Nick_UK said:
Don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say it was a "heinous crime", I said it was theft, and it is theft. If your moral principles don't comprehend the concept, there's no point in my wasting your time trying to explain it to you again.?
Perhaps you should read before you post - I never quoted you as having used the words "Heinous crime". I used the words sarcastically to highlight the IMO ridiculous stance you are taking about the subversive notion (hint: more sarcasm) of people using their video recorders without paying to do so. I really can't see why the fact that many people regard this as out of order should rile you so.
Well, if your 'moral principles' are such that someone asking if they can record on their own HDD recorder for free causes you to launch vitriolic accusations against them, then that's your problem Nick. Quite why you think Sky need you to verbally abuse their unsatisfied customers is beyond me.
Nick_UK said:
" I frankly find that quite bizarre and unwarranted, just as I find the notion of paying to use your own hardware bizarre and unwarranted. "
Well, since you hate Sky, and the Sky box, and don't agree with Sky's usage T & C's, why did you sign up ? There's plenty of HDD recorders out there that don't require a subscription. Why choose the only one that does ? Were you not aware that the hardware only works with a subscription ?
First: When did I say that I hated Sky? I quite like the system and before the recent upgrade disaster was singing the praises of it. What I don't like is the way that Sky have released an 'upgrade' that actually degrades the system for many and then refused to admit that anything is wrong (witness the posts from people calling their national-rate helpline who have been told that this is the first time anyone has complained.....).
That's completely unacceptable behaviour. Why you feel the need to continually defend this behaviour from them is unfathomable. Or maybe you just like to argue with people (judging from your continually antagonistic turn of phrase)?
Second: If you bothered to read my post properly, I stated that I have a full Sky sub - therefore Sky+ functionality was enabled for 'free' when I bought my box. If I'd had to pay an extra tenner a month on my sub there's no way I would have bought Sky+.
I do however feel sympathy for people with Sky+ boxes who find that they are faced with having to pay an extra 10 quid a month for the privilege of using them to record programmes. Especially when many boxes aren't even functioning properly following the upgrade.
Rest assured that when a suitable alternative comes out (truly FTA Freesat or Freesat with a standard CAM) I'll be giving it serious thought. Topfield make some great _standards compliant_ boxes. I already tried a HDD/DVD combo but it just didn't integrate as well with Sky (my sole source for digital TV) as I wanted it to.
Since Sky insist on strictly controlling the hardware that can be used to receive their service, I don't have much choice when chosing a digital HDD and Sky+ was pretty much the only game in town. And, it was actually a great product WHEN IT WORKED PROPERLY.
Gav