New Sky subscriber - a few questions...

welshdragon85

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We have just joined Sky, and we have a Sky+ HD box but we haven't paid for all the extra HD channels. When I go to Sky Anytime, it's 'selected' various programs but 3/4s of them are from HD channels so I cant watch them. So is that pretty much useless to me?

The other question I have is regarding 'catch-up TV', which I used to have with Virgin. Is there not a similar service on Sky cos I cant find it.

Any help appreciated :lease:
 
We have just joined Sky, and we have a Sky+ HD box but we haven't paid for all the extra HD channels. When I go to Sky Anytime, it's 'selected' various programs but 3/4s of them are from HD channels so I cant watch them. So is that pretty much useless to me?

Unfortunately for you, all Sky+HD boxes get the same programmes downloaded on Anytime, whether you pay the HD sub or not.
 
Think what the poster meant was a catch up service available on the box itself. Sky Player is handy but tbh this is one of the things I do miss about my old V+ box. The catch up service used to give you access to BBC Iplayer, 4OD and programs from Virgin 1 at the touch of a button and on your TV (not having to boot up the PS3 or logging into the PC to get Iplayer etc.

Another plus was the 3rd tuner that meant you could record two other programs whilst watching another (you can only record one other channel to the one you are watching with Sky). Sadly though, the lack of HD programs on Virgin Media is telling hence why I switched to Sky HD and also the User Interface on the V+ boxes (going off 12 month old info mind) was horribly slow and unresponsive at times.
 
Catch-up TV works on cable because it is a push technology - you request what you want, the particular request is pushed to your Virgin box.

Satellite is a pull technology - a certain number of channels are broadcast simultaneously, and you choose which one you want to watch/record and pull that to your Sky box. Sky can't push individual requests to individual Sky boxes simultaneously - they push all their channels to all boxes/dishes, and the boxes choose which ones to tune into.

If Sky ever get round to offering video-on-demand, it will be via a broadband internet connection, not via satellite.
 
It was probably a big factor in Sky's decision to go into the broadband sector in the first place. That and Virgin Media's bundled services which Sky could not match at the time. Obviously being able to pull content from a fibre optic network on demand is a big boon for cable boxes. Maybe Sky will release a broadband based on demand service to work with there STB's in the future (although I can see them tying you into Sky Broadband to be able to access it)?
 
I think you'll find Satellite is known as a Push service, in that you can only push information to a satellite receiver.

Having something connected to the internet, then that would be known as a pull service, as it could be pulled from the internet.

Also, Sky are supposed to be releasing a VOD service the Sky+HD boxes sometime this year (although, only the ones with Ethernet ports, I imagine)
 

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