Is anyone using a dreambox to access Sky channels? nudge nudge wink wink

if so how? is it easy to setup, what do you need etc?

cheers

I do not have a Dreambox currently here, but I had one back in the Netherlands. You need a 'subscription' to make sure that you can watch the channels. And you need a pretty good Internet connection to assure that you can make use of the 'subscription'.

I didn't know that you could use Dreambox here! I guess you need to know the right people.

I'm told Dreamboxes still work here (you have to have a Cablecom subscription though) and cost around 150 CHF. But I don't know what you mean by "using a Dreambox to watch Sky channels"...

Unless I'm talking about a different dreambox altogether!

EDITED: no it can not be done, a sky box has a BIOS and the card/box coding and interface is changed every 30 seconds to prevent cloning and using other boxes etc

if you ask me how i know i will just lie to you.

What do you guys call a Dreambox?

Dreambox make all sorts of PVR/decoders and stuff, so I think there's some confusion in the replies so far.

I read the OP as wanting to use a Dreambox with Sky card to receive Sky TV direct from satellite, which is something I've looked into in the past, but been confounded by the jargon often used, so I don't know exactly what is or is not possible either.

It is very much possible, BUT you still need the sky receiver (to which the card was paired) to receive a stay alive signal from Sky. A little card swapping from time to time should do the trick just to get the update signal... I believe this is sent through the transponder that Sky News broadcasts from (same as the EPG data, but may be wrong)...

PS. There are different types of DB's - DVB-C, DVB-T and DVB-S and the OP'er is talking about DVB-S here

All those terms are very confusing, or at least I always found them so. Not even sure what a "DB" is, but you may be able to help: if I get a DVB-S card in a Dreambox or other receiver, or indeed if I built one into a PC, can I just put the Sky card into it and it will automatically receive all my Sky subscription channels (assuming suitable software/functionality)?

not that i am aware, the card and skybox need each other to work together.

Only for the "stay" alive signal.

The thing is that Sky makes money on selling EPG positions as the higher a channel is positioned on an EPG slot the more viewers it will attract = more advertising revenue.

So, this means that Sky doesn't want the consumer to be able to choose themselves how and where to position the channels as per the listings set by Sky. One way of doing this is to make sure that the card is "married" to the box that sky has sold (or given) to you and receives an updating signal once in a while. If you take out your sky card for a prolonged time you will see that none of the channels clears but leaving the card in the correct sky digibox/Sky+/Sky+HD box for up to 24 hours (usually 15 min) the signal will update your card and viewing is again possible.

One interesting thing is that if you use a DB (Dream Box) and stop paying for your subscription, you will be able to continue to watch most of the channels for a period after you ended your subscription as the "kill" signal can't be applied. Of course the update signal will be missed at some point and all is gone...

Yes.

1. You still need the original sky receiver for update signals (see my post above).
2. You need to know how to flash the DB (Dream Box) with whatever image you need to get the setup to work.
3. Best thing for you would to look in a dedicated DB forum for help.