Why Sky - why oh why?

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171 posts

Master Geek
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#42359 2-Oct-2009 17:23

Can anyone suggest why SkyTV have such bad customer communication?

They continue to make very significant and important changes to the MySkyHDi platform via firmware upgrades but they never tell anyone. Some of the changes are good, some are not so good from the customers' point of view but even so WE DESERVE TO BE INFORMED.

Some of the recent MySkyHDi changes are:
o the intoduction of Dolby digital 5.1 sound on HD channels,

o new energy efficiency settings,

o Macrovision copyright protection (so we can no longer shift stuff onto DVD).

There are probably many others too!

Tell us Sky, don't you think customers of your premiere service deserve to be told what changes you are making? Maybe you just think your customers are a bunch of imbeciles who don't deserve any consideration.

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Uber Geek
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#260643 2-Oct-2009 17:28

if you ask them questions, they are amongst the best in getting back to you with a proper answer (though I have had generic fob offs now and then).

But yeah, they don't put out notifications for firmware updates. A shame for people like us.

Sky Sport 1 and 2 have been in Dolby Digital from day 1 (where available)

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171 posts

Master Geek
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#260652 2-Oct-2009 17:59

As far as I can discover, Sky Sport 1 and 2 are only in Dolby Digital 2.0 or 2.1.

Dingbatt

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#260708 2-Oct-2009 22:27

login: Can anyone suggest why SkyTV have such bad customer communication?

They continue to make very significant and important changes to the MySkyHDi platform via firmware upgrades but they never tell anyone. Some of the changes are good, some are not so good from the customers' point of view but even so WE DESERVE TO BE INFORMED.

Some of the recent MySkyHDi changes are:
o    the intoduction of Dolby digital 5.1 sound on HD channels,
o    new energy efficiency settings,
o    Macrovision copyright protection (so we can no longer shift stuff onto DVD).

There are probably many others too!

Tell us Sky, don't you think customers of your premiere service deserve to be told what changes you are making? Maybe you just think your customers are a bunch of imbeciles who don't deserve any consideration.

I assume you mean that MySkyHDi will now pass DD5.1 via hdmi as well as optical/coax. Guess I no longer need the extra cable to the amp but it may affect some other functions so it would have been nice to have been told.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

allstarnz

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#260721 2-Oct-2009 23:29

login: As far as I can discover, Sky Sport 1 and 2 are only in Dolby Digital 2.0 or 2.1.

if you rig your receiver up properly, you should get proper 5.1 sound for most HD Air NZ Cup games. Tonights battle of the Bays on SS1 was in 5.1

singingbird

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Geek

#260739 3-Oct-2009 08:11

I wonder (don't know for sure), if this update also included all the TP's for Optus D3.

DS9

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Ultimate Geek
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#260752 3-Oct-2009 09:56

I would think not yet as Sky still has a TP free on D1 to use yet and still no sign of extra channels

I aim to misbehave.

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171 posts

Master Geek
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#260761 3-Oct-2009 10:47

I assume you mean that MySkyHDi will now pass DD5.1 via hdmi as well as optical/coax.

Yes, absolutely. Sorry not to have been clearer. There was no ability to edit my message after I had posted it.

clevedon

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#260808 3-Oct-2009 13:51

login: As far as I can discover, Sky Sport 1 and 2 are only in Dolby Digital 2.0 or 2.1.

No, all the All Blacks home games this year have been Dolby 5.1 ( via optical ) don't know about other events as we usually just watch Rugby on the Sports channels.

scorpiworld

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Master Geek
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#260811 3-Oct-2009 14:19

Surely SkyTV employee's / PR rep's read these post's like every other company out there does in their forums.

I know Sony update their blog to let us know when new PS3 firmware is coming, sometime is a one-liner and no info on what's included but at least were told!

I wish SkyTV would interact better with their technical customers without having to hide behind that 1990's Q&A section.

Dingbatt

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#264480 17-Oct-2009 09:20

login: Can anyone suggest why SkyTV have such bad customer communication?

They continue............

Some of the recent MySkyHDi changes are:
o    the intoduction of Dolby digital 5.1 sound on HD channels,
o    new energy efficiency settings,
o    Macrovision copyright protection (so we can no longer shift stuff onto DVD).

There are probably many others too!

Tell us Sky, don't you think customers of your premiere service deserve to be told what changes you are making? Maybe you just think your customers are a bunch of imbeciles who don't deserve any consideration.

Anybody worked out what the energy efficiency settings actually do? Be good if they spun down the HDD so the unit doesn't get so hot (my STB doesn't have the vent holes in the top like later ones do). What's the good of low, medium or high settings without guidance as to what they do....

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

hairy1

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#264484 17-Oct-2009 09:29

Here is the definitive answer from Sky on exactly how the power saving functions work. Sorry about the format it was formatted that way in the email.

Eg: if The energy saving level is set to medium, then the STB will go in Energy saving mode between 11pm and 6pm if the STB has been inactive for a period of 90 minutes.

Energy Saving Level
Can go into Standby mode
Inactive period

OFF

OFF (never)
N/A

Low

11pm-5am &

10am-5pm
90 minutes

Medium

11pm-6pm
120 minutes

High

ON (always)
180 minutes

The EPG will display a message indicating that ?To save energy My Sky HDi will go into standby mode in: 60 Seconds?

Also, the following table outlines some specific conditions where GPM standby request will or will not be executed.

EPG State
EPG activate Standby

Live Pause
No

Playing Back an Event from Planner (Any Speed)
No

Playing out a Play list from the planner
No

End of Playback / Start of Playback Screens
Yes

Pause in Playback
Yes

EPG screens that don?t time out (Bookmark, Recording Clash, Pin Screen during Playback & Some Setup Screens)
Yes

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Dingbatt

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#264488 17-Oct-2009 09:41

Thanks Hairy1
Pity they didn't see fit to put this on their website somewhere. Maybe a tab under MySkyHDi with latest firmware information the same way the Sony do for the PS3 and PSP....

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

hairy1

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#264491 17-Oct-2009 09:53

Yep. I think the whole mysky Hdi marketing needs to be looked at. The Hdi customers are the high value customers and it would be great to have a monthly newsletter or similar letting us know what is/going to be on offer. A few months back they sent out a survey asking what features the Hdi customers would like to see but since then, nothing. The survey had a whole lot of great stuff outlined. The "I" in Hdi stands for internet but I still can't hook up the ethernet to my router and can't buy on demand because we have VOIP.

That said, it is a great platform and works well. The odd hiccup but we love it.

Cheers, Matt.

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Dingbatt

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#264496 17-Oct-2009 10:19

So all the power saving does is put the unit into standby? A macro on my universal remote does that when I've finished watching! Real power savings would have been to power down the HDD after a period of inactivity. I would be willing to forego the ability for instant rewind to have this facility. The HDD spin down is exactly how my Panasonic DVD/HDD operates (and most PCs have the same facility).

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

hairy1

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#264497 17-Oct-2009 10:21

I am pretty sure the hard drive powers down. The first thing that I hear when turning the power back on is the hard drive spinning back up.

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