I was one of the first MySky customers and there were teething problems but I must say I am very happy with its performance overall... and agree with JohnPorter that it is successful 99% of the time....
I follow the MySKy threads here and note the problems but I never seem to experience them....
I did have the problem mentioned by OrangeDrink that it seems to lose a booking if the program name changes but I have only experienced this for European Rugby whereby early in the week the progams are called "Heineken Cup Rugby" but change about Thurs/Fri to "Team1 v Team2" as Sky finds out the schedule of games - this is a wee niggle but I know now just to book games on the Friday....
I know there are complaints about the box here regularly but I suppose there is little incentive for satisfied customers to post..... here's one!
true it's mainly on the Rugby, that's just an awful lot of what I record! I got it on the Northern Hemisphere Autumn Internationals too as well as Heineken Cup and some Super 14 matches as well. There's times of the year I don't have time to check my Planner every day to check it's got everything in there (but as stated sometimes even when everything's in there it fails to record a show anyway...) and frankly I shouldn't have to. It's poor software. Really poor software. Changing a programme's name shouldn't lose the scheduled recording of it. Any programmer with half a clue would've built the database so the shows were keyed on an ID that doesn't change regardless of how many times the show title does. This is the thing with MySky the software needs a total rewrite from the ground up. That hardware is capable of so much more and yet it can't even measure up to a 10 year old system. Really shows the contempt Sky have for their customers.
I've asked them numerous times by phone and by online support about their software and on the phone I get a clueless response, online they just close my complaints without even answering them.
The MySky box seems to get extremely hot ,even with open ventilation at the top, and I wonder if that's the cause of some of the hardware problems.
Here's an example of what I see as a software/system fault though:
I found that MySky was missing the end of many shows, irritating when it's a whodunnit! This was not confined to non-sky channels either and recording would start sometimes up to 10 mins before the start of a show even when the show started at the correct time.
No problems, just set the record extend in the set-up menu to 10 mins. Goodbye 10-20% of hard drive space though.
Unfortunately, if you have recorded the next show on that channel then record extend doesn't work, even if no other channels/shows are being recorded so it's not for the lack of bandwidth.
You have to hope that the next show has the end of the current one on it which sometimes it doesn't or you may have deleted it. Also no good if you wanted to archive the recording.
Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say it is bad software. It works pretty all the time for me (and seemingly JohnPorter) and a few others I know. The only glitch that remains (for me) is what we can call the European Rugby Bug and that is in a minority area with a straightforward workaround.... I suppose I should report it but to me it is not worth the time....
I would recommend insisiting Sky give you a a new box - it is WAS bad software, we would all experience the problems you have.....
The bad software quote was aimed more at having software poorly designed in the first place. MySky's software does not take much advantage of the hardware it's attached to. Comparing to even a Series 1 Tivo (the design for which is almost 10 years old) here's some of the things TiVo's capable of which MySky is not:
Stores up to 3 weeks EPG data EPG is searchable Shows stored by unique ID so name changes don't affect recordings Shows are keyworded which enables you to: Create wishlists based on genre, actor, director, etc so say you love Ronnie Barker you can automatically have it record Open All Hours, 2 Ronnies and Porridge without setting up a specific Series Link. It learns your preferences. Again based around keywords, for example back in the UK I had Season Passes for Boston Legal, Law & Order and the like. Tivo started recording The Practice as a suggestion when there was nothing else scheduled. Each Season Pass or Wishlist or individual recording can have separate settings for quality, additional start time and end time.
TiVo's hardware is nowhere near as good as MySky's but TiVo's software is so much better thought out and implemented it makes the most of the essentially fairly limited hardware. That's why I say MySky has bad software. With Tivo the hardware is the limiting factor. With MySky the software clearly is. The functionality is severely lacking on MySky.
stuzzo: I found that MySky was missing the end of many shows, irritating when it's a whodunnit! This was not confined to non-sky channels either and recording would start sometimes up to 10 mins before the start of a show even when the show started at the correct time.
No problems, just set the record extend in the set-up menu to 10 mins. Goodbye 10-20% of hard drive space though.
Unfortunately, if you have recorded the next show on that channel then record extend doesn't work, even if no other channels/shows are being recorded so it's not for the lack of bandwidth.
Tis true that a lot of space is taken up with the before and after buffers, especially if you record a lot of half-hour programs like I do. I do wish some of the features of my HDD recorder were available, eg selectable compression settings, editing the crap off the end, archive to dvd etc.
