a few sky questions

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merve0o0

492 posts

Ultimate Geek

#71772 16-Nov-2010 22:39

Hi i have a few questions regarding sky and removing packages and HD

I am thinking about getting sky next year to watch the F1 live so i dont get told the result before i have been able to download and watch it.

my question is can i have the sky sport package during the season and then stop it for the 16 od months during the off season?

also is the HD ticket only needed for the sport and movies, are the regular pack channels already HD? if so not much point as F1 is not recorded in HD as yet Bernie Ecclestone does not see the need.

also been thinking about getting a VU+ DUO are these compatible with sky cards, can you get a card from sky only? i.e not get a decoder from them and pay less

kingjj

1728 posts

Uber Geek

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#405619 16-Nov-2010 23:38

merve0o0: Hi i have a few questions regarding sky and removing packages and HD

I am thinking about getting sky next year to watch the F1 live so i dont get told the result before i have been able to download and watch it.

my question is can i have the sky sport package during the season and then stop it for the 16 od months during the off season?

You can add and remove packages as you see fit. Although you will need a channel for a minimum of a month. You can re-add them later on. You have to keep the basic package for the whole time though.

also is the HD ticket only needed for the sport and movies, are the regular pack channels already HD? if so not much point as F1 is not recorded in HD as yet Bernie Ecclestone does not see the need.

TV1, 2 and 3 are all HD without the HD ticket. Only Sky Sports and Sky Movies are HD with the ticket. None of the other channels are HD yet.

also been thinking about getting a VU+ DUO are these compatible with sky cards, can you get a card from sky only? i.e not get a decoder from them and pay less

No, you must have their decoder and their install to receive Sky services. If you take the card out and use it for other purposes thats your business, but if you damage it or lose it you will have to pay for a replacement/risk losing your services.

Niel

3267 posts

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Trusted

#405650 17-Nov-2010 06:17

TV1/2/3 are HD if you have an HT STB, so it will be "active" with your card but you will see in HD only if you have a MySky HDi box or Vu+ DUO or similar.

Can't get Sky without getting their STB installed. Don't mention anything about HTPC of Vu+ DUO, it is not allowed.

There are at least 2 SD Sky cards, the old gold (?) one and the new blue one. Only the blue one works in non-Sky boxes. Apparently lately they are dishing out old cards again as they discovered people are using non-Sky boxes. I do not know how you insist on a blue one.

The biggest risk with a non-Sky box is that at any time Sky can replace everyone's cards with a different one which is not yet usable in a non-Sky STB until lots of work is done by "competent software engineers" which is unlikely for a small market like NZ. So you can end up with no Sky on your Vu+ DUO. However I can't see that happening in NZ as it will cost probably around $2 per house (incl. postage etc.) so with 50% of the population on Sky it will cost them in the region of a million Dollars plus.

The Vu+ has a CAM slots and there is a CAM available in NZ. I do not know the details, and do not want to find out, but it is said to solve all your worries and more (as long as you have a blue card).

You can never have enough Volvos!

merve0o0

492 posts

Ultimate Geek

#405673 17-Nov-2010 08:01

Ok thanks for the info. Looks likengetting the. Vu+ may not be practical. Only thought of getting one of those as it's the same price but the vu seems more useful for other things.

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#405749 17-Nov-2010 10:06

You don't have to get the basic package all the time, they have an option they call "digital downgrade" that is just the free to air channels and is cheaper than the basic package (but not free). They won't always tell you about this option though :)

merve0o0

492 posts

Ultimate Geek

#405750 17-Nov-2010 10:08

Yea I'm in Nelson so not freeview hd in the near future so that is an advantage