Sky Q lite

channelsurfer2

Interesting that I got a survey from a well known company asking me which version of sky q lite I would like when or if they launch in Ireland. Seems it will be so etching like this uk version

https://www.sky.com/deals/tvandbroadband?dcmp=knc-ggl-brn-nc-1586790709-sky&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIitiIg9vV9wIVTevtCh2IdgRAEAAYASAAEgKOCvD_BwE.

Also sky glass possibly launching with various price options. Without going into too much detail I did point out in the survey that sky q free to air would not be much good here without a ftv version for rte etc.

icdg

Sky Q lite seems to be basically the old Freesat from Sky with Sky broadband attached. So you are basically paying £5pm for what…a Sky Q box? I’m not sure that’s good value for money though you are probably saving quite a bit in year one on installation plus equipment costs.

Sky Glass has been announced as coming and has been discussed quite a bit around here. The litmus test for Irish users will be the absence of recording and access to Manual Tuning. These aren’t issues for U.K. users (who have access to catch-up services for BBC/ITV) and might be barriers to adoption here.

galtee boy

If the Irish SkyQ lite had the RTE/TV3/TG4 channels in HD plus BBC/CH4 in HD and recording/series link for €5 , even if you have to take Sky Broadband, it would be a great seller I think.

Schorpio

It would be interesting if the 'Lite' service entered into the Irish market.

I know of so many people who have subscribed to Sky's basic package for 10/15 years. Most seem to have been hooked in when Sky+ came about, and there wasn't the same landscape of free UK TV stations. The value proposition of the cheapest of Sky's packages have very much been eroded over the years, but I'd wager there are loads of people still paying it - either through ignorance, inertia, or the need to install an aerial to get the Irish channels. If there was a 'Sky Lite' which included the Irish channels, I could foresee lots of existing Sky customers downgrading, but can I see it attracting new sign-ups? Not sure.

As icdg said, for an informed consumer there isn't really a lot of value to it. You're essentially paying Sky to rent a Q box, which you don't own at the end of the 18 months.

galtee boy

I would see SkyQ lite being what Saorview Connect should have been, a box with series link recording, 7 day epg with all Irish and UK channels ( I know ITV won't be on it , if it launches in ROI ) on one list and presumably Virgin 1,2 and TG4 in HD, which of course they are not on Saorview. For let's say they go with €10 a month in ROI it would be great value I think, even with Sky broadband being compulsory, almost everyone needs broadband anyway, so it's not a deal breaker.

channelsurfer2

Sky q lite now live on irish site. 29 euro for BB plus 10 euro for sqlite. No mention of rte being included just 100fta channels. Not available to order online you have to phone them probably so they can try and sell you the full package.

galtee boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119277313#Comment_119277313

Will be very interesting to see if it includes RTE and Virgin Media channels and in HD. If it does, will that mean an extra €10 for HD, bringing price to €49 per month ?

lertsnim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119284721#Comment_119284721

I don't think they'd be allowed to charge extra on top of the sub for RTÉ and TG4 in HD. Virgin Media channels however are a different story.

galtee boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287791#Comment_119287791

Was in touch with Sky re Chat, you're correct, this Q Lite package includes the Irish channels, but only RTE 1&2 are in HD, TG4 and Virgin channels are in SD, same as Saorview, the rep said. However, they can be got in HD, if upgraded to the HD pack, normally €10, but open to negotiation for first time customers when signing up. So realistically, it's going to be €49 per month for broadband and Q Lite in HD.

Schorpio

That's very interesting - it means that there is decryption still active on the Sky Q box, unlike the UK counterpart.

Honestly, it's not that bad value. I would never advocate for it over a free TV option, but that said, I'm currently paying €35 for broadband only. At €39/month (with the 'free' prepaid €50 Mastercard sign-up offer), there's little difference over the course of 12 months.

I would still recommend people looking to switch put up an aerial and get some non-proprietary equipment, but downgrading to the lite package is an alright, less-hassle option (for 1 year at least).

roadmaster

Are the full set of Freesat Channells including the ITVs on sky Q lite [irish version] ?

galtee boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119299191#Comment_119299191

I didn't ask, but I think it's fair to say, there is no chance of the ITV channels being on SkyQ Lite, Virgin would blow a gasket and object. Rep did mention BBC 1 & 2 and CH4 being on it.

galtee boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119287791#Comment_119287791

Other posters on boards and Digital Spy now reporting that Virgin Media 1 & 2 are now HD on 103 and 105 on Sky by default, since today. So HD sub no longer required or is it a mistake ,? Or is it anything to do with making them HD by default for SkyQ Lite ?

