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Horizon vs Sky Box - comparison from a dual user

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  • 07-04-2015 8:43am
    #1
    total former
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,784 ✭✭✭


    So I was one of the first to get the Horizon box on the trial and have had it for almost two years now, been very happy with it (compared to the old UPC box anyway), however the impending return of Game of Thrones and other Sky Atlantic shows, combined with a really good deal on price, convinced me to get a Sky dish.

    So how do they compare?

    The TL:DR version is - the Horizon box is better hardware, but Sky kicks its ass on content.


    The longer version is:

    User Interface
    One of the biggest criticisms of Horizon has been the slow browsing compared to Sky, excessive button pushes to get what you want etc. I don't think this is justified to be honest. Browsing up and down channels is no quicker/slower on either box. The channel order is better on UPC, with the best channels first. The biggest plus for Sky is the ability to browse up and down with the bar at the bottom of the screen while still watching, UPC need to sort that asap.


    On Demand
    Right, so MyPrime hasn't been an unqualified success, has it? And compared to the content on Sky, it's not even close. Now, I have Sky Movies which is a premium channel, but the choice of On Demand movies is insane. Likewise, the choice of boxsets is off the charts compared to UPC, both in quantity and quality; the HBO deal is the main reason for that.


    Picture and sound
    I think the Sky HD picture is clearer than Horizon, but Horizon is better in SD. That said, most of the channels I watch are in HD now anyway, so advantage Sky I think (and they have more HD content, but see below). Sky 3D is a bit of a laugh but also a total gimmick. The sound from the Sky box is not as good as Horizon though, the volume needs to be a few notches higher.


    Content
    This really is where Sky dominates. The range of channels is just massive. Now, a lot of it is crap that no-one would ever watch in a million years, but the game-changer for me personally is Sky Atlantic. It's not all one way traffic though, Sky has no RTE1 HD, no TG4 HD, no BBC News and the ITV channels must be tuned in manually, meaning no recording possible. I will also miss having Irish digital radio stations that are on Horizon. Sky has a good range of UK radio, which UPC has gradually lost.


    The box
    If such things matter, Horizon is a much better-looking product when it's sitting on the shelf, it just looks great. Its big advantages though are 1) its hard drive - 400GB compared to 250GB for Sky and 2) its connectivity, in terms of things like DLNA streaming and Smart apps. Now, I have a Smart TV so this isn't a big deal for me, and you can always get a Chromecast or similar, but the Horizon is a winner here. The RF remote control is also a big plus, allowing the box to be hidden from sight. Again you can get a Magic Eye for Sky, but should you have to? Finally, Horizon lets you record four things at once while watching a fifth, Sky only allows 1 + 1. Would you ever want to record four things at once? Probably not, but you might well want to record two.


    So there it is, my thoughts after switching. Hope it helps anyone who might be toying with the idea of moving from one to the other. I'm enjoying Sky and I love the novelty of new tech, but it's not as clear cut as is sometimes made out here.

    PS; I'm keeping UPC for broadband, the Sky bundles just don't make any sense pricewise.


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    #2
    loyatemu
    Registered Users Posts: 14,794 ✭✭✭✭loyatemu


    Sky doesn't have the "back to live TV" button that Horizon does (correct me if I'm wrong there?).

    The "SKY" button does this.
    Where Sky falls down is that it is not true 'on demand'; I settled down on the couch the other night to watch a movie on demand, selected the HD version, but then had to wait for it to download fully, all 3.5 GB of it.

    IME On Demand stuff will usually start playing once 2 or 3% of it is downloaded.


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    #3
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,355 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    total former wrote: »
    So there it is, my thoughts after switching. Hope it helps anyone who might be toying with the idea of moving from one to the other. I'm enjoying Sky and I love the novelty of new tech, but it's not as clear cut as is sometimes made out here.

    Thank you for the balanced review and comparison of both boxes and their features and content. A lot of people who get involved in the war of the boxes debate are religious zealots on one side or the other, it's refreshing to get a neutral head to head comparison.


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    #4
    total former
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,784 ✭✭✭total former


    loyatemu wrote: »
    The "SKY" button does this.
    Where? The "back up" button doesn't. Edit: it's the Sky button. Very good, didn't read your post properly.
    IME On Demand stuff will usually start playing once 2 or 3% of it is downloaded.

    Yeah you're right, my bad.


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    #5
    pippip
    Registered Users Posts: 2,249 ✭✭✭pippip


    I've just gone from UPC to sky and one of the delights is not having to constantly unplug the box. With Horizon at least once a week it would freeze and need to be unplugged or wait a few minutes to get going again, two months on haven't had to do it once to the SKY box.


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    #6
    coldfire1x
    Registered Users Posts: 3,353 ✭✭✭coldfire1x


    Would love to get a sky box but unfortunately cant in an apartment.

    Having said that, record upto 4 programs at a time is a feature I have got used to. On certain days quite often I have 3 programs on the recording.


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    #7
    HeidiHeidi
    Registered Users Posts: 28,884 ✭✭✭✭HeidiHeidi


    coldfire1x wrote: »

    Having said that, record upto 4 programs at a time is a feature I have got used to. On certain days quite often I have 3 programs on the recording.

