Any good?
 

NTL doesn't do seperate TV - I would have to sign up to phone and lower my broadband speed. My aerial is duff - poor picture, with ghosting. I've been looking at Sky+ as a means of getting a decent picture, plus a few extra channels, and (I think) it lets me record TV programmes, which is handy. I was at my manager's house and saw her Sky+, hence my investigating what it was. Is it any good though, or is it a bit naff :erm:

Re: Any good?
 

Depending on what packages you want Sky+ is good value for money. The + box works well (most of the time) and the ability to record as and when you want is a real bonus. Rewinding the current channel to see if you missed anything is cool for those moments when the phone rings while you are trying to watch something and the red button works more than it doesn't.

Re: Any good?
 

The Sky picture for me is better also than VMs .

Re: Any good?
 

Plus you can record two channels at the same time (have to watch one) and series link anything you want to automatically record every time a new episode is on.

Re: Any good?
 

Sounds alright then - thanks for the replies :)

My boss mentioned broadband, but I prefer the devil I know - or is Sky much better??

Re: Any good?
 

Sky+ installed - about 5 minutes ago :D Bit of a panic when the drill bit was left stuck in the wall, but the engineer managed to free it by drilling around it. Just a 2p sized hole. Otherwise a smooth install. Oh and it took a few attempts to phone home, which brings me to my question - why does it need a phone line?? Is it a £1 a minute number it's phoning??

Re: Any good?
 

It needs it for buying movies, sports, accessing the online stuff etc.

Re: Any good?
 

Some of the interactive stuff requires a phone line - some of it is premium rate, but for this you are given a prompt that you have to comfirm before it dials.

Re: Any good?
 

Glad you had a good install.

Re: Any good?
 

Me too :) I missed them on Friday - was supposed to be 08:00-13:00 but they turned up at 13:41. I phoned at 13:00 and said I had to leave. Woman got a bit arsey with me. Apparently, there is no guarantee that they will turn up as requested - i.e. morning or afternoon. I wonder what the point was in offering then - may as well just say, "All day". Anyway, he arrived at 08:30 this morning. Job done pretty quickly. Only slight issue is the phone wire - it stretches across the front of the radiator, so I'll have to replace it. Black too - hardly blends in with Landlord Magnolia.

Soooo - to summarise, it phones home for various reasons, and if it's going to be pricey, it should let me know? If I get a large phone bill, I'm unplugging it.

Re: Any good?
 

The initial hits which give your smartcard its entitlements to the channels you selected are initiated by the installer and are sent over the phone line. A free call!
All subsequent entitlements are sent over air.
The phoneline from then on is only required for the interactive stuff (you pay for) and for the callbacks (free calls) to report any movie purchases etc.

Re: Any good?
 

Thanks all for the comments :)

One slightly odd thing I've just realised, is that the wire from the dish just goes straight through the wall and into the back of the box. What happens during a storm? :erm: Bit dodgy really.

Re: Any good?
 

In what way dodgy? How many dishes do you know about which have been struck by lightning?
The rooftop antennas on peoples roofs go direct into the TV's, and those antenna are usually higher up in the air.

Re: Any good?
 

Nothing - I'd thing there are much more interesting things for the lightning to strike. :)

As for the phone line - if you only have the one box then you can safely unplug it and just plug it in to buy movies.

I hope you enjoy your new box. I love mine - I think it's the most used bit of kit in my house (in fact we have 2!!) :spin:

Re: Any good?
 

This is me we're talking about here - no ordinary human being. If it's never, in the history of humanity, happened before, it'll no doubt happen to me :D

I've had a look for a longer phone wire for it, but they only seem to be short, so I've bought a line box and 5m of cable - will wire up an extension to the wall at the back of the TV, then plug in the wire there. Nice and neat :)

Shaun - yeah. I think I'll make use of it. I do like how simple it is - some thought and design gone into that. The record feature will be a life saver - can watch all my favourite shows now. I've been missing them due to my working 14:00-22:00 :(