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119299310#Comment_119299310

My Contract is up next month and i am defo leaving but the Sky Q lite peaked my interest but witout the full british freesat channels it not worth it.

I have being pric@ing about with my LG tv but i can only get the sat tuner working and not the installed freesat so i think i will bite the bullet and buy an Engima box

doney84

The country tuning must be set to UK for the Freesat satellite option. Otherwise it will scan everything and you will be left with hundreds of channels in no particular order & loads of duplicates. It is also possible that your LG tv doesn't have Freesat. Do you know your TV model number?

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119308950#Comment_119308950

I reset the TV to Services and location to UK and used a Crossmaglen postcode. All the Freesat channels came up but each channell said invalid service.

I switched back to Irish setting and was able to get all the british chanells on the sat tuner but they are all over the place and a lot of patenice is needed to put them in the order i want

doney84

I'm in Louth and put in a London post code and it worked fine.

Akula

Anybody able to find out what channels there are?

lenovo1

Seems like there is a channel list here...

https://www.tvchannellists.com/w/List_of_channels_on_Sky_Q_%28United_Kingdom_%26_Ireland%29

Do we have any idea what the standard price will be? I presume I can't drop down to this level when m contract runs out. 12 month deals are great but I would like something sustainable.

roadmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119310380#Comment_119310380

Changed to Belfast postcode works perfect now thanks

Tango One

Really interesting offer was about to ditch VM pay Tv and start using my zgemma. Little put off the zgemma it not as polished as pay tv which I would be fine with but think it might drive the family crazy. I've just gone live with eir ftth so can get a good connection via sky. 39 quid v 116 I'm paying VM seems a good move.

I have a unicable LNB installed will I lose this with the sky q box? and receive some sort of hybrid wideband / legacy LNB from sky if I ask?

Schorpio

Honestly, if you already have a Zgemma, I would absolutely give it a go first. It can do everything Sky Q can, and more. I can also be as polished as a Sky setup (remote excepted!). Stick on one of the Sky skins, set up a favourites list, and let ABM creat default channel lists for the full set of Sky and Saorview channels. Over 450 quid a year saved!

Tango One

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119362649#Comment_119362649

I have the Sky skin it grand, it not as easy to use as say Sky or VM never had a sky Q wondered how good it is, It the family might not find it that user friendly is my worry

Schorpio

No, it's a fair point, and I was being slightly flippant with the 'savings' figure, as you're presumably going to have to pay for broadband anyway.

The Sky interface is very slick - there's no denying that, and the lite package isn't a bad option to be fair. I'm just a fan of zgemma (enigma2) boxes and the customization/flexibility they provide. I also like the ability to curate my channel lists, and look at channels I would otherwise not be offered on Sky (itv 1 for example).

km79

Does this require a dish?

lertsnim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119471652#Comment_119471652

Sky Q Lite will.

Sky Glass won't.

EdmondShiels3

Does sky Q lite leave the channels you don't subscribe to on the EPG. Is it the same as when you use a sky box for for free to air.

lenovo1

I currently have regular sky Q, essentials pack or something like this. Also have sky broadband.

Will I be able to switch to Sky Q Lite when my contact ends in 2 months?

icdg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119479535#Comment_119479535

That’s standard with Sky - the EPG shows channels which have paid for an ROI entry,, not just those you are subscribed to.

EdmondShiels3

Then what is the benefit of sky q Lite. Can you record using it.

lertsnim

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480459#Comment_119480459

You can and it gives you RTÉ, Virgin channels and TG4 in HD.

Donutz

Rang to cancel sky yesterday and was offered this package for 10 euro per month. My sky bill was 84 per month. I didn't need to give the 30 days notice therefore it will pay for itself for the next 8 months if I decide to keep it that lo g.

Was gonna replace it with zgemma box but there's no urgency for that now. Will probably wait until after Christmas.

Disappointing that channel 4 and its variants aren't on it but I have a TV in the bedroom with a freesat tuner that can also record so I can get over that.

mackersdublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119718090#Comment_119718090

You could manually tune the FTA versions of Channel 4 HD, E4 and More4 etc into "Other Channels"

Oat23

Does anyone with Sky Q lite experience know if you can get that package with multiroom or is it only available on a single box? The person I was on the phone to wasn't helpful.

