm going to leave' rigmarole and they decrease it back to the original price. This has been happening for around 10 years now.

JP

Grew up with Sky, my parents had it since the early 90's FFS! Didn't have it for years as a student, then got it back in 2009 cos I wanted to watch the Ashes (and could afford it at the time)... Watching England destroy the Aussies in their own back yard was priceless, but very soon after that, the shine wore off. Binned it off soon after, and haven't paid for Sky since, and haven't missed it to be honest!

Did try BT TV about 2 years ago, but binned that off recently too (it was terrible! OK it was cheap, but really not worth it)... Freeview is more than enough, GF pays for Netflix subscription which we use occasionally too, but honestly I wouldn't even miss that either if we didn't have it.

There's a life outside of these 4 walls, and it's marvellous don't you know!

In that case you’ll need a Freesat recorder box – if you get one with two or more tuners, it will be able to record and watch stuff simultaneously, maybe not three things at once though.

We had one of those when we moved into this house because it didn’t have an aerial but had a dish from previous owners. Tbh it was awful, glitchy & very crashy. In fact both boxes were the same. We lived with it for a couple of years but then got an aerial on the roof, which tbh we should have done as soon as we moved. Maybe some are better than our one was?

I binned sky some time ago and went with BT, I find it excellent. Great for sport.

Must be 15 years since I had it, Netflix, prime and freeview do us tbh.

This. There's about 500x more stuff I want to watch on Netflix and Prime than there is on Sky. Cancelled it years ago, before Netflix in fact.

This is what’s causing the doubt at the moment, mrsspursn17 likes the way she can record 3 things at once.

There's not usually one thing I want to watch, never mind three at the same time 🙂

People still have sky tv? People still "record" stuff? Serious question: why?

We have an Apple tv box with all the domestic streaming apps installed, then just Netflix and spotify. Occasionally rent a film from iTunes, and all my local media (ripped form DVDs, CDs etc) is on plex, which also streams to the apple TV box.

We have freeview on top of that, but we haven't accessed it for maybe 2 years

Never had Sky, couldn’t justify it when I was younger and skinter and then my parents in law got it and when I visited I couldn’t see any advantage to it. Don’t watch football or cricket really and never have the time or inclination to watch boxsets.

Used to have rubbish broadband and couldn’t stream anything. Now have Prime for the delivery and have watched a few things on it.

Each to their own. If your other half wants it then it might be better to do the i’m going to leave dance with them.

Tried sky through friends and family employee deal. Was ok.

Happy with just Freesat and on demand. Don't really watch much beyond the news and some netflix, the millennial in me prefers YouTube in the bath.

Fyi you can easily get dodgy sky if you're that worried. Cheap. Works surprisingly well. Highly illegal though so there is that.

You all watch TV?
How quaint.

Thanks for the input everyone, seems like a recordable Freesat box may be the thing to try.

Now for the next item on the list, broadband?

Virgin would be a front runner for this as we had it in our old house and it was fast and reliable, unfortunately broadband can only be delivered to this house by BT line as there's no Virgin here, so which provider?

People still have sky tv? People still “record” stuff? Serious question: why?

Show me an equally cost effective way of watching live Premiership football and Formula 1. Note, NowTV works out at more expensive if you want to watch regular matches and every race.

Sky as a basic Freeview alternative isn’t a value proposition, but if there are certain things you want to watch, there isn’t much, if any, alternative.

Never given a penny to Murdoch and never will

Sky isn't owned by Murdoch, it was sold to Comcast #justsaying

People still have sky tv? People still “record” stuff?

Where I live we can't get any other type of tv. Which limits choice a bit

People still have sky tv? People still “record” stuff? Serious question: why?

Because out here in the sticks with ‘superslow’ broadband we won’t be streaming much.

batfink Subscriber

People still have sky tv? People still “record” stuff? Serious question: why?

Loads of reasons. It's easier to keep track of things you are interested in, if you record them - so you can have programs/series across multiple channels all saved in one place.
No need to remember that X program is on iplayer, but Y program is on all4 etc.

Also means you can fast forward the ads & my Humax DVR box has never crashed, whereas the 'smart' TV apps seem to be quite buggy; iPlayer generally good, but other ones can be a bit cak.

