Sky

Soldato
Joined
24 Aug 2006
Posts
6,241
I have Sky digital.

Would like to be able to record programmes.

Can't I just buy a Sky+ box, plug it into my dish and wack my card in?
 
kibblerok said:
:confused:

You can, but you will need to make a quick call to sky and get the box remarried and the plus features activated. Takes 5 mins once you manage to actually get through to them.

Be aware that in order to use both tuners on the sky+ box it needs 2 feeds. May seem obvious but youd be suprised at how many people seem to think it can magic the second signal from nowhere.
 
Jez said:
:confused:

You can, but you will need to make a quick call to sky and get the box remarried and the plus features activated. Takes 5 mins once you manage to actually get through to them.

ill have an increased subscription though right?
 
neocon said:
ill have an increased subscription though right?

IIRC they have scrapped the subscription from Sky+. Ask them for a refurb box on the phone, sometimes they'll give them for free, or £49 - depends how nice you are :D
 
Jez said:
Be aware that in order to use both tuners on the sky+ box it needs 2 feeds. May seem obvious but youd be suprised at how many people seem to think it can magic the second signal from nowhere.

I never really got why it needs two feeds for the second tuner...using a normal roof aerial you can split a terrestrial signal to two tuners (internally in a box if need be), you don't need another aerial if you want to run two freeview boxes, but you need two LNBs for Sky :confused: Guess it's just the way the whole satellite system works.
 
Sorry to hijack the thread but can someone give me some advice in regards to upgrading to Sky + please.

If I were to buy the box below for example:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SKY-PLUS-DIGI...ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

1) Do I need any extra cables? (bearing in mind I have the existing cable coming from my minidish to my Sky box)

2) Do I need anything extra other than a dual LNB?

3) Will this spec of box work with Sky Anytime?
 
Phil99 said:
I never really got why it needs two feeds for the second tuner...using a normal roof aerial you can split a terrestrial signal to two tuners (internally in a box if need be), you don't need another aerial if you want to run two freeview boxes, but you need two LNBs for Sky :confused: Guess it's just the way the whole satellite system works.

Satellite has both H and V polarities. If one channel is on the H polarity, then you cannot access the V polarity so you need a dual LNB... or that's how I understand it. I maybe miles off the mark.
 
weringo said:
3) Will this spec of box work with Sky Anytime?

Don't think so. That looks like a pvr2 to me (A pace one by the looks of it). It's a good box - quiet and reliable, but can't get sky anytime. That said, sky anytime is pretty crap anyway - it's basically akin to putting on a blindfold and setting stuff to record at random overnight. If I could choose not to have it I probably would (I know you can turn it off, but that doesn't free up the hard drive space sky anytime takes up).
 
Kol said:
H and V polarities.... or that's how I understand it.[/thQUOTE]

Pretty much bang on the mark. I was told by the bloke who fitted my sky are looking at a "1 wire" solution but its still under early trials.
 
Phil99 said:
I never really got why it needs two feeds for the second tuner...using a normal roof aerial you can split a terrestrial signal to two tuners (internally in a box if need be), you don't need another aerial if you want to run two freeview boxes, but you need two LNBs for Sky :confused: Guess it's just the way the whole satellite system works.

The LNB has 4 states, 4 "bands" if you like which it has to flick between, and is controlled by the tuner in the box. You CAN split a single satellite feed but only channels on the band which the LNB is tuned to will work. The easy workaround is to have 2 separate LNB's controlled independantly (usually built into a single "dual" LNB, which is just 2 LNB's built in the same package), so the tuners can access any frequencies across all 4 bands as they wish. :) Also remember that simply splitting the cable would overpower the LNB as it is powered by a current sent up the coax from the receiver, so a special splitter is needed which doesnt duplicate the power feed and will designate one tuner the master, thus only sending commands to the LNB from that one. The slave tuner only gets access to the band the main one happens to be on.
 
weringo said:
Sorry to hijack the thread but can someone give me some advice in regards to upgrading to Sky + please.

If I were to buy the box below for example:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SKY-PLUS-DIGI...ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

1) Do I need any extra cables? (bearing in mind I have the existing cable coming from my minidish to my Sky box)

2) Do I need anything extra other than a dual LNB?

3) Will this spec of box work with Sky Anytime?

Thats an old PVR2, it has a 40GB disk in it, allowing just 20 hours recording time, and will not work with any time. OK boxes but quite old now, might as well at least get a 160GB/40 hour PVR3 with anytime.
 
The GF and I are due to move into our house within a couple of months.

I'm looking at the Sky package of TV, Talk and Broadband. On talk there is "BT line rental remains payable" do we pay BT something each month then?

Thanks
 
Line rental £10 a month to BT.
Also they will stick you for connection unless there is a live line when you move in as well. That cost me around £100 i think.
 
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