Sky V Eir V Vodafone

obi604

Hi

I am with eir for last 2 years for broadband and tv. Have main tv Apple box in sitting room and another Apple box in bedroom. Box in bedroom is handy, works via WiFi so no messing around with running cables/wires etc

eir bill is 82 Euro a month and will jump once contract ends next week but can get them down again with a phone call.

I am half thinking of switching to sky or Vodafone (Virgin not available)

rang sky and they can give a sky q box for main room and sky q mini for the bedroom, prices for year 1 seem ok versus eir

any comments on sky q or q mini.

or anyone with experience of eir v sky v Vodafone for tv and broadband.

rhinosaurious

Whatever you do, do not go with Vodafone. Vodafone TV never works, search on twitter @VodafoneIreland TV, and you'll see the culprit. I think stay with eir, if it's not broken don't fix it.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120696154#Comment_120696154

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up.

obi604

What are the boot up times like on sky q?

I was with sky before and had a sky+hd box (I think that was the name) and it used to take forever to start up, like 3+ minutes.

icdg

It takes forever, yes. Never timed it but guesstimate it was about two minutes.

Sky’s position FWIW is that shouldn’t matter, you are meant to keep it plugged in the whole time and only reboot it in rare circumstances.

JimmyCorkhill

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120696701#Comment_120696701

Out of interest why would someone need to boot up their Sky box regularly? We have had Sky Boxes over the years and just turn off the box each night with the remote control, don't unplug it or anything. Just takes less than 20 secs to turn on again the next morning.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120696717#Comment_120696717

My default every night is just to simply switch off the power by flicking the switch beside the plug, it’s just what I do.

NewClareman

I was with Sky for many years but left it as the cost was getting so high. I used FTA for a few years but moved to Eir, when we were moving house. I really like the AppleTV box and the freedom to place the TV anywhere. I use NowTV for sports and Netflix for entertainment. Each TV is set so that eirTV starts automatically when the TV is turned on.

I use Spotify on the AppleTV to listen to music. (The main TV is connected to a Sonos soundbar and subwoofer.)

My only gripe is that some shows, mainly on RTÉ, are protected and cannot be recorded. Also recordings are automatically deleted after six months. I've just bought a satellite dish to get FTA TV as a supplement to eirTV to get around this. (I like to keep permanent copies of some programmes.)

The Ayatolla

When joining eir, do you get an Apple TV by default?

And when eventually cancelling eir; do you have to give them the Apple TV back?

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120698865#Comment_120698865

I got an Apple TV box by default with eir (2 of them as one in bedroom also)

I am not sure if I am allowed to keep them though if I end my contract.

icdg

My recollection is that, at least when eir TV launched, you were allowed keep them after two years, otherwise you had to pay some sort of exit fee to keep them.

They are off the shelf Apple TV’s (though I think you get a different remote now) and have plenty of use beyond eir tv.

NewClareman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120698865#Comment_120698865

There is a charge if you don't return them, €50 if I remember correctly.

obi604

If I was to go with sky for broadband and tv.

I think I get 3 things;

1. the modem which connects to the fibre internet connection.

2. main sky q box which connects to the sky dish and maybe to modem via WiFi

3. Sky q mini box in bedroom which connects to modem and/or main sky q box via WiFi

can the main sky q box and sky q mini act as wireless or as a mesh or are they purely just tv set top boxes only?

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120699407#Comment_120699407

delete

Boxcar_Willie

If you go with Sky I wouldn’t bother with multiroom , you can simply install SkyGo on your Apple TV and use your Sky ID to login .

icdg

You have to have Multiscreen/Whole House entitlement to use Sky Go on an Apple TV.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120703075#Comment_120703075

How is this done? Pay sky money, is it?

icdg

In a word, yes. But the Sky Go service is only available to Sky subscribers in any case, so you’ll already be paying Sky money.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120699525#Comment_120699525

gentle bump on this

NewClareman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120708262#Comment_120708262

From searching online it would appear that the Sky Q box connects with the minis using a private wifi 5GHz network. With multiple minis it appears that they create a private mesh network. There are reports that this can conflict with other 5GHz mesh networks, if present.

Hope this helps, I've no firsthand knowledge.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120702976#Comment_120702976

I currently have amazon prime video etc

If I was to keep the apple box from eir, I presume I could just use it to view Amzon prime?

icdg

It’s a normal Apple TV - you can watch any tvOS apps - not just Prime Video, but Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Discovery+ etc.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120715447#Comment_120715447

Nice one. Is anybody aware if one can keep the Apple TV box after being with eir for 2 years?

Boxcar_Willie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120715008#Comment_120715008

Yes you could , you could also put whatever apps you like onto it , IPVX is very good if you have an IPTV subscription but that cannot be discussed here .

obi604

If you are watching live tv on the sky q box and want to rewind, will it rewind?

icdg

Yes, except for manually tuned channels and the very odd programme where the PVR features are disabled for rights reasons.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120726962#Comment_120726962

Nice. eir does not allow me rewind live tv.

do sky store/buffer a certain amount of live tv to allow this.

icdg

Up to one hour, I think, unless you’ve been recording the programme in question. You can’t go back beyond the point you last changed the channel.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120703319#Comment_120703319

if I was to go with sky, would I be able to use my sky go login on the Apple TV box - to watch sky tv in an additional room.

icdg

Yes, but you’ll need to have a Multiscreen sub. (This applies only to Apple TV, not to other devices, provided you stay under the limit).

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833475#Comment_120833475

who is this multi screen sub with - Sky is it?

how much is it roughly per month