SKY+HD

Author
Discussion

thatone1967

4,193 posts

192 months

Wednesday 19th May 2010
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headcase said:
thatone1967 said:
There will be an improvement on everything because you are using HDMI rather than Scart inputs to the tv.
Why?

If somebody even goes the 'its only 1's and 0's' route im gunna scream biggrin
Bloke down the pub told me... must be true....;)

joe_90

4,206 posts

232 months

Wednesday 19th May 2010
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Rubbish its better because its HDMI.

My previous sky box produced a much much better SD picture.. Now, I think my tv had a much better built in scaler, But the HD box outputs a signal in 720p or whatever, and its just not a good. (this also depends on channel and its bandwith).

However, the HD is ok, its obviously not Blu-ray quality, but it good, not stunning, but good. The colour has more pop for sure, the the detail is NOT what you think its going to be.

Not Ideal

2,901 posts

189 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Just got a letter through the post "inviting" me to be amongst the first to upgrade my current Sky HD+ box to a new 1 Terrabyte one for £149 (normal price £249).

Seeing as my current 3yr old HD+ box is playing up massively at the moment thats nice and convenient...

twinturboz

1,278 posts

179 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Yeah same letter, but you just know 6 months in that will be a free box to new subscribers. tongue out

Edited by twinturboz on Thursday 20th May 14:23

Not Ideal

2,901 posts

189 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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I know I know - always the way.

Just ordered it as my current box is just useless at the moment. Not recording anything and keeps needing to be reset.

twinturboz

1,278 posts

179 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Pretty much the same, mine seems to be on the way out so will probably end up ordering it too. Does seem to look a lot sleeker than the old box. Wonder if the old HD boxes with component out is worth anything, I suspect not.

Not Ideal

2,901 posts

189 months

Thursday 20th May 2010
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Doubt its worth anything - mine is 3yrs old and has massive heatsoak issues which I think/hope the newer ones don't.

I'm just gonna keep mine and use it for Sky Multiroom if I decide to get a tv for the bedroom (the bird wants to).

Sky said I should have it by May31st/Jun1st so I will report back then!

dewaltman

5,229 posts

214 months

Monday 24th May 2010
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I've got a Sky+ box and package at the moment, does anyone know if I buy a Sky HD box from Ebay will I get access to any HD channels at all (i.e. the free ones) or do I have to pay £10/mth extra and get them all?

DamienCBR

Original Poster:

2,037 posts

224 months

Monday 24th May 2010
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dewaltman said:
I've got a Sky+ box and package at the moment, does anyone know if I buy a Sky HD box from Ebay will I get access to any HD channels at all (i.e. the free ones) or do I have to pay £10/mth extra and get them all?
As far as i know yes, however you will need to call sky for them to pair the card with box. Do they go for much less than £120? If not you are better off getting a new one with 12 months warranty from SKY.

D

hairyben

8,516 posts

184 months

Tuesday 25th May 2010
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I'm currently pondering the same, move into a new place soon and want sky but won't bother with movies/sports (don't watch football/rugby/golf, and figured you can buy a few blu-ray discs per month instead of subscribing to movies)

but is Hd worth it? I like the docs, and the HD stuff looks great, but how much of the disco/nat geo stuff sky currently output is native HD and how much is merely upscaled?

mcflurry

9,102 posts

254 months

Tuesday 25th May 2010
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Sky sell the box for £99 + £60 installation if you don't take the service, or the boxes go for £100-150ish on fleabay.

May as well pay Sky £120 and get a warranty and some more channels IMHO smile
(ours was delivered last week)



dewaltman

5,229 posts

214 months

Tuesday 25th May 2010
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Boxes are £50 on ebay

Not Ideal

2,901 posts

189 months

Friday 28th May 2010
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Well they delivered my new 1 Terrabyte HD box last night. Is an Amstrad one andis probably about 1/3rd smaller than my old Thompson box which pretty much died on me. Seems a lot quieter as well.

Didn't have a proper play with it as had to head out but will report back after the weekend after i've used it a bit more.

DiscoColin

3,328 posts

215 months

Friday 28th May 2010
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Whether HD is worth it is IMHO very much a function of screen size. People watching on dinky little 32" (yes it is a glib comment, but your money buys a lot of screen these days if you want it) sets aren't going to see a lot of value, but (depending upon how close you sit) the bigger screen you have the more worthwhile HD becomes. By the time you are up to 42" and above, standard definition looks simply horrible by comparison. Especially ITV sports coverage for some unknown reason.

hairyben

8,516 posts

184 months

Friday 28th May 2010
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mcflurry said:
Sky sell the box for £99 + £60 installation if you don't take the service, or the boxes go for £100-150ish on fleabay.

May as well pay Sky £120 and get a warranty and some more channels IMHO smile
(ours was delivered last week)
Way it's looking is sky HD @ £120 a year over boggo sky+, which is why I'm wondering if it's worth the extra for non movie/sport viewers.

I suppose if I have SD sky I'll only be tempted to buy a HD freeview/freesat PVR, so going skyHD "saves" the £300 odd cost of that.

What d'you reckon the chances are of getting the 1TB box for free as a new subscriber?

DamienCBR

Original Poster:

2,037 posts

224 months

Friday 28th May 2010
quotequote all
hairyben said:
mcflurry said:
Sky sell the box for £99 + £60 installation if you don't take the service, or the boxes go for £100-150ish on fleabay.

May as well pay Sky £120 and get a warranty and some more channels IMHO smile
(ours was delivered last week)
What d'you reckon the chances are of getting the 1TB box for free as a new subscriber?
None

Not Ideal

2,901 posts

189 months

Tuesday 1st June 2010
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^^^ yeah agree wouldn't have thought they'd give you the 1TB for free seeing as they've only just started offering them.

With regards to the new 1TB box that I have. Installed with no problems but now the menu's and logo's are half off the screen. Checked the settings and they're set to 16:9 on the Sky menu but still can't read the banners etc at the bottom of the Sky News channel for example. Any suggestions..??

_dobbo_

14,407 posts

249 months

Tuesday 1st June 2010
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Is your TV aspect ratio set right, you haven't got it set on "Zoom" or something like that?

Not Ideal

2,901 posts

189 months

Tuesday 1st June 2010
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Yeah thats all unchanged. Is very strange.

I just switched the boxes over and the aspect ratio is all wrong.

_dobbo_

14,407 posts

249 months

Tuesday 1st June 2010
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A scaling issue perhaps - is the new box set to output 720p? They don't (or at least didn't) come setup that way so it's worth checking it.