The Sky OFFER YOU Have BEEN ALL BEEN WAITING FOR

steveon

At long last I am happy to post this brand new offer for all new customers connecting to sky...you can now have SKY+ AND SKY HD installed without a phone line for a once off Manual connection fee of €40 which means you no longer need a phone line to do a callback.

This is just after been sanctioned so I taught you would all like to know straight away....Chorus And NTL are definetly in trouble now i think

P.S.
This is only available as standalone and not as a Multiroom-Subscription in similar fashion to the already available manual connection available on a standard sky box.

Couch Potato

does this apply to self-install boxes also or do you still need to pay for the install ?

I was hoping to purchase a Sky HD box on eBay and swap out with my Sky+ box and then calling Sky to pair card to new box

steveon

I would presume you could get it activated for free if u do a self install now but I cannot confirm this....I only got the details of the new offer 5mins before posting


Either way its about time u dont need a phoneline installed for Skyplus

Couch Potato

steveon wrote:

I would presume you could get it activated for free if u do a self install now but I cannot confirm this....I only got the details of the new offer 5mins before posting


Either way its about time u dont need a phoneline installed for Skyplus

Can I ask how you became aware of this offer ?

steveon

Without getting blocked as I dont want to advertise here...I do installs...enough said

BArra

im thinking of getting in sky soon, but can u explain this in a little more detail...

i would be a new sky customer, and was looking at getting sky+, when you say manual connection fee of 40euro, what does that mean?

i still need to pay 149 for the box and 75 for install without multiroom?

steveon

Exactly you will need to pay €149 for the Sky+ box, 75 for the install and a further €40 for manual activation which in my opinion is worth it considering the price of the box was once much higher and u had no option...no phone no sky+

I know loads of people who wanted Sky+ but didnt have a phone so wouldn't go for it. And before others post bring the box to your parents and activate the card...not everyone had this option available or would deceive Sky by doing this...

Pat Gleeson

Can existing customers pay the €40 and disconnect the Sky+ / HD box, if they so desired ?

BArra

whats the disadvantage of having the phone line hooked up to the sky+ box?

sorry for the silly questions, just wondering now why paying 40 euro comes into things, there must be something negative about having it hooked up to a phone line?

does a basic skybox need to be hooked up to a phoneline also? would prefer to get that free box now and free installation, could always upgrade in the future if necessary

steveon

The advantage of having it connected to a phone is really for the interactive features such as games, behind the scenes, being able to order premiership plus games etc by using your remote.

A lot of these features such as games cost 50 cent a minute so make sky money, and ordering using your remote means its automated and so they dont need as many staff so saves them money..

Other than that it means you dont need a phone cable run across the room over doors etc..depending on how you house is layed out

byte

Basically, when box is connected to phoneline, it makes it all the easier for the user to order a few PPV movies, or interactive voting etc, which means extra revenues for Sky.

Still, if you have no landline, and have no intention of getting one, the €40 fee is cheaper than 2 months line rental!

Any new subscription required a phoneline connected for initial 12 months of contract (ordinary Skybox had a €37.50 no phoneline fee)

watty

They had to do this as with rising phone line rental about 30% households or more don't have phone lines now.

horseflesh

steveon.....here's an idiot's question.

ATM I'm with Chorus, who as everyone probably knows are rubbish.
The no Channel 4 thing always stopped me going for Sky in the past.

So how much will it cost me to "switch over" to Sky (Sky+ and HD) and what do I get for my money?

And while I'm asking; what connection options would I have with Sky+/HD??
Now, one Scart goes from my Chorus digital box to my TV, and one from Chorus digital box routed through my DVD recorder.

Also, my current Chorus package gives me an extra connection point in one of the bedrooms (just regular cable). Is that available with Sky?

Kenpo

Steveon,

I'm very interested in this.

I have one problem though, as per a lot of people , I live in an apartment and
cannot mount a dish outside.

Do you have any dish alternatives, such as the digiglobe - or a smaller dish size that would be less noticable?

Thanks

K

quaalude

I'm really interested in this too, but I've been a Sky customer for several years.