    Yep, this is the only disappointment.

    I moved to Sky from UPC about three weeks ago, and no regrets.

    That Horizon box had my heart broken - although most of my family also have Horizon and don't seem to experience half the hassle I had, but maybe they didn't depend on recordings as much as I do.

    Sky is an absolute pleasure to use.

    The only downside is that there are only two feeds into the box, so you can only record two channels at the same time, or record one while watching another.

    Linked to that is the lack of any RTE player, or any +1 channels which might make managing prime-time telly a bit easier (I'm out a lot of evenings and there would often be three or four things on between 8 and 10pm which I'd like to record).

    However, I can organise all this ahead of time, and I know if I set something to record it will record - and that is the ultimate luxury after the endless failed/partial recordings on Horizon.

    And the UI is a gazillion times better.


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    #8
    chris_john_lane
    Registered Users Posts: 194 ✭✭chris_john_lane


    HeidiHeidi wrote: »
    Yep, this is the only disappointment.

    I moved to Sky from UPC about three weeks ago, and no regrets.

    That Horizon box had my heart broken - although most of my family also have Horizon and don't seem to experience half the hassle I had, but maybe they didn't depend on recordings as much as I do.

    Sky is an absolute pleasure to use.

    The only downside is that there are only two feeds into the box, so you can only record two channels at the same time, or record one while watching another.

    Linked to that is the lack of any RTE player, or any +1 channels which might make managing prime-time telly a bit easier (I'm out a lot of evenings and there would often be three or four things on between 8 and 10pm which I'd like to record).

    However, I can organise all this ahead of time, and I know if I set something to record it will record - and that is the ultimate luxury after the endless failed/partial recordings on Horizon.

    And the UI is a gazillion times better.


    Hi just wondering how you found it getting rid of upc ... I have upc/virgin now with tv and broadband... think ive to give upc 30 days notice is it ? abd how long will it take to get sky in.... not sure whether to cancel upc today and just order sky... also whos broadband is better ?


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    #9
    devnull
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,587 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    With recent software releases I think Horizon has really come on.

    It's much faster and less lag and better features than before and seems more stable, it's not perfect but it's for sure improved.


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    #10
    HeidiHeidi
    Registered Users Posts: 28,884 ✭✭✭✭HeidiHeidi


    chris_john_lane wrote: »
    Hi just wondering how you found it getting rid of upc ... I have upc/virgin now with tv and broadband... think ive to give upc 30 days notice is it ? abd how long will it take to get sky in.... not sure whether to cancel upc today and just order sky... also whos broadband is better ?

    I had TV only, and had so many problems with the Horizon box over such a long period that they just let me go.

    I ordered Sky and if I recall rightly made an appointment within about a week and had it installed and wired in a couple of hours. I just arranged for UPC to end on that date.

    Can't help you on the broadband front, I'm afraid.


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    #11
    bk
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,518 Mod ✭✭✭✭bk


    For those who like the ability to record 4 channels at the same time and streaming to apps, it is worth noting that Sky have recently revealed that they are realising a new box in a few months time called Sky Q that looks like it is a radical revamp of the Sky platform and adds many of the features that they were missing versus Horizon.

    For instance it will have 12 tuners, allowing you to record 5 channels simultaneously, the other tuners are for streaming to multiroom boxes and tablets.

    Could be interesting to those who moved from Horizon to Sky, but miss the ability to record 4 channels.

    On the Horizon side, hopefully this will force Virgin to do better, with more software updates, multiroom streaming boxes (like they have for Horizon in other European markets) and maybe even a new, updated, 4k box.


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    #12
    murpho999
    Registered Users Posts: 28,436 ✭✭✭✭murpho999


    bk wrote: »
    For those who like the ability to record 4 channels at the same time and streaming to apps, it is worth noting that Sky have recently revealed that they are realising a new box in a few months time called Sky Q that looks like it is a radical revamp of the Sky platform and adds many of the features that they were missing versus Horizon.

    For instance it will have 12 tuners, allowing you to record 5 channels simultaneously, the other tuners are for streaming to multiroom boxes and tablets.

    Could be interesting to those who moved from Horizon to Sky, but miss the ability to record 4 channels.

    On the Horizon side, hopefully this will force Virgin to do better, with more software updates, multiroom streaming boxes (like they have for Horizon in other European markets) and maybe even a new, updated, 4k box.

    That is being discussed on another forum/thread by some techies here[/URL].

    They don't seem that impressed, also questions remain over the pricing and Sky are already calling it a 'premium product' so you can guess that it's going to be pricey and incur extra subscription charges that Sky love.


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    #13
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,836 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    pippip wrote: »
    I've just gone from UPC to sky and one of the delights is not having to constantly unplug the box.
    https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/hard_reboot.png
    It's an old IT fix especially for stuff on other sites. But make sure the unit has plenty of ventilation in case it's just overheating :)



    I've an old Freesat box that will only record two channels at a time. You can watch a third , but only from one of those two transponders already in use. I'm thinking about getting a second one to record more channels but more so I can record non-freesat stuff and other channels. Of course not as easy an option for those on subscriptions because of the extra sub,


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