Note on a Sky+ install

ixtlan

Perhaps you know me better as "Paranoid chimney guy".

Anyhow finally got Sky+ installed, and here are some things which I would be happy for people to comment on.

Went to a local installer, as when the dish was originally installed Sky put it on the chimney and charged me 30 pounds extra (in 2000). Local guys quoted 399 and dismissed my concerns about the chimney...

Pleasant English chap arrives and does the install. He says that extra charges for the chimney are a rip-off. He says that in my case it's the front or the chimney. For some houses on my row it should be on the gable... but the installers are lazy and it's easier to put the dishes on the chimney?!

I ask whether I should be concerned that my dish is going rusty... No... I'll get a few more years out of it... but it will need to be replaced eventually.

I ask whether I should be concerned that the heavier quad LNB means that the dish may need to be re-adjusted. He agrees this is an issue... my signal strength has dropped from 60-70 to 50-60... but
1/ 50% is still acceptable
2/ My dish is so rusty that it cannot be re-aligned anymore but would have to be replaced.
3/ He's installing a new type of LNB which is lighter than previous models.

The guys does a call-back through the box, it works, he rings Sky to change the card from the old dish. Then he tells me it will take a few hours to work... Box is showing "wrong viewing card".

Guy says 450eur please. I protest that I was told 399eur. He calls shop and agrees to take the 399eur.

The guy leaves. I notice the fan is on all the time. Not noisy really but research on digital-spy indicates that a power cycle will resolve this, and it does. Now the fan stays off all the time.

6 hours later it still isn't working. I call Sky, fill them in and fortunately speak to a girl who immediately enables it, and switches on the record feature.

Now I'm going out and want to try a dual-record... but this feature is not enabled... So I follow the procedure for forcing a software upgrade (hold backup button while rebooting). Takes maybe 10-15 min and dual-record is now working.

So... all is now well. The box seems very impressive. Dual-record worked, pause TV is very clever, picture quality is perfect, cannot hear anything from the box (a gentle whirr, maybe the hard drive)

My sky+ is installed over a VCR (usually off) on a shelf (front open) under the TV... about 5cm free above and about 5cm on each side. The base of the box is quite hot though and the fan never seems to come on. Research on digital-spy shows that many people go to great lengths to cool their boxes (being unhappy that the temperature controlled fan does not come on often enough)... from spacers under the rubber feet to raise box up for more airflow...to extra fans attached to the outside of the box. Should I be concerned? I think I'll try the spacers anyhow.

I would have upgraded the hard drive in the box immediately to 120Gb, but with the introduction of the 17min bug (see angry upgraders thread on DS) I think I'll wait until after the warranty expires.

Best regards,
Ix.

Tony

100 euro for install seems expensive even if it is on the chimney, how long did it take him to complete?

Tony

Originally posted by ixtlan
P

Went to a local installer, as when the dish was originally installed Sky put it on the chimney and charged me 30 pounds extra (in 2000). Local guys quoted 399 and dismissed my concerns about the chimney...


Ix.

ixtlan

About 1 hour on the chimney and cabling. Seemed rather long since he wasn't re-aligning the dish.

As for the box, I had everything laid out for him with the current digibox on a chair in front of the TV. I didn't really want him messing with the Medusa's hair mess of cables round the back of the TV stand.

I even brought the second cable through an air-vent behind the TV for him so there was no drilling.

Ix.

Tony

I would have thought the standard recommended fee of 75 would have covered this.

Tony

ixtlan

The problem for me was that I was uncertain whether a chimney install qualifies as standard. Despite my new installer's comment that it is... it would seem that Sky policy is that it is not. I mailed them to ask could they confirm the price and they said that the installer would need to inspect it.

Which would put me at the mercy of the installer, which is why I went to a local shop. At least with them they were willing to give me a price (even though higher than Sky).

And for the record, there's nothing unusual about the house... standard 3-bed semi-detached.

Ix.

jabarrett35

I'm wondering how do you increase the hard drive G bits. I presume you have to buy something like a chip for the box. Has anyone any idea how much it cost?

ShaneOC

Originally posted by jabarrett35
I'm wondering how do you increase the hard drive G bits. I presume you have to buy something like a chip for the box. Has anyone any idea how much it cost?

If you are talking about increasing the size of the hard disk in Sky+ then it is possible and quite a few people have done so. Usually people replace the 40Gb standard drive with a 120Gb one (i.e. treble the capacity). From what I know it is pretty straight forward if you know what you are doing.

ixtlan

Pretty straighforword, but beware that since the dual-record software update sent to boxes in December, users who upgraded their hard-drives have had a number of serious problems, often having to delete existing recordings without watching them.

Read the pain and anguish here...

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/t/101131/ds.html

I may wait until my warranty expires to replace the disk.

Ix.

monkeyfudge

I'm getting the upgrade to Sky + this week...

The only thing I'm concerned about is the phone line.

Did that work out okay?

As I figure that most people don't have their televisions in the hallway, so a large cable run should be part of a standard install package. And I think it's going to to have to be a fairly long cable run for me.

ixtlan

I just presented the installer with a phone cable running from the hallway. He needed this to do the actual box install.

I haven't permanently wired the cable in yet.... I'm a little doubtful... but in the end I guess I will since it's in the contract.... but one year only.

I'd rather do the cable wiring myself under the carpet around the edge of the room. I do not think any phone cabling is covered as part of a standard install.

Ix.

Tony

Originally posted by ixtlan
. I do not think any phone cabling is covered as part of a standard install.

Ix.

true