[eip]

Hi all,

I'm about to move into a new build apartment, which I am assuming will have no BT line installed, but will have a communal Sky Dish.

I am planning on getting Sky+ HD, but due to various cashback offers and overall cost effectiveness, have decided to get my broadband and phoneline from someone else (likely Primus & o2).

My question is, is it preferable to get the phone line installed and up and running, before Sky come and install the box?

I was originally planning on ordering both and seeing whichever comes first as I presumed there was no difference, but from reading some other threads it seems that the box needs a connection to a phone line too.

Thanks

[Tight Git]

Unless you're going for more than one Sky box (multi-room), connecting to the phone is optional.

[eip]

Thanks.

Will it affect the service at all? E.g. Red Button, any online related services (i'm not sure if there are any or if they're free but presume there may be some sort of streaming services?).

If it's purely multiroom then I suppose it's not something I'm planning on having. Although being able to watch in 2 rooms (not simultaneously) would be quite nice. E.g. catching up on Sky+ in bedroom. Is this easily done?

[Tight Git]

Red button not affected, but you won't be able to order anything (Box Office, QVC, etc) through the box.

[961]

Originally Posted by eip

Thanks.

Although being able to watch in 2 rooms (not simultaneously) would be quite nice. E.g. catching up on Sky+ in bedroom. Is this easily done?

Yes quite easy, either by running a coax cable to 2nd room or by using a videosender

[logiciel]

Sky's installation T&C 4e: If you have taken up the free Sky box and minidish offer, a standard Sky box with a Sky TV subscription, Sky Multiroom subscription(s), Sky+ and/or Sky+HD, then as part of the installation we must connect your Box to a working telephone line.
That indicates that in principle, and in those cases, the connection is NOT optional - but in practice it often is.

[961]

Originally Posted by logiciel

Sky's installation T&C 4e: If you have taken up the free Sky box and minidish offer, a standard Sky box with a Sky TV subscription, Sky Multiroom subscription(s), Sky+ and/or Sky+HD, then as part of the installation we must connect your Box to a working telephone line.
That indicates that in principle, and in those cases, the connection is NOT optional - but in practice it often is.

While I agree that the t & c state that, can I suggest your "in practice it often is" is a little confusing to the op

Is it fair to say that if he explains the telephone line problem to sky they will actually get round it so long as he does not require multiroom?

[logiciel]

My comment was intended for T G, and I was waiting for OP to ask if he wanted details.
There is an option to pay £25 for them to waive the condition, but I didn't see that actually stated there. That would be a formal way out of it, something to explain to and fix with Sky. The "practice" comes into it at the actual time of installation. Some Sky guys don't even bother with it, others will simply leave the cable if you say you haven't "yet" got a socket for it. I haven't heard of any refusing to do the installation if they can't connect the line, and once that's done it doesn't matter as they won't check on it - unless, as you say, multiroom is involved.

[eip]

Thanks for the various replies.

Since there 'could' be issues, albeit with ways round, it might be easier for me to just ensure my line is up and running first, which shouldn't be too big a deal.

Just means I need to order my phone line a week or two before I order the Sky installation? I think I read on the site it normally takes 2 weeks from ordering online, to having an engineer? And I'm also presuming it's a fairly quick job and you can start viewing immediately?

If it helps I'm pretty certain that there will already be a communal dish installed with a socket in the living room so it's a matter of plugging it all in and activating the line.

[eip]

On a seperate note, and I'm not sure if this is better in it's own thread, but does everyone think it is worth upgrading to the 1TB box for £149? I can only find old threads on this when it was offered for £249 to existing customers.

The main benefit is obviously the storage but I've read some (anecdotal) reports of it being slightly faster too?

[961]

Originally Posted by eip

On a seperate note, and I'm not sure if this is better in it's own thread, but does everyone think it is worth upgrading to the 1TB box for £149? I can only find old threads on this when it was offered for £249 to existing customers.

