Sky+ pros/cons

[lotusmark2]

Hi all.
I know a number of you have these systems so what are the pros and cons and any advice on which one to get???
I am in the dark with this stuff but my pace digi box is getting on a bit now so was thinking about going the + route
Cheers
Mark

 

[richard]

AFAIK, as long as you want sky , there are no cons - apart from cost, which if i remember correctly is nil per month if you subscribe to a reasonable package - and about £199 for the box.

However, if you opt for multiroom (i.e they wire in both your new and old box - old box in another room (such as where the kids watch TV), it will cost you £10 extra per month (i.e £120 / year) for the 2nd box, and the install is only £89 (and of course you can cancel the multiroom after a year, so it only cost you £10 to have a 2nd sky box somewhere else in the house for the 1st year) - see http://existing.sky.com/offers.asp

The installer will have to run a 2nd cable from the dish to the sky+ (it needs 2 wires and a new pickup (lnb) on the dish as it can record 2 things at once.

You may wish to increase the size of the disk from the standard 40Gb to 160G or 250G - lots of advice on avtalk forum (google for it!) how to do this yourself although you may not want to do it while the unit is under warranty

Cheers

Richard

 

[mercmanuk]

sky

why not go for the sky hd package ,which also has the sky+ feature on the box.a friend has just had it installed and the picture is awsome

 

[w124coupe]

Sky+ is addictive - we almost never watch in real time anymore and always zip over the adverts at 30x speed...

We did the 250GB disk change (£50 and easy assuming you have a torx screwdriver) and always have a stock of films recorded for when there is nothing good on!


If you go for the multiroom, using a local aerial guy for the Sky+ order is not a bad idea to get all the cables routed neatly and/or hidden (the standard is to nail them around the outside of the house).

 

[Locky]

I phoned up sky and told them that I wanted to cancel my contract because I keep missing my programming. After a bit of a chat with them they offered me a sky+ system for £60 (if i remember correctly) fitted. A lot cheaper than buying a £200 box. Not sure if they still do this though.

 

[splang]

Yikes!

I could have got you one for free! Subject to a one year contract (+10 pound monthly subscription...)

Steve

 

[glojo]

I go along with all that has been said including the recommendation of a 250GB hard drive. Excellent product, but you really need to use it, to reap maximum benefit.

I set it to record a number of different series. The joy of Sky+ is that if the prgram decides to start an hour late, then the box still records it.

John

 

[IanA2]

If you decide to go with Sky+, I can let you have a pace box for halfprice. It's about four months old and works well. It was supplied to me by Sky under warranty, but I've since bought another one with a massive hard drive!

 

[lotusmark2]

Cheers all, I am going around to a mates this weekend, so I will see what its like first hand.
Ian, could you drop me a PM with price please mate.
Thanks for all your help guys

 

[Ian B Walker]

Cheers all, I am going around to a mates this weekend, so I will see what its like first hand.
Ian, could you drop me a PM with price please mate.
Thanks for all your help guys

Want to take a Barrel of Beer with you?
( Private poke sorry)

 

[w124coupe]

Beer AND a private poke!!

 

[Ian B Walker]

Beer AND a private poke!!

we are good friends

 

[lotusmark2]

we are good friends

hmmmmm, I draw the line somewhere!!
I'm hoping to be around tomorrow afternoon but it depends how long the tattoo takes, if thats ok mate

 

[Cronos]

The only real down side to Sky+ is the initial cost. Once you get over that hurdle, it'll change the way you watch TV. Adverts will become a thing of the past and you'll never miss your favourite programmes again.

I's also highly recommend the 250Gb HDD upgrade, which is suprisingly easy to do and gives you huge storage capacity. There's a good guide on how to do it on the Digital Spy Forums.

 

[Cronos]

If you decide to go with Sky+, I can let you have a pace box for halfprice. It's about four months old and works well. It was supplied to me by Sky under warranty, but I've since bought another one with a massive hard drive!

Bear in mind that if you go down this route you will still have to get it 'installed' as you'll need a second line coming from your dish to the Sky+ box.

 

[Shude]

The only real down side to Sky+ is the initial cost. Once you get over that hurdle, it'll change the way you watch TV. Adverts will become a thing of the past and you'll never miss your favourite programmes again.

Some of us have been enjoying this for a long time now courtesy of TiVo, which is the same basic thing only the interface is better and it's independent of Sky . Sadly in the UK TiVo is no longer sold (courtesy of Sky)

 

[IanA2]

Bear in mind that if you go down this route you will still have to get it 'installed' as you'll need a second line coming from your dish to the Sky+ box.

That's true, I had forgotten about that. You might be better talking to Sky, I have heard they are open to negotiation if pressed. Apparantly if you tell them you are cancelling your subscription they will come up with all sorts of offers to keep you

 

[RichardM]

Its well worth fitting the larger hard disk as it takes no times at all to fill the standard one. Its very easy to change too.