Is this offer for new customers only? I don't mind paying a bit extra, I really want Sky+, but I've no phoneline.

steveon

Ok Im happy to report this offer is available to customer's who wish to upgrade from standard sky to sky plus or Sky HD...

In responce to some other questions asked, CH4 is now available on Sky for the past few months however they do not have broadcast rites for certains show's in ireland so it is sometimes blocked out from time to time.

You can get an analogue connection from the back of a Chorus decoder for now. but the analog signal will eventually be switched off so if you want a connection in a room you will either require a Second box or be forced to watch the same channel in a second room.

There are various packages and subcriptions from Sky and these cost between €21.50 to €66 a month.

Couch Potato

steveon wrote:

Ok Im happy to report this offer is available to customer's who wish to upgrade from standard sky to sky plus or Sky HD...

Sky Customer Services know nothing about this - I called tonight ??????

I suppose they are the last to know !

wexfordman

What would my best option be bearing in mind the following:-

Existing sky customer
Went to upgrade a year ago to sky+, I have a phone line, but wont work with sky, which we only found out after the install was done (v.o.i.p wiht blueface).
Installer took away the box, but the quad lnb and cabling etc are all still present.

In effect, the install is just plugging in the box and new card.

Whats the cheapest way I can upgrade bearing in mind the above, all I need is the box and a card, I can do the install myself, seeing as most is already in place.
Wexfordman

Kotek Besar

Wexfordman,

I'm also with Blueface and had Sky+ installed in my apartment last week. It activated fine and has made many subsequent callbacks successfully, everytime. I'm using the G711a codec. Good old Blueface eh?

Sponge Bob

this will kill eircom, there must be 50k eircom lines installed today ONLY becuase of the sky callback requirement .

JuncoPartner

I ordered Sky HD, Sky+ and multiroom yesterday and was told that I needed a phone line for both Sky+ and HD. Digiweb came out to me this morning and unfortunately were unable to provide service due to a lack of signal. So I rang up Sky to cancel and was told they can still provide me the regular sky box without the phone line but they definately cannot provide HD or Sky+
Someone is telling porkies, is it Sky or is is Steveon?

Hody

steveon wrote:

Without getting blocked as I dont want to advertise here...I do installs...enough said

Do you just work locally or do you server Swords, Co. Dublin too?!

Rippy

Hody wrote:

Do you just work locally or do you server Swords, Co. Dublin too?!

of course Steveon would be happy to drive from Limerick to Dublin, do a Sky install for the pitance sky provide and drive home again.
If by some remote chance he does not want the work, I'll come up from Cork.
Sure it's only up the road!!

Rippy

I think sky will have to come up with a way of doing multiroom without a phone line as a fixed line numbers continue to decline.
I could see them using the RS232 comms ports on boxes to link them together. Could maybe be done with software updates or simple mods to new boxes.

byte

They'd still need a way of transferring data from the boxes to their servers, as a dish is only 1 way. Some new Sky boxes (maybe only SkyHD) have ethernet port though, if I'm not mistaken. And of course there's the unused USB's.

The best solution might be to use a GSM network or something like that for uploading data.

alphanine

How do i contact you steveon? I'm very interested in this offer

Rippy

byte wrote:

They'd still need a way of transferring data from the boxes to their servers, as a dish is only 1 way. Some new Sky boxes (maybe only SkyHD) have ethernet port though, if I'm not mistaken. And of course there's the unused USB's.

The best solution might be to use a GSM network or something like that for uploading data.

Well, as we know, the main reason the phone line requirement is always enforced with multiroom is to ensure both boxes are being used at the same address. If the boxes were linked together , and if that link was broken the second card would 'die' after a warning to check the link, wouldn't that do the job for sky?
this is assuming it would be technically posssible.

wexfordman

benifa wrote:

Wexfordman,

I'm also with Blueface and had Sky+ installed in my apartment last week. It activated fine and has made many subsequent callbacks successfully, everytime. I'm using the G711a codec. Good old Blueface eh?

