I'll be cashing in and leaving soon if Ciao don't stop annoying me and Ciao, you can kiss it!
I'll be cashing in and leaving soon if Ciao don't stop annoying me and Ciao, you can kiss it!
Member since:28.09.2004
Reviews:29
Members who trust:16
I ordered a Sky HD box a couple of months ago after enjoying movies on my HD player and HD gaming on my Xbox. I was very excited and looking forward to watching all those lovely HD channels (I think 30 channels were being boasted at the time)
The box prices and installation charges differ depending on the particular offer but I paid £49 for the box and £30 for installation . I was already a Sky+ TV and phone customer. To take Sky HD you will have to enter into another 12 month contract regardless of what contract you have currently.
Please note that HD channels are £10 per month over anything else you are paying. If you don't have any premium channels like movies or sports then you have to pay another £10 to use the recording facility as well. The 30 or so HD channels that Sky are saying are available are only available if you already subscribe to that particular block of channels. Your £10 for HD channels only covers what you already subscribe to, you don't get them all. In a nut shell, if you don't subscribe to the documentary channels then you don't get the HD versions either, even if you pay a HD subscription. Out of 33 current HD channels I only get 16 because I don't subscribe to movies or sports. Not all programmes are HD and a couple of channels only broadcast for part of the day. The HD resolution is 720p, not 1080p so don't expect the best.
Virgin media's V+ box has HD programming at no extra cost and it's even availble on demand if you have the right package. They only have a few programmes at the moment but they say more is to come.
All the recording and menus are exactly the same as a standard Sky+ box with the exception of an extra entry for HD channels. You can select a HD channel form the menu but you can't flick to the next or previous one, you have to keep going back to the channel menu to select a different one. I have heard though that there is new software being sent to the boxes which fixes this. The only way around this presently is to make all the HD channels your "favourites" and repeatedly press the blue button to advance through them.
You don't really get the "four times" better quality as advertised as this applies to 1080p which you can't get on these boxes. Picture quality is pretty good on HD but it's not the best I've seen even at 720p. Some programmes are a little grainy and some are even slightly jerky. You might not notice this but I do because I always look to see if I'm getting what's promised.
Connections on the back are HDMI for HD TV's. If you don't have HDMI but have DVI on your TV then there's an adapter you can get for a few pounds. You can hook it up to an older HDTV or computer monitor (both HDCP comptible), Google this if you don't know. Please note that DVI does not carry sound so you will have to connect an amplifier if your monitor or TV doesn't have speakers. There are also component connections and almost all HDTV's have this so your TV is sure to meet the requirements.
The remote control is similar to the standard Sky+ one but is a slightly different shape and it's silver. I'm careful with my stuff but after a few days the remote has a few scratches.
The Sky HD installers damaged my HDTV by plugging in cables while everything was powered on so I had to wait a couple of months to view HD channels. See my other review about Sky TV for more about this.
In conclusion I'd say that Sky are a bit mean in making you pay more over and above your normal subscription to subscribe to HD viewing when Virgin, who also offers it on demand, give you it as standard. They boast over 30 HD channels but you will have to subscribe to their complete package (around £47) to view them all but only if you have paid another £10 per month on top of that. I know you are dying to see HD on your nice new TV but I'd recommend waiting until there are more channels for your money.
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Advantages: Beautiful colours, very dark black colours, works well with standard SKY+ and HD Upscalers Disadvantages: Sometimes blurry on fast-paced action movies or older films. MoviePlus isn't all that great.
eeyore220376 09.01.2008 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
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