# Tivo with Sky HD



## phurren (Apr 23, 2003)

Hello all, I am hoping for some advice. I currently have a Tivo/Sky Digital system, and am looking at buying a new HD television. Obviously I would also like to change my Sky service to Sky HD but am confused about how it would work with the Tivo. I understand about the Mode 0 hack, what I don't understand is simply the connections - can I run the Sky HD box and the Tivo box together?

Any help/advice would be much appreciated!


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

phurren said:


> can I run the Sky HD box and the Tivo box together?


Yes but you mustn't record any other programs on the Tivo at the same time as something else in HD that you are trying to record directly is showing and being recorded on the Sky HD box.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

If finances allow, I would rrecommend spending the extra £10/month to have a mirror sub and keep your existing Sky box for the TiVo, leaving the SkyHD box compeletly independent.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> Yes but you mustn't record any other programs on the Tivo at the same time as something else in HD that you are trying to record directly is showing and being recorded on the Sky HD box.


No that's wrong, you can do that fine. What you can't do is watch anything on the Sky HD box while TiVo is recording from it.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> No that's wrong, you can do that fine. What you can't do is watch anything on the Sky HD box while TiVo is recording from it.


I stand corrected. I suppose I was forgetting about the dual tuner capability on a Sky HD box.


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

Yes it's best if you can justify the £10.00 a month and keep the standard Sky Box on Tivo and use Sky HD for HD programs.

Thus Sky HD goes direct to your TV's HDMI connection and Tivo stays on the RGB legacy scart connection.

I Have

Sky SD RGB -> Tivo -> DVD Recorder #1 -> TV RGB Scart #1
Sky HD RGB -> DVD Recorder #2 -> TV RGB Scart #2
Sky HD HDMI -> TV HDMI (via 4 way auto HDMI / optical sound switch)

Automan.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Automan said:


> Yes it's best if you can justify the £10.00 a month and keep the standard Sky Box on Tivo and use Sky HD for HD programs.


So that's another £20 per month in total as a result of upgrading to Sky HD.


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

It's not an upgrade, HD is a must have 

* As long as the BBC keep an HD channel on the air.

Automan.


Pete77 said:


> So that's another £20 per month in total as a result of upgrading to Sky HD.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Automan said:


> It's not an upgrade, HD is a must have
> 
> * As long as the BBC keep an HD channel on the air.


Hopefully the BBC will launch its own satellite HD service along with ITV before long. Unless of course the recent license fee settlement now means it can't afford to do so.

To have a BBC HD Sat box should only mean a payment for the equipment and no ongoing monthly sub to pay.


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## Fred Smith (Oct 5, 2002)

Automan said:


> It's not an upgrade, HD is a must have
> 
> * As long as the BBC keep an HD channel on the air.
> 
> Automan.


Apparently the HD satellite trial was like the HD DTT trial only for only twelve months, therefore will be ending soon.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Fred Smith said:


> Apparently the HD satellite trial was like the HD DTT trial only for only twelve months, therefore will be ending soon.


But hopefully replaced by the real BBC HD satellite service a few months later, with satellite not having the bandwidth constraints of DTT.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

They'll have to go through the procedure of a) analysing the rresults of the trial b) getting the BBC Trust to agree to a full service and c) getting a full license from Ofcom.

As they can't do those things until the trial is completed, there's a definite possibilty that the off switch will be pulled.

Hopefully common sense will prevail and they will continue to briadcast