Sky HD on its way....

[bigblue]

I guess I'm lucky, there's plenty of content for me Well, when the missus isn't in and hogging it with all her shows... Heroes, Hotel Babylon, Lost and all that rubbish, all in HD.

I'm a bit of a Discovery and Nat Geo geek though, so I'm often glued to them.

I'm a big sports fan too, I guess you have to be to get the best out of Sky HD. Footy is Sky Sports HD's big thing obviously and it's fantastic quality and there's plenty of matches. Also, many of the US networks have made big commitments to HD this year, so stuff that comes from them, via Sky, such as USPGA Golf, Nascar, Superbowl etc. is a big bonus.

The Movie Channels, whilst not quite the quality of an HD disc, offer great value IMO. I probably watch 10-20 movies a month. Far better value than rentals ! And on the subject of rentals, it's a lot easier to order a Box Office movie than it is to head down to Blockbuster, and Blockbusters range is often limited.

I couldn't be without it now !

[kopite]

I would love to get It but atm there arent enough channels to justify the outlay.

Saying that Its annoying watching the football in sd on a HD tv

[dave87]

Well, after a few ups and downs, including charging me twice when they cocked up the order (£250 extra came out - buggers) its finally booked for tomorrow.

Here's to hoping the installation goes more smoothly than the ordering process.

Oh, and a top tip - find out who your local sky rep is, and deal through them. So much more efficient than dealing with the call centres

[kopite]

How did you find ur local sky rep?

are they the people who stand in the shopping centres?

[dave87]

I deal with them through work, but I'm sure there must be another way to find them.

Don't think they are the ones that stand in the shopping centres - they are usually more in charge of partner relations - resellers etc.

[bigblue]

I think how the installation goes can come down to luck in many cases. I see many unhappy bunnies over at AVForums, yet mine couldn't have been better.

2 guys came for mine, re-sited my Sky+, drilled necessary holes without moaning/charging, paired cards, did everything. No mess, no fuss, job done.

They did stay for slightly longer than was necessary afterwards though, plonked on the carpet in front of the screen ! I like to think they were in awe of my TV, but more likely they were skiving

[dave87]

Heh, nothing quite as impressive as your TV here, only a 32" Toshiba in the bedroom...

The install here should be pretty simple, the bedroom has an outside wall so it can go straight through that. Just need to make sure they seal the hole afterwards otherwise it'll get a bit chilly in the winter

As I said, I think the only complication will be the phone line, but even that shouldn't be a major problem. Oh well, roll on the installation

[bigblue]

Originally Posted by dave87

Heh, nothing quite as impressive as your TV here, only a 32" Toshiba in the bedroom...

Nowt unimpressive about that, it's a very nice set indeed I was looking at one myself, but luckily the one I ended up with just happened to have major discounts when we went to look at the Tosh in JL. That, and a combination of the missus spending too much money on shoes, allowed me to strike while the iron was hot As I said, I don't think the guys were actually that impressed with the TV, probably see a lot nicer, I think they were just skiving ! It was a bit uncomfortable though, they just set it up, stuck BBC HD on... then sat there Almost felt as if I should have stuck the kettle on and made them sarnies.

The install here should be pretty simple, the bedroom has an outside wall so it can go straight through that. Just need to make sure they seal the hole afterwards otherwise it'll get a bit chilly in the winter

Funnily enough, one problem we did have was along those lines. The little plastic covers they put over the holes fell off pretty much straight away. Then the missus drove over one, not realising it had fallen onto the drive. Called Sky to get replacements, but the Asian woman I spoke to couldn't quite understand my Glasgow accent when asking for "y'know, the wee plastic thingies" and I was eventually referred to my local satellite installer, as Sky allegedly don't stock them. That was a year ago, haven't actually got round to sticking them on

[dave87]

I was thinking along the lines of some silicon sealant shoved into the hole

Do they place a wall box or just run the cable through?

[bigblue]

Nah, it's just a hole drilled, sealed (I hope !), then they apply some adhesive, and put a little moulded square plastic cover over it, which is shaped to allow the cables out.

Both of them fell off within days, leaving a lovely perfectly square patch of adhesive on our walls. Which are still there, due to my sheer inability to remember to borrow a ladder of someone so I can stick the bleeders back on. There's no water coming in where the cables are though, if it was I'd be a bit more concerned

[dave87]

Well, its all installed.

The installation went well, and is done as neatly as you could hope. The bloke that installed it was nice enough, so I can't really complain. Just waiting now for Scan's delivery so I can enjoy it in 5.1

Got a couple of HD movies scheduled to record, so see how that goes, was mightily impressed by the BBC HD Preview, would be good to see what happens when they offer a full HD service.

So a thumbs up so far, despite initial problems.

[bigblue]

BBC HD is very good, try and catch the showings of "Great British Summer", fantastic PQ.

The Discovery HD ads are pretty impressive as well, if you're looking for something to give your set a test.

[dave87]

Giving the box a proper testing this evening - currently recording 2 HD feeds whilst watching a 3rd SD recording. Should show whether the box can hack it or not.

I had a quick flick of HD stuff, and it was impressive.

How long does it take for Anytime TV to appear?

[r_j_k_p]

what speakers did u get from scan

[dave87]

Not speakers, a switch box - allows me to have 5 optical audio feeds connected to my Surround sound kit. It also happens to be a component switch, so I can run more devices into my TV - 360, DVD player (poss HD-DVD player).

[kopite]

The football should have been watched