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I know its 1080p as i had a meeting a few months ago about the system. Sky engineers will have the system fitted at their homes over the next couple of months ahead of the public.
*** Sky Q Thread ***
- Thread starter Cosimo
- Start date
Sky Q looks interesting, especially with the mini units all feeding off the main box!
We currently have a video sender to get the sky box upto the bedroom - which works beautifully - but it would be nice to be able to watch different programs upstairs & downstairs using Sky Q. I do hope they don't charge a monthly charge for any addition mini boxes, but I bet they will!
I wonder how effective the Powerline units will be at getting the data round your house, and how it will get on if people are already using (other) powerline adapters!
We currently have a video sender to get the sky box upto the bedroom - which works beautifully - but it would be nice to be able to watch different programs upstairs & downstairs using Sky Q. I do hope they don't charge a monthly charge for any addition mini boxes, but I bet they will!
I wonder how effective the Powerline units will be at getting the data round your house, and how it will get on if people are already using (other) powerline adapters!
Associate
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But we don't make any TV at 1080p
Sky Q does look pretty goodBut i suspect the costs will, initially, be pretty ridiculous especially for the full monty, ie - Sky Q Silver box etc.
How do you envision that working?
Maybe i'm barking up the wrong tree but in my head, i don't see how you could achieve that without introducing (more) P2P connections which would in turn increase load on the network
Similarly, i can't see how you could easily move DVR functionality away from homes as you either (essentially) move the DVR/STB to a hubsite/hubend, which sounds a little pointless to me; or, VM changes to an on-demand type service for DVR functionality but then surely they'd have to store every programme broadcasted which i imagine would be a world of hurt and no doubt stupidly costly
I don't doubt they'll move to IPTV but it's easier and simpler to have the DVR portion within the STB/home.
The technology for doing this is already out there, it's referred to as "network DVR" or "network PVR". I helped deploy such a system to an operator over in Poland, 120 channels recorded centrally. A number of operators in the USA have deployed it too.
The only reason UK operators aren't doing it yet is because the content right holders are blocking it. It massively reduces the upfront hardware costs (most operators sell their STBs at a loss) and increases MTBF, especially since they are already recording a lot of the popular content for things like SkyGo or On-demand playback.
It's a model most of the operators will have to move to eventually to allow customers to digest their content while on the go. In-home storage doesn't lend itself well to mobile viewing.
Most tv in this country is now shot and edited in 1080p its just broadcast in 1080i
Soldato
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It is already fitted to Sky employees homes, my friend has had the system since the end of last year.
Permabanned
I just want to know the cost of a new Sky box and Sky Hub and will Sky existing customers get a discount or yet again will sky get greedy and ask for more money on top what we are paying
Associate
As great as it looks I wish they'd just sort out providing Fibre to the UK. I have to have Virgin because there is no BT line and that's on a new build on a brand new estate. Especially if (the tinterweb) talk is true that you'd need a sky hub for the mini box.
Love Sky as it is far better than VM Tv and is so more user friendly but I couldn't get by on 1-3mbps 'broadband'.
It's not difficult to see what the attraction is to Kodi etc IF the tinterweb talk is correct.
Love Sky as it is far better than VM Tv and is so more user friendly but I couldn't get by on 1-3mbps 'broadband'.
It's not difficult to see what the attraction is to Kodi etc IF the tinterweb talk is correct.
Associate
As @vila correctly stated, much of the content now made in the UK is recorded in 1080p. They often sell this as Blu-ray. Broadcasts are all 1080i or less.
What is also important to remember that all the other broadcasters, not just Sky who appear to be getting mullered on the forums for it, such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4, UKTV, Universal and many more, all only broadcast at 1080i at best. This isn't just limited to the Satellite source, but also terrestrial broadcasts.
Why not write to them and see what pathetic answers you get?
Don't forget to ask some of them why they only broadcast in 2.1 or perhaps 3.1, when 5.1 is just as easy? Check out the SyFy channel while your at it.
Live transmission in 4K are most likely to come via the Satellite. I believe that there have been various test transmissions on some transponders on the Astra satellites.
It is also quite clear at this time that Sky intend to continue with the Astra Satellite system for the future. It is a good system for getting their content all over the UK & Ireland in most weather conditions and with little extra infrastructure required on the part of the customer.
Sky have not released any details on packages or pricing. The stated that this will be done close to when the Sky Q products are finally launched to the public.
Sky are working with CityFibre and TalkTalk on a trial in a couple of UK Cities. Any roll out across the whole country will take a couple of decades at best.
There is another Sky trial in the Basingstoke area and I believe in another couple of places.
Currently these are not expanding outside the original areas and we would all love to have a Sky 1Gbit (or faster) broadband service in our local areas.
Otherwise the SFU & SFUP products are reliant on BTO's work. Blame them and the dodgy book keeping that BT PLC appears to be doing in order to fund things such as the purchase of EE.
Soldato
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I think bbc hd on freeview is actually 1080p not sure of any other channels tho.
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All the HD channels broadcast on Freview are rated at 1080i. Both my TVs have Freeview HD tuners and both confirm this information.
That not good..
As it going only be 1TB Sky Q or 2TB Sky Q Silver of harddrive of space to share between the main box and the multi screen box/boxes..
(but it will be good that you will be able to watch saved stuff on any box)
Where having multi room with my two 2TB sky boxes would total 4TB of space
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Have Sky worked out yet how they are going to upgrade communal systems? Presumably this needs a multiswitch upgrade at least - does it maintain backwards compatibility?
