How Bad is My Sky? Alternatives?

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Super8

73 posts

Master Geek

#11674 6-Feb-2007 08:15

My Panasonic E100H no longer reads DVD's and I get a constant 'No Disc' message. This is regardless if the DVD is brand new or a rental. Now at Next to get a cost on getting it fixed. I'm betting a replacement laser or DVD carriage is not going to be cheap, which could put me in the vicinity of half the cost of a new unit. Not a complete loss as I can keep the E100H as a HDD recorder only option for the bedroom.

This has caused me to look at my complete set up.

Sky Decoder
Panasonic E100H
Xbox with XBMC (Divx streaming and mp3 jukebox)

I'm keen on the My Sky box and a DVD Recorder but the various reports of iMy Sky's failings do put me off. Is this just a vocal minority?

Will Freeview put any pressure on My Sky pricing? Based on Aussie pricing Freeview PVR's look $1K+

Should I just go HTPC/MCE? but once again picture quality can be hard to get right (I can go DVI into LCD TV) and want to keep it family friendly. But then I'd want to wait to Freeview hits and install a Digital tuner card.

For work purposes I need to record to DVD and I need a clean TV One feed which I can't get without Sky. And I do prefer the non-advertising on the Kids channels (other than the program itself being an advertisement for its retail offerings)

Too many options and they all seem to have there downside.

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187 posts

Master Geek

#59839 6-Feb-2007 09:42

Here's a clue - I also have a E100H and MySky. The E100H mostly just sits there gathering dust, and the occasional program for archiving off to dvd. MySky is just SO easy to use and family friendly, there's no comparison with a vcr or hdd recorder. Sure, it takes a little babysitting from time to time, and it would be better if it didn't screw up from time to time, but it is still a LOT easier than doing the same thing with anything that doesn't have an integrated EPG, eg my E100H or vcr.

If I were you, I'd seriously consider another hdd/dvd recorder - they are more user-friendly now, and the price has come down a lot since we bought ours! The hdd is very handy for editing, which is more difficult going straight to dvd. Wouldn't be much difference in price I would have thought between dvd recorder only and entry level hdd/dvd.

Have you tried cleaning the laser head? Not that I know how to do that, but I heard that can be an issue. Also heard that if you leave a disc in, the laser stays on, and the hours build up quickly if you do that on a regular basis.

Samsung

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OrangeDrink

51 posts

Master Geek

#59871 6-Feb-2007 16:19

Well depends on your wants and needs but some people have bought US or UK Series 1 TiVos and imported them over here. Tivo has easily the best functionality of any PVR I've seen, even Series 1's which are getting up for 10 years old these days. Just really really well thought out, pseudo intelligent too. It'll learn what sort of things you like and depending on how you set it up will automatically record suggestions for you. It puts MySky to shame, MySky's one big advantage of course is that it can record 2 things at once (or show 1 record another) which TiVo can't do. However TiVo's networkable with some upgrading and controllable from any computer (depending on security used). There are people who can control their TiVo while they're away on holiday on the other side of the world so as not to miss a show. Over here though that sort of thing takes some technical know how. You can find more info here:

http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view

It's a user reliant community in Australia and New Zealand though but there seem to be lots of knowledgeable types willing to help out on that site's forums. I've gotten myself a TiVo but have yet to set it up...

From what you want to do though it sounds like the HDD/DVD Player might be best for you.

Oh yeah on that site there is a link to NZTivo but from what people tell me it's a bit out of date and you may be better off reading the Forums for NZ and having a look at the posts for newbies, FAQs etc.

Super8

73 posts

Master Geek

#59905 6-Feb-2007 20:37

Have you tried cleaning the laser head? Not that I know how to do that, but I heard that can be an issue. Also heard that if you leave a disc in, the laser stays on, and the hours build up quickly if you do that on a regular basis.

I'm expecting Next to try that first. However I think I have been undone by the Kid's DVD's being left in the machine. If the laser stays on then she's been around the clock a few times! I'll have to note that for the next purchase: 'Laser must turn off after set period of time'

OrangeDrink

51 posts

Master Geek

#59911 6-Feb-2007 21:52

hmmm yeah MySky so reliable... Ugly Betty 8:30pm start time. It's sat there in my planner.... of course it didn't bother to record it though. Piece of crap... people save your $600 this is probably the worst piece of technology I've ever had the displeasure of paying for.

JohnPorter

187 posts

Master Geek

#59914 6-Feb-2007 22:47

OrangeDrink: hmmm yeah MySky so reliable... Ugly Betty 8:30pm start time. It's sat there in my planner.... of course it didn't bother to record it though. Piece of crap... people save your $600 this is probably the worst piece of technology I've ever had the displeasure of paying for.

Did you have it on series link from last week? Did you get the notice that explained why you needed to rebook it?

Thinking back over the year that I've had MySky, I would say it recorded properly 99% of the programs I booked. That's a better success rate than I had with any other recording setup, when you figure the times I got the channel wrong, forgot to set the Sky channel before going to bed, didn't notice the start time changed since last week, etc. Would be nice if it was 100%, of course. Now, if I'd written the software for it...

OrangeDrink

51 posts

Master Geek

#59915 6-Feb-2007 22:55

yep rebooked Sunday when I rebooted, it fixed the alternating field dominance problem too. Well temporarily anyway, it's back again today too. My recording success for Series Links is well below 50%, it just keeps forgetting I have them. This is not the first timeit's had shows in the Planner that it hasn't actually bothered recording either. For programme's I've picked myself it's probably about 90%. Every so often programme names change and it loses the Record command for that show. That seems to happen if I do things like pick Sports events to record early in the week. They'll change the name of the show later in the week and it'll lose the fact that I wanted to record it.

