ntl cable tv vs Sky Plus

[spike7451]

Originally Posted by Theodoric

Would I be correct in saying that without breaking into the box and doing some (illegal?) tinkering, there is no way of transferring recorded material from a Sky Plus box to a DVD disk for permanent storage?

You can,there is a download facility on Sky+(i now work for Sky)
__________________

Originally Posted by abailey152

Yep, I saw your earlier post, but I couldn't see how a 2nd feed from the dish could go to the 2nd digibox, as this would leave only one feed for the Sky+ box.

ian@huth has now cleared this up with the quad LNB. I didn't know such a thing existed.........I learn something new every day!

You can run 4 X normal Sky STB's.....2 X Sky+ STB's.....1 X Sky+ & 2 normal STB's from the one quad LNB.


Just a thought,you need to have all the Sky STB's connected to a operational 2 way (in/out calling) phone line OTHERWISE you will have to pay full price for the packages & STB.Reason is the STB's are subsidised by B I B. (British Interactive Broardcasting)

[Acropolis]

Getting Sky+ is the best thing you could ever do, i wont be without it now. I have had both Cable and Sky in the past and have worked for both companies and i can say that Sky is the best package all round without a doubt.

Most things have been covered with the Sky+ system so wont go over that again. You can make the reminders change the channel automatically, if you go to the planner and select the reminder to Autoview then it will switch over when the programme starts.

When your Sky+ box is out of warranty (or before if you dont care) then you can open it up and replace the hard drive with a bigger one if you want and you can then record more onto it, the only problem with this is, it buggers ya warranty up and the little bar at the top of the planner that tells you how much space is left doesnt work properly, other than that there are no problems with it.

As has previously been said you can have a combination of the following sky box's running from one quad LNB

2x Sky+, 4x normal Sky, 1 Sky+ and upto 3 normal sky box's.

If you want to spread the Sky signal round the house then you need to take a RF feed from one of the RF output sockets on the back of the Sky box, doesnt matter which one, but if you want to use a Magic Eye then it will need to be Output 2 and turn on the +9v feed as described above, but note if you do this then the Magic Eye will not work if the cable has been run through another device before it reaches the Magic Eye, ie a splitter or ampliefier.

Unlike cable box's the feeds into the Sky box's can not be split off and run to another box to get that working, as each Sky box needs an independant feed from the LNB, splitting the feed cable to another box will cause problems and may damage some of the equipment installed, its all to do with the way in which the channels are transmitted.

If you want to have more than the number of box's you can have on one quad LNB you either need to have another dish installed on a seperate subscription or run a quattro LNB and multi switch gear, which then in theory gives you an unlimited number of feeds to run Sky box's from.

I believe you can now get a Sky+ box from £49.99 but not 100% on that, and if you know someone who has already got Sky and get them to recomend you then they can have a normal Sky box upgraded to Sky+ for free of some vouchers and you get 1/2 price package for 3 months.

If you are thinking about it do it, i wouldnt be without my Sky+ now its brilliant and it will only be getting better next year when HD comes out and i can enjoy it on my nice 42" Plasma that will be arriving soon.

[MovedGoalPosts]

To me one of the areas ntl are lagging behind Sky is the ability of devices such as the more modern VCRs to diectly control the channel that the STB is tuned to for recording. Why shoud you need to set two different devices to swap and record channels.

Ntl's three day EPG is, in this day and age, absolutely pants. when 10 years ago VCRs could be programmed up to28 days in advance.

I dunno exactly how Sky compares, but I frequently see specifications of devices that say they will directly control the Sky box channel.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Rob C

Ntl's three day EPG is, in this day and age, absolutely pants. when 10 years ago VCRs could be programmed up to28 days in advance.

I dunno exactly how Sky compares, but I frequently see specifications of devices that say they will directly control the Sky box channel.

The Sky+ built in EPG has seven days of content, the only annoying thing is that if you have a programme set up for Series Link and it skips a week or one episode gets cancelled (eg if BBC 2 sticks on sports instead) you lose the Series Link.

BTW someone mentioned about reminders not changing channels, I don't bother using the reminder feature, I just set the programme up to record which means that even if I miss the reminder, I can still watch it!

[jamiefrost]

With Regards to PVR functionality Sky+ is very limited (still better than NTL no PVR at all).

There is no favorites function (series link is not a favorites function), no importing programs, no networking capablity.

The best system at the moment is a PC based PVR, loads of functionality, expandable and you can have networked clients. I admit it's not for everyone but compared to Sky+ its amazing.

