Sky HD questions

eirebhoy

A few questions.

If I was to buy a Thomson HD box could I just use it the same as Sky+ if I don't subscribe for the extra channels? If so I'd be better off buying the HD box instead of the Sky+ box as I'll want to get HD in a year or 2 anyway. Basically, is Sky HD without the subscription just the exact same as a Sky+? Any quality difference on normal channels?

I guess it's easy enough to set up with the right LNB?

I can get a month old box on Ebay for €250 including the delivery from England. Is that about as cheap as I'd get it on Ebay?

Do I have to get a new card to use it? I currently just have the normal digibox.

Cheers.

watty

In a year or two Sky HD will be cheaper, bigger disk and maybe even 2nd alternate channel on RF.

I don't think it is worth the extra unless you want the limited HD content available today and have a native 1080 or 1200 line set at least 37".

But it will work as a Sky+

Sky themselves will not supply it without an HD subscription.

steveon

If you already have SKY+ you simply need to swap the box...no extra work required.

I totally agree with Watty however, would suggest waiting off for HD until there is more channels and probably better features at a lower cost in the future. I'd be weary of buying a second hand HD or SKY+ BOX for fear of an old Hard-drive that could fail at any moment.

eirebhoy

Yeah I might just get Sky+ then. I'm still bitter about ordering Sky+ when it was free before Christmas and they never came. I'm now paying €150 that I didn't have to.

johnnyflav

I bought an ebay Sky HD box not so long ago, cost €230 inc post. I was upgrading from the standard sky, so had to install a new LNB also ebay (€8 inc post), the thing that cost a little more than expected is having an independant engineer come to install (€75), a job that I think I could have done myself. All that needs to be done is switch LNBs and add an extra cable from the box to the dish, there's a few guides on it at www.satellite.ie

To set up the box with your card, you need to be connected to a phone line. If you aren't connected you can't set up the sky+ feature or HD feature. (Also the phoneline can't go through a broadband router/splitter.)

I think the SD channels look considerably better through the HD box connected by component. Also the 160GB storage is very handy for storing old shows.

I had the sky world package (€66) before changing boxes, and now only have the entertainment package which is costing €45 a month. The extra cost is worth it for the extra functionallity of sky+ and I watch a good few HD channels, History and Discovery have a good few shows in HD.

eamon234

johnnyflav wrote:

I bought an ebay Sky HD box not so long ago, cost €230 inc post. I was upgrading from the standard sky, so had to install a new LNB also ebay (€8 inc post), the thing that cost a little more than expected is having an independant engineer come to install (€75), a job that I think I could have done myself. All that needs to be done is switch LNBs and add an extra cable from the box to the dish, there's a few guides on it at www.satellite.ie

To set up the box with your card, you need to be connected to a phone line. If you aren't connected you can't set up the sky+ feature or HD feature. (Also the phoneline can't go through a broadband router/splitter.)

I think the SD channels look considerably better through the HD box connected by component. Also the 160GB storage is very handy for storing old shows.

I had the sky world package (€66) before changing boxes, and now only have the entertainment package which is costing €45 a month. The extra cost is worth it for the extra functionallity of sky+ and I watch a good few HD channels, History and Discovery have a good few shows in HD.

Johnny do you have to pay a HD subscription on top of that €45?

mwrf

johnnyflav wrote:

I bought an ebay Sky HD box not so long ago, cost €230 inc post.

T

can you tell me the sellers username? that seems like a really cheap price

_Kaiser_

I bought a 3 month old HD box from ebay just last week for €220 (incl shipping) to replace my aging sky+ box (which will now go to my mother to replace her standard box). Like the OP, I don't have the TV yet (next month I think ) but with the bigger disk drive, Anytime support and soon-to-be-free Plus features, it makes a lot more sense in the longer run I think.

eirebhoy

Kaiser2000 wrote:

I bought a 3 month old HD box from ebay just last week for €220 (incl shipping) to replace my aging sky+ box (which will now go to my mother to replace her standard box). Like the OP, I don't have the TV yet (next month I think )

I do have the HD TV. I just don't think it's worth paying €15 a month for the current limited amount of channels.

johnnyflav

The usernames name was 'liverpoolredandwhite' but I don't think he was a powerseller or had a lot of the boxes to sell, if you look for the sky hd box and filter for used boxes you'll get them a little cheaper than ones adveristed brand new.

