SkyHD - worth it?

Fox1978

Hey,

Just wondering what people think. Tempted to upgrade in August as I watch a lot of soccer and NFL. I have a top 46" Samsung LCD Full HD TV so no worries there. Just curious if the SKY HD technology is good enough to justify the extra cash.

Thanks!

thorbarry

how much extra is it? ive seen it with football and NFL, it looks great. You can totally see the difference, if you can afford it i say go for it

Fox1978

Cheers, it's just €15 a month extra once you fork the one-off €99 to get the box out and installed.

Huggy Bear

Technology is good enough 1080i BUT a lot depends on your viewing, if you have SKY movies and SKY sports then yep, it's worth it. otherwise all you have is SKY1 and a couple of NAT geo channels and no more ... I personnally don't think much of the current HD line up without movies or sport ... just my 2 cents!

greenman09

+1 on that. Any movies or sport i watch has to be in HD. Far better quality. Sky1 when lost is on as well.You should check if the HD offer is still on.

thorbarry

ah i say itsd worth deffo, if its €15 extra, as the lads say, providing you have sports or movie stations

Pablod

question,

I need to look at upgrading my box, my standard one is on the way out.
Was looking at the Sky Plus, but then thinking about HD....

if you get the HD Box, do you have to take the HD package at €15 extra per month?
it wouldn't be really worth my while taking the HD package due to the amount of stations available at the moment, and the amount of times I would watch sports/movies in HD.
But i'd still get the HD box and use the recording(plus) features and then at least when more HD stations do eventually come out, I could just opt for the HD package?
Is this a possibility?

Cheers

John mac

Pablod wrote: »

question,

.

if you get the HD Box, do you have to take the HD package at €15 extra per month?


Cheers

yes.

you can watch bbchd and itv hd via other channels.

duploelabs

for wimbledon alone, yes it's worth it. the difference, on a good set, is fantastic

kmick

It is almost too good sometimes with the movies.

One movie reviewer was complianing the he could see Johnny Depps Mascara in that new movie Public Enemies which was shot fully in HD.

EdgarAllenPoo

Maybe it's just me but I don't notice much of a difference, thankfully I'm not paying the bill otherwise it'd be gone.

John mac

GDM wrote: »

Maybe it's just me but I don't notice much of a difference, thankfully I'm not paying the bill otherwise it'd be gone.

its probably not set up correctly (the TV). or maybe not watching the hd channels.

bk

kmick wrote: »

One movie reviewer was complianing the he could see Johnny Depps Mascara in that new movie Public Enemies which was shot fully in HD.

Just to point out that 99% * of all movies shot in the past 50 years are at a resolution typically much higher then full HD, usually 2k minimum (1080P Full HD is 1k).

* Exception being a handful of movies shot a few years ago by SD digital video cams like 28 days later.

ScrubsfanChris

Pablod wrote: »

question,

I need to look at upgrading my box, my standard one is on the way out.
Was looking at the Sky Plus, but then thinking about HD....

if you get the HD Box, do you have to take the HD package at €15 extra per month?
it wouldn't be really worth my while taking the HD package due to the amount of stations available at the moment, and the amount of times I would watch sports/movies in HD.
But i'd still get the HD box and use the recording(plus) features and then at least when more HD stations do eventually come out, I could just opt for the HD package?
Is this a possibility?

Cheers

You have to sign up to a 12 month minimum contract, which means you will have to pay the 15 euro a month for one year, but after that you can cancel your HD subsciption and keep your other packages and the SKY+ HD box.

kmick

I stand corrected.
Although I do think and I am not an expert that HD pretty much matches 35mm when you measure lines rather than pixels. The human eye sees lines rather than pixels. Also I think the color of film shot in HD is better than that shot in 35mm. Again I stand to be corrected.

The directors take
“I never intended to shoot Public Enemies on high-def,” Mann tells me. He looks ready for the country club, with his tanned skin, light blue shirt and beige trousers; his short silver hair contributes somehow to his alert, sprightly air. “I had planned to use film. Then, at the last minute, I decided to run a test because Sony had this new camera coming out. I shot the two side by side on a rainy night in Los Angeles; we had a 1933 Buick out there, and the 1930s street lighting, because streetlights were different back then, so that changed the look of the entire cityscape. But the film looked like a period motion picture, whereas the DV made it feel like you were right there in 1933. You could reach out and touch that drop of rain on the black enamel paint of that car. That’s what I wanted. I wasn’t interested in nostalgia. I wanted the immediacy of, you know, 11.17pm on a Tuesday night in 1934.”
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6578819.ece
Its a fairly subjective view but he knows his stuff I would imagine.

Dman001

I am thinking of upgrading to Sky HD. But I haven't a notion of signing up to any Movie or Sport packages. There a few good HD TV shows on at the moment like Heroes, Dexter, Lost repeats, House and the odd Simpsons episode. Will a Sky HD box noticeably improve the quality of SD content? SD channels don't look as good on my HD TV compared to my CRT TV.

