Sky Digital - decent picture on a LCD TV?

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gpnz

58 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 45274 31-Oct-2009 20:46
Hi All, Dont have sky myself, but my father in law has sky digital. Just recently he upgraded his telly to a 32" LCD from his old CRT - somewhat predictably the picture quality is quite a bit worse now (the decoder is connected to the TV via the RF antenna connector). I rang Sky tonight to see if there were some options for swapping the decoder out for one with a bit more sensible connectors for the digital age (the exisiting one seems to only have the RF and a SCART connector) and was told happily that of course I could - for $50 up front and $15 a month ongoing.... what the.... is this for real? He doesnt want HD, just digital SD.... he's quite happy with the package he's on now. Is this really my only option for a getting a decent picture on a modern TV? If so, its pretty average from sky in my opinion. Cheers,

959 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 268881 31-Oct-2009 20:57
SCART is all you need, take the choice of SCART to composite, SCART to svideo, SCART to RGB, SCART to component or even SCART to SCART. All give better images than RF but Sky is of course substandard because of the low bitrates. Ross ADSL2+ sync (Kbps): 11577/945, attenuation (dB): 33.0/16.9, Noise margin (dB): 11.5/11.5

16723 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Subscriber

Reply # 268906 31-Oct-2009 22:48
The decoders all have SCART connectors because as pointed out in the last post the SCART connector contains many different connections. Depending on the decoder model it may support SCART->component which is the best signal you will get from a Sky SD decoder and you can pick up a cable reasonably cheaply or contact Sky who may supply you with one for free. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

58 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 268957 1-Nov-2009 09:55
Thanks Guys. I'll go find a SCART to something cable then (better check the TV first!). I'm not going to waste my time talking to Sky again - thier answer was for him to pay them the $50 for the decoder upgrade and then $15 month ongoing. I cant be bothered talking to thier drones again. Cheers fellas.

16723 posts

Uber Geek

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Trusted

Biddle Corp

Subscriber

Reply # 268961 1-Nov-2009 10:12
What type of decoder does he have? There is no use getting a SCART->component if it's a box that doesn't have component output. If it doesn't you will be best to get a SCART->svideo cable/adapter. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

131 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 268982 1-Nov-2009 12:13
sbiddle: What type of decoder does he have? There is no use getting a SCART->component if it's a box that doesn't have component output. If it doesn't you will be best to get a SCART->svideo cable/adapter. Yes, I agree S-Video would likely deliver the best value for money upgrade if the existing decoder does not have component output option, provided the decoder has a S-Video output option of course - most do. Browse through the configuration options in the decoder's setup menus or, better still, read the provided (?) decoder user manual to see what your options are. Remember that S-Video has no audio output, only video. So you will need an RCA cables for sound (red and white connectors). You will nedd to buy an S-Video cable too from somewhere like Dick Smiths.