What Freesat Recordable box in UK ?

spellcaster · 1 Apr 2022 at 19:20

Hello
We are getting rid of sky and going for Freesat. There are a few reviews about Freesat boxes on youtube etc, most say there cheap and tacky. There is a Freesat box by Humax but that is like 269 pounds. So what what is the best Freesat compatible box out there in 2022 ?

Thanks Carl

Deleted member 77746 · 1 Apr 2022 at 20:08

Don't record and save yourself some money.

spellcaster · 1 Apr 2022 at 20:50

The other half likes to record stuff

Deleted member 77746 · 1 Apr 2022 at 20:52

spellcaster said:
The other half likes to record stuff

Won't be cheap to have a decent record box. £269 sounds about right for a decent one.

spellcaster · 1 Apr 2022 at 21:07

Will sky ask for the sky q box back when we end it could we not use that for freesat ?

Deleted member 77746 · 1 Apr 2022 at 21:12

spellcaster said:
Will sky ask for the sky q box back when we end it could we not use that for freesat ?

A sky Q box for freesat? no. If you end the sky contract you can't record any more.

spellcaster · 1 Apr 2022 at 21:16

I was wondering if there are like any third party satellite boxes that can be used for freesat and have an epg etc

andy_mk3 · 1 Apr 2022 at 21:20

You have pretty limited options really. There's this one to consider: https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/set-top-boxes/recordable-4k-tv-box

But none really come in cheap. If you have a TV with built in Freesat then most will let you plug in a hard drive for live pause and recording. Generally speaking a lot of stuff on TV is available on catchup now anyway.

stoofa · 2 Apr 2022 at 10:41

As you're moving from Q you will want one of the GEN3 FreeSat boxes - so it's literally one box out, one box in - you keep your watch 3, record 1 setup etc.
Unfortunately at that point your choice is rather low.
If you decide not to go for a GEN3 box, make sure your box has the right connections for you LND - as above, with the GEN3 it is just a straight swap.

Will be doing the same myself - later this month I'll be giving my 30 day notice to Sky. Personally I'd be happy with a non-recordable. Then FreeSat for all my "broadcast" channels and my AppleTV 4k box for all my streaming needs.
Other half may push me in the recordable box direction.

Armageus · 2 Apr 2022 at 12:23

spellcaster said:
Will sky ask for the sky q box back when we end it could we not use that for freesat ?

Unless it's changed recently, the q boxes are just "loaned" to you and need to be returned (unlike the earlier hd boxes).

I have one of the latest Freesat boxes (commonly known as the Arris Freesat box), and following a number of software updates it now works pretty well (there were a few niggles when first released)

spellcaster · 2 Apr 2022 at 14:22

Thank you everyone for your time and advice

lucid · 3 Apr 2022 at 05:29

A lot (if not all) of the cheap boxes are not Freesat. They're generic satellite receiver/recorder devices. They have an EPG, but it's not arranged in the familiar way that Freeview / Freesat / Sky is with BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Ch4, Ch5....

'Freesat' means something specific. It's the UK's satellite equivalent to terrestrial TV.

Humax had the contract to manufacture Freesat receivers and recorders for a number of years. When the time came to switch from Gen 2 boxes to Gen 3 this firm from France won.

You can pick up used Humax Freesat boxes and they'll work very much like the old style Sky HD boxes in that two channels can be recorded simultaneously.

The Gen 3 Arris boxes can work the same way where someone still has a Sky Quad LNB.

For someone who has had regular Sky Q with their wideband LNB then some extra options are available. The box can make four simultaneous recordings.

Streaming is supported and this includes 4K UHD content.

Mel_P · 3 Apr 2022 at 16:02

The only Freesat box I found was on the Freesat site. Bought one. Ok but not impressed with sound quality

https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-frees...3rSIj3Pg0Bgry0GFf0P14mwWuLZOPS1RoCFMYQAvD_BwE

Luckystrike123 · 14 Apr 2022 at 15:37

My parents were looking into moving from sky to free sat, but in the end opted to keep sky on the cheapest deal just to keep the sky box fully functional.