EdgarAllenPoo

John mac wrote: »

or maybe not watching the hd channels.

Ok I know this is an internet forum and all but how much of a plank do you take me for? Of course I was refering to the picture quality on the HD channels.

norbert64

anyone know what the framerates for the HD channels are, or does it vary.

SD usually hovers around 4 - 4.5 MBPS so HD would have be at least double that, right?

or are sky just doing HD by the dimensions.

bk

norbert64 wrote: »

anyone know what the framerates for the HD channels are, or does it vary.

SD usually hovers around 4 - 4.5 MBPS so HD would have be at least double that, right?

or are sky just doing HD by the dimensions.

BBC HD is around 16 Mb/s, however importantly that is using MPEG4, while the SD you quote above is using the much less efficient MPEG2.

BTW, many SD channels can be as low as just 1.6 Mb/s, 4.5 Mb/s would only be the very best channels like BBC.

See here:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/satellite_tv_bit_rates.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/satellite_hdtv_bit_rates.php

norbert64

yeh, I know the SD channels can be all over the place.
I'm just wondering how much of a jump the SKY HD channels are

Are they using said MPEG4 then as well or just HD MPEG2?

bk

norbert64 wrote: »

Are they using said MPEG4 then as well or just HD MPEG2?

I believe all the HD channels are using MPEG4, but again the bitrate can vary.

norbert64

aye, it says MPEG4 here.
http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/28east.html

commenter here says Sky Sports is 19mbps?
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/07/02/bbc-forges-ahead-with-dvb-t2-freeview-hd-trial/

PoolDude

If they dropped to €15 p/m for HD for subscribers to Movies & Sports I'd go for it but it seems a bit much to pay monthly on top of the premium for those channels.

Anyone know what the best offers are?

pauly3

I agree wilt PoolDude, €15/month is too rich. I don't remember paying to go from Black & White to Colour back in the 70s. Paying for advances in broadcasting technology is senseless, we should be paying for the services only. If Sky were to cancel this monthly fee I would upgrade my Sky subscription immediately. In the States you can watch the Public Service channels in HD over the air for free. Freeview HD is on its way in the North and for those lucky enough to be able to pick it up here in the South. Freesat HD only gives us 2 options (BBCHD and ITVHD via redbutton) at present, but hopefully Channel 4 and 5 will offer their own alternatives at some future date. Maybe 10 years from now we won't even be talking about HD at all, it will be the standard just as colour and 16:9 is now, and SD will be a distant memory.

John mac

Dont forget Luxe HD

WillieCocker

Not right now.
But as soon as Nigeria Movies HD comes along, it will.:pac:

Barack Obama

I too am an NFL fan and if this went HD, that would have swayed me (don't watch too much football). I checked early season in a mates house and the broadcast on the HD cahannel was the exact same as the SS1 channel - i.e. not HD and not even widescreen! He did confirm that the Monday night game was in HD though.

Perhaps someone could confirm this? I may have seen it on a bad night or something...

Barack Obama

bk wrote: »

BBC HD is around 16 Mb/s, however importantly that is using MPEG4, while the SD you quote above is using the much less efficient MPEG2.

BTW, many SD channels can be as low as just 1.6 Mb/s, 4.5 Mb/s would only be the very best channels like BBC.

See here:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/satellite_tv_bit_rates.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/satellite_hdtv_bit_rates.php

Good post - thanks

Living TV is broadcasting some good stuff these days. That chart shows why it looks so bad :mad:

Headshot

love to have sky hd but the 15 euro is a bit of a disgrace but that's sky for ya

I wonder what will ESPN hd will be like

Dman001

When 3D TV because big (i.e not soon), that's when they will scrap the €15 charge. Sky have already tested 3D TV so it is a possibility that they will eventually come, but like I said not soon. They scrapped the Sky+ charge when HD was released and they have no reason to scrap the HD charge yet because they have no real competition in Ireland (Freesat isn't really much competition to Sky in terms of HD content).

But the €15 charge wouldn't be too bad for someone like me, who would get the most out of it. For €15 I would be getting the following TV shows in HD:

Lost (repeats and Season 6 next year)
House
Lie To Me
Bones
Heroes (repeats on SciFi and Season 4 on BBC HD)
Breaking Bad
True Blood
Dexter

On top of that, I would watch the odd documentary show on Discovery HD or Nat Geo HD, I would get the odd film on Sky 1, SciFi, BBC HD or ITV HD, I would watch the odd concert on MTVN and I would watch a few documentary on Bio HD.

On top of that, there is a very good chance that Living HD will go on Sky this year, which would probably give me CSI, Criminal Minds and other US shows in HD.

Barack Obama

Also, don't some HD channels not appear on the EPG (such as BBC HD) so you cannot record them?

Dman001

Yeah ITV HD and BBC HD aren't on the EPG.

Barack Obama

Dman001 wrote: »

Yeah ITV HD and BBC HD aren't on the EPG.

