Do you unplug your skybox regularly?

livEwirE

Hi all,

I've recently upgraded to a sky+ hd box from a standard box. Every night I unplug all electrical devices in my house when off to bed including the sky box. I am wondering is this a good idea? Does leaving the box on standby all of the time extend its life? Will the hard disk wear down faster by turning it off and back on daily?

Would like to know what everyone else does?

Cheers,
~livEwirE~

Rick_

A neighbour of mine switches his TV/Sky off at the plug every time he leaves the house or goes to bed. Not only has he replaced his TV three times in the last 10 years but his Sky box is quite possibly the worlds slowest box. You literally have to wait for about 6 seconds after pressing TV guide for the blue screen to appear, and a further 10 seconds or so before the listings start to show up. Navigating from page to page takes an eternity and tuning to a new channel leaves enough time for you to make a cup of tea. He doesn't complain about it though. Which I think is strange. I wonder how he'd react to seeing my super fast Sky+HD box...!

I'm not saying there's some co-relation to the TV and STB needing replaced because he was switching it off at the plug all the time, but by turning both off without putting them into stand-by first 4/5 times a day certainly isn't good for them!

Wizard007

The boxes are to be let on standby when not in use, including over night. Reasons being - 1. Turning the box off and on so often destroys the power supply unit in the box and 2. Software updates normally occur overnight.
Ours is plugged out only if going on holidays.

BennyBlanko

I power mine down for about 1 minute or so once a week, just to let it re-boot so as to speak. Keeps it running smoother.

bladespin

Always turn all electrics off when off to bed or leaving th house, standby wastes power.

Power supplies aren't damaged by turning them off, (unless repeatedly with very short intervals (capacitors etc.).

Have a TV over 10 years without any problems, computer hasn't shown any effect etiher, same goes for all my other bits and pieces.

Sky box takes about the same 6 or so seconds to power up from dead but channel changes etc are unaffected.

maggy_thatcher

The boxes are designed to be left in standby overnight (in fact they can be set to go into standby automatically if left in 'on' mode). If you frequently unplug the box, you'll miss any system upgrades, as well as any Sky Anytime pushes. You will also be unable to record any shows that air overnight for watching during the day. In addition, I've found that the TV Guide can take awhile to repopulate itself after a power-cycle (though this was after a box crash, so maybe turning it off overnight won't affect that - I haven't tried).

montgolfiere

Turning off every night will shorten the life of your digibox. in my experience, most faults happen on the powering up of a digibox..
another point to mention is to have you digibox in a well ventilated place as overheating also shortens the life expectancy!!
The Skyman

dmeehan

mine is only unplugged on very rare occasions, i even leave it plugged in while away on holidays and there are 2 reason for this: 1 it will record all my series linked stuff and 2 - there is a mess of wires and stuff in behind the telly that thats too awkward/dangerous to walking on or kicking out of the way

if it has to be unplugged (eg its regular reboot to unfreeze it) i usually get a broom handle and try to hit the switches on the sockets

John mac

i leave mine on standby but turn off other equipment tv, amp, etc.

mossie

BennyBlanko wrote: »

I power mine down for about 1 minute or so once a week, just to let it re-boot so as to speak. Keeps it running smoother.

I do this also as I find my box slows down after a while and powering off and on seems to solve this.

bk

bladespin wrote: »

Always turn all electrics off when off to bed or leaving th house, standby wastes power.

Standby wastes very little power, so little it isn't worth talking or worrying about.

montgolfiere

cost of replacing a box 'early' uses both MUCH MORE ENERGY in the Fabrication of the 'early' replacement and also costs a damn site more than the maybe 5p a month that leaving a digibox on standby costs!!!
the Skyman

loyatemu

bk wrote: »

Standby wastes very little power, so little it isn't worth talking or worrying about.

that was my understanding also - perhaps when "standby" first appeared as a feature in the 80s it was still quite wasteful but modern equipment uses a very small amount of power

(actually here's the original article I read on the subject)

LFCFan

loyatemu wrote: »

that was my understanding also - perhaps when "standby" first appeared as a feature in the 80s it was still quite wasteful but modern equipment uses a very small amount of power

(actually here's the original article I read on the subject)

Bloody climate change scare mongers have people crapping themselves over the little red lights on all their appliances thinking the world is going to end if we all don't plug everything out every night. I did a check using one of those Owl electricity monitors and standby uses so little power it hardly registers.

slave1

Modern electrical equipment uses very little power on standby despite the rubbish you see in the press "up to 10%" scaremongering e.g. my monitor is 50 watts on and 0.5 watt on standby, TV is a couple of hundred on an 1 watt on standby.
I agree with other posters that on/off constantly will probably do more financial damage than leaving on standby.