Or do the Q boxes just fall back to regular two-feed operation if they are connected to a 'normal' feed? Most management companies who handle the maintenance of communal TV systems don't have a clue what they are doing or how to spot a cowboy so I can see this technology staying out of apartments for a while.
Or do the Q boxes just fall back to regular two-feed operation if they are connected to a 'normal' feed? Most management companies who handle the maintenance of communal TV systems don't have a clue what they are doing or how to spot a cowboy so I can see this technology staying out of apartments for a while.
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Basically if you were to sign up to a Sky Q package, then yes you would have just the 2TB drive in the Sky Q Silver box.
Do remember though that whilst the storage has reduced, you no longer need to record everything on all the boxes. You can just store it on the one.
Of course this doesn't help in all cases as some people will have their STBs filled with Friends or Peppa Pig. Perhaps both.
Yes Sky have now made public what is required for communal dishes.
Basically since earlier this year any installations that they have been active with the LNBs have apparently already been installed and no further work will be required.
For anyone else they can now get their LNBs upgraded so that when Sky Q is launched their residents will be able to get Sky Q without any issues.
If the upgrades aren't completed, then in some cases Sky can come in perform the required work 'on demand'.
There may be surveys required. In some cases the upgrade work can be FOC. In other cases there might be charges to pay.
It's perfect IMHO...
I don't want recordings on different boxes around the house. I want a seemless (central) source, which, no matter where I've pressed record in the house, I can access from anywhere/everywhere else in the house.
We have 1 TB drive and mainly record HD sources and IMHO that's a fair lump of space. If that was doubled (to 2TB) I'd be more than happy with that.
IMHO SkyQ is the logical approach for many households, unless you have distinctly different users, so you what separate boxes. (ie: A kids box in the playroom, and a parents in the lounge).
You may well be happy but for a central storage 1-2tb is a complete joke Sly are like MS with XBone they will bring out another one which is larger storage and few other tweaks so they can charge people again and always behind in tech world.
I think people have forgotten one really important thing these devices will all be wireless this could be a nightmare.
Well I can only comment for myself, where my existing 1TB limit works fine. I typically sit at aound 15-25% free. If I had more space, I'd just be building up more stuff I'll never watch and be delaing the inevitable clear up
So given a bit of 4K recording, for me at least, 2TB would be fine.
You never know, maybe they'll let you plug in a passport USB drive and use that too as additional space (like the XBox)? But I suspect not personally.
They're homeplug I believe. All built in... With a possible option of wireless as a fallback?
I believe the Sky Q boxes have ethernet connectors too, so it may well be if you have a lan in the rooms, they can make use of that superior network too?
Associate
What are you on about?
Having seen the new boxes from the outside, sorry I wasn't able to dismantle one at the press release or on a visit to Sky last week, I can definitely say that the drive inside is NOT a 3.5" hard drive. This means that it has to be a 2.5" hard drive.
In June 2015 it was announced that the first 4TB drive had been developed. My guess is that this will cost a fortune initially.
I have no idea what file system Sky are using with the new STBs, so I am not in a position to confirm that it would be able to address a drive larger than 2TB. Perhaps you already know this? Ok my bad, yes they can develop things further and yes I would hope this is the case.
It takes time to design and build a product like this. Sky started around 2-3 years ago to really to develop these new products.
So for the present time Sky are limited to using a 2TB drive purely because when the products were first manufactured for the initial phase, there were no drives with a capacity greater than 2TB.
Yes the design is such that they can, and hopefully will, expand things and improve the storage capacity along with many other features.
Will they charge more for this? The cynic is me says you are right and that this will be the case. Didn't they improve things from the first Sky+ HD STB? Wasn't that an improvement above the Sky+ STBs?
Things change. Things improve. So far Sky hasn't stood still and said that what they have can't be beaten. The new Sky Q range has been designed with the ability to develop things further in the future.
Perhaps in 5 years they'll launch an 8K UHD version.
Well I can only comment for myself, where my existing 1TB limit works fine. I typically sit at aound 15-25% free. If I had more space, I'd just be building up more stuff I'll never watch and be delaing the inevitable clear up
So given a bit of 4K recording, for me at least, 2TB would be fine.
You never know, maybe they'll let you plug in a passport USB drive and use that too as additional space (like the XBox)? But I suspect not personally.
They're homeplug I believe. All built in... With a possible option of wireless as a fallback?
I believe the Sky Q boxes have ethernet connectors too, so it may well be if you have a lan in the rooms, they can make use of that superior network too?
This highlights how you, and many others, actually use their Sky TV box. Not everyone keeps lots of TV Series and/or films on their STBs and many will clear out content that is no longer needed.
Yes it is entirely possible that Sky could develop an external drive system. I doubt that they would let us use out own but I do live in the hope that one day they will do so.
There are 2 USB ports on the Sky Q and Sky Q Silver boxes and one on the Sky Q Mini. They might be reserved for future development, but for the present time we can but speculate.
BTW: The 1TB DRX895 actually has a 1.5TB hard drive, with 1TB available for your recordings. The 2TB DRX895 has a 2TB hard drive, with 1.7TB available for the customer's recordings.
The Sky Q box has a 1TB drive with around 0.7TB available for the customer's recordings. The Sky Q Silver has 1.7TB available on it's 2TB drive.
If you intend to watch 4K TV then I would not recommend going for the Sky Q box as that will only work with up to HD broadcasts.
Huh? Did you mean to say that? Doesn't quite sound correct?