Benifa,

Are you sure ?, I tried everything and it just would not work, and BF say it wont work either ?. How are you checking the call backs ? If it is via ordereing box office movies etc, then this may be misleading you, as the box will allow you run up to 50 euro credit before it stops you ordereing further movies etc.

Regards,
Wexfordman

steveon

If you read what I wrote you will see i stated if you require Multiroom then you have to have a phone line. If you want just a Sky + box or a Sky HD box you can opt for an install without a phoneline.

Kotek Besar

wexfordman wrote:

Benifa,

Are you sure ?, I tried everything and it just would not work, and BF say it wont work either ?. How are you checking the call backs ? If it is via ordereing box office movies etc, then this may be misleading you, as the box will allow you run up to 50 euro credit before it stops you ordereing further movies etc.

Regards,
Wexfordman

Yup, I'm sure, lol.. I've posted about it in the BF forum. Aaron should be aware, afaik..

I've activated, I've ordered box office, I've created an account for remote record. I'm aware about the 50 euro credit concept, but that's not what's happening. The PBX GUI shows outgoing calls made and connected by the Sky+ box. Sky also confirmed that my box called and activated successfully (I didn't tell them I was using VoIP)..

G711a is a high quality codec. You need to be using this codec, as long as your broadband connection can handle it (though in truth, VoIP by nature doesn't require that much bandwidth up or down, even G711a)..

bigpaddy2004

I have tried many many sky boxs with a blueface account, broadtalk account, etc various different ata units, every different codec in the sun but to no joy. Im also no on regular broadband, Im connected into the fibre in Portlaoise with a 24 meg 1:1 leased line. I think you just got a "golden box".
What sort of ata are you using?

Hody

Rippy wrote:

of course Steveon would be happy to drive from Limerick to Dublin, do a Sky install for the pitance sky provide and drive home again.
If by some remote chance he does not want the work, I'll come up from Cork.
Sure it's only up the road!!

Sorry lads, was thinking he might had maybe an office in Dublin as well - I apologize.

Does anybody know a place in Dublin or close to Swords where the offer SKY HD boxes on a decent price?!

JuncoPartner

steveon wrote:

If you read what I wrote you will see i stated if you require Multiroom then you have to have a phone line. If you want just a Sky + box or a Sky HD box you can opt for an install without a phoneline.

Im not being smart here but if you read what I wrote according to any sky rep Ive contacted over the last few days I still need a phone line for Sky+ or Sky HD (multiroom was only mentioned as something I tried to order when I thought Id have a phone line), is there a reason they dont know about this? Id have signed up yesterday if they had corroborated your story.

Kotek Besar

bigpaddy2004 wrote:

I have tried many many sky boxs with a blueface account, broadtalk account, etc various different ata units, every different codec in the sun but to no joy. Im also no on regular broadband, Im connected into the fibre in Portlaoise with a 24 meg 1:1 leased line. I think you just got a "golden box".
What sort of ata are you using?

To be honest mate, after reading all I did about Sky digiboxes not calling back successfully over VoIP, I also nearly jumped out of my seat when it seemed to have done it successfully. I thought, this cannot be, it's not possible, it just doesn't work..lol. So I did it again, and it worked, again. I checked the Blueface PBX GUI and saw that 1800409232 has been called, twice. Each call lasted about 55 seconds. I rang Sky asking if my box had called back and activated properly, and they said yes..

Since activation, when I've used other callback-required features, it's successfully called 1800924797 and 1800805135. The Sky+ box is the PVR3 Pace TDS470N. I'm using a wireless router / ATA Linksys WRTP54G (firmware version 3.1.17)..

Hody

Well its quite easy, if your ATA manages to call the number (even though) you try with a normal phone, then the sky box should be able to do this too. The modem of the sky box has nothing to do with the ATA, it just dials und uses the phone line/ATA attached to it. The problem with VOIP/ATA is mostly that some providers won´t allow you to call special numbers like 1800...

Kotek Besar

Hody wrote:

Well its quite easy, if your ATA manages to call the number (even though) you try with a normal phone, then the sky box should be able to do this too. The modem of the sky box has nothing to do with the ATA, it just dials und uses the phone line/ATA attached to it. The problem with VOIP/ATA is mostly that some providers won´t allow you to call special numbers like 1800...

