I have cancelled my Sky+ - what do I do next??

[996nick]

Hi all

I recently purchased a Panasonic TX-42V10B plasma TV, and got a blu-ray player at the same time. I am delighted with them both.

I was already a sky + customer (who had had a few problems with sky+ - not receiving a signal, remote not working, buttons on box not working etc etc). I was hoping to upgrade to Sky+HD to get the best from the TV, however constant problems with sky have meant that I have cancelled the contract.

I guess I now have a number of options:

- go cable with Virgin or NTL (but I am bound in on my internet contract with aol);

- just plug the sat dish straight into the TV to get free sat;

- plug the TV straight into the internet via router to use the viera cast/link functionality (but to be honest I dont use you tube much- does this get me access to i-player? if anyone can tell me what is available to view I'd appreciate it);

- I can connect the TV to my laptop and use that to view programmes accessed via the laptop;

- I think you can buy a media server - apple TV (I have an i-mac) or something similar??

I am not that bothered about having a recording facility, but that said the Key thing is to be able to watch the programmes the wife and I want to watch when we want, relatively easily. For this reason being able to view i-player 4oD etc on the tv seems like a good option.

I would very much appreciate any guidance on what systems people use, how I can expand programmes available to view beyond those just available via freeview/free sat, and what people think I should do now, indeed any helpful comments welcome. Thanks in advance.

[Lord Flathead]

I have Virgin and there are very few HiDef channels.. well one channel and one demo channel. You will not beat Sky for HiDef choice I'm afraid, but the service is excellent with Virgin and that's why I ahve been with them since the start

[996nick]

Lord Flathead said:

I have Virgin and there are very few HiDef channels.. well one channel and one demo channel. You will not beat Sky for HiDef choice I'm afraid, but the service is excellent with Virgin and that's why I ahve been with them since the start

Thanks - I think I have resigned myself to only getting the best from the TV using the Blu-Ray, but good to know Virgin seem reliable. Do you have their recording function as well?

[Lord Flathead]

996nick said:

Lord Flathead said:

I have Virgin and there are very few HiDef channels.. well one channel and one demo channel. You will not beat Sky for HiDef choice I'm afraid, but the service is excellent with Virgin and that's why I ahve been with them since the start

Thanks - I think I have resigned myself to only getting the best from the TV using the Blu-Ray, but good to know Virgin seem reliable. Do you have their recording function as well?

Yes, I have the TV Drive box although I am not sure which resolution it records at. It is very convenient for series recording (ie it keeps the wife infront of the box at agreed times) but I have cloned the hard disk for a 500 gig one which gives lots more storahe space. I don't like the remote control, as the room we watch it is in the cinema room, it is always dark in there and I can never find the right button. I wish they would do a lit remote it would be a massive improvement.

Also, if you have a media centre PC, apparently if you use a film susbscription service like I Love Film etc and you buy a copy of AnyDVD HD, you can store BluRay movies on your hard disk to watch later, like you can with TV Plus.. apparently

[E31Shrew]

I have a Humax Freesat HD recorder. New 500gb version out also. Simple to use

[aclivity]

Modifying your v+ box is against terms & conditions, virgin are currently rolling out new encryption (to throw all the dodgy boxes off the network) when that is complete expect illegal mods to be the next target.

Virgin also have something like 11 current HD channels, with more announced over the last couple of weeks such as e4, film 4 and itv HD. The general expectation is that around 30 more HD channels are coming this year - as the CEO announced it to the city in the last results call.

[Lord Flathead]

aclivity said:

Modifying your v+ box is against terms & conditions, virgin are currently rolling out new encryption (to throw all the dodgy boxes off the network) when that is complete expect illegal mods to be the next target.

Virgin also have something like 11 current HD channels, with more announced over the last couple of weeks such as e4, film 4 and itv HD. The general expectation is that around 30 more HD channels are coming this year - as the CEO announced it to the city in the last results call.

I didn't know about the extra channels that was a suprise! We have not changed our package since the 50 meg came out so I will have a word on Monday and see what's on offer.

