Sky Q UHD recordings

[Squadrone Rosso]

Hi,

We had Q installed today with the UHD package enabled.

I can see you can download in UHD (Magnum from last night for example) but when you set it to record next week via the planner, it only shows as HD.

The same applies to Seal team, the Chicago progs & Billions.

Can you actually record on the planner in UHD or do you have to download after the fact?

Ta,

Simon

[HRL]

Think you can record via the planner as long as you can find what you’re looking for.

I only really watch football in UHD when it’s available and TBH I find Sky’s planner a bit of a ballache to find the right recordings too.

If it’s a TV series then I think you might have to manually set them to download as there’s a distinct lack of programmes broadcast in UHD. In fact as far as I can see there are virtually no UHD broadcasts outside of the sport channels.

[oldaudi]

My experience :

The planner can be used to record programs that are being broadcasted in the future/series link. So either SD or HD.
Once a program has been aired or is available to download, it can be done so in UHD via the on demand, sky cinema area in the epg

From what I can work out, sky doesn’t actually broadcast in uhd as standard. For example, you have to press the select button to turn to the UHD broadcast when it prompts on sky sports. It doesn’t have UHD channels

I think sky uhd is what sky hd was a 10 years ago. I see better quality uhd hdr hlg content on Disney and Netflix.

Edited by oldaudi on Monday 28th February 21:54

[Big Al.]

I think you need to set your Sky up to default your recordings to UHD (2160p).

Go to "Settings", drop down go right & drop down to "Setup" drop down to "Audio Visual" go right to Picture Resolution and select 2160p.

Your box will then default to recording 2160p or the next best, 1080p etc.

HTH.

ETA

Just a note Sky Q mini boxes will only show films in HD. You will not see any UHD prompts with the mini boxes.

Edited by Big Al. on Monday 28th February 22:30

[Squadrone Rosso]

Thanks for the responses. The settings are all 2160 10 bit. Will give it a whirl.

We’ve been Sky customers since the first went digital so very used to the old style EPG & operation. Q seems cumbersome by comparison but we’ll adapt.

Having Prime, Disney, Netflix & Apple TV apps on there is great but I’m not convinced the picture is as good as it is via the 4K Firestick.

Sound is on point though.

Cheers,

Simon

[aquarianone]

I had Sky Q installed a few weeks back and eventually came to the same conclusion....

There's no UHD channels as such, and you can't set a series link to anything in UHD...

Happy to be corrected uf there is a way, as i'm still getting the hang of it all...

You have to manually go and find your programmes / movies and then nab the UHD version, which is a bit of a faff.
(also make sure you update the settings to d/l in UHD as standard)

Finding it a mixed bag, not so keen on the interface and the way it starts in the menu rather than just on a channel..

Wish there was a way to setup shortcuts to Apps...ie red button jumps to Netflix, blue to Disney.

Also, the Apple + app is 2.0..I gather so you need to switch over to a Firestick or the Apps on the TV

I think I noticed Disney + had sacked off the UHD versions randomly the other day...

It's worth setting up your Fav channels and then follow the steps to map the favourites to the buttons in the order you want...

eg Press button1 jumps to BBC HD, Map 2 to BBC 2 and so on...then you can cycle up and down your favourites using the channel up/down selectors.

quite handy for creating your own ordered channel listing.

I'd also nab a case / cover from ebay as the plastic feeling remote is rubbish.

[Nimby]

aquarianone said:

... Wish there was a way to setup shortcuts to Apps...ie red button jumps to Netflix, blue to Disney..

You can use voice control. Hold down the microphone button on the remote and say "open Netflix" or whatever. (Main box only, not mini).

[VEX]

Big Al. said:

I think you need to set your Sky up to default your recordings to UHD (2160p).

Go to "Settings", drop down go right & drop down to "Setup" drop down to "Audio Visual" go right to Picture Resolution and select 2160p.

Your box will then default to recording 2160p or the next best, 1080p etc.

HTH.

ETA

Just a note Sky Q mini boxes will only show films in HD. You will not see any UHD prompts with the mini boxes.

Edited by Big Al. on Monday 28th February 22:30

I was going to say the same thing.

Which box are you trying to set up the recordings from? as the mini's won't give you any UHD options.

[CharlesElliott]

I have the F1 series linked in Ultra HD.

I can't remember how I did it, but I think there might be an Ultra HD section in the planner and could can select it from there?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Very disappointed in UHD. The step up from SD to HD is amazing, but UHD is hardly any better.

[VEX]

What screen size are you viewing on?

The only real step up you see is on bigger screens - 65-70+ Anything below and I tell clients you are not going to see much difference at 3mtr away.

I can see a big difference on our 120" Screen / Projector and sat at 4-5m away.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

VEX said:

What screen size are you viewing on?

The only real step up you see is on bigger screens - 65-70+ Anything below and I tell clients you are not going to see much difference at 3mtr away.

I can see a big difference on our 120" Screen / Projector and sat at 4-5m away.

49". That must be why.

[bcr5784]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

49". That must be why.

Clearly that is a significant factor - but there is no doubting the difference on my Sony 48A9 when fed with a good 4k source (I make 4k videos, so I have quite a lot of good material).

[Emeye]

I have only just cancelled Sky Q. I will miss F1 in UHD on my 65" Samsung OLED - it was stunning. They wanted too much after deal ended as I pretty much only watch F1.

Anyways, if I remember correctly, to record a series in UHD if it is available, search for the programme in the guide, and when you find it you can go into the other showings and select the quality you want - you can usually select SD, HD and UHD and series link them.

If you have got Sky Q Mini boxes, as others have said, set up a recording for both HD and UHD so you can watch it on the mini boxes if you want to.

Also, on sporting events, sometimes the UHD is only the main feature and not the pre and post race programmes, so again set on both.

You need to make sure you play back the correct version when you are on your main Sky Q box.

Hope that helps - if it hadn't just switched off today I'd have took some photos for you!

[VEX]

bcr5784 said:

Clearly that is a significant factor - but there is no doubting the difference on my Sony 48A9 when fed with a good 4k source (I make 4k videos, so I have quite a lot of good material).

That will make a big difference too. Native 4K stuff rather than upscaled is very noticable. Which is why shops show demo stuff.