SKY HD

Mr Latte · 26 May 2006 at 20:45

Have to say and this was my main fear of Sky HD......

MPEG compression is still VERY visible on high bitrate scenes (typically fast moving or very busy) Witnessed it on the cricket for example.

Yes quality is good but just the same as many USA HD satellite channels MPEG compression via a limited BW is the problem and will continue like the original SKY did when they keep adding more and more channels/services.

If you watch a lot of SKY yeah its great to make the most out of your HDTV and certainly will look better than traditional SKY but to get it for the sake of enjoying some HD content may not really set your birthday cake on fire.

The other problem is very limited material, movies that will be repeated over and over and the current overpricing / monthly charge.

Personally for me it seems a weak launch but then ive been enjoying HD for a long time arleady so im less entrilled by it all..

danceMB · 27 May 2006 at 02:39

Rather than start a new thread, I will write it here as its connected to all this.

When my new Sky HD box arrives, and I plug in a HDMI connection, is that all I will need for both the visual & the sound as well, or are there separate connections for the sound side? Just curious as im using a separate surround sound Amp for everything

bingham67 · 27 May 2006 at 02:53

danceMB said:
Rather than start a new thread, I will write it here as its connected to all this.

When my new Sky HD box arrives, and I plug in a HDMI connection, is that all I will need for both the visual & the sound as well, or are there separate connections for the sound side? Just curious as im using a separate surround sound Amp for everything

Sound included in hdmi

IceBus · 27 May 2006 at 03:57

danceMB said:
Rather than start a new thread, I will write it here as its connected to all this.

When my new Sky HD box arrives, and I plug in a HDMI connection, is that all I will need for both the visual & the sound as well, or are there separate connections for the sound side? Just curious as im using a separate surround sound Amp for everything

You can plug an optical cable from the Sky HD box into your amp. Very few amps have HDMI in for sound.

One More Solo · 27 May 2006 at 11:16

Our Sky HD date has been moved from June 1st to June 19th. I have to wonder why we bother with them sometimes. Not even been offered a refund or anything, and we'll miss the only England game they're showing in the group stages. Not happy.

Balb0wa · 27 May 2006 at 11:19

One More Solo said:
Our Sky HD date has been moved from June 1st to June 19th. I have to wonder why we bother with them sometimes. Not even been offered a refund or anything, and we'll miss the only England game they're showing in the group stages. Not happy.

when did you order ?

One More Solo · 27 May 2006 at 11:35

bobbyboy uk said:
when did you order ?

About 3 weeks ago.

Balb0wa · 27 May 2006 at 11:41

One More Solo said:
About 3 weeks ago.

well cant say im surprised really, lol, people who ordered on day one have still yet to get it installed.

One More Solo · 27 May 2006 at 13:06

bobbyboy uk said:
well cant say im surprised really, lol, people who ordered on day one have still yet to get it installed.

A delay of 9 days from the 22nd May to the 1st June is acceptable, especially since it's before the World Cup, a 2 and a half week delay which misses almost all the group stages with no offer of cashback in return is not, "lol".

Balb0wa · 27 May 2006 at 13:14

One More Solo said:
A delay of 9 days from the 22nd May to the 1st June is acceptable, especially since it's before the World Cup, a 2 and a half week delay which misses almost all the group stages with no offer of cashback in return is not, "lol".

You ordered way to late, 40,000 signed up to register there intrest months and months ago, i was one of them, and put my order in on the 24th March, and got a install date of 23 May weeks ago, the bbc saying they would show some games in world cup didnt help your cause !

I wouldnt be surprised if your date got pushed back further.

MouseMat2004 · 27 May 2006 at 16:24

One More Solo said:
Our Sky HD date has been moved from June 1st to June 19th. I have to wonder why we bother with them sometimes. Not even been offered a refund or anything, and we'll miss the only England game they're showing in the group stages. Not happy.

Order Telewest (If you can) enjoy a 30day free trial and send it back if you dont want it

they're normally pretty good, even know a guy who ordered a TVDrive on a monday and had it installed the next day! plus they're happy to haggle the price down to get your custom.

MrMoon · 28 May 2006 at 15:21

I was one of the first to roder with the £30 deposit thing, and I got bumped from the 24th May to the 1st June, roll on friday is all I can say and If they call to delay again im cancelling

Replicant · 28 May 2006 at 23:30

Bobby boy, how come you were able to pause the bbc preview channel, many have said it cannot be paused or recorded, i have tried also :eek:

Datamonkey · 29 May 2006 at 01:07

replicant i believe if you set the timer manually for recording you can record the bbc stuff

Replicant · 29 May 2006 at 05:45

MrMoon said:
I was one of the first to roder with the £30 deposit thing, and I got bumped from the 24th May to the 1st June, roll on friday is all I can say and If they call to delay again im cancelling

This is were is pays to surf the forums regularly to find things out, joe public never had a chance of getting the first installs

Balb0wa · 29 May 2006 at 11:56

Replicant said:
Bobby boy, how come you were able to pause the bbc preview channel, many have said it cannot be paused or recorded, i have tried also

yes i manually recorded it, but planet earth and bleak house , you could record them the normal way on saturday and sunday.

One More Solo · 29 May 2006 at 12:28

MouseMat2004 said:
Order Telewest (If you can) enjoy a 30day free trial and send it back if you dont want it they're normally pretty good, even know a guy who ordered a TVDrive on a monday and had it installed the next day! plus they're happy to haggle the price down to get your custom.

Not in a Telewest area otherwise we would have it.

danceMB · 30 May 2006 at 00:03

IceBus said:
You can plug an optical cable from the Sky HD box into your amp. Very few amps have HDMI in for sound.

Thats the benefit of just owning this Sony TV, as I purchased, at the same time, a surround sound setup that includes HDMI inputs, which means I will be able to get HDMI surround sound via the Amp.

Does it mean when I get the Sky HD I will get surround sound in HD, as well as visually?

IceBus · 30 May 2006 at 01:00

danceMB said:
Thats the benefit of just owning this Sony TV, as I purchased, at the same time, a surround sound setup that includes HDMI inputs, which means I will be able to get HDMI surround sound via the Amp.

Does it mean when I get the Sky HD I will get surround sound in HD, as well as visually?

While some HD channels are currently broadcasting sound channels at higher bitrates, the actual standard is still Dolby Digital.

BIGbungle · 1 Jun 2006 at 22:34

got my sky hd today

exelent quality pics. Even the pic quality on sd channels is better than my old amstrad sky+ box