Bradz213

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120276318#Comment_120276318

My understanding is there is no multi-room support

icdg

Just as a matter of interest can you take Sky Q lite if you don’t have Sky broadband? My understanding is that it’s only advertised in connection with Sky broadband but it also seems some people have been offered it when cancelling (I cancelled earlier this week and wasn’t). And if you do take it on a cancellation, does that render you ineligible for new customer offers if you decide to go back?

galtee boy

If you badger Vodafone , you can get broadband and TV for about €45 a month for the first 12 months. It will give you 32 channels in HD, including CH4 ( upscaled), BBC News on the Epg, restart programmes etc, 7 day epg rewind. This isn't an advert for Vodafone, I just think its a far better option than SkyQ Lite for a few euros more, seeing as you have to take broadband with both of them anyway.

TheHulk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120289238#Comment_120289238

I would also be curious about this. My parents have sky just for RTE and recording and it seems like this option would suit much better. They have VF BB though so not sure it its an option.

quinnd6

Does Sky Q lite have Sky Go included and if so what channels?

Dermot224

Went to cancel Sky last month.Was going to get recordable freesat box but was offered this package for €10 a month.I dont have Sky BB. I decided to opt for it as saves buying new box and will SKY will maintain box and dish.Can tune in ITV HD and Channel 4 HD on other channels. You can set up favourites in TV guide to avoid seeing channels you not subs ribed to. You can rent from Sky Store also

jimjangles

I changed today to Sky Q Lite (actually I think they called it Sky Essential) and can confirm the only channels on Sky Go are the channel 4 ones ie. E4, more 4 etc. and Sky News and that's it. Everything else is blocked and doesn't work. I thought you'd get the free to air channels on Sky go but no you don't.

I have a Fire HD 10. To watch Virgin Media on the HD 10 I have to download the Virgin Media app now instead. RTE still don't have an app available for the Fire HD 10 so that won't work on it. RTE are so lazy and useless and behind the times and we're paying a TV licence for their ****. Anyway maybe this info would be useful to some.

loyatemu

switched to Sky Essentials this week - as with anything Sky account related, it took about 3 hours chatting with them on Facebook to get it done, rejecting various other offers. I had to ask for it, they didn't mention it themselves and it's not listed anywhere on the Irish version of the Sky website.

€10 a month. The only channels I'm losing that I'll miss are Channel 4 (can get the app, and I assume I can tune it into Other Channels, but it's annoying that C4 is on the UK version of Essentials), Eurosport (I'll subscribe to Discovery+ which has all the Eurosport content) and maybe G.O.L.D. Our TV has the NowTV app built in so if I want to watch something on a Sky channel I'll just get a discount code for NowTV.

I was paying over €70 a month which included Movies and Netflix, with Discovery+ and Paramount+ thrown in for "free" but really 95% of what we watch is on RTE or BBC and the kids like watching the panel shows on Dave. Having everything bundled together just means you're paying for it every month whether you're watching it or not. I think €10 is a decent price for basic channels and the SkyQ functions, I looked at Virgin which would have been €15 on top of the broadband but didn't get a lot of support for changing to an entirely new system.

Full list of channels as supplied in the chat with Sky - despite what this list says, we do still have Dave.

Irish Channels ​

• RTE Jr ​
• RTE One ​
• RTE One +1 ​
• RTE2 HD ​
• RTE2 SD ​
• TG4 ​
• TG4 HD ​
• HD RTE One ​
• Oireachtas TV ​
• RTE News Now ​
• Virgin Media 1 ​
• Virgin Media 2 ​
• Virgin Media 3​

UK Regionals ​

• S4C HD ​

• S4C ​

• BBC 1 NI ​

• BBC 2 NI ​

• BBC 1 HD ​

• BBC2 HD ​

• BBC FOUR ​

(BBC3 works as well)