Re the 'terms and conditions' - it was a Virgin tech that suggested an easy way to upgrade the storage space as it is a simple disk clone. The machine itself does not report if its hard disk has changed, and we are not exactly defrauding the company in any way so I don't have a problem with that. We have had this box since the hidef service started and if you use it a lot it soon fills up.

[casbar]

Lord Flathead said:

aclivity said:

Modifying your v+ box is against terms & conditions, virgin are currently rolling out new encryption (to throw all the dodgy boxes off the network) when that is complete expect illegal mods to be the next target.

Virgin also have something like 11 current HD channels, with more announced over the last couple of weeks such as e4, film 4 and itv HD. The general expectation is that around 30 more HD channels are coming this year - as the CEO announced it to the city in the last results call.

I didn't know about the extra channels that was a suprise! We have not changed our package since the 50 meg came out so I will have a word on Monday and see what's on offer.

Re the 'terms and conditions' - it was a Virgin tech that suggested an easy way to upgrade the storage space as it is a simple disk clone. The machine itself does not report if its hard disk has changed, and we are not exactly defrauding the company in any way so I don't have a problem with that. We have had this box since the hidef service started and if you use it a lot it soon fills up.

Just moved from Sky to Virgin V+, couldn't be more pleased. The customer service has been really good, the Box seems to produce a better overall picture than the Sky box did. The broadband is very good (although before I could only get about 600k of download, due to being 1.5 miles from the BT exchange).

On the hard drive question in the Virgin box, you don't actually own the box, you pay a one off fee, then you are actually renting it off Virgin, which is why, they will come out and either fix or replace free of charge, so if you mess with it, in anyway, you are invalidating your contract. The Sky box after a year is unsupported so you technically own it. When you cease your Virgin contract, they expect you to send back the modem, and the V+ box, as its still theirs. If you go to www.cableforum.co.uk, upgrading boxes etc is covered very well, along with discussions around the Virgin vs Sky systems

[aclivity]

Lord Flathead said:

The machine itself does not report if its hard disk has changed, and we are not exactly defrauding the company in any way so I don't have a problem with that. We have had this box since the hidef service started and if you use it a lot it soon fills up.

it does, I'm afraid - vm can remotely access a whole lot of information about your box. The analogy would be you hiring a 1.0 eurobox and buying a knackered old 2.0 engine and dropping that in. The 2.0 has no warranty, is not tested in that car, and anyway it wasn't your car to be messed about with in the first place. replacement cost for broken boxes is between £250 and £400.

[996nick]

Thanks all, for your responses so far - Virgin is looking promising.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone out there has used a pc to send pictures to their tv (iplayer etc) and if so with what success?

[casbar]

I use my PC to play on the tv quite a lot, for vids etc. But its a cabled connection.

Virgin V+ comes with BBC iplayer, 4 player etc as standard, so I rarely view iplayer on my laptop anymore

[karona]

996nick said:

Thanks all, for your responses so far - Virgin is looking promising.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone out there has used a pc to send pictures to their tv (iplayer etc) and if so with what success?

My only access to UK TV is via torrents, which download to a desktop server, located in the basement. Sitting on the wall mounting bracket behind the TV is an Acer Aspire 1 8-inch netbook connected to the PC input of the TV. The AA1 (running VLC player) streams the programs over a wireless network from the server, and the only sign there's any extra hardware is the wireless keyboard/trackball combo for the AA1. The network isn't quite fast enough for HD streaming, but I just copy the program to the AA1 harddrive beforehand.

iPlayer is blocked to non-UK IPs, there are a number of paid for VPNs available, but internet speeds are unreliable out here, so direct streaming over iPlayer isn't worth the money.

This setup also means I can surf the web on a 32 inch monitor from the comfort of my favourite armchair, and 'er indoors isn't complaining constantly about the "bloody wires everywhere"

[Emeye]

Until I moved recently I was experimenting with using Windows Media Player and BBC iPlayer, 4OD etc on my Laptop.

