Which System?
As you to consider which system to choose, let's start by dividing all satellite systems into two basic types - Sky or not!
A Sky system uses a Sky digibox and all the rest don't - so we'll call them 'non-Sky'.
We do now have a third choice, Freesat
from the BBC and ITV, but be careful, Freesat has only 4 Christian channels while Sky has over 25.
Before we go any further with this comparison, it has to be said that for both ease of use and widest choice, your best option for Christian TV
and Radio is a Freesat from Sky system.
Sky and non-Sky - compared
Either system can be subscription (rental) or non-subscription (one-off cost), and both will give you over twenty channels of free Christian TV & Radio. But now, let's look at a few basic questions.
Sky |
non-Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| What do you mean - Sky or non-Sky? |
A Sky system uses any Sky digibox. Various manufacturers produce Sky digiboxes but they all work in the same way. | For the sake of this comparison, a non-Sky box is any other budget FTA (Free-To-Air) satellite receiver (but not Freesat). |
| I don't have a TV. Can I receive the satellite radio channels? | Yes. A Sky box is automatically tuned to all channels. Simply connect to one or more hi-fi systems, and you'll be able to hear all the radio channels. No TV is required. | Yes, but a TV is needed to identify and tune your receiver to the radio channels. You could borrow a TV for this purpose, or take your receiver to a friend who has a satellite system and a TV, and ask them to tune it for you. But why bother - go for Sky. |
| Can I receive Ch4 and Five? | Yes, if your Sky box is fitted with a TV viewing card. A 5 year card is available from Freesat-from-Sky for £25. | No, these channels are encrypted and are only available through Sky. This situation may change if Ch4 and Five follow the BBC and ITV and go Free-to-Air. |
| I want the greatest control over the channel selection. | Sky boxes are tuned to all available channels and, even without a TV viewing card, will still receive a few undesirable Free-to-Air channels. But, the vast majority of the unwholesome channels are only accessible to subscribers who pay for a card to give them access. | Budget non-Sky boxes have no Viewing card slot - so can only receive Free-to-Air channels, including the few undesirable channels that can also be received via Sky. But, you can manually tune in your own choice of channels. |
| Is there a Parental Control Facility? | Yes, but only if your Sky box has a viewing card. 'Freesat-from-Sky' owners and Sky subscribers have a card and Sky gives them a PIN number allowing chosen channels to be blocked using the remote control. Want this feature? - buy a 'Freesat from Sky' card for £25. More details at Sky Parental Control Facility. | I am told that most of the non-Sky receivers do have Parental Control. But as you select and tune in your own choice of channels you can ensure no unwanted channel is available. It might be wise to keep the manual tuning instructions to yourself. If you have a non-Sky receiver please get in touch and let us know if it has a Parental Control facility. See Feedback below. |
| Sometimes a channel frequency is changed. Will I need to retune my receiver in order to continue receiving this channel? | Not with a Sky digibox. These are automatically retuned when frequencies are changed. You simply type in the same channel numbers as before. | Sadly yes. Every time a frequency changes you'll need to manually retune or set your receiver to scan for all available channels if yours has the scan facility. Christian TV will retune your box but you'll have to send it to them and pay carriage. |
Feedback on Parental Controls with a non-Sky box.
Message: “Hi Steve, Just a short message about the parental control facility on non-Sky boxes.
I own a Humax receiver and it does have parental controls on it, which are just as good as Sky's in everyway.
Many thanks and God bless, Kevin B.”
A few more things to consider
Hopefully, the table above has helped to point you in the right direction. But here are a few further pointers.
If you see anything on this site that's incorrect or unclear,
please contact us and we'll put it right!
Thanks, Steve Lee.
- If you only want the free TV & Radio channels, (Includes all Christian, BBC and ITV channels) a Sky digibox without a TV viewing card, or any non-Sky receiver, will suffice.
- If you want a non-Sky receiver ready tuned to only 'wholesome' channels, Christian TV or Christian-Sat Satellite Systems can supply a system or just the receiver.
- If you want ease of use - the convenience of all channels automatically tuned and updated to the Sky EPG, get a Sky digibox.
- If you want channels like Disney or Sky Sports, you'll have to go for the usual Sky subscription system (monthly rental).
- If you want Sky's interactive TV, a phone line must be connected to the digibox.
- In the longer term, buying will usually work out cheaper than renting.
Now let's look in more detail at each option. Just choose from the links below.
These three links will take you directly to the Sky, non-Sky or DIY pages.