That's a bit of a pain. We've got into the habit of never watching anything live over the past couple of years...

steveon

Sky are currently in negotiations to carry LivingHD...which is due to start shortly...

ESPN has revealed that it will offer high definition coverage of US sports on its forthcoming UK channel.

The company recently announced plans to launch the ESPN station on August 3 in both standard and high definition on Sky's EPG.

It will show the firm's English Premier League games as well as premium US sports coverage previously available on ESPN America.

I beleive the extra sub is a bit much when there is so little to warrant it, and regulary lose out on possible sales as a result of the extra charge, I personally beleive in time it will disappear in the same light as the extra charge for skyplus did last year, there excuse is it costs more to produce Hd which is true and also it helps so they say to pay for future developments..

duploelabs

bk wrote: »

Just to point out that 99% * of all movies shot in the past 50 years are at a resolution typically much higher then full HD, usually 2k minimum (1080P Full HD is 1k).

* Exception being a handful of movies shot a few years ago by SD digital video cams like 28 days later.

Off topic but nerdy fact. The majority of the city chase scene when t

he Joker escapes custody

in Batman-The Dark Night was filmed in IMAX film, which is twice the size of normal 35mm film

kmurph

duploelabs wrote: »

Off topic but nerdy fact. The majority of the city chase scene when t

he Joker escapes custody

in Batman-The Dark Night was filmed in IMAX film, which is twice the size of normal 35mm film

If you watch the Blu-Ray version, the picture ratio will change for the IMAX parts, of which there are quite a few, not just the part you mention.

bk

kmurph wrote: »

If you watch the Blu-Ray version, the picture ratio will change for the IMAX parts, of which there are quite a few, not just the part you mention.

Yes, it is quite strange.

marko91

ive a question......

my mum and brother are getting sky+ multiroom...1 box in the sitting room and the other in my brothers room....im planning on buying a HDTV in the next 2 months ok, is it possible for me to get a sky HD box with the hd channels(in my room)...and for them to still have just sky+? so 2 sky+ boxs using non HD and 1 HD box using HD in the 1 house.....?

VERYinterested

Simple answer is yes. Once an octo lnb is installed, this will not be a problem as ultimately there'll be six cables coming from the dish. You should try and get all the work done at the same time to save you costs. When taking multiroom you should get free installation on your HD box.

Dman001

There might be a small possibility that the additional charge for HD channels may be scrapped, well in the UK anyway. In the UK, Virgin Media offer FX HD, MTVN, Discovery HD, Nat Geo HD and ESPN HD (aswell as ITV HD, BBC HD, C4HD and Living TV HD) for free on their XL package which costs £21.50 a month.

Now all we have to see if Virgin is a real competitor to Sky and their HD line up. Sky has the added bonus of having Sci Fi and Sky One and all the movie channels in HD but we may at least see a reduction on the price of the HD subscription.

Zonda999

IMO, at the moment the chance of the HD sub being scrapped is pretty much nil. In the short term, the best that can be hoped for is a reduction in the sub for HD, maybe to 10€/month or something

JamesTaylorfan

John mac wrote: »

yes.

you can watch bbchd and itv hd via other channels.

May I ask how I go about getting BBCHD into my Other Channels?

Headshot

sky should do somthing like if one has sky sports,sky movies or both reduce the sub for sky hd

byte

AFAIK, and I am open to correction, but Sky Italia don't charge extra for HD channels.

Dman001

byte wrote: »

AFAIK, and I am open to correction, but Sky Italia don't charge extra for HD channels.

They don't seem to have many Hd channels though.

I agree that the HD Sub being scrapped is unlikely but we could at least hope that it would be reduced.

Rizzo the Rat

Anyone any idea what the "2 new exciting" HD developments will be? Sky said it would be announcing "two new exciting Sky+HD developments" at midday today.
maybe reduce the sub?? more HD channels??

denis1501

Dman001 wrote: »

They don't seem to have many Hd channels though.

By the end of this year Sky Italia will have 20 HD channels with 10 more being added in 2010. Pretty good I'd say. Byte is quite correct, no extra monthly charge for these channels.

Rizzo the Rat

Sky have 33 HD channels at the moment and hope to have 50 over time. ESPN HD next month and Sky News HD next Spring.

denis1501

Rizzo the Rat wrote: »

Sky have 33 HD channels at the moment and hope to have 50 over time. ESPN HD next month and Sky News HD next Spring.

Which you have to pay nearly €15 extra every month to see, and with ESPN another €12 on top!

Mossy Monk

denis1501 wrote: »

Which you have to pay nearly €15 extra every month to see, and with ESPN another €12 on top!

You don't expect them to give them away for free do you?

denis1501

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You don't expect them to give them away for free do you?

That's my point Mossy, they are free in Italy. No monthly HD fee and no 3 providers for premiership football either, all the games are included in the one sub.
Sky UK (Top package) - €69.50 + €14.75 (HD fee) + €16.99 (Setanta) + €12 (ESPN)= €113.24 p.m
Sky Italia (Top Package) - €69 p.m.
In my opinion only one winner!