Sky+ Questions

[gino_76ph]

hiya. i would like to ask questions about Sky+. at first i wanted the SkyHD service but at £44 minimum "mix" package (which for me is the Variety and Sky Sports mix) i thought was expensive for me. the person on the line recommended Sky+ which is "as good" (and was making it sound that it's "better") than the SD tv channels. i currently have a 1080p Sony Bravia LCD. my questions:

1. would you recommend Sky+ to me?

2. what's the resolution of Sky+? coz from what i understand normal freeview/digital broadcasts are shown on 576i resolution.

and have anyone heard of Freesat HD? i've heard it's coming in March. is it worth waiting as i believe it will have HD channels of the four(?) main digital channels. a £150 one-off payment apparently for the dish, box and installation...isn't bad don't you think? how many HD and SD channels will it have?

[dave87]

1. Over freeview, Yes. Over V+? Probably not.
2. Same as normal sky - you just have 2 tuners.

I wouldn't bother with freesat, as its not as rounded a product as Sky, but of course is a lot cheaper. That said, the number of HD channels available is only going to increase.

[aidso]

I guess you have to take into consideration too, the types of channels you are going to be watching. Sky dont let anyone else show SkYone or Sky Sports so if you are in to your footie or episodes like Lost and Prison Break you would be loosing out getting Virgin installed.
I got rid of Virgin (Standard TV service) about 2 years ago and bought Sky+ and i havent looked back. More channels, yes you're paying for it but i think it is worth it all the same.

[TheAnimus]

SkyHD is a complete or total waste of money, we only have it because its free (flat mate works for a sky related company).

720p and 1080i are hardly resolutions worth paying such a price premium over the standard definition.

Coupled with that the awful way its integrated, 106 is sky, but sky one HD is a different channel. Now why are they broadcasting both, not just overwriting 106 with HD on an HD box, the only theory i have is they know how awful their upscaling is, watching something like the simpsons on sky one SD, my tv upscales in an OK fassion to 1080p. On their HD channel, the quality is awful.

[Mr Pants]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

SkyHD is a complete or total waste of money, we only have it because its free (flat mate works for a sky related company).

720p and 1080i are hardly resolutions worth paying such a price premium over the standard definition.

Coupled with that the awful way its integrated, 106 is sky, but sky one HD is a different channel. Now why are they broadcasting both, not just overwriting 106 with HD on an HD box, the only theory i have is they know how awful their upscaling is, watching something like the simpsons on sky one SD, my tv upscales in an OK fassion to 1080p. On their HD channel, the quality is awful.

The simpsons is terrible because Sky use some strange scaling on it, but generally the rest is great. I havent got it but used a relatives on a Panasonic 42in Plasma and most channels look way better than the SD versions, most programs are native and you notice when the sd adverts come on.

It is really only worth it if you have it for either the sport HD or movies HD, If you take into account the cost of a blu-ray player (although the quality of that is better still) and discs then it is ok value for a tenner a month.

[gino_76ph]

i was only thinking of getting the SkyTV package(s) because of Sky Sports. but i just realised that England and Champions League games sometimes are played over the "normal" digital channels. and when Freesat HD comes into full opeartion those said channels will broadcast in HD glory.

would that "reasoning" you think is ok?

[Funkstar]

Well the Freesat by BBC, ITV and C4 isn't just going to be 'Freeview in HD'. There will be the normal Freeview channels and some additional channels in SD. Along with a selection of HD channels.

From what I've read, you won't get BBC1 HD, BBC2 HD, etc. Each channel will have their own special HD channel. This may or may not show the shame programs as the SD line up. For instance, the football might be on BBC1 SD and HD at the same time, although it might now.

We really don't know until more details are out.

[directhex]

Originally Posted by Funkstar

Well the Freesat by BBC, ITV and C4 isn't just going to be 'Freeview in HD'. There will be the normal Freeview channels and some additional channels in SD. Along with a selection of HD channels.

From what I've read, you won't get BBC1 HD, BBC2 HD, etc. Each channel will have their own special HD channel. This may or may not show the shame programs as the SD line up. For instance, the football might be on BBC1 SD and HD at the same time, although it might now.

We really don't know until more details are out.

to a degree, it's already out. what's being worked on is preparing things at 'ground level' - i.e. a marketing effort, getting people who can install dishes and get boxes into homes, etc. what happens in the sky is another matter, and you can already get a lot of channels on what will soon be branded 'freesat'. see http://forums.hexus.net/1232310-post8.html for a list of what's out there NOW. in March, channel 4's contract for sky exclusivity ends and they will appear at least in part on Freesat (I don't know whether 4HD will be there, for technical reasons). channel 5 will follow suit later in the year, again probably only for a subset of channels

[Funkstar]

I know you can pretty much get it just now, but I always assumed that the lineup and schedules would change when Freesat became office (in a marketing sense).

Hey, happy to be wrong though

[gino_76ph]

i agree. ive heard Freesat on Sky is already available but no HD channelss. so far. but i think Freesat HD is a breath of fresh air on the digital tv industry and a welcome alternative to freeview and ofcourse Sky. i hope it does live up to it's marketing (see ) so people have more choices and make people happy=)

p.s. they said 4 (or maybe 8) HD channels on launch. im not saying we need more HD channels but let's see how the big 5 goes about their own stuff....

[Funkstar]

Originally Posted by gino_76ph

i agree. ive heard Freesat on Sky is already available but no HD channelss. so far. but i think Freesat HD is a breath of fresh air on the digital tv industry and a welcome alternative to freeview and ofcourse Sky. i hope it does live up to it's marketing (see Freesat Home) so people have more choices and make people happy=)

p.s. they said 4 (or maybe 8) HD channels on launch. im not saying we need more HD channels but let's see how the big 5 goes about their own stuff....

corrected the URL

[gino_76ph]

but is it true Sky+'s resolution is 720p?

[bigblue]

No. Sky+ is just normal SD Sky, with an HDD. 576i, at best !

[gino_76ph]

not 720p? so, that means same as normal freeview?

[dangel]

Originally Posted by gino_76ph

not 720p? so, that means same as normal freeview?

Yup. Although I've always felt that Sky suffers from far worse compression artifacts than freeview via my (upscaling) media center (speaking as someone who has both - albeit now Sky+ sits unplugged and unloved).

You need to pay (extra) for a SkyHD box and pay (extra) to then get HD content (a handful of channels) - none of which is full HD (1080p) sadly.

[bigblue]

Originally Posted by gino_76ph

not 720p? so, that means same as normal freeview?

Well, if it was 720p it'd be HD ! And Sky HD is a separate service, so...

A few of the channels (on both services) are actually slightly wonky resolutions, not even proper 576i !

Sky HD is 1080i on the HD channels, and with a decent TV that deinterlaces properly, it looks rather impressive. Many people would struggle to tell the difference between broadcast 1080i (properly processed) and 1080p anyway.

Good BeebHD transmissions can often eclipse fair to middling Blu-Rays for PQ. Indeed, I have a few clips on my HD box from the early (high bitrate) days of BBCHD which are my demo fodder of choice !