I'm surprised people here aren't getting this...
Yes, if you dig hard on the Sky website you can get what they decided to call "Freesat from Sky" (after the BBC/Sky chose the Freesat name). They don't publicise that much. Funny that. A man from Sky will then call round and install a proprietry Sky digibox. Sky will then keep pestering you to take their premium channels.
If you go for Freesat you can go out and buy a Freesat box of any make. Sure there are only going to be a few manufacturers of them initially - as was the case with Freeview - but with time the number available will rise and the price will fall.
Elsewhere in Europe people are not tied to one brand of satellite receiver the way people in the UK have been. They can buy any receiver of any make and a Conditional Access Module into which they can put a card from the broadcaster of their choice. Sky refuse to allow CAMs for their service, effectively stifling the sales of satellite receivers in the UK. It's a bit like Microsoft saying you can only use Windows on a Dell PC, which you buy through Microsoft (and if you want to use Linux on a PC - well that's ok but it's best if you buy it from Microsoft so as to allow them to convince you Windows is better). Sky's EPG information is not accessible to any receiver except a Sky Digibox.
Freesat opens the market. Yes, it's creaking open, and only open a little now. But it'll get better in time. E4 and More4 changed to be broadcasting Free To Air on satellite today.
Humax say they will have an HD PVR later this summer... and it's worth noting - perhaps for another room - that if you have Sky+ you're likely to have a 4-output LNB on your dish, of which Sky+ only uses two.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