We are with talk talk. Could be worse. Are a lot better than they used to be. About once a year my 78mbps connection grinds to about 5. Has happended numerous times.

Why haven't I switched? I get calls to landlines and mobiles 24/7 (not even 2g connection in my house) and the price is £26 a month.

Also factoring in the problems have been: degrading phone line on wall of house, degraded line on the pole, issues at the cabinet. All of which is owned by BT/openreach. Not talk talk. Talk talk have also instructed openreach to fixed it all quickly every time. So for me with local loop unbundling in place it makes no odds who you go with: by, talk talk, Plusnet, blah blah blah. Go with what deal you can get. All comes from the same exchange, same cabinet, down the same crap wires bar virgin media.

People still have sky tv? People still “record” stuff? Serious question: why?

Only had decent broadband for the last 3 years, before that it wasn't even possible to use Spotify around the house. I assume some people still live like this!

Also, people are creatures of habit.

People still “record” stuff? Serious question: why?

Unskippable ads. "Saves" about 15 minutes/hour when watching Taskmaster etc

Binned Sky off a few years ago, we have Prime, Netflix and BT Sport via Plusnet broadband.
I think the only think I really miss is the Sky+ functionality.

and on the flip side, just had Sky in to upgrade us to Sky Q - main box in living room, second one in eldest son's loft room, all running smoothly with all the channels, Netflix, BT Sport etc etc. Yes, it costs a bit more but it's so easy to use for watching what we want when we want so I don't mind paying for that.

Ive gone the opposite way thanks to my 'gracious' flatmate. We have Virgin broadband and for an extra £6pm they’ve given us a Virgin TV box, upgraded us to the basic sports package and given my flatmate a free sim card. Its been 6 months and ive used the box twice, maybe 3 times. Mostly because football is dreadful now-a-days and everything good is on Netflix, Prime or iPlayers. Luckily my flatmate pays the extra £6pm

My in-laws have all singing all dancing Sky and even as a NFL and Rugby fan I don't know how you could justify it.  There is literally nothing on aside from football and cricket, they have lost the Premiership rugby, Pro14 rugby,

NowTV entertainment pass once every few months gives you access the few good entertainment things on Sky Atlantic.  NowTV Sport Pass when the Lions are touring and that's it.

I have NFL Gamepass for the NFL at £40 per season (gives me access to enough NFL)

We have BT Sport for free with our broadband, plus we have Netflix and occasionally have the odd month of Prime.

Interstingly Apple have just told me I have Apple TV+ for free for 12 months as i bought a new iPhone recently.  Getting that to display on my 2018 LG Smart TV seems to be problematic though so might just save the good shows on that for airports etc...

People still “record” stuff? Serious question: why?

Because some stuff I may want to watch again won't be available after 30 days. I have an oldish Sony HD/DVD recorder and if I really want to keep something longterm I can dub it to DVD.

Anyway that did fine with Freeview only up to about 3 years ago when I discovered cycling on Eurosport, plus skiing, biathlon, and one or two other esoteric sporting items for £30 a year. I'm happy shelling out for that but not sufficiently interested in TV or films to cough up the huge monthly sums some people do for Sky or Netflix.

So yes, I would say life without Sky is achievable.

I am watching the sky everyday. But then I work outdoors in a weather dependant job.

Or are you discussing something else?

Both wife and I had sky when living at home, but that was years ago. Freeview/catch up apps and Netflix and Amazon Prime cover everything. Then the occasional 'other sources'.

SkyQ is their struggle to catch up. Both my two sisters pay an arm and a leg for their Sky and Netflix. I suppose, if you are into a particular sport, can you get it cheaper on other services ? That might keep you with Sky.

My BIL loves watching grass grow and the occasional person walking over it with a hitty stick and a little ball. My other BIL loves getting his BP up watching United. 🙂

We had Sky and BSB back in its infancy in the mid 80s, just like other new electronic tech, but then my step dad owned an independent TV store. Think I might have had Sky for a year in a shared house too in the late 90s.

But for the last 20-odd years, it was an extra budget expense we could do without, plus we find Amazon Video has enough to keep us going. Neither of us are big TV watchers, I'd rather surf the web or be pc gaming, if I'm not riding a bike outdoors or indoors.