Sky+ HD box without HD Pack

[Ninko]

Hi there,
Quick question... Does anyone know if a new customer getting Sky TV could get a Sky+ HD box without having to get the HD Pack?

Thanks


Ninko

[BenMcr]

Only if you want to pay £199 for it but even then I'm not sure Sky themselves would let you.

Might be able to get it from a 3rd party Sat installer though

[Tezcatlipoca]

You used to be able to get one from Sky for, IIRC, £399 without the HD subscription.

I'm not sure they still do it though - I can't see any mention on the Sky website of being able to get the box without the subscription.

You certainly would not be able to get the reduced price of £49 without getting the HD pack.

As Ben suggested though, you can definitely buy a Sky+HD box from a 3rd party without having to get the HD pack.

When I bought my HD box two years ago, I bought it brand new from a dealer on eBay, for around £160-170 ish I think (a good price at the time, as it was well before Sky slashed the price of the box).

As I had bought it from someone other than Sky, I was not tied into having the HD subscription - all I had to do was phone up Sky to activate the Sky+ recording facility & pair my viewing card with the box.

EDIT:

Oh, & reasons for getting one but not going for the HD subscription:

- BBC HD & Channel 4 HD

- Upscaling of SD channels over HDMI

- Double the HDD size of a Sky+ box.

As I don't bother with the Sport or Movie packs, I didn't see any real need to pay another tenner per month just to see Sky 1 HD & the documentary channels in HD.

[Ninko]

Hi there,
So whats the best plan for a new customer wanting the Sky+ HD box but without the HD Pack? Can you sign up without requesting a box and buying it from a 3rd party, or do you just get a standard box and again buy it from a 3rd party and replace it?

I don't know much about Sky myself.

Thanks


Ninko

P.S. Matt D, its nice to see I'm not the only one wanting the box without the pack for the same reasons.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Hmm. Not sure. As I said, there seems to be no mention anymore on the Sky site of being able to buy a Sky+HD box off them without the HD subscription. Only says £49 for the 1st box (HD sub required) & £199 subsequent boxes (HD sub required).

I suppose you could sign up for a standard box (free box + £60 installation), then buy a Sky+HD box from a 3rd party, swap the boxes out, & phone Sky to activate Sky+ & pair the viewing card.

But: Standard installation would not be sufficient for later connecting a Sky+HD box, as it requires two feeds from the dish.

Perhaps you could instead sign up for a Sky+ box (£49 box + £30 installation), & then get an HD box & swap them out, as Sky+ installation gives the two feeds required for an HD box.

It may be an idea to phone Sky, & see if they will supply one without an HD subscription?

Have you looked at where to buy a Sky+HD box from yourself & how much it would be?


One alternative - depending on which channels you actually want - would be to get a Freesat+ HD box. You'd get all the Free-to-air channels, including the free HD channels, & have PVR facilities, without having to pay Sky for a subscription. Obviously, though, if you want to watch Sky 1 or any of the other Sky-only subscription channels then this isn't an option. And you wouldn't get the box or installation subsidised like you would with Sky.