Sky+

shayser

A friend of mine has got pretty much all you can get from Sky. All the channels, multi-room, SkyHD, and buys 2 or 3 Box Office movies a week. Her monthly bill is usually over €150.

She wants to have Sky+ in another room where she currently has an ordinary box. So, she rings them up and they quoted her €145 for the box plus €45 for installation. Asked them for a reduction because she spends so much with them but didn't get anywhere.

Could she buy the box herself somewhere? If so, where, and could she do the install herself? Could she do the same if it was to be a HD box?

Thanks.

Supercell

I'm curious about this too.
I'd really like the recording facility of the sky plus series thingy.
If I buy a second hand plus box will my subscriber card work in it?

byte

shayser wrote: »

A friend of mine has got pretty much all you can get from Sky. All the channels, multi-room, SkyHD, and buys 2 or 3 Box Office movies a week. Her monthly bill is usually over €150.

She wants to have Sky+ in another room where she currently has an ordinary box. So, she rings them up and they quoted her €145 for the box plus €45 for installation. Asked them for a reduction because she spends so much with them but didn't get anywhere.

Could she buy the box herself somewhere? If so, where, and could she do the install herself? Could she do the same if it was to be a HD box?

Thanks.

She could buy a box somewhere alright. Buying them to take away from a retailer is €299 though (no subsidy), or try classifieds or eBay for a cheap second hand box.

bear in mind that a Sky+ box will need two feeds from the dish, just like a SkyHD box.

byte

Longfield wrote: »

I'm curious about this too.
I'd really like the recording facility of the sky plus series thingy.
If I buy a second hand plus box will my subscriber card work in it?

Yes, a second hand Sky+ box will work grand.

But, you'll need to ring Sky to activate the recording features (no additional fee anymore)

Just like I said above, you'll need 2 cables coming from dish to the Sky+ box. In your case, you probably have just a single LNB (one output) and will need to change this to the Quad LNB for Sky Minidishes (has 4 outputs). You could use one of the spare outputs to get Free channels on the old ordinary box in another room if you so choose.

shayser

Thanks byte.

So, in her case she will need 4 cables coming from the dish?

She has HD already so I presume she has a quad LNB.

(2 cables per box would be messy if Sky+/HD was required in several rooms!)

byte

Yeah, she'd have 4 cables coming from dish, using up all ports.

It is possible now to buy an Octo LNB for a Sky dish, which as the name suggests, has 8 outputs.

lethal dose

I'm just in the process of going from sky to sky+ and I'm doing it myself. Its no problem really. I got my brand new box from ebay and they'll add an octo lnb for an extra 20stg or so. I got the Thompson latest version box.

Chaz

lethal dose wrote: »

I'm just in the process of going from sky to sky+ and I'm doing it myself. Its no problem really. I got my brand new box from ebay and they'll add an octo lnb for an extra 20stg or so. I got the Thompson latest version box.

Did you need to call sky to get the recording enabled? Im on the top package already and keen to just get a box from ebay and go from there. Dont need to get someone out to install. Will upgrade my LMB myself. Need to double check - think its already on dual LMB on 28.

Onikage

byte wrote: »

It is possible now to buy an Octo LNB for a Sky dish, which as the name suggests, has 8 outputs.

What's next, hexadecimo?

And wouldn't an octo be a bit heavy for a stock minidish arm? Mine is sagging a bit from the wistron quad on the end.

byte

I'd have thought an Octo to be heavy alright, though I have not used any yet, so can't confirm. A Quad* LNB and compatible multiswitch (EMP Centauri make one compatible with quad's) might suit some situations best, especially if it's a case of all satellite receivers being fed from a central location, eg. attic. It would mean only 4 cables going through the wall into attic instead of 8.

*I mention quad LNB, as I don't know of any quattro LNB's made for Sky's minidishes.

lethal dose

Chaz wrote: »

Did you need to call sky to get the recording enabled? Im on the top package already and keen to just get a box from ebay and go from there. Dont need to get someone out to install. Will upgrade my LMB myself. Need to double check - think its already on dual LMB on 28.

Yes I did, bought the box on ebay no problems:D

watty

The EMP Centauri Multiswitch and many others will work with one QUAD. The switch "programs" it as a Quattro.