thedigiboxshop.com - anyone bought with

[Paul_HDLover]

My 3rd sky hd box has gone on the blink - i just cannot bring myself to call SKY again after the previous experience, as a summary i bought a new amstrad digi box and the installers delivered then left taking the packaging, remote, and all contents of the box together with one of my higher end hdmi leads....i spent hours on the phone to sky but gave up.

Recently I opened the box up to upgrade the HD and noticed it was a recondishioned box.

Id be happy to leave but i need the channels and cable is not in my area

Saw this offer but dont want to get stung again:

2.0TB Upgraded Sky HD Box, Up to 1295 hours of recording capacity | TheDigiboxShop

Has anyone got the drx890....? It says in the add that it is 'is exactly the same "smaller" size' but im not so sure as the picture of the drx895 looks a little more modern....Either the description is wrong or the picture is wrong. 895 link is

AMSTRAD DRX895 1.5TB SKY+HD BOX | Massive 1.5TB recording capacity box.

looking forward to your views.
Paul

 

[logiciel]

There are two Amstrad HD Sky receivers - one with a 500gb drive of which 250gB is reserved for Anytime, one with a 1.5tB with 500gB for it.
The first one is free from Sky, the second costs between £49 and £149 depending on the agent you get through to.
They're identical in appearance and are excellent.
The advertiser has taken the 1.5tB version, which is already more than big enough for normal use, and replaced the drive with a 2tB.
Look around the forum for many people who've taken either model from Sky - how they got them - and how satisfactory they've been.

 

[Trollslayer]

The 890 and 895 are the same except for the hard drive.

 

[anfukf]

The 890 and 895 are the same except for the hard drive.

The allocation for anytime is different as well,so an 890 with a bigger drive will give more personal space than an 895 with the same drive.

 

[HDCriticalFan]

The allocation for anytime is different as well,so an 890 with a bigger drive will give more personal space than an 895 with the same drive.

The 890 (the 500Gb version) allocates half (specifically, 250Gb) to Anytime.

The 895 (the 1.5Tb version) allocates a third (specifically, 500Gb) to Anytime.

So the "personal" space is 250Gb and 1Tb respectively.

The Anytime allocations are fixed in absolute terms of the number of bytes.

So, if you put a 2Tb drive into an 890 box, the Anytime allocation (250Gb) wil leave you with 1.75Tb of "personal" space. I'm pretty sure that this is the absolute maximum at the moment.





Regards

 

[logiciel]

I'd missed that point, that it's the 500gB that they've adapted, and on the arithmetic that would give 1.75gB for personal use.
I'm doubtful whether Sky receivers are good on arithmetic though.

 

[Paul_HDLover]

Think I will go with the 895 - cant believe i am going to have to shell out another £300 on Sky equipment. If it wasnt for the fact I love HD TV and cannot get Virgin I would have binned them ages ago. I will call Sky first of all to ask if they can do me a deal on the 895 that is less than the online retailer I mention.

 

[logiciel]

As long as people are getting it from Sky for free, or for £49, or for £99, or for £149, as they are - I think that IS the way to go.

 

[Paul_HDLover]

Got a deal with Sky this afternoon....Got put through to their cancellation team. £249 all in for the box including delivery (DRX895 1.5tb). I then negotiated a 6 month half price TV sub, so that saves £156 over 6 months making the net cost of the box £93.

I think I can punt my current Sky box on Ebay (ill refit the old 320gb drive and test it) with a health warning and maybe get £20-£30 quid for it and sell the brand new remote seperately for £10.

All in all a good result i think.....I will be grilling the engineer when he arrives with the box - i expect it to be totally sealed when he brings it into my house so I dont get burned like last time. Can I expect any plastic protective coverings on the actual unit itself, if so I will keep a look out.

Cheers

 

[logiciel]

Let's say not a bad result, and a lot better than those opened-up and added-to ones.
Delivery is done by Parcelforce; their so-called engineers do "installations" - which are you having and if the "installation" why?
There shouldn't be any question about it being new - that's what you're paying for so no call for grilling or anything else.
There's the usual wrappings that you'd expect with any new device, including plastic bags with booklets, remote, HDMI cable, etc.

 

[Stevenage Neil]

No instruction manual anymore..........

 

[logiciel]

Really? I got 6 pages in one on how to instal it and 96 in another on how to use it.

 

[Tight Git]

Since nobody has answered the original question, just to say that I bought my Pace Sky+ box from the Digiboxshop a couple of years ago.

I have no reason not to recommend them, but it was, of course, only one purchase.

 

[Paul_HDLover]

Let's say not a bad result, and a lot better than those opened-up and added-to ones.
Delivery is done by Parcelforce; their so-called engineers do "installations" - which are you having and if the "installation" why?
There shouldn't be any question about it being new - that's what you're paying for so no call for grilling or anything else.
There's the usual wrappings that you'd expect with any new device, including plastic bags with booklets, remote, HDMI cable, etc.

Hi,

The guy in cancellations said it could only be an engineer call. I told him to just post it and he said he couldnt do it. I am not paying for the engineer call or postage or anything so i dont see what harm it could do.

As i was conned last time by an engineer I will be making sure this is indeed a secuity sealed box opened in front of me. I dong know why you say I shouldnt need to grill the engineer when the last time I paid for a box installed by an engineer it turned out as a refurb - no way i want that this time. As you say, i have paid for it so it should be new.

Thanks for you help.
Paul

 

[logiciel]

Hi Paul, that's OK and let us know how it goes.
What one Sky guy says and what another says are almost always two very different, often opposite, things - as the forum clearly confirms in many reports of contrasting experiences. My objection to having one of their guys doing his "instal" is that I don't want anyone anywhere near any part of my system. Only if there's more for them to do than swapping a couple of wires, such as fixing a faulty dish or cabling, is there any advantage in having them. One thing's for sure - although Sky use the word, you won't see an engineer - at best he'll be a trained installer.
On the other hand your bad experience with one of the installers is not typical, which is partly why I said that about not needing to grill him but the main reason is that you'll know at once whether or not it's new, and they all have been so far.
Logi

 

[Paul_HDLover]

Cheers Logi,

Makes sense. Im the same as you i dont want a 'trained installer' anywhere near my kit. The reality of the situation is that when he arrives the existing box will be removed and all that he will need to do is connect the HDMI, power cord and 2 aerial connections which will be lying waiting. I may in fact just say to him to sit down and i'll do it myself .

I wish I could recall what a new sky HD comes packaged like. I was hoping there would be a security seal on the outer packaging or plastic sticky things on the box itself to protect buttons and such like - know what I mean?

I'll just play it cool, watch closely and if something is suspect I will make it very clear that if it is anything other than brand new looking packaging with a seal of some form, I am going to refuse it.

 

[logiciel]

That's OK and we do agree.
The box is white printed blue, with corrugated cardboard bits to hold the receiver and components in place, all rather basic.
The only seals are a bit of clear sellotape on the flap that you open first, and on the bags with the components in.
There's not a lot of training needed to plug those cables in, but he might learn something if he watches you do it.