I'm paying €30.50 for the 6 entertainment packages, sky one, discovery, music etc, it has everything except sports and movies and an extra €15 for the HD functionality (sky+ is free).

One thing that's also relevant, if you upgrade you'll have to sign up to a 12 month contract. This isn't specific to sky HD, if you upgrade from normal to sky+ you have to take the 12 month contract and similarily with sky+ to sky HD.

watty

johnnyflav wrote:

To set up the box with your card, you need to be connected to a phone line. If you aren't connected you can't set up the sky+ feature or HD feature. (Also the phoneline can't go through a broadband router/splitter.)

I think the SD channels look considerably better through the HD box connected by component. Also the 160GB storage is very handy for storing old shows..

Not true. A decent splitter is needed or your ADSL modem won't work. A decent splitter won't affect Sky Modem.


The better picture on Component simply means your TV has a poor SCART.

There is no quality difference between SCART and Component.

slave1

There is no quality difference between SCART and Component.

SCART cannot carry HD signals i.e. either the 720p or 1080i that you choose the HD box to output, so I'd have to differ and say component is better than SCART.
We're also talking about SD channels that are upscaled by the HD box so we get into another debate about whether the HD box is a better upscaler than an individuals TV.
Don't think SCART is capable of Progressive Scan either
Anyhow, would always have put composite,SVideo/SCART, component/HDMI in that order

johnnyflav

watty wrote:

Not true. A decent splitter is needed or your ADSL modem won't work. A decent splitter won't affect Sky Modem.


The better picture on Component simply means your TV has a poor SCART.

There is no quality difference between SCART and Component.

The sky box can't make a call back if it goes through the splitter, but it will through the phone line. It can take signals from outside when going through the splitter, but can't make the call back. It only affects it when making the initial call back.

I think you may be getting confused between composite and component. Component being a higher quality than composite.

steveon

I'd agree with Watty on the issue of callbacks. I use splitters everyday and seldom have problems with callbacks when using them...issues with sky callbacks failing are usually to do with skys servers in my opinion or poor lines installations rather than the use of splitters

byte

Another cause for failed callbacks is when the phoneline is ex-directory. It had me stymied one day!

However, I've never had a problem with doing callbacks through a DSL filter/splitter.

eirebhoy

Anyway... if I get Sky+ or HD box off Ebay, do I need a new viewing card?

byte

eirebhoy wrote:

Anyway... if I get Sky+ or HD box off Ebay, do I need a new viewing card?

No.

Hody

This topic involves pretty much a lot of questions I have.

1. First of all what abou the dish, can I use my own dish?!
2. Phone lines?! I am using a virtual phone line (freespeech.ie) its voip routed through broadband - works just like normal phone line with a little device connected to the wifi router
3. Sky HD?! How do I subscribe, if I would get a sky box myself from ebay uk?

Acutally my scenario would be, a 100cm dish, that points to ASTRA 19.2 / Astra 28.2. I am using digital twin/quad LNBs, so everything should be alright for Sky. I would have either have to take sky+ at the beginnng and upgrade later to Sky HD or get Sky HD from the start, depending on the installation, equipment price. I will have a no landline at the premises, but I am using a virtual landline over a permant voip connection - so that should be fine.

Kotek Besar

Hody wrote:

1. First of all what abou the dish, can I use my own dish?!

Yes, your current 100cm in it's current position will be fine.

Hody wrote:

2. Phone lines?! I am using a virtual phone line (freespeech.ie) its voip routed through broadband - works just like normal phone line with a little device connected to the wifi router

I have a similar setup to you, but with Blueface. The little device connected to your wifi router is called an ATA. Currently, into you ATA you have connected your telephone, right? Just buy a simple telephone splitter so you can plug your telephone and your digibox in at the same time. Make sure you set your VoIP codec to G711a.