slave1

meant to add that I record in the wee hours whenever possible e.g. repeats as electricity is less in demand and for me cheaper (night rate), the skybox can record whilst in standby mode

Hotblack Desiato

Even when your Sky box is in standby, it is supplying power to your LNB on your dish - a few watts - but this is a good thing as it helps keep moisture out.
Also when Sky boxes fail it is often at power-on due to faulty PSU capacitors, if left plugged in all the time they are not stressed as much and last longer (although the real problem was a worldwide glut of faulty caps in the early 2000s - see 'capacitor plague' on Wikipedia)

http://www.stevelarkins.freeuk.com/sky_tv_guide.htm wrote:

Sky FAQ
Saving Energy - Switch Off Sky Digibox Power

Firstly, a Sky Digibox which is on standby (red light on front panel) uses around half the power than a box which is left on (green light on front panel). So, if you are not using your Sky box at least place it in standby.

We frequently get asked whether it is recommended to turn off the 240V mains power to a Sky Digibox at night or when it is not in use to save energy. Generally, switching off Digibox mains power is OK, but it may reduce the life of your Skybox and LNB. When the Digibox is in standby, power is still supplied to the dish LNB to prevent the build up of internal condensation, so when the Digibox power is disconnected for long periods of time, condensation may form inside the LNB, particularly during times of high humidity.

In addition, earlier Grundig digiboxes (GDS200 and GDS300) suffer from power supply problems with the capacitors. Turning off the mains power to these Sky boxes may make the power supply problem much worse and lead to total failure. If you have an old Grundig Sky box, it may be worth checking the power supply first, before turning off the mains power for extended periods. Detailed information about Grundig Digibox faults can be found on Satcure (http://www.satcure.co.uk).

BennyBlanko

So, my Sky+ box is out of warranty, if is went BANG, how much for a new one?

Wizard007

They won't give you a Sky+ as they no longer do them. They'll give you HD without a sub which to an out of warranty customer costs €449 inc vat.

You'd be as well off to check adverts.ie or eBay.

Apogee

stevelarkins wrote: »

When the Digibox is in standby, power is still supplied to the dish LNB to prevent the build up of internal condensation, so when the Digibox power is disconnected for long periods of time, condensation may form inside the LNB, particularly during times of high humidity.

Hotblack Desiato

the small amount of power supplied to the LNB (a few watts) by your Sky box, even when it is in standby, keeps the LNB slightly above the outdoor temperature and this helps prevent condensation forming inside it which could cause it to fail.

Hotblack Desiato

Wizard007 wrote: »

They won't give you a Sky+ as they no longer do them. They'll give you HD without a sub which to an out of warranty customer costs €449 inc vat.

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

You'd be as well off to check adverts.ie or eBay.

As well off to check out a Freesat box, more like!

Apogee

ninja900 wrote: »

the small amount of power supplied to the LNB (a few watts) by your Sky box, even when it is in standby, keeps the LNB slightly above the outdoor temperature and this helps prevent condensation forming inside it which could cause it to fail.

I think this is marketing spin issued by Sky or their reps. I've never come across a recommendation in any book or manual that the LNB/F should be powered on indefinitely, even in regions of the world with far greater climatic extremes than ours. Having opened both LNBs and LNBFs over 10 years old, I've not seen any evidence of damage due to moisture. The fact that the majority of sat receivers power down the LNB/F in standby also suggests that condensation is not an issue.

Why the LNBFs are powered on overnight by digiboxes is so that Sky can ensure nearly all subscribers receive the same firmware and card updates overnight, and for services such as Anytime which rely upon downloading of programme material to the HDD. It's primarily to make life easy for Sky, rather than their concern for the lifetime of the LNBF.

Joey the lips

I use to be all cautious.... unplugged everything except the fridge. Then I had kids.... They leave everything plugged in so fook it so do i.

I pay the bill anyhow no green army is going to tell me what to do.


As for the sky box.... I usually fall asleep watching channel 906 -909

Mayo Exile

I have a Sky+HD box (Amstrad 890). In the manual it says if you hold the on/off button on the remote for longer than 5 seconds, the box is then powered down, but with box still connected to the mains. There is still a light visible on the front after you do this.

Should this be avoided too, as i notice when you turn the box on again from the remote it searches for listings, just like when you turn it on after its been switched off at the mains.

I was doing this as even after overnight on standby mode, the top of the box is still warm to the touch. Is it normal to be still warm?