​News ​

• Sky News ​

• CNBC ​

• CNN HD ​

• NHK World ​

• Euro news ​

• CGTN ​

• NDTV ​

• RT HD ​

• France Eng ​

• Al Jazeera HD ​

• CNC World ​

• TVC News ​

• RT ​

• TRT World HD ​

• TVC News +1 ​

• Channels 24 ​

• Times now ​

• CNN ​

• Bloomberg ​

• News 18​

Entertainment ​

• Challenge ​

• Challenge +1 ​

• CBS Reality ​

• CBS Reality + 1 ​

• CBS Action ​

• CBS Drama ​

• Pick ​

• Really ​

• Sony Channel ​

• Sony Channel +1 ​

• Drama ​

• BEN ​

• True Ent ​

• True Ent + 1 ​

• True Crime ​

• Tru TV ​

• Black Ent Channel ​

• Propeller ​

• Showcase ​

• Showcase +1 ​

• Your TV ​

• My Channel ​

• VOX Africa ​

• AIT INT ​

• ABN TV​

Not listed but seem to have Dave, W, Yesterday etc as well, but not GOLD. Also E4 extra but no other C4 channels.

Speciality ​

• Home and Leisure ​

• Property show ​

• Food Network ​

• Food Network + 1 ​

• Travel Channel ​

• Travel Channel + 1 ​

• Horse and Country ​

• Holiday and cruise ​

• Forces TV​

Sport ​

• Moto sport TV ​

• Bike ​

• Front Runner​

Movies ​

• Film 4 +1 ​(but not Film4 - wtf?)

• Pick + 1 ​

• Horror channel ​

• Horror channel + 1 ​

• True Movies ​

• True Movies +1 ​

• Sony Movies ​

• Sony Movies + 1 ​

• Movies 4 Men ​

• Movies 4 Men + 1 ​

• Nollywood ​

• Talking pictures ​

• ROK​

Music ​

• Viva ​

• Chart Show TV ​

• The Vault ​

• Scuzz ​

• Vintage TV ​

• Chilled 90’s ​

• Starz TV ​

• Chart show Hits ​

• Flava ​

• Now 80’s ​

• Club land TV ​

• Channel AKA ​

• Heart TV ​

• Capital TV ​

• Keep it Country​

Kids ​

• CBBC ​

• CBeebies ​

• POP ​

• POP +1 ​

• Tiny POP ​

• Tiny POP +1 ​

• KIX ​

• KIX +1​

Documentaries ​

• PBS America ​

• Yesterday ​

• Yesterday +1 ​

• Community ​

• Insight HD ​

• Blaze​

Then you get shopping channels, religious channels, adult channels and foreign language channels too.

byte

I'd imagine you should have ViaplayXtra HD sports channel too (what used to be Freesports HD).

Or maybe that's one that has to be manually added?

icdg

That’s not on the Irish EPG any more, so manual tuning.

The Channel 4 app only allows catch-up in Ireland, trying to live stream returns an error.

do you actually have S4C? That hasn’t been on the Irish EPG in years. Nor I think is Forces TV, that was removed post Brexit.

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120728565#Comment_120728565

there's apparently no C4 app for my model of TV (bizarrely, not available for 2020 model LGs but is available for other years...). I have it on a Firestick which has Smart DNS so the live stuff may work, haven't tried yet. Yeah that list overall seems a bit dubious

Longer term I may look at getting a Freesat box, though at only €10 a month the economics of switching to Freesat are not so compelling now.

cc

No need to subscribe to Discovery + for Eurosport, it's included with sky q lite as a VIP offer same as standard sky q. The FTA catch up services also are included, including All 4 and BBC on demand.

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120732411#Comment_120732411

Nice one, I had noticed Disc+ still says "managed by Sky" when I went in to check when it would expire. Odd that All4 C4 on-demand would be included when live Channel4 is not.

cc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120733289#Comment_120733289

Another strange one is that you can stream C4 live on the sky go even though it's blocked on sat

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120736567#Comment_120736567

It also seems I can stream some channels in HD on Sky Go when I don't have them in HD on the Q box (the RTE and BBC channels are in HD but nothing else as I'm not paying the ridiculous €10 HD fee). Not that it's particularly useful as I can't easily get Sky Go onto the TV screen.

Widescreen

Sky should have similar deal for standard HD Box users (which i bet is still the majority in Ireland). A deal of say €15 a month for all Irish and BBC's would keep a lot of people who otherwise have/or will cancel their Sky subs this year. I will be cancelling at end of current contract in Oct unless something like this comes in.

Akula

Are they still offering sky q lite if you call to cancel? Getting this with multiroom would provide for all of my needs.