Skybox F3 worth getting?

[newgen2005]

Someone is selling an Skybox F3 for £40, are they worth getting?

I use to use a Dreambox 500, back in the day .

Can you use your official Sky card in these boxes? Was hoping to record programs and play on PC or even connect Skybox to my HD capture device via Component.

 

[davemurgtroyd]

The Skybox F3 is nothing to fo with Sky and will not accept Sky cards. This is quite an old box and Sky took legal action to stop them using the name in the UK and later models from the company were branded Libertview and later Openbox - which now sell for £30 upwards (so £40 is way too high a price). They cannot use the broadcast "over the air" EPGs (if any is available it is downloaded via an internet connection) so recording to external usb is only possible using manual timer (like in the early days of VCR) of FTA channels Illegal theft of pay TV was possible at one time via card sharing but has virtually disappeared nowadays and cannot be discussed here.

They are quite a capable generic FTA receiver and do have one major advantage - that the recordings to usb will not need a capture device to view and burn recordings on a PC BUT FTA channels only legally. So basically that is a very poor value and should be less than half that price

 

[aceb]

Remembering buying mine, I only got it for all the HD streams at the London Olympics so that dates it. A nice little FTA box that now resides at my mums programmed to 3Sat HD on an LNB cable tied to the side of her Sky dish lnb so she can watch Alpenpanarama each morning

 

[Lazarus]

I've got two of them. One has been supplanted by an Edision Primo of late, but the other is still doing sterling service.

 

[newgen2005]

The Skybox F3 is nothing to fo with Sky and will not accept Sky cards. This is quite an old box and Sky took legal action to stop them using the name in the UK and later models from the company were branded Libertview and later Openbox - which now sell for £30 upwards (so £40 is way too high a price). They cannot use the broadcast "over the air" EPGs (if any is available it is downloaded via an internet connection) so recording to external usb is only possible using manual timer (like in the early days of VCR) of FTA channels Illegal theft of pay TV was possible at one time via card sharing but has virtually disappeared nowadays and cannot be discussed here.

They are quite a capable generic FTA receiver and do have one major advantage - that the recordings to usb will not need a capture device to view and burn recordings on a PC BUT FTA channels only legally. So basically that is a very poor value and should be less than half that price

Many thanks for the detailed reply. I like the idea of being able to record via usb, saves using my capture device. Which box would you recommend?

 

[davemurgtroyd]

I have an Openbox V8 combo - satellite, terrestrial and IPTV in one box. You can mix your "favourite" lists from all 3 sources in one list for easier surfing.

 

[Lazarus]

Many thanks for the detailed reply. I like the idea of being able to record via usb, saves using my capture device. Which box would you recommend?

Edision Primo.