Hody wrote:

3. Sky HD?! How do I subscribe, if I would get a sky box myself from ebay uk?

If you already have the equipment, you just call Sky and tell them the package you want. They will send you a viewing card. Even though you're not getting equipment from them, it's still a 12 month contract (which seems a little unfair).

Hody wrote:

Acutally my scenario would be, a 100cm dish, that points to ASTRA 19.2 / Astra 28.2. I am using digital twin/quad LNBs, so everything should be alright for Sky. I would have either have to take sky+ at the beginnng and upgrade later to Sky HD or get Sky HD from the start, depending on the installation, equipment price. I will have a no landline at the premises, but I am using a virtual landline over a permant voip connection - so that should be fine.

Yes mate, your setup seems spot on to me..

Hody

benifa wrote:

Yes, your current 100cm in it's current position will be fine.

Well its mounted to that position at the moment, but I will allign it like that in the new backgarden in Swords again...

I have a similar setup to you, but with Blueface. The little device connected to your wifi router is called an ATA. Currently, into you ATA you have connected your telephone, right? Just buy a simple telephone splitter so you can plug your telephone and your digibox in at the same time. Make sure you set your VoIP codec to G711a.

Yes its a ATA, was not remembering the word, bloody foreigner I am. Actually my Grandstream has two sockets - so no splitter needed, and G711a is supported - but for what is a phone connected needed anyways?!

If you already have the equipment, you just call Sky and tell them the package you want. They will send you a viewing card. Even though you're not getting equipment from them, it's still a 12 month contract (which seems a little unfair).

Ok, but that still leaves me short of an sky box, are the differences in the models?! I saw various SKY HD boxes on offer at ebay.co.uk - no clue about the model though. Does the HD work with normal double shieled coax cable?!

Yes mate, your setup seems spot on to me..

Thank you, seems I found a soulmate

Kotek Besar

A soul mate? Hmmm.. perhaps you're right - since I'm also a bloody foreigner

You have to connect the phone line for activation of your viewing card, once received. Going forward, in theory you're supposed to leave it connected, though in practice it's not a necessity. Might as well stay connected though, since it won't cost you anything to do so, and you'll be able to use callback required features, like ordering PPV events, games (!) or self-diagnosis on the NHS direct interactive section. Nice ..

I don't know anything about the difference in Sky HD boxes, nor much about the Sky+ boxes other than the older Sky+ boxes cannot make use of the new Sky Anytime service. Fortunately, I was lucky and found an "as new" TDS470N Sky+ on ebay recently, for 82 pounds inc delivery, which I thought was quite a bargain. The TDS470N is a Sky+ PVR3, which, of course, is newer than the PVR1 and PVR2, and thus is compatible with Sky Anytime (which, I think anyway, is a pretty cool service)

Hody

Ok maybe no soulmates for me, German´s dont have them anyways, lol

So the setup seems to be quite easy, the only question is how many cables are needed for the sky HD and what kind of digital LNB, sky themselves wrote me: "our dish as long as its locked onto 28.2 east should be fine and you are aware that it requires two cables for either sky+ or HD. Both, according to Sky in the U.K are supposed to be connected to the phone but we may be able to overcome that. We have a special offer on a single Sky+ box at the moment until the 30th of june only, including install of 99+75 install =174 or HD at 574euros all in. Add 40euros to each as you dont have a phone line as VOIP is not sufficient.

So the thing that is too expensive is the asking price for the HD box

jf852003

Hi
I am getting sky hd installed next wednesday. can anyone confirm that it must be connected to a phone line just to be set up.
could i connect it to my landline and then unplug it after its been set up?
is there anyway of geeting around it?
my main landline is in a different room to the tv as is my broadband connection.

byte

I think there is now a €40 fee if you don't use phoneline.

I'd personally run a phonecable into the room for SkyHD temporarily until installer leaves, then unplug and forget about it

jf852003

yeah i did that, it seems to have worked so far