You can download HD content from iPlayer for playback later, and std def stuff would stream quite nicely straight off the web.

I noticed today that 4OD use youtube, so it's worth connecting up you Panasonic TV and giving that a go.

With your combination of Vieracast, Bluray, freesat and a PC with Media Player and a built in freeview tuner to allow recording you would probably be more than happy - I know I was, but then I don't watch that much TV!

[Lord Flathead]

996nick said:

Thanks all, for your responses so far - Virgin is looking promising.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone out there has used a pc to send pictures to their tv (iplayer etc) and if so with what success?

Don't know if this is what you mean but I have a video projector which is connected to my PC which is a gaming/media centre. It has 13TB of storage (1800 films and 60,000 tunes plus 3000 photos etc).

It is connected to the projector via HDMI and is also used to surf the net, and can record TV with its inbuild TV/Freeview card. It can also record BluRay. I think that in the future all tv's will have web browsers in them whereas now they are just starting to. They will become the information display and centre point of the house network.

I use my displays in the house just as monitors and never use the inbuilt tuners. Everything is controlled via the media centres. I also use a Slingbox to send my CCTV and films from this pc to my mobile phone, and the wife can also stream music, access her files from home to her phone using a free program called Orb. All our files are stored on the main Windows Home Server, although this piece of technoogy is not the most reliable.

Your display is just that - a display. What you connect to it makes it what it is

[aclivity]

996nick said:

I'd also be interested to know if anyone out there has used a pc to send pictures to their tv (iplayer etc) and if so with what success?

You don't need anything more than the set top box to watch iPlayer on the TV with Virgin cable - the onDemand service supports it for free. If you have V+, it supports the iPlayer HD service too; again, no extra cost.

[pmanson]

Lord Flathead said:

aclivity said:

Modifying your v+ box is against terms & conditions, virgin are currently rolling out new encryption (to throw all the dodgy boxes off the network) when that is complete expect illegal mods to be the next target.

Virgin also have something like 11 current HD channels, with more announced over the last couple of weeks such as e4, film 4 and itv HD. The general expectation is that around 30 more HD channels are coming this year - as the CEO announced it to the city in the last results call.

I didn't know about the extra channels that was a suprise! We have not changed our package since the 50 meg came out so I will have a word on Monday and see what's on offer.

Re the 'terms and conditions' - it was a Virgin tech that suggested an easy way to upgrade the storage space as it is a simple disk clone. The machine itself does not report if its hard disk has changed, and we are not exactly defrauding the company in any way so I don't have a problem with that. We have had this box since the hidef service started and if you use it a lot it soon fills up.

You shouldn't need to call them the new channels will already be there.

LivingHD
Channel4HD
FXHD
BBCHD
ESPNHD

I can't remember the rest though!

[aclivity]

pmanson said:

You shouldn't need to call them the new channels will already be there.

LivingHD
Channel4HD
FXHD
BBCHD
ESPNHD

I can't remember the rest though!

Anounced last week:
ITV1 HD
Film 4 HD
E4 HD

just announced today - SciFi HD starting on 13th April.

[pmanson]

Glad ITVHD is arriving (just in time for the World Cup!).

[Emeye]

IIRC - these so called HD channels don't always show proper HD content all the time - sometimes it is just upscaled standard def stuff, so there's not much improvement - I would like to be proved wrong.

[pmanson]

Emeye said:

IIRC - these so called HD channels don't always show proper HD content all the time - sometimes it is just upscaled standard def stuff, so there's not much improvement - I would like to be proved wrong.

Not sure to be honest, I know the Virgin box does a good job of upscaling some of the SD stuff anyway but there is a difference between the SD and HD channels.

We have a 50" LG 50PS3000 (1080p) which we watch for approx 3m, certain channels like Dave can be a blurry and you can really notice the quality levels on certain channels. C5 is very good but Dave etc can be a bit crap at times.

For some reason the volume levels are lower on the HD channels though.

I just wish the Hard Drive in the box was bigger or that they would allow you to make use of the USB or Ethernet port!