I guess it's down to luck or the way you use it more than anything but it just doesn't work very well for me the way I want to use it. $600 down the drain in my opinion and I'd urge no-one else to take the chance on MySky it's just not worth the risk that you might be one of the lucky few it works for. It's good hardware with amateur night software.

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#59917 6-Feb-2007 23:41

OrangeDrink: ...I'd urge no-one else to take the chance on MySky it's just not worth the risk that you might be one of the lucky few it works for...

Last I heard, Sky had installed over 10,000 MySky boxes.

It would be interesting to do a poll:

==> How many % of those users wish they had never paid their $600 for MySky?

I'm betting it wouldn't be too many or we would have heard lots of horror stories in the media, complaints to Fair Go / Consumer Institute/ Commerce Commission etc, etc.

I guess I've been one of the lucky ones -- we (especially my wife) use MySky for quite a few hours each day and VERY rarely do we have any problems. No doubt there are many other households with success stories like ours and no doubt there are people who aren't satisfied.

But I don't think it's fair to say that we are: "one of the lucky few it works for..." without some statistical evidence to back that up.

My sympathies however to OrangeDrink and others who are not happy. Maybe a new software version is in the works?

stuzzo

534 posts

Ultimate Geek

#59925 7-Feb-2007 00:17

Grant17:
OrangeDrink: ...I'd urge no-one else to take the chance on MySky it's just not worth the risk that you might be one of the lucky few it works for...

Last I heard, Sky had installed over 10,000 MySky boxes.

It would be interesting to do a poll:

==> How many % of those users wish they had never paid their $600 for MySky?

I'm betting it wouldn't be too many or we would have heard lots of horror stories in the media, complaints to Fair Go / Consumer Institute/ Commerce Commission etc, etc.

This can't be far away. Looking through these forums there's an enormous number of complaints. I waited before purchase in the hope that the gremlins would be out of the system but have had nothing but problems and the customer service is less than ideal. With one box replaced I'll be looking for a refund if this one fails. Maybe it's about time for a small claims case or two.

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#59928 7-Feb-2007 01:02

I am considering MySky.... I have an MCE machine with EPG setup but its just not reliable enough (the EPG keeps dying), and the missus gets hacked off when its not working properly. I also have a Panasonic DVD HDD recorder, but again, no EPG, and to watch tv through it, you have to turn the timer off, and then you forget to turn the timer on, and you dont get your recordings... ugh...

I too think that the number of complaints i have seen about MySky is actually relatively small compared to the installed base, and I know that I am a smart enough consumer to be able to obtain a full refund, even after months, with no more than say 2 phone calls and one letter (all polite), should the product /service simply not perform properly as advertised/expected.

JohnPorter

187 posts

Master Geek

#59937 7-Feb-2007 07:42

Sure, there have been a lot of complaints here about MySky - I probably made half of them - but I don't recall anyone saying they asked for their money back. Out of 10,000 installed base, that's a hell of a sucess rate! There have been a lot more complaining bitterly about Sky Digital, and some giving it back. And how many MySky users have stopped using it and gone back to their vcr or hdd/dvd recorder?

People keep talking about Tivo, and I'm sure it's great in the US where it is fully supported, but does anyone have it actually working here? All the comments I've seen are from people who are planning to get it working. And the other "solutions" available here seem to require a computer programmer to operate - not exactly family friendly.

JohnPorter

187 posts

Master Geek

#59938 7-Feb-2007 07:46

JohnPorter: Thinking back over the year that I've had MySky, I would say it recorded properly 99% of the programs I booked.

And thinking back again, almost all the failures I have had were on TVNZ, and were due to their regionalised broadcasts. Since TVNZ has stopped doing regionalised broadasts now, I would expect things to improve substantially on that front.

ascroft

391 posts

Ultimate Geek

#59939 7-Feb-2007 07:46

Slightly off this topic - mine is mostly reliable, however whats with the free space indicator? For example, at the moment mine says 26% free, which seemed strange i.e. too little - when I added up the recorded programmes it came to 37% ie should be 63% free. Probably one of those weird co-incidences, but 2 x 37% = 74% which would mean 26% would add to 100% if you get my drift..... Maybe I am making a copy for the neighbours as well?

common sense is not very common

DS9

325 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#59941 7-Feb-2007 08:18

The reason being that Sky has reserved 30% of disk space ready for the new PPV service which will be Hard drive based. They will be downloading 12 or so movies onto the HDD so no more start times just select and pay and away you go.

I aim to misbehave.

tstone

381 posts

Ultimate Geek

#59944 7-Feb-2007 08:38

Hi, I have had no problems with MySKy. It really is child's play, my 9 year old can record her stuff, my wife her stuff and me my stuff.
Some of the problems noted here I have not experienced (nothing that a reset can't fix anyway).

OrangeDrink

51 posts

Master Geek

#59960 7-Feb-2007 10:15

Well personally I've not asked for my money back because a) I know I wouldn't get it back, I didn't buy the box, I paid to lease it and I've had it a year now. Initially it worked fairly well but it got worse about 6 months ago and has stayed that way since. And b) I'm just gonna use TiVo to control the MySky box and record on the TiVo. That way I'll have the second tuner in the MySky box to maybe record the odd show I don't care much about if there's a clash.

I'm actually surprised to hear so many people have positive things to say about MySky on this thread, my feeling from reading this and other sites was that almost everyone thought it was crap and didn't work as they'd expected and that this was the best we were likely to get from MurdochCorp. There've been virtually no positive posts about MySky here that I've read. I'm now tempted to ask for a new box as mine clearly doesn't work as well as some other people's. On the other hand it is tempting to ask for a refund on the basis that their prelaunch advertising made it look like it was virtually identical to TiVo and that's simply not the case. Compared to TiVo it's functionality and reliability are non existent.

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