Sky Upgrade Help

[londonblue]

I currently have a very old Sky box. I have been toying with the idea of upgrading to either Sky + or Sky HD.

The problem I have is that I have a non standard installation. I have a distribution box in the loft that sends the signal to pretty much every room in the house. The cabling from the dish into the box also goes along the length of the house through the loft and then out down the side of the house and back into the TV room.

The output cable goes back the same route into the loft and then into the distribution box. From there all the cabling is in the loft or the walls so that all the cabling is hidden.

If I upgrade to Sky + then all I need to do is get a box and get someone to change the lnb on the dish (probably to a four) and run an extra cable through the loft etc. (I would probably get them to add extra cabling and leave a length in the loft for the future.)

I also know that to get a high def signal around the house in the same way I would have to use cat 5 cabling and replace all the internal cables, and the distribution box.

The question is what would you do? Would you go for a Sky + installation and just use all the existing cabling, or would you future proof and go for a high def installation straight away?

 

[steveo]

If the choice is one or the other Sky+ is a clear winner. HD is great but its quite easy to live without especially if you never had it. However, not having Sky+ would be a serious blow.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Never seen the point of HD. Sky + however is up there with the wheel as one of the best inventions of humanity.

 

[Pubey]

unless you watch tons of sport on a massive TV, then HD is a luxury you can probably live without

 

[EastStandBlue]

Beware, My mum wants Sky+ for Christmas from me so I got her to give them a ring, saying I'd cover the cost of it for the year.

Apparently, they were quite difficult with her on the phone, saying that the Sky+ Boxes are now £100 each, that noone is getting Sky+ anymore as it's all HD these days and they could sort a HD box out for free, but with the extra subscription price.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Beware, My mum wants Sky+ for Christmas from me so I got her to give them a ring, saying I'd cover the cost of it for the year.

Apparently, they were quite difficult with her on the phone, saying that the Sky+ Boxes are now £100 each, that noone is getting Sky+ anymore as it's all HD these days and they could sort a HD box out for free, but with the extra subscription price.

I'm sure I had a leaflet from Sky saying that Sky+ and installation was free if you take up the phone/broadband offer. I'll dig out of my recycling bin when I get home.

 

[EastStandBlue]

I'm sure I had a leaflet from Sky saying that Sky+ and installation was free if you take up the phone/broadband offer. I'll dig out of my recycling bin when I get home.

It probably is, but the box itself they were quoting her £100.

 

[Smudger]

Never seen the point of HD. Sky + however is up there with the wheel as one of the best inventions of humanity.

Agree - seems like a waste of an extra tenner a month to me as I barely notice the difference....

 

[londonblue]

The thing is my in laws are moving house, and the new house comes with a high def box. My in laws themselves have sky +. So, if my in laws decide they want high def then I should be able to persuade them to give me their old sky + box. If they decide they only want sky + then I would try and persuade them to give us the high def box.

Moreover, the house they're moving to comes complete with three TVs so I could probably get their old plasma screen for nothing aswell, and I think it's an HD TV...so the ony thing I would have to pay for is the installation. Sky themselves won't go into the loft so I'll have to use an independent installer anyway...

That explains me helping the inlaws out moving their PC last weekend!

 

[Southminster_Shrimper]

According to Sky website, Sky+ and HD are both free, just £30 setup. Thats online and I have found that there are better prices online than if you phone up. I also did an "introduce a friend" which was actually my mum and dad which meant, got that deal and £50 worth of vouchers.

See
http://packages.sky.com/?DCMP=ILC-SkyCOM_productsGetSky

I dont know what the "upgrades" are for existing customers. They seem to be about £150. Clearly Sky will push the HD box as the extra subscription is better for them in the long run.

As for HD, its only worth it if you have a good quality HD tely and surround sound. Sports are great and so are some of the movies. I am sure other things that look good on other channels but those are the ones I watch most. If you dont have those things then I wouldnt bother if I were you as the £10 extra for HD subscription would be a waste of money.

 

[pickledseal]

Gutted as in my flat we have sky wired to the whole block. This means jsut one connector.... :( No Sky+

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

I've got Sky HD and it's worth every penny. Quite frankly anything not on HD just doesn't look as good, and if you can't tell the difference you should probably go for an eyetest.

 

[fatshrimp]

I've just ordered HD+ (upgrading from Sky+) and instead of the £30 installation they're doing it for nowt as I have multiroom. They didn'y offer that up, but I pressed them for it. So, as always with these people it's worth haggling.