Sky+ Box

[Gyn_Paul]

What's the deal with the recording side of a sky+ box?

I though it no longer need a subscription upgrade... and it was on that basis that I bought the damned thing... have I been conned?

Actually, it's not that bad. The EPG is so blisteringly fast when compared to a mk 1 Pace box, that that alone is worth the price of a new box. All the same, recording would be nice, but at the moment any attempt simply results in the page asking me to phone 0870 XXXX.

paul

[Anton Redman]

I am pretty sure it does need to be conected to a UK 'phone line for recording to be enabled. I beleieve their are boxes available which insert the 0044 before the dialing code but have not tested one.

Was back in the UK last week and gave up trying to find a working display 'freesat' HD machine. Level of knowledge at John Lewis and Richer sounds was pathetic, Currys were even worse.

[Tim]

Well, there's all sorts of speculation around about Sky + boxes and the their costs - mainly, I think, because of what Anton was talking about and the freesat PVRs.

As far as I'm aware, you don't need to have a Sky + box connected to a phone line, but you do have to have a Sky subscription or, as you have found, Sky disable the record function.

Whether that situation changes now that there is some competition remains to be seen. If you can get a Humax PVR, that is.

Regards - Tim

[Gyn_Paul]

I do have a standard Sky subscription, but now it seems I need to tell them I've upgraded to a plus box, to marry the card to the new box, and unlock the record facility.

Anyone had experience of this (ie. changing to a sky+ without buying the box through Sky)? Is there still a sub to pay? - their web site only seems to details deals which include getting a new box from them.

paul

[Maricopa]

I have a Sky+ box, and can confirm that it does not need to be connected to any phone line.  I am a sky sports subscriber and the recording/playback/pause facility works fine.  I don't know what the miniumum level of subscription is for it to work, but I think it is probably more a case of it needing to be electronically "married up" before it will accept your card.  Whether you can do that or not I don't know.  Alex at http://www.skydigi.tv/ might be able to help.

[Bilbo]

When I changed to my Sky+ box, as you say, the box and card had to be married by phoning Sky, which I did while in the UK. I took the box with me and hooked it up to a dish there for this. The dealers over here, such as www.brittany-satellites.com, should be able to do this for you for a small fee. You do not need to leave it connected to a phone line to record but you must have a valid Sky subscription.

The alternative is to buy one of the new freesat PVRs which are just coming onto the market and do not need a subscription.

[Tim]

Wife came back from England yesterday with nice new freesat PVR - the Humax one. I have been playing around with it and first impressions are very good. She was very lucky to get one as the demand is is massive. If anyone's interested I can give furher reviews in a couple of days.

Regards - Tim

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Tim"]

 If anyone's interested I can give furher reviews in a couple of days.

Regards - Tim

[/quote]Yes I am,  Tim. Very.[:)]

[Anton Redman]

[quote user="cooperlola"][quote user="Tim"]

 If anyone's interested I can give furher reviews in a couple of days.

Regards - Tim

[/quote]Yes I am,  Tim. Very.[:)][/quote]

Yes please - level of ignorance of freesat in both John Lewis and Richer Sounds during recent visit was profound.

[seb47]

Anton

I have no experience of John Lewis but I am surprised to see your comments re Richer Sounds. Maybe it was an isolated incident? I've bought many HiFi and TV items there over the past 25 years (at Croydon, London Bridge, Gidea Park-Romford and Leeds) and always found them to be very helpful, informed and informative. Julian Richer would be most perturbed - send your comments to him direct at

http://www.richersounds.com/information.php?cda=static&cst=help_contact

I've decided to buy the non PVR version of the Humax Foxsat HD as the price is above my budget at the moment and they seem to be as rare as hens teeth! I look forward to seeing comments in due course. Anything that helps to curtail the rise of the Murdoch empire cannot be bad.

Peter

[Anton Redman]

I was also surprised by Richer Sounds, hence my comment, have bought all of my HiFi equipment there and been very happy with them. Thanks for the link.  

[Tim]

Humax HD PVR - ok - it's been installed and running since Saturday when it arrived - along with wife - from England. We got it from Argos mainly because they were the first place that actually told us that had finally had some stock. It was delivered to a UK address  - apparently they aren't even making it to the stores at the moment.

Setting up was very easy - up and going in two or three minutes. I had already upgraded the dish in preparation. It found all the freesat channels straight away - I've yet to find time to tune the non-freesat FTA channels.

Recording is excellent and very simple to use - much easier than my existing system with sat boxes and DVD recorders.

Picture quality on standard SD channels is very good indeed - I'm certain better than my Sky box. The BBC HD channel is excellent too - feeding into my 32" Sony Bravia it gives a better depth and clarity to the picture.

It's early days, but I have to say that I'm glad we've got one.

I hope that has been of some use to those of you wondering. I will try to answer any questions to the best of my ability, but I must say that I haven't had too much time to 'play around' with it yet.

Regards - Tim