It will be interesting to see what functionality NTL put into their PVR with regards to favorites. I think there are some IP problems around this, with Tivo having patents.

JJ

[rhyang]

my husband is a satellite and tv engineer he does a lot of broadcasting work for sky and said the reson sky+ receivers have dropped down to 49 pounds is that sky want to get rid of them as the new sky HDTV receiver is coming out within the next few months and it will have a hard disc (sky+) built in to it so if i was any one wanting to buy a sky plus box id wait for the hdtv receiver to come out

Originally Posted by ian@huth

You can take a coax cable from the RF2 out connector on the back of your Sky+ box to the TV elsewhere in the house. You will have to turn the RF2 connection power supply to on in the services menu to allow control from the remote location. This is done by going into the Services menu and then into the hidden installer setup menu. Once in Services press 4 then 0 then 1 then select (don't look at the screen as you may think that pressing 0 hasn't done anything but it has). Select option 4 for RF outlets and turn RF Outlet Power Supply to ON. You will need a magic eye and another remote (unless you keep moving your remote between locations) which you can get from places like Maplin (Google "Sky magic eye" for other sellers).

[Acropolis]

Originally Posted by jamiefrost

With Regards to PVR functionality Sky+ is very limited (still better than NTL no PVR at all).

There is no favorites function (series link is not a favorites function), no importing programs, no networking capablity.

The best system at the moment is a PC based PVR, loads of functionality, expandable and you can have networked clients. I admit it's not for everyone but compared to Sky+ its amazing.

It will be interesting to see what functionality NTL put into their PVR with regards to favorites. I think there are some IP problems around this, with Tivo having patents.

JJ

If by no favourites you mean favourite channels then there is, you just have to go through all the channels in a list and select 20 of them as your favourites this cant be done from the info banner. if you mean favourite programmes then, whats wrong with reminders and series link, it tells you everytime the programme is on so cant think what more you would want from this to be honest.


Sky are meant to be bringing out there first HD box in March i think it is if i remember correctly, but from what i have heard i wouldnt bother with the first lot that come out, as they are likely to be Thomson ones and crap, the second batch onwards that come out should be a lot better, thats the ones i will be waiting for.

[jamiefrost]

[QUOTE=Acropolis]If by no favourites you mean favourite channels then there is, you just have to go through all the channels in a list and select 20 of them as your favourites this cant be done from the info banner. if you mean favourite programmes then, whats wrong with reminders and series link, it tells you everytime the programme is on so cant think what more you would want from this to be honest./QUOTE]

For true PVR functionality favorites means recording programs based upon series / keywords such as actors, genres etc plus a true inteligent recording functionality that monitors your viewing history and records programs automatically.

JJ

[extidy]

Just a Quick one

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Windows XP media center edition, when combined with either Sky or NTL it blows the alternatives out the window, it does everything you could want and then some and has none of the limitations of sky+, you can even use it in addition to sky+. It has too many features to talk about here (not least control over web browser from anywhere in the world). Check it out I know its an mSoft product, but credit whre credits due, they done a good job on it

[andygrif]

Originally Posted by spike7451

You can,there is a download facility on Sky+(i now work for Sky)

We're planning on getting Sky+ when we move this month....can I ask you a question since you work for them?....

This 10 quid subscription: I've heard mumblings that it might disappear in the not too distant future...can you shed any light on it. As we don't take the movies nor sports, I'm a bit grumpy about having to pay 120 quid a year...but it does seem like a cool gadget, so I'll stomach it for a while...but if they're planning to drop the sub then I'll be happy!

[littld]

I just looked on the Sky website and it shows £36 for all packages with movies, INCLUDING Sky+ subscription.

That's just £5 more than ntl (including the mandatory phone line rental).

Sounds unbeatable to me!

[andygrif]

That's correct - as the Sky+ subscription is free with the movie package....plus right now you get the first three month's line rental at hald price. It's certainly a tempting offer.

[Salu]

On the whole I really like Sky+. There are a few niggles but the one that is the most annoying is when you come to delete a recorded program. To do this you click the yellow button. There is sometimes a delay and if you are not careful you end up deleting the next program as it remembers the two key presses. There really should be a confirmation before deleting anything.

[gazzae]

Originally Posted by Salu

On the whole I really like Sky+. There are a few niggles but the one that is the most annoying is when you come to delete a recorded program. To do this you click the yellow button. There is sometimes a delay and if you are not careful you end up deleting the next program as it remembers the two key presses. There really should be a confirmation before deleting anything.

If you set all your recordings to "Keep" - Blue button, then it will ask you to confirm before it deletes them.