Sky+ HD - should I bother upgrading?

[M3RMS]

So.... I'm considering forking out £50 and then £10/month to upgrade from normal Sky+ to HD.

Thing is, I'm not entirely sure it's worth it. I'm quite happy with the quality of the picture I currently get and from what I can gather there aren't that many programmes actually broadcast in HD.

Just thinking it might be nice for the footie.

Anyone got it / recommend it?

Cheers
RS

[Big Al.]

Well worth it IMHO. OH

[Boozy]

Tis good now it's 50 quid, well worth it, especially for the sports.

[peterh2]

Depends on the size of your screen. If it's 32" or less I wouldn't bother. You really need a 50"+ to see the full effect.

[M3RMS]

Yeah mine's a 32".

Might not bother then as I don't plan on getting a bigger tv at any time in the near future.

[Plotloss]

peterh2 said:

Depends on the size of your screen. If it's 32" or less I wouldn't bother. You really need a 50"+ to see the full effect.

That depends on how far you are sat from it.

[JustinP1]

Plotloss said:

peterh2 said:

Depends on the size of your screen. If it's 32" or less I wouldn't bother. You really need a 50"+ to see the full effect.

That depends on how far you are sat from it.

Indeed.

Sit in your normal position to watch the TV, and put your right arm out.














If your hand touches the screen then you need HD.

[LeoSayer]

I watch a 37" panasonic plasma at around 10ft from the screen. The difference between SD and HD is very noticeable indeed.

In the last few days I have watched Collateral (Tom Cruise-assassin) and Scoop (Scarlett Johannsen-swimsuit) both in HD on BBC and Ch4, well worth the upgrade.

[skoff]

inkiboo said:

Even on 32" or less you will notice the difference. It is like night and day, especially when watching sports.

Once you get used to HD, normal TV will just make you angry.

+1

Some SD broadcasts are ok, but most are really shown up by an HD TV. Nature programmes in HD (if that's your thing) are gobsmackingly good. I find myself watching all kinds of stuff, just because it's in HD

[LeoSayer]

skoff said:

I find myself watching all kinds of stuff, just because it's in HD

Even 'Ice Road Truckers'

[hilly10]

I have a 50" panny HD is fantastic if you love Movies,Footy Cricket Rugby worth every penny £1.85 a day I bet you spend more on your coffee at work

[olic]

Had mine installed today, got a 32" the difference is amazing looks almost 3d
the other reason i got it was the "Anytime tv" so you can watch the latest programmes etc didnthave this on my sky+ as it was an older box.
Also the box is better looking!

[Eggle]

I have a 14" black and white mains / battery portable and I can see a vast difference with HD sat 20' from the screen.

Seriously though, it will make a difference. Not everything is recorded HD but the stuff that isn't is unscaled so looks better. I was skeptical, but it does clean the picture up on normal and the HD is well worth it.

[Exigeowner]

Mine was done today, booked on Tuesday and fitted Friday , not bad service. However maybe im easyily pleased with my 40" Samsung normal Sky + picture but I dont see a great deal of difference. I keep switching between two of the same channels to try and gauge quality, I would like sky to have a 50 - 50 split test screen to see the difference.

[Exigeowner]

Does the HD box have a bigger recording memory than Sky + ones ?

[Andyuk911]

Exigeowner said:

Does the HD box have a bigger recording memory than Sky + ones ?

You can easily swap to a larger HD for more storage ..

[allgonepetetong]

Exigeowner said:

with my 40" Samsung normal Sky + picture but I dont see a great deal of difference.

I bet you now wish you had bought a decent telly to watch your high def on.

Exigeowner said:

Does the HD box have a bigger recording memory than Sky + ones ?

Yes, considerably.

[jagracer]

My wife is going on about getting the HD box but we only have an old CRT telly. What sort of HD TV is best, I believe there is more than one quality of definition, I.E. 720 and 1080 or whatever it is.

[RYH64E]

Exigeowner said:

Mine was done today, booked on Tuesday and fitted Friday , not bad service. However maybe im easyily pleased with my 40" Samsung normal Sky + picture but I dont see a great deal of difference. I keep switching between two of the same channels to try and gauge quality, I would like sky to have a 50 - 50 split test screen to see the difference.

I would agree with this. The HD picture is better, but the difference isn't as much as I had expected after all the hype.

[Kuroblack350]

It's actually really good - but take no notice of the "you need at least a 60inch TV" crap - you don't - you simply need a good TV. I'd rather have my 32" 1080p Panny Viera running HD than some 50" piece of supermarket-special crap. Chat with some of the guys at Richer Sounds to get some good advice... Quality, not quantity

Back to the question... The SD difference is amazing, although you'll need to replace the Sky HDMI cable as it's utterly crap, ours actually failed within 48 hours anyway... The HD channel selection is good, Sports are mindblowing, movies just fantastic - but it's the normal shows on Discovery and the like that really show the difference. Go for it