Unfortunately MySky (and Tivo) have to rely on the program schedule - they don't know when it actually starts. So if the program is shown at a time different from that shown in the EPG, the recording will be wrong.
Never had a problem with the buffers being lost for consecutive programs though, unless there was something else using the other tuner. Note that this could be another recording, or someone viewing another channel. Note also that it will think you are "viewing" another channel if you don't turn the thing off. If you leave it on, it will think you are still watching it. It can't realise your tv is turned off. I always put mine on standby when I'm not watching something. Saves heat buildup if nothing else.
I certainly agree with OrangeDrink that the software could use some improvements, both in terms of new features and robustness. I have a huge list of features I would like to see! But this post, as I understand it, is about MySky vs the alternatives currently available in NZ that don't require a rocket scientist to operate.
Limerick: Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say it is bad software. It works pretty all the time for me (and seemingly JohnPorter) and a few others I know. The only glitch that remains (for me) is what we can call the European Rugby Bug and that is in a minority area with a straightforward workaround.... I suppose I should report it but to me it is not worth the time....
I would recommend insisiting Sky give you a a new box - it is WAS bad software, we would all experience the problems you have.....
I rather suspect it is mainly due to the programs you record. Someone south of Taupo who only records TVNZ and live sporting events, and tends to watch something else while recordings are in progress (or not leave it in standby), will have a poor view up till now. (Hopefully the TVNZ situation will improve now.) Someone who mainly records other channels, and never watches live shows (like me) will have a much higher opinion.
Also, it helps to assume it will screw up from time to time and babysit it carefully. Doesn't catch everything, but I have noticed and fixed a few problems in time by doing so.
As far as I am concerned, MySky is a fantastic product. I have been using it for nearly a year now, and have had no real problems at all. For a while the series link wasn't working, but that has sorted itself out now. Occasionally the end of a program will be missed, but I think that is only when I have two programs set to record immediately afterwards.
As Limerick said, the masses for whom Mysky is working for have no reason to post, so you will normally only hear complaints.
joker: As Limerick said, the masses for whom Mysky is working for have no reason to post, so you will normally only hear complaints.
That is obvious, and true of any consumer product. However, if you look through even this site forum the complaints about MySky are staggering. My new MySky unit operates fine ,touch wood.
I stand by what I said about the software being below par though.
i have to put my hat in the great camp. I have had very few problems with recordings over the last year.Any problems are mainly due to the poor scheduling of tv2 and 3 that seem completley inept at keeping to a schedule btween 7.30 and 11.30 at night. They seem to try to squeeze as many ads no matter what the length of the programme, however the great thing about mysky is that i can timeslip and play catchup after the kid has gone to bed with out enduring endless promos and ads. we missed much more programmes back in the video age.
The WAF factor for the box is also great. Even my daughter loves it as it can instantly produce the wiggles when required.
Finally the cost- although it is on the high side when compared to new recorders this time last year it was much cheaper than hd recorders i looked at and wouldn't have the epg recording the the mysky has. Although i might never own it, if it breaks i can go to sky and get it repaired or replaced, owning a pvr would have a very small capital value in a couple of years as specs increase and costs come down.
MySky is quite possibly the best $600 I've ever spent. Being able to watch pause the cricket, watch Ugly Betty, then come back to it after the show's over?
Hey everyone thanks for the feedback and robust, yet civil discussion going on. I'm still waiting on the call from Next on what the damage will be for the repair on my E100H. Could be something as simple as a dirty laser. Worth the $45 'look see' rate from Next anyway.
I'm sure a lot of other lurkers will find this thread useful in their decision to go My Sky or not. I'm trying to hold out for Freeview to see what local suppliers offer up as PVR's or even to see if we get offered DVD/HDD recorders with digital tuners. But AFAIK no-one has put a start date on Freeview or what will be offered on launch.
Will Sky have access to the Freeview EPG? maybe that will firm up the My Sky booking for FTA? Will a Freeview EPG allow MCE PC's access to the EPG? Just get a replacement and flick it off once things have settled down?
I'll let you know what the damage is on the repair.
yeah thanks for all the people offering positive opinions on MySky, I'm going to ask for a replacement box, seems like there's plenty that work as advertised. Just hadn't realised there were that many people with no problems! As noted, people are more likely to post criticisms and problems than positives. I'm still going to go with Tivo allied to MySky though for the better functionality. I shall let you know how the Tivo running goes. Have to force myself to get to it this weekend...
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