sky freesat card

[kelly]

Hi
We paid gbp 20 for a new viewing card giving UK address as we keep seeing a "replace card message". We have been using the same digibox and free sat card since 2004 brought over from our UK house. The problem is the card came with instructions asking to call Sky to activate the card,how do I call Sky from a Spanish telephone, friends who have a UK mobile have suggested using their phone is that the way round this.
Note the "replace card" message doesnt come up on BBC channels only channel 5 and ITV.

[blondie]

Strange. We got the new card same as you guys, delivered to a UK address and then brought over.

Just had to switch the cards .

[murbisa]

I think if your card was a fairly new one they just send a replacement. Ours was very old and we had to pay the £20 for a new one and register it with them. Be careful using an english mobile as even though you block your number it can still show "international" at the other end. I spoke to vodafone about this and there is nothing they can do to stop it. It is the telephone provider of the person you are phoning that does it.
Get someone at the address in the uk to phone them pretending they are you. Give them the card number and the version number and serial number of your box and they can do it. They ask you to switch on TV and go to services and press 4 so they just have to pretend they are doing it and then read out the numbers you have given them. My OH did this for me when he went back a couple of weeks ago.
Make sure you have the card in your box and the box is left switched on when you do it. If you put it on Fiver or Five US then you will know when it is activated. Ours was very quick - a matter of minutes.

Hope this helps
Muriel

[Beachcomber]

Remember that you do not need a free to view card to watch any BBC or ITV channel.

[murbisa]

I was reading the sky website and it said that you would need a card for certain ITV areas. Can't remember which ones but not Wales

[Beachcomber]

As far as I am aware you do not need a card for any ITV region on Astra 2B. In fact, they can all be received on a non Sky free to air receiver.

[murbisa]

Quote from the Sky website Beachcomber..................

Frequently Asked Questions

* Why do I need to change my viewing card?
Your Sky viewing card is used by your Sky box to give you access to certain channels. From time to time, we need to replace your viewing card to ensure you receive a secure and up-to-date service.
* What happens if I do nothing?

If you do not replace your Sky viewing card, you will lose access to some channels from October 2009. This means when you try to access an affected channel you will get a blue screen with a message that states the program is unavailable.

The channels affected include:
o ITV1 (if you receive one of the following ITV1 regions: ITV Anglia West, ITV Central South West, ITV Meridian North, ITV Meridian South East, ITV Tyne Tees South or ITV Yorkshire East)
o FIVE (if you live in London, the North of England or Scotland)
o FIVE USA, FIVE USA+1, FIVER, FIVER+1
o Channel 4 HD
o Sky3

Please note, if you're affected by the ITV1 and FIVE regional losses it will not automatically default to another regional version - when you try to access ITV1 at channel 103 or FIVE at channel 105 you will get the blue screen with the message stating that the program is unavailable.
* Why are some regional variants of FIVE and ITV affected and not others?

FIVE and ITV1 use different satellites to broadcast their regional versions and they've asked Sky to encrypt the broadcast of some of these regions so they're only available to viewers with a valid viewing card. Usually the request to encrypt is because the satellite signal of that region can be widely received outside the UK and Ireland and the broadcaster doesn't own the rights to transmit some programmes to continental Europe. This decision to encrypt channels is down to the individual broadcaster and not Sky.
* How do I know if I'm in an affected FIVE or ITV region?

You can easily tell which ITV region you live in by viewing your TV guide. The ITV regions affected are as follows - the names in brackets are how they're described in the channel name on your TV Guide: ITV Anglia West (ITV1 Anglia W), ITV Central South West (ITV1 Central SW), ITV Meridian North (ITV1 Mer N), ITV Meridian South East (ITV1 Mer SE), ITV Tyne Tees South (ITV1 TT S), ITV Yorkshire East (ITV1 Yorks E).

For FIVE it all depends where you live - if you live in London, the north of England or Scotland then you will be impacted by these changes.

[pmb]

What's the going rate for a new white card down there? From what I hear it is a big markup from £20 here in the UK for not much benefit. Incidentally , freesat boxes start at less than £30 now.

[SpanishBlue]

freesat boxes start at less than £30 now.

£30 - That sounds very cheap. Is that definitely a box for receiving satellite TV, not for TV through an ariel?

[Beachcomber]

Yes, Murbisa, you are right. I meant to say that all BBC and ITV channels on Astra 2D are free to air. The ones on 2B are, in fact, encrypted because it is said to have a much wider footprint.

[markwilding]

freesat boxes start at less than £30 now.

£30 - That sounds very cheap. Is that definitely a box for receiving satellite TV, not for TV through an ariel?

Prices on the argos website
Cheapest basic Freesat receiver £29.99
Cheapest High Definition Reciever £67.00
CheapestPVR £229.00
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store ... ms=FREESAT

[Beachcomber]

Bear in mind that reception in Spain depends on the performance of the tuner. Make sure that these cheap receivers work here before going to the trouble of bringing one over!

[blondie]

I also paid 20 quid as our card was at least 4 years old, just swap it and see what happens.

[El Cid]

Bear in mind that reception in Spain depends on the performance of the tuner. Make sure that these cheap receivers work here before going to the trouble of bringing one over!

I understand that all the basic Freesat receivers are identical - just the name on the front differs.

Sid

[markwilding]

Even these cheaper receivers started off at a more expensive price
The consensus seems to be that the Freesat receivers are better for areas with a weak signal than the Sky boxes.
The EPG is better because it's in a more logical order, if you don't use any of the pay channels. And it's much easier to change your region to the one you prefer
I have two. The first was a stop gap while I waited for a PVR to be introduced .The first one I bought was a Bush High Def one which you can buy for £67 which in my opinion is fantastic value.The second one I bought was a Panosonic, however, this one was very expensive and although it's very good I think now that I should have bought the Humax PVR model

[murbisa]

Can someone tell me - once the white sky card is activated will it only work in the one box or will it work in all boxes?

[gerryh]

It will work in any SKY box.
Mine was activated in my son's box, in the UK.
Now used here, in Spain, in my box.

Cheers
Gerry

[murbisa]

Thanks Gerry - good news as our box is the old Pace 2600 and one day it will give up the ghost.

[El Pimpi]

Paid 20GBP for the new white card and then rang Sky from Skype to activate it,no probs!!

[Acen]

Any more news on when the old blue cards become completely redundant????