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Sky Plus questions and answers

Question

Please can you send me any information about the new SKY+ satellite system,
i.e. subscription costs, payment methods as I have read that you can pay for
the decoder monthly with existing subscription, also does the TV Link I
currently have work with the new decoder box as I am not bothered about
putting my old decoder upstairs as the TV Link works well for me.

Answer

The satellite receiver built into the Sky + is the same as normal
ones so the TV eye link will work fine.
Your card goes into the new machine and you ring Sky to have it transferred.
There is an extra £10.00 per month for the Sky + facilities.
They also offer you a third card for your old Sky box at
£12.00 a month if you want it.
Some people use this in the bedroom for example so that people
downstairs can watch a different channel than those upstairs.
The £12.00 per month is good value if the second card (like the first)
has a full package on it. You pay us for the box and Sky for the monthly payments.
The box must be connected to the telephone line or they will cut off the card.

MORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

QUESTION

Can I watch 2 Sky satellite channels at once?

ANSWER

To watch a particular channel in several rooms is not a problem and
only needs one receiver. The TV eye / cable / amps system as per
www.satellitesuperstore.com/accessories2.htm
carries the signal round the house with full control from every room.
However to get one channel in one room and a different channel in
another requires 2 receivers (and 2 cards)
People think this is in some way different to terrestrial TV but it is not.
The reason you can e.g. watch the BBC and record the ITV is because you have
2 receivers (tuners) One built into the TV and one built into the VCR.
(the laws of Physics for terrestrial also apply to satellite)
Also each receiver needs a signal from the dish and so a twin LNB
must be fitted to the dish and a second cable to receiver number 2.
To have all this distributed around the house also needs the TV eye
system mentioned above. Then one satellite channel can be viewed in one room
(and controlled) and a second channel in the other room.
If one receiver is a standard receiver and the other a Sky Plus,
the 2 remotes are different and will only control the appropriate receiver
If a Sky Plus is used however, a 4 output LNB must be fitted and 3 cables
as a Sky Plus needs 2 LNB feeds as it is also able to record one channel
while watching another. The 2nd receiver allows a 3rd channel to be watched
in another room. (May not sound simple but it works great.)
Also Sky let you have the second card for only £12.00 / month.
Since the second card has on it the same as the first card,
if the main card is a full package, the second card is very good value.

All on the one motorised dish?
Use a 4 output LNB. One output for the CI digital motorised receiver,
2 outputs for the Sky Plus, and one output for the second standard sky receiver.
Using a motorised dish and a mini dish is better however as
only this way can you watch one satellite on one room (e.g. Sky)
and another satellite in another room (e.g. Hotbird) as
with a motorised dish, it can only point one way at once.

MORE INFORMATION.

Extending your Sky Digi to other rooms, TV eyes etc.

The TV eye allows the use a handset and control of a
Sky digital from another room.
This is how it works,
A cable is connected from the second output on the Sky
Digibox (RF out 2) and this cable takes the signal to
the second room.
This cable also has to carry the 9 volts for the TV eye to work.
In order to do that the 9 volts has to be turned on in a
secret (services) menu in the Ski Digi.
The far end of the cable in the other room is connected to
the TV eye and then into the TV in that room. A small lead
and sensor is attacked to the TV eye device and is routed round
to the front of the TV. This is the receiver that picks up
the remote commands. Since is needs 9 volts to work,
the cable from RF 2 cannot be routed through other devices
like a VCR or existing distribution amplifiers as these do not
allow the 9 volts to pass through. Only Sky distribution
amplifiers can be used (which we also sell, see above) as they
allow 9 volts to pass through as well as the signal.
These amplifiers are needed if the signal is required in more
than one room. TV eyes can then be put in every room. One in and
two out up to one in and 7 out amplifiers are available.
It soon becomes apparent that only one handset is always in the
wrong room as it has been left there. This is why extra handsets
are useful. One for each room that contains a TV and TV eye.

If you have bought a TV eye from us and you need an e-mail with
full instructions (prepared by us) on fitting, please quote your order
number and date of purchase and we will send it from our draft folder.
You can also ring us but these instructions are very detailed.