Wrong! It's nothing to do with the number it dials - it's the type of call made. The whole problem is that it's NOT just a simple telephone call, as you suggest. The digibox is making a data call, just like a dial-up modem. VoIP, by nature, incurs substantial packet loss. So when a data call is made, upto 50% of the data sent / received - is lost. However, less compressed and thus higher quality codecs have less packet loss. Namely, the G711a codec, which has proven to work perfectly for data, in the case of a Sky digibox..

Hody

benifa wrote:

Wrong! It's nothing to do with the number it dials - it's the type of call made. The whole problem is that it's NOT just a simple telephone call, as you suggest. The digibox is making a data call, just like a dial-up modem. VoIP, by nature, incurs substantial packet loss. So when a data call is made, upto 50% of the data sent / received - is lost. However, less compressed and thus higher quality codecs have less packet loss. Namely, the G711a codec, which has proven to work perfectly for data, in the case of a Sky digibox..

Yes the G711a will do fine, newer ATAs will support this and if your ATA supports FAX then people should be on the safe side of things

Kotek Besar

Hody wrote:

Yes the G711a will do fine, newer ATAs will support this and if your ATA supports FAX then people should be on the safe side of things

wtf?!

Read your original post again Hody,

Hody wrote:

Well its quite easy, if your ATA manages to call the number (even though) you try with a normal phone, then the sky box should be able to do this too. The modem of the sky box has nothing to do with the ATA, it just dials und uses the phone line/ATA attached to it. The problem with VOIP/ATA is mostly that some providers won´t allow you to call special numbers like 1800...

You said that it has nothing to do with the ATA, that as long as the ATA can make a phone call then the sky box should be able to do so too, and that the problem is because some providers won´t allow you to call special numbers like 1800. All of which is wrong, as I pointed out.. But now you're discounting all that and making out that you knew all along about the codec!

ffs mate - stop trying to be a know-it-all if you're not.

Hody

benifa wrote:

wtf?!

Read your original post again Hody,



You said that it has nothing to do with the ATA, that as long as the ATA can make a phone call then the sky box should be able to do so too, and that the problem is because some providers won´t allow you to call special numbers like 1800. All of which is wrong, as I pointed out.. But now you're discounting all that and making out that you knew all along about the codec!

ffs mate - stop trying to be a know-it-all if you're not.

Hey, come on, be a happy little camper, this is a forum no competion. Frist of all my mother tongue is not English, so sometimes it ain´t easy to explain things the way I want and second of all first you have to make sure your voip provider lets you call 1800s and then the data part. I was not thinking about the data part and just agreed with you, so be happy and enjoy, because bascially it´s a forum so I won´t give me any sleepless night over wether I am right or wrong. It will just make me a bit smarter if I can learn something here, like to consider the data part, that you just thaught me about. :eek:

Kotek Besar

No mate, you're right, it's not a competition - and that's entirely my point.

Hody

benifa wrote:

No mate, you're right, it's not a competition - and that's entirely my point.

You see, two happy campers already

watty

Hody wrote:

Yes the G711a will do fine, newer ATAs will support this and if your ATA supports FAX then people should be on the safe side of things

Fax support (T.38) is nothing to do with Sky box. In fact T.38 often does not work well with faxes.

You need for dialup modem or Sky box to work:
1) G711 (will allow fax to work) on ATA and on VOIP provider phone gateway. Both must be uLaw or ALaw (same setteing both ends).
2) Sufficient QOS. 3rd party VOIP can't control this, only Magnet, Smart, NTL & Digiweb on their own phone services can. Blueface or 3rd party Smart 076 may not work well enough.
3) Free numbers / all numbers must be supported. Some 3rd party VOIP providers don't.
4) Often the default voice is a more efficient codec, the ATA must auto-detect a modem and switch to G.711
5) If T.38 support for fax is enabled it often causes dialup modems to be erronously detected as Fax and the connection fails after the other end answers. T.38 is "wishfull thinking" where the ATA emulates a fax machine and then the TIFF image data is sent over internet instead of modem tones. Different suppliers T.38 often interprete the TIFF framing and error correction differently and ATA or voice gateway compatibility with real fax machines is poor. Really only T.38 compatible fax machines (a tiny number) work with T.38

