Information about Sky Viewing Cards.

Not necessarily. A digibox will work perfectly well without one, bringing you many different free-to-air channels, including the eight digital BBC channels, the four ITV channels, Sky News, ITV News, Film 4, E4 and More4 and many others - about 120 in total. However, you will need a card to receive Channel 4 and Channel Five and Sky Three. These channels are currently encrypted, and the Sky card that is used only to decode these channels is referred to as a 'free-to-view' (FTV) or 'Freesat' card. With a FTV card there is no monthly subscription, just a one-off payment for the card itself.

Click on this link for a full list of the Freesat channels

If you have a UK address, the cost is Ł20.00 and they can be ordered directly from Sky by phoning 0844 2410 595. Each household can order up to four cards. However, if you live outside the UK you will not be allowed one since, for licensing purposes, certain channels are only supposed to be broadcast to the UK.

Once the Freesat card has been received, it will need to be activated. This involves calling Sky again, once the card is in the digibox. Activation is carried out via a signal from the satellite, so your digibox will need to be connected to the dish and powered up so that the digibox can receive this signal.

If you live within the UK and would like to receive Sky television, then we can arrange installation of the equipment and supply your Sky package at the current nationally advertised rate. Please call us on + 44 (0)1332 875599 for a quotation.

Alternatively, if you already have the equipment installed, or would like to purchase your equipment independently of Sky, we can supply the subscription card alone.

Registering your subscription card to a new digibox

If you have a subscription card and have recently replaced your Sky digibox with either a new or secondhand model, then it is necessary to register the card to the 'new' digibox. This is essential if you have either of the premium channels (Sports or Movies); these channels will not come through until the card is paired This can be done very quickly by simply phoning Sky and giving them the details on the <system details> page of the <services> menu (press <services> then <4> then <5>). Before you do this, make sure you have properly connected the 'new' digibox and have transfered the card from the original box.

Many people think that Sky will only do this on digiboxes provided directly from Sky. This is not the case. As long as your digibox came from a reputable source, it can be matched to any Sky subscription card.

Swapping cards between digiboxes

Please note - the terms of your Sky contract will state that you can only use a Sky viewing card in the authorised digibox at your registered UK (or Republic of Ireland) address. We do not encourage anyone to break the terms of their contract. In the event of a digibox failure it may be necessary to move your viewing card to a replacement digibox, but you should always get the replacement digibox 'matched' to the subscription card.

When a card is swapped into another digibox (ie it is not yet matched to the second box), there may be limitations on the channels you receive. If you have any of the premium channels (ie Sports or Movies) these will not come through. However, all the other channels on any of the six Entertainment mixes will be available.

Cards that are used in a Sky Plus digibox could also be swapped into an ordinary digibox or another Sky Plus digibox. The same rules as above apply, with the loss of the Premium channels. If the swap is made into another Sky Plus digibox, the recording function will only work on the free-to-air channels (the most relevant being all the BBC channels, ITV, Sky News & CNN) - it will not work on any encrypted channels (eg. Channel 4, Channel 5 & the Sky subscription channels).

Freesat cards (aka free-to-view cards) that only unencrypt Channel 4 and Channel 5 can be swapped between digiboxes without loss of the encrypted channels.

Depending on the nature of your contract, connection of your digibox to a telephone line may be required. For example, with Sky Multiroom contracts, where an extra card is provided for only Ł10.00 extra per month, a phoneline connection to all the digiboxes on the multiroom system is essential. This is designed to stop the unauthorised resale of multiroom cards and to prevent those people with a holiday home in Europe from taking out a multiroom subscription and then relocating one of the cards abroad! Don't be tempted to think that you can get away with this by turning the digibox off and then using the card somewhere else, or by disconnecting the phoneline and claiming that there was a problem with the phone socket. Sky have heard all these excuses before and will either cancel your subscription entirely (if they believe the card is being used abroad) or simply charge you in full for the extra subscription (if you are not meeting the terms of your multiroom contract).

Telephone line connections

A telephone line connection is not essential - all types of digibox will work without one, although certain restrictions apply, as explained above in the case of Multiroom subscriptions, for example. Subsidised installations generally require a phoneline, so if this is a problem please discuss this with us before your installation. Lack of a phoneline connection will prevent you from receiving some useful features such as Sky Active and Sky Box Office (although you could contact Sky by phone yourself to order a Box Office event).

Card reader problems

If none of the above suggestions work then check the EPG software - shown at the bottom of the <system details> page. Sky often make revisions to the software, but at the time of writing (December 2007) the most current version is 3.5.3 for standard digiboxes and 5.02.f for Sky Plus digiboxes. (You should note that this is not the case on all digiboxes - the latest software version may depend on the make and version number of the digibox). However, if you do not have this version, this may be the reason why your digibox cannot recognise the card. Your EPG software should have updated automatically, but if you have got a digibox that has not been used for a while, this may not have happened or it may have developed a fault. If this situation cannot be changed by forcing a software download, then we can generally repair this fault for Ł47.00.

The card has either not yet been switched on by Sky (ie it's a new viewing card) or, if you were using it previously and everything was OK, Sky have now decided to shut it down completely.

If this message occurs on Channel 4 or Channel 5 then the card has probably been out of a digibox for too long and has temporarily deactivated. Leave the card in a digibox (the digibox must be receiving a good signal) with the red or green light on the front of the box lit, and all the free-to-view channels will come back on within the next 24 hours.

If this message occurs on a subscription channel then the card may have be deactivated because of a payment issue or some other reason, such as suspected viewing abroad, for example. Many people are not aware of the terms of their contract and think that they have the right to use the card wherever they wish. They then phone Sky from abroad, not realising that Sky are oblidged to shut down any viewing cards used outside the UK or Republic of Ireland.

Not possible until very recently, it is now possible to emulate the CAM so that a Sky card can be used in another make of satellite receiver apart from those made by Sky. This can be done via the softcam on the Dreambox or using a T Rex CAM in the CI slot of another make of receiver. One of the main problems with this type of system (or at least with the TRex cam) is that the card cannot receive the regular updates from Sky and will 'go to sleep' after a few weeks. This problem is easily rectified by placing it back in a Sky digibox for 24 hours, but this could be an inconvenience. The CAM emulators on a Dreambox will keep the card updated and will prevent the card from 'going to sleep', so this is the better system. However, the Dreambox is an enthusiast's receiver and really only suitable for those with good IT skills. Don't expect it to work with your Sky card until you have loaded the emulators. None of the emulators can do the very first activation of the Sky card, which has to be done in a Sky Digibox.

Aside from the fact that the use of a CAM emulator would probably mean breaking the terms of your Sky contract, our view on this type of system is that it lacks any benefit for the vast majority of users. The lack of the excellent Sky EPG (electronic programme guide) means that the user-friendliness of the system is limited. The only benefit is that it could possibly be used in a non-Sky receiver with built-in hard disc to provide a (very limited) type of Freesat Sky Plus.