Thinking of getting Sky HD - is it worth it?

[Taz]

I'm thinking of upgrading my Sky Digital package to Sky HD. There are a fair few costs involved: the cost of the digibox itself and the extra monthly subscriptions.

I also want to relocate my Sky box into the main bedroom (from the living room) so that will entail some drilling and minor DIY work.

In addition, I want to invest in a 32" HD TV. All in all, the costs are looking like £1000 to £1500 if you take into account the 12-month extra cost of subscriptions to Sky HD.

So, for those that have Sky HD, has it been worth it? On the plus, side, investing in HD technology will allow me to use my Xbox 360 in HD mode.

[johnny02004976]

my parents have had it about 2 months and they love it

when i went back home i watched mostly sky sports HD and the quality was awesome, a good quality HD TV would be def recommended - they currently have a 50" Samsung one and its immense - makes for some quality viewing

Now im back home i have to endure just regular Sky on a regular poor mans TV

[Taz]

I have a question on HDMI connections: will I need two separate HDMI inputs on the TV to connect both the Sky HD box and the Xbox 360?

I'm guessing I will in order to get the best picture quality.

[Skinleech]

I have a question on HDMI connections: will I need two separate HDMI inputs on the TV to connect both the Sky HD box and the Xbox 360?

I'm guessing I will in order to get the best picture quality.

The 360 doesn't support HDMI IIRC. Connect the Sky Box with HDMI, and connect the 360 with component. The component qulaity is excellent on the 360.

[dangel]

I'd wait a while - Sky normally charge through the nose for new technology only to drop prices drastically after 12 months. Sky+ when launched cost a lot for the box, and you _had_ to pay an extra sub for using it - now it's dirt cheap to buy and the sub is dropped when you're on two premium packages (e.g. sky world and sky movies). Sky HD costs a lot and you HAVE to pay the extra tenner on top of your normal subs - deja vu? That coupled with the mediocre choice of programming right now doesn't look too appealing to me - but it's all down to how you value it isn't it?

[Taz]

^ Thanks for all the advice.

I desperately want to buy the new Sony Bravia LCD TV (the KDL-40W2000). However, i'll wait a few weeks for the January sales. As I live in a flat, Sky were completely useless in trying to get me Sky HD. I'll just buy the HD box myself.

From what I can gather the Sky HD box has two LNB inputs, but will work with just one - I just won't be able to record one programme whilst watching another. We've got a communal dish and a distribution system feeding the flats so i've only got one LNB point available on the wall outlet.

Initially i'll just be using the HD TV with the Xbox 360.

[Nick F]

I've had Sky HD for a good couple of months now and I gotta say it's bloody amazing. Although it only has 11 HD channels they are all fantastic and there is always good content to watch. For example I watched planet earth last night on BBC HD and it was almost worth the £300 price tag for the box especially with surround sound.

You can easly pick up a good LCD screen with the Sky HD box and a years subscription for under £1200. Take a look at the Samsung R7 LCD's they are fantastic

From what I can gather the Sky HD box has two LNB inputs, but will work with just one - I just won't be able to record one programme whilst watching another. We've got a communal dish and a distribution system feeding the flats so i've only got one LNB point available on the wall outlet.

Yeah your correct you need two inputs if you want to record one program and watch another.

[shaithis]

I've had SkyHD since the day the service went live...

The BBCHD test channel and Sky Movies 9 HD are damn good.

The other HD channels are very hit and miss unfortunatly

In dark areas (shadows are the worst) you will see a lot of compression artifacts due to a combination of Skys compression routines/equipment and limited bandwidth....SM9HD get away from this by being on its own transponder and therefore has much high bitrates (and thus lower compression) then the other channels.


If you have a nice big screen and are a bit picky about picture quality, I would personally stay clear at the moment as you could get wound-up a bit by it, especially if its bad in your favorite programs (HD versions of Enterprise and SG-1 did this for me )

If you are thinking of buying though, shop around as places like Currys and Dixons will do the hardware for £150, although its a bit hit-or-miss on wether they offer it.....just ask around and see what offers you can get.

[StAnToN]

Well hopeing to get it installed in ours next year once the loss adjusters have paid out for all that has been damaged in our house due to a lightning strike cant wait for them to cough up the other £15k for my home cinema room!

[UKMuFFiN]

Im looking at it now too, well, trying to get my dad to look at it he he.

First of all I was looking at making a HTPC but now I'm thinking one wouldn't be needed with skyHD really and would cost a lot more than the skyhd box (albeit without the sub costs). I could then use the xbox 360 to stream stuff from the PC if I wanted yes?

Basically, its all come from the frustration of still using tapes to record! ARRRGHH. Sky+ isn't really worth getting now is it because we wouldnt get the use out of it before wanting to go HD.

The ideal solution would be as directhex said in another thread where you could buy a subscription and use your own hardware - digital tuuners etc.

[davew]

I've had sky HD since the World cup, I find the BBC HD channel to be the best and the sky sports footie the other channels can be a bit iffy. Sky movies HD9 can be good with more recent movies. I watch on a 7ft screen with projector SP7210 on smaller screens is the difference going to be noticeable?

Dave

[Blademrk]

Haven't really looked at SKY HD much myself, but I was curious if the problem with HDMI and some HDTV sets had been resolved yet?

[benstation]

I'm thinking of upgrading my Sky Digital package to Sky HD. There are a fair few costs involved: the cost of the digibox itself and the extra monthly subscriptions.

I also want to relocate my Sky box into the main bedroom (from the living room) so that will entail some drilling and minor DIY work.

In addition, I want to invest in a 32" HD TV. All in all, the costs are looking like £1000 to £1500 if you take into account the 12-month extra cost of subscriptions to Sky HD.

So, for those that have Sky HD, has it been worth it? On the plus, side, investing in HD technology will allow me to use my Xbox 360 in HD mode.

A 32" TV won't do HD justice. Sure it'll look clearer compared to standard def, but if you're going to spend £600-£800 on Sky HD anyway, why not get yourself a larger TV to heighten enjoyment?

[Clstrphbc_donut]

You can easly pick up a good LCD screen with the Sky HD box and a years subscription for under £1200. Take a look at the Samsung R7 LCD's they are fantastic

Yep, the Samsung R73's are good sellers at my work, almost 3/5 TV's sold are R73's, ranging from 26"-32"-40," but we've just got some N73's in....

I'm no salesperson but are the N's > R's?

[benstation]

Generally N is better than R. From Samsung's website... N73 vs R73/74:

Contrast ratio 6000:1 vs 5000:1
Colour 25.6 billion vs 12.8
100Hz vs 50Hz
2 HDMI connections vs 1
Response time 6ms vs 8ms
XWCG (eXtended Wide Color Gamut upto 138%) vs none
WISE link (memory card / USB / Pictbridge slots)
No PIP vs PIP

[naturbo2000]

If you have a nice big screen and are a bit picky about picture quality, I would personally stay clear at the moment as you could get wound-up a bit by it, especially if its bad in your favorite programs (HD versions of Enterprise and SG-1 did this for me ).

But if you have a nice big screen, and are concerned about PQ, then SkyHD is still a better signal to be driving you TV than a Sky SD signal. Unfortunately BBC shows us how good it can be...


btw - I watch SkyHD on a 26" screen at 4-5 ft. It's clearly a better picture than SD. To those who say "you need a big screen to appreciate HD", I say nonsense. All I'll argue is that I won't (can't) watch SD on a large (42"+ screen) as it's just a horrible looking mess. You virtually *need* HD on a large screen, whereas on a smaller screen it's just nice to have.

Is it worth the investment? - depends how much football/movies you watch I guess...