Does the Smart Box need an aerial?

[Anonymous User]

Apologies if this question has been asked hundreds of times already, but does the new Smart box require a digital aerial to watch Freeview channels live? The idea I got from the Live Chat advisor is that I would be able to watch the Freeview channels via my broadband connection and no aerial of any type was needed.

Is anyone able to confirm that I would be able to watch BBC, Channel 4 etc live still just using a broadband connection?

Thankyou in advance!

[Andy]

@schnapps

Once your subscription is finished you lose access to all your recordings and you can no longer record programmes. However you continue to get access to all the Freesat from Sky channels (which is basically the same line up as Freesat apart from one or two minor differences in channels you probably never watch) and it's all accessed from the same Sky EPG interface (which is why given the choice the OP has , I'd rather continue to watch on the Sky box than use the very basic Smart Box interface!)

In my case I've actually bought a Freesat Freetime box so I can record as well, and use that rather than migrate to Freeview.

[Anonymous User]

@schnapps You would still get the full EPG on the Sky Box, if you went onto a station that required a subscription you would get a message asking to upgrade.

The recording would be switched off unless you paid £11.75 a month or something like that to keep it on, but you wouldn't be able to watch anything you have recorded from any paid stations though.

[Anonymous User]

If I was to leave Sky, I assume that I would be able to keep the dish?

I would look to a Freetime + box to be able to record Freeview channels, how would this work with the Now TV box? Is it another separate connection in the back of the TV or can it be linked in via the Freesat box (if that makes sense?)

[Andy]

@Anonymous User

Yep, assuming you are out of contract with Sky the dish and Sky box are yours to keep. 

If you were to buy a Freesat Freetime box then it just replaces your Sky box, you connect the satellite cables that currently are on your Sky box to the back of the Freesat box instead (I assume you have two feeds rather than just one - if you currently record on your Sky box then you will have).

The NOW TV box will be completely separate to your Freesat box, and just connect to the TV using a spare HDMI socket.

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

You can keep the dish, the Freetime box would work totally independent from the NowTV smart box.

Also, if you go down this route make sure that you have a spare HDMI port on your TV for the NowTV smart box, where the Freetime box would replace the Sky box HDMI slot on your TV .

[Anonymous User]

Thanks guys, you're being brilliant!

I understand the new Smart box is the same as the old box but with a Freeview tuner built in, so would I just need the old regular Now TV box as opposed to the Smart one?

Also is the Now TV content shown in HD on both boxes?

Our TV has 4 HDMI ports so no issue there 🙂

Thanks again!!

[Andy]

@Anonymous User

You're welcome. The NOW TV feeds are exactly the same to both types of box, so you get 720p on on-demand content and officially SD (but in reality it looks really good, almost HD) on live channels. 

If you've decided to go the Freesat route then you only need the regular black NOW TV box.

Hope you enjoy it when it's all set up, and look forward to saving a shed load of money! 😉

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

The new smart box has a quad core processor so navigating around the UI is slightly quicker (some people might not notice the difference) even though both boxes use an identical remote controller the new smart box has a better IR field of view and is more responsive (just ask @Andy ) , also the new smart box displays video natively at 50hz which gives a more smoother playback for sports etc (some people notice judder whilst watching 60hz playback on 50hz UK content).

Personally comparing both NowTV boxes IMO the new smart box has a slight edge in picture performance (ie the picture looks a little sharper to my eyes, again most people might not notice any difference).

I had the older nowtv black box has my main Living Room Now TV player and have now swapped it out to the newer smart box.

You just need to weigh up the price difference between £40 compared to £15, and if you are prepared to spend the extra £25 ?

[Anonymous User]

Thankyou all so much, now to save up for a Freesat Freetime box! Still, at least in the long run it will be cheaper than what Sky are currently charging me!

Any recommendations for Freesat Freetime boxes? We are not looking for masses of storage, haven't even filled the Sky box up yet so 250gb would be more than enough!

[commanda6]

Hi @Anonymous User

As far as I'm aware, the only freesat PVRs that support Freetime are those manufactured by Humax. Pricewise, they are not too bad actually. They're often cheaper than Freeview PVRs , but the minimum hard disk size would be 500GB

https://www.amazon.co.uk/humax-HDR-1100S-Freesat-Freetime-Recorder/dp/B0104SY71K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468261591&sr=8-3&keywords=freesat+box