Is Sky HD worth it?

I'm at a crossroads in terms of upgrading my Sky system. I've currently got regular Sky (SD). I have moved my Xbox 360 and connected it to my new large monitor and now enjoy games in HD. In order to upgrade my Sky system I would need to purchase a Sky HD box (probably secondhand off eBay) and a HD TV (Sky won't provide me with a HD box as I live in a flat). That's the best part of £1,000 for a 40-42 inch LCD 1080p TV and a Sky HD box.

Then there's the £10 per month increase in Sky package cost to view the HD channels. I don't watch football so the question is this: is there a sufficient range of HD channels on Sky to warrant this substantial outlay in cost? The only other benefit would be my DVD player that upscales to HD.

Its really up to you but i dont watch sports and find it really good. They have a good choice of movies in HD (but its an extra ~ £15) and i couldn't live without the PVR stuff. (Am away alot and work odd hours though)

This might be useful as it lists all the channels its got

One thing to beware of is BBC HD doesn't mirror BBC One like SKY ONE and Channel Four do.

I can tell you that Virgin Media HD isn't!

I've got it, and its good, but I'm not sure if I'm keeping it after the year.

However, if you like the Sky package you've got, and want to improve on it, then HD certainly would.

What reasoning did Sky give you for not providing HD directly?

^ We share a dish amongst the flats and we have a single LNB port on the wall in the lounge/living room. Sky require a quad-LNB and they cannot touch the communal dish so refuse to upgrade me. I am forced to purchase a Sky HD box myself and call Sky to pair my existing viewing card. I had to do the same to get the basic Sky system - I purchased a Sky digibox off eBay and Sky sent me a viewing card.

With a single LNB output I won't be able to watch one programme and record another but i'm not too bothered about that.

At the moment personalyy I dont think its work it. Maybe when more channels are available then yes but atm SKy plus is more than enough :D

I really like SkyHD, can't recommend it highly enough.

I guess a lot of depends on what display you're using it with though. My bro in law has a 37" cheapish LCD, and there's not that much of a difference noticeable between HD and SD, but on a bigger or better TV it's a fairly clear upgrade. Not Blu-Ray quality, but then it's not really Blu-Ray disc prices either. It's the best £10 I spend in a month :D

I make a lot of use of the PVR though, as there's often two HD shows on at the same time, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it so eagerly if it only had one feed. We're moving shortly and I'm praying the new place has 2 feeds :)

I like Freeview. Cheap as chips!

i heard a while back that sky may be scrapping the 10 quid a month...possibly in september but im not 100% sure...

I personally think it is worth it - hence why I've got it myself :mrgreen: Especially since they added Eurosport HD a couple of weeks back :bowdown:

The difference compared to watching in standard hi-def can often be quite astonishing (depending on what you're watching of course!
For instance... if you flick from watching a Sky Sports channel in standard hi-def, to watching the same sport on the HD channel, the difference is very noticeable :)

You can also see just how sharp/high quality HD image are, when they play a HD advert on the Discovery HD channel.
I don't usually watch adverts (more often than not, I'll flick between stations for a couple of minutes), but I don't mind watching the Discovery HD ones, because they're mostly advertising Sky HD itself, and some of the stuff they show is stunning :drool:


Yeah... I do like it :p

Its hard to say, personally i don't think its worth it, but we've got it (flatmate gets it as a perk).

Problem is there are sod all HD channels. The way their 'integrated' with the regular SD channels is also pants. Many of them Sky ONE HD for instance also features increidbly crap upscaling, so you find yourself chopping and choosing between the SD channel and the HD channel depending whats on.... Did we loose a war or something? Or does the sky+ box have a better unoin, how come i have to do that?!

Plus the rest of the quality of Sky is VERY poor. Look at something like Sky Two, or Three, the compression is terrible. The problem is on my 52" these effects even come through on the 720p broadcasts. I was watching some startgate special the other day on the HD channel. You still have artifacts that on my screen end up been about 2inches square!

And they expect people to pay £270 extra per year for this?

On the plus side the sky+ box (sky+ been well established as excellent) has extra disk space!

If i was having to pay with my pennies, i'd wait till the price became sane.

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Originally Posted by TheAnimus

Problem is there are sod all HD channels.

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Well, there may be sod all you like, but it's unfair to say there's sod all, full stop. Each to their own and all that? I watch enough HD stuff to justify £10 quite easily.

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And they expect people to pay £270 extra per year for this?

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£270 per year? How come?

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Originally Posted by bigblue

Well, there may be sod all you like, but it's unfair to say there's sod all, full stop. Each to their own and all that? I watch enough HD stuff to justify £10 quite easily.

£270 per year? How come?

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I was going to say I only pay a £10 premium each month for it, which if I watch an hour of HD a day, then it would cost me 33p an hour. Obviously that reduces if I watch more :)