The main benefit is obviously the storage but I've read some (anecdotal) reports of it being slightly faster too?

Faster, who knows? Standard one will do the business for you

The storage available on our standard job is more than enough for us. Don't think we have ever been more than 40% full at any one time

[logiciel]

Originally Posted by eip

it might be easier for me to just ensure my line is up and running first
I think I read on the site it normally takes 2 weeks from ordering online, to having an engineer?

worth upgrading to the 1TB box for £149?
reports of it being slightly faster too?

As I said
"Some Sky guys don't even bother with it, others will simply leave the cable if you say you haven't "yet" got a socket for it. I haven't heard of any refusing to do the installation if they can't connect the line"
but unless it's very urgent to start watching you might as well get the phone done first anyway.
Sky don't send engineers for this sort of thing, but I guess it is their installation that you're referring to there, and you can probably reckon on a couple of weeks to wait, when of course the job will completed in just a few minutes to leave you up and watching.

As a 1.5tB drive costs only £15 more than a 500gB, the answer is clear - but the point is that you can get the 1.5tB PVR for a lot less than £149.
In what way faster - faster at doing what?

[eip]

Originally Posted by logiciel

As I said

As a 1.5tB drive costs only £15 more than a 500gB, the answer is clear - but the point is that you can get the 1.5tB PVR for a lot less than £149.
In what way faster - faster at doing what?

I read some in some reviews that the EPG and menus etc seemed faster and less prone to crashing, but not sure how true that is and how much of an issue it is on a standard box.

By £15 more, do you mean in general when buying Hard Drives? The options on the Sky site appear to be £0 for the std (60hrs) box and £149 for the 1.5tB (240hrs) box.

Can the bigger one be bought independently for less?

I'd quite like the bigger box as i can see myself series linking a lot of stuff and maybe not watching some for a while, or perhaps keeping shows that i particularly like. But just wanted to get an idea on whether it was considered good value.

Thanks

[simon194]

As a new customer you should be able to get the 1TB box for £49 + installation unless it was a limited offer.

[logiciel]

The EPG doesn't crash, nor does anything else, and I don't see how it can be faster or slower to navigate through it on one machine than another.
The £15 was simply the difference between the cost of a 500gB drive and a 1.5tB one from a computer store, and was intended as the answer to your question of whether it's worth paying £149 for the same change packed inside the PVR! I don't think it would be. As I said, and as simon194 has just confirmed, you don't have to pay that much extra though. It's not about buying independently - just see what price Sky will offer, and if it's not good enough the first time of asking, keep trying.

[961]

Originally Posted by logiciel

just see what price Sky will offer, and if it's not good enough the first time of asking, keep trying.

That's on the button!

Never ceases to amaze me that you can ring one sky adviser and get nowhere and get back on 10 minutes later to find someone that will not only say the exact opposite, but also come across with a deal the first one denied even existed

[eip]

Originally Posted by logiciel

The EPG doesn't crash, nor does anything else, and I don't see how it can be faster or slower to navigate through it on one machine than another.
The £15 was simply the difference between the cost of a 500gB drive and a 1.5tB one from a computer store, and was intended as the answer to your question of whether it's worth paying £149 for the same change packed inside the PVR! I don't think it would be. As I said, and as simon194 has just confirmed, you don't have to pay that much extra though. It's not about buying independently - just see what price Sky will offer, and if it's not good enough the first time of asking, keep trying.

Thanks.

Think I'm just going to calculate some target prices and give them a couple of calls and see what I can get.

Hopefully they'll be able to give me a deal better than advertised, which beats the effective cost of ordering online and getting cashback offers etc.

[logiciel]

That's OK, and you have the right idea - keep trying until you get a sensible offer.

[blacklion1725]

Just a quick point - the phone line doesn't have to be BT for the Sky interactive features or for the "call back" test. I appreciate it may need to be for your chosen broadband option, but for Sky TV it can be non-BT.