Hody:
ALL ATAs have ALWAYS supported G.711, it's the codec used by ISDN / PCM voice. uLaw is mostly USA historically and ALaw is historically Europe, ATAs always support both. You MUST pick ALaw or uLaw according to what the VOIP provider uses, the slight distortion noticable on Speech may go unremarked, but it makes modem data above 300bps fail. At least 28kkbps should work and up to 42kbps is achievable. Faxes should use 14.4k as they are fussier than data modems.

Hody

Respect Watty, that leaves nothing open, its worth a try with my freespeech.

mwrf

watty wrote:

Fax support (T.38) is nothing to do with Sky box. In fact T.38 often does not work well with faxes.

You need for dialup modem or Sky box to work:
1) G711 (will allow fax to work) on ATA and on VOIP provider phone gateway. Both must be uLaw or ALaw (same setteing both ends).
2) Sufficient QOS. 3rd party VOIP can't control this, only Magnet, Smart, NTL & Digiweb on their own phone services can. Blueface or 3rd party Smart 076 may not work well enough.
3) Free numbers / all numbers must be supported. Some 3rd party VOIP providers don't.
4) Often the default voice is a more efficient codec, the ATA must auto-detect a modem and switch to G.711
5) If T.38 support for fax is enabled it often causes dialup modems to be erronously detected as Fax and the connection fails after the other end answers.

thanks watty, as always, an encyclopedia of information. i have been looking for the best settings to use to try get my sky box to work with blueface. im going to try out settings on my ata and see what happens. (i never turned off t.38, thinking that it would be what would work best) I wonder if blueface can set my account on their end so that it only uses g711, and one or the other of uLaw/ALaw, for all calls. anyone know if they'll do this for you?

watty

They do support G.711, their support forum should show which flavour. Also probably the low bit rate G.729 as it is better for voice. Almost all ATAs, if properly configured can have G.729 as default and G.711 as 2nd alternate, and will automatically use G.711 if configured right, You may need to change / disable a echo cancel option for Modem use.

Some ATA you can have G.711A as 2nd and G.711u as 3rd.

Some ATA call it PCMA (=ALaw G.711) and PCMU (=uLaw G.711).

The "u" is actually the Greek letter u pronouced Mew or Mu.

You need 100kbps at least upstream for reliable G.711 (64k ) Codec. You need about 12Kbps upstream for reliable G.729 (8k)Codec.

Intuitively you can see that 28k modem data is more likely to fit via a 64k Codec than an 8k Codec


Even if T.38 did work for fax, it is Never ever going to work for anything else. A fax machine uses a modem to send effectively a TIF format page image. T.38 emulates a Modem in the ATA and then attempts to assemble the the image page and forward it as a file. It's a lot more complicated than that as to how the file is sent, but obviously it's ONLY for a fax that the modem squawks can be turned into an image file. So T.38 strictly is not a codec at all, but a relay (store & forward) system for 1 bit depth images.

Hody

Well Watty, I am going to take the best of you by asking if you or any of the lads here have hint of what receiver to get that will support the following:

Sky HD Ireland
FTA Astra HD
Digital+ (Card from Spain)

My goal would be to find a solution where one receiver could serve all, so I dont have to have 2 or even more devices standing around

Sponge Bob

none is the answer .

Hody

Sponge Bob wrote:

none is the answer .

Well somebody told me, its possible with some modules in the CI slots...?!

slumped

Is it just me or has this thread gone so widly off topic that it has little or nothing to do with the offer we have all been waiting for?

S

Couch Potato

I agree ..

Are Sky Customer services aware of this offer ?

When I called a couple of days ago they didn't have a clue ..

steveon

this offer officially begins on July 1st....I have installed a number of Hd boxes in the last 2days successfully without any phoneline....