* Sky Q Thread *

MissChief · 30 Dec 2021 at 22:32

woppy101 said:
Hard drive is easily swapped on a skyQ box

But if you report a fault they'll look to replace the box completely not swap the hard drive which, I believe, isn't easy.

woppy101 · 31 Dec 2021 at 07:50

V F said:
You know what the shocking thing is... I did this for one other main reason. It's shocking to see recordings on my box as far back as 2013 and seeing how much Sky has butchered video and sound quality over the years. The files are massive on some of my boxes compared to what is being recorded today. Yet the old recordings are pretty close to Blu-Ray quality. Not quite but close.

Some films like Lord of the Rings back then would be over 20GB for each part.

Where now, it's horribly soft and bordering out of focus with so much compression they've been applying. Plus most films now recorded are at most 2.6GB. As some older films from 2013/14 ranged 8 - 9.xxGB. But the bigger file sizes are worth the image quality.

Men at Work 1990 recorded on MGM back in 2013, 107 minutes 9.06GB. Yet the picture quality and sound is glorious. Today? Nope, it's quite abysmal the picture quality on Sky Movies broadcast for the majority of films.

You can really see how much Sky has butchered the image quality when the Plasma shows up all the banding and macro blocking in the shadows for quite dark films. Even Standard Definition DVDs look nothing like this. A lot of films on Sky with so much compression that they've added you're losing the film grain from some films.

People on the AV Forums has been talking about this even with Sky Q over the years as well.

You will get no disagreement from me, the picture quality is horrendous now compared to 10 years ago

woppy101 · 31 Dec 2021 at 07:54

MissChief said:
But if you report a fault they'll look to replace the box completely not swap the hard drive which, I believe, isn't easy.

Have a look on the bottom of your skyQ box, there is a door for a compartment that holds the hard drive, screws take it out and then the hard drive slips out, piece of ****. I have been trying to work out a way to clone the 2tb drive onto a 4tb drive to get extra storage

Troezar · 31 Dec 2021 at 08:59

woppy101 said:
You will get no disagreement from me, the picture quality is horrendous now compared to 10 years ago

Variable Streaming quality is one of the main reasons I've gone to physical copies of the films I can watch more than once. Availability is another factor. Bought used or in the sales it is often cheaper than buying the digital versions.

ChrisD. · 31 Dec 2021 at 11:13

Although I have Sky Cinema I rarely use it. The quality is quite laughable at times.

jrwagh333 · 31 Dec 2021 at 13:59

Are there any Ultra HD channels? Just got SkyQ and can't find them anywhere. I have the Ultra HD + HD package.

andicole0 · 31 Dec 2021 at 14:03

jrwagh333 said:
Are there any Ultra HD channels? Just got SkyQ and can't find them anywhere. I have the Ultra HD + HD package.

Nope, only uhd programs they show up in the uhd section of search. Plus you usually get the option to switch to uhd if available.

steve5424 · 31 Dec 2021 at 14:11

When watching Sky Sports many games will give you the option to switch to UHD if available and Sky Cinema has a big section available to download in UHD. No actual channels though.

jrwagh333 · 31 Dec 2021 at 15:29

andicole0 said:
Nope, only uhd programs they show up in the uhd section of search. Plus you usually get the option to switch to uhd if available.

So is that like a 'Red button' thing? Haven't had Sky since Sky+ launched

MissChief · 31 Dec 2021 at 15:34

jrwagh333 said:
So is that like a 'Red button' thing? Haven't had Sky since Sky+ launched

Yes, if you're on the Sky Sports channel and UHD is available you'll be prompted to press the red button to watch in UHD.

jrwagh333 · 31 Dec 2021 at 16:17

MissChief said:
Yes, if you're on the Sky Sports channel and UHD is available you'll be prompted to press the red button to watch in UHD.

Thanks, I don't have Sports or Movies - Any other channels to look out for? Or is it really just going to be the On Demand stuff

MissChief · 31 Dec 2021 at 16:19

jrwagh333 said:
Thanks, I don't have Sports or Movies - Any other channels to look out for? Or is it really just going to be the On Demand stuff

There's the occasional Sky Max item but for you it's mostly going to be the On Demand stuff. There should be quite a lot by now.

jrwagh333 · 31 Dec 2021 at 16:31

MissChief said:
There's the occasional Sky Max item but for you it's mostly going to be the On Demand stuff. There should be quite a lot by now.

Thanks. Do you know if it's possible to watch UHD onDeamand in a 1080P TV? Like on YouTube, you can up the Res to increase the bitrate, no matter what resolution screen you're watching on. Or will the SkyQ box freak out?

MissChief · 31 Dec 2021 at 16:55

jrwagh333 said:
Thanks. Do you know if it's possible to watch UHD onDeamand in a 1080P TV? Like on YouTube, you can up the Res to increase the bitrate, no matter what resolution screen you're watching on. Or will the SkyQ box freak out?

No. The box won't output anything beyond 1080p and you'll get no picture.

jrwagh333 · 31 Dec 2021 at 19:38

MissChief said:
No. The box won't output anything beyond 1080p and you'll get no picture.

Thanks.

Sorry, another question, as coming from Virgin TV. On Virgin, if you weren't subscribed to a channel, it would be greyed out, so you could easily see what you couldn't watch. Is there something similar on SkyQ? It's a little annoying to turn a channel on to find I actually don't get that one.

V F · 31 Dec 2021 at 19:42

steve5424 said:
When watching Sky Sports many games will give you the option to switch to UHD if available and Sky Cinema has a big section available to download in UHD. No actual channels though.

How big are the UHD downloads?

Simmz · 31 Dec 2021 at 19:57

V F said:
How big are the UHD downloads?

Depends on film but roughly 15-20gb

Slam62 · 31 Dec 2021 at 20:19

Lots of complaints about sky, but tbh they put all other providers to shame, the football in hdr with atmos is just fantastic.
Loads of films and shows in uhd if you want , the f1 coverage is superb.

Simmz · 31 Dec 2021 at 20:29

Slam62 said:
Lots of complaints about sky, but tbh they put all other providers to shame, the football in hdr with atmos is just fantastic.
Loads of films and shows in uhd if you want , the f1 coverage is superb.

BT still looks better than Sky for football though.

Where's the HDR for F1, taking them long enough.

The sound is actually worst on UHD than normal HD.

V F · 31 Dec 2021 at 20:35

Simmz said:
BT still looks better than Sky for football though.

Where's the HDR for F1, taking them long enough.

The sound is actually worst on UHD than normal HD.

Always turning the volume up a fair bit, right?

*** Sky Q Thread ***

* Sky Q Thread *