QUESTIONS. (Actually a whole series of related questions)

Can I get the BBC and the ITV and Channel 5 on a free to air receiver?
Can I get the BBC, and ITV and Channel 5 on one receiver?
Can I get Sky and other satellites as well on one receiver and on one dish?
Can I use a Sky Digibox for other satellites?
How big a dish do I need for Sky?
Can I receive two different Sky channels in different rooms.
Can the CI digital receivers be used for Sky TV and what channels can I receive?
Can I get Sky and other satellites as well on one receiver and on one dish?
Can I control two Sky Digiboxes through the TV eye system?
Problems with a Sky mini dish? Is it big enough?


ANSWERS.

These are the most common questions that we receive. Many come in every day – wish people would read the FAQs first.

Here are the answers,

BBC 1 and 2 and 24 hour news and 50 to 100 other free channels are all on the 28E Astra 2 satellite.
They can be received on a cheap free to air (fixed) receiver. Prices start at £79.95
see. www.satellitesuperstore.com/bbc.htm
These channels can also be receiver on any motorised receiver as motorised receivers work
with all free to air channels in the Sky.
The ITV and Channels 4 and 5 are scrambled channels. They need a Sky Digibox and either a Sky subscription.
or a "Freesat card from Sky. This is a one off payment and then the Sky Digibox works on the ITV.
Some people are often unhappy about needing a card for the ITV. Please do not ask us about that.
Direct your questions to Sky Television. It is nothing to do with us.
No other receiver will work with the ITV while it is scrambled. The ITV may go completely free to air at some
point in the future but we don't know when. If that happens a free to air receiver will work with the ITV
as well as the BBC.
Sky have their own box of tricks for their scrambling system and a Sky Digibox is needed for Sky Television.
A Sky box will also work on the free channels on Astra 2 but is not much good for free channels
on other satellites. For other satellites you need a free to air receiver or a Common Interface receiver
(also called a CI receiver – works on free channels as well). More info on this below.
Motorised receives are also CI receivers and work on all free channels as well. So all receivers of any
type will work on free channels like the BBC (providing the dish you have is the correct size)

There are two reasons why a Sky receiver is not ideal for use on other satellites than Astra 2.

1. It has preset frequencies, FEC and symbol rates. So if a channel on another satellite happened to
have a frequency, symbol rate, and FEC the same as one of the Sky channels,
then that channel on another satellite will work, however, since you cannot infinitely vary
the frequencies, symbol rates and FECs in a Sky Digibox like you can on all CI receiver,
then most channels will not work.

2. You may have difficulty storing channels in a Digibox if you move it from one satellite
to another. It is likely to forget the extra channels that you have tried to store.
The size of the dish depends on where you are. In most of the UK a Sky zone 1 45cm mini dish
is OK but does not work well in bad weather. In Scotland a Sky 60cm Zone 2 dish is used.
(A standard 60cm dish is best in the UK anyway for all-weather capability) From other parts of
Europe dish sizes vary and are detailed on our site at The caravan page
or from the satellite provider themselves. Links to them are at www.satellitesuperstore.com/links.htm

The question about 2 channels and two or more rooms is really two questions.
For 2 channels at once you need two receivers, two subscriptions and a twin or 4
out LNB on the dish and an extra cable from dish to second receiver.
To extend Sky TV to two or more rooms you need a UHF distribution system in your home.
Or a wireless video sender system. These are detailed at The Sky accessories page

Also see advice page 3 about getting Astra 2, Astra 1 and Hotbird all on one fixed dish.

It would be possible to control two Sky receiver through the TV eye system is one was a standard
receiver and the other a Sky + as the handsets use different frequencies, although extra cabling may be required.
Alternatively, one box could be controlled through a TV
eye and the other a video sender. See The Sky accessories page

A standard 45cm Sky mini dish is at least 10% too small to do the job. The balance was to make it as
environmentally friendly as possible. In the North / Scotland a 60cm zone 2 dish should be used.
In all areas a 60cm is a better bet and since mini dishes have their own type of LNB / fitting the
wide choice of standard LNBs cannot be fitted.
The best solution is a standard dish like the Triax TD 54 or TD 64. The 54 will be fine for all areas
in the UK except the north of Scotland where the 64 is a better bet.
Both will give far better "all weather" capability especially in the winter. See the fixed dishes page.