[LMDavies]

I have recently purchased a no contract SKY+ HD Pace box and have decided not to subsribe to Sky when the free trial ends.

I paid £200 for the Pace and I am now thinking whether I should return it to Tesco's for full £200 refund and buy a Humax Freesat HD non-PVR or the more expensive PVR version? Or should I just stick with the Pace Sky+HD box and view the free HD, FTV and FTA channels?

1. Does both the Freesat HD non-PVR and PVR versions carry 5.1 audio over HDMI?
2. What is the true startup times of these boxes?
3. Is SD PQ equal to that of a Samsung/Pace Sky+HD box?
4. Is it quick when changing channels?
5. Any issues with connecting these boxes via HDMI to an AV amp?
6. Other than the recording ability, are the non-PVR and PVR versions identical in terms on noise levels/startup time/SD and HD PQ?

Many thanks.

[Andy98765]

Originally Posted by LMDavies

I have recently purchased a no contract SKY+ HD Pace box and have decided not to subsribe to Sky when the free trial ends.

I paid £200 for the Pace and I am now thinking whether I should return it to Tesco's for full £200 refund and buy a Humax Freesat HD non-PVR or the more expensive PVR version? Or should I just stick with the Pace Sky+HD box and view the free HD, FTV and FTA channels?

1. Does both the Freesat HD non-PVR and PVR versions carry 5.1 audio over HDMI?
2. What is the true startup times of these boxes?
3. Is SD PQ equal to that of a Samsung/Pace Sky+HD box?
4. Is it quick when changing channels?
5. Any issues with connecting these boxes via HDMI to an AV amp?
6. Other than the recording ability, are the non-PVR and PVR versions identical in terms on noise levels/startup time/SD and HD PQ?

Many thanks.

1. NO (Same as Sky HD)
2. Same as SKY HD
3. Same as SKY HD
4. Same as SKY HD
5. No issues if you want Stereo only
6. ?

But to record on SKY HD you need some sort of subscription.

[LMDavies]

Read the thread below reference 'Sky HD versus Freesat' and I am hanging onto the Sky box due to channels. Thanks Andy for the response.

[dwhite]

AFAIK the Freesat boxes do support 5.1 over HDMI, unlike the skyHD box.

[prestwich1]

As for audio via the hdmi, I can confirm that the HDR does pass 5.1. This is how I use it.

[Andy98765]

Originally Posted by prestwich1

As for audio via the hdmi, I can confirm that the HDR does pass 5.1. This is how I use it.

Maybe in Dolby prologic which is puesdo stereo.

According to the manual it does not support 5.1 over the HDMI, it is available on the optical output see page GB38 item 4

You can set Dolby Digital soundtrack option. If you select On, the Dolby Digital audio will be selected automatically (when broadcast) and outputted via S/PDIF.
1. Select Dolby Digital.
2. Select On or Off using the OK or / button.

Noticed! no mention of HDMI.

If you had 5.1 going up the HDMI (if possible) your TV would not be able to decode it. It is the same principle as SKYHD, allow stereo up HDMI for normal viewing and 5.1 over optical for AV systems to decode, that way you do not have to have the AV system switched on to get picture and sound from the TV.

[dwhite]

With respect Andy, I think you are wrong about the freesat box:

Foxsat HD sound over HDMI

Dolby digital 5.1 question.

Humax Foxsat HD connections

Although you are correct about the TV wouldn't have a dolby digital decoder, this can be sorted out in the handshake and the TV can request 2.0 PCM instead of dolby digital, its how the PS3 and bluray players do it. Its just SkyHD that haven't implemented it properly.

[Ben]

Originally Posted by LMDavies

I paid £200 for the Pace and I am now thinking whether I should return it to Tesco's for full £200 refund and buy a Humax Freesat HD non-PVR or the more expensive PVR version?

A non-subscription Sky HD box is effectively the same as a Foxsat-HD, but with five more channels (including C4HD), so there's no point swapping it for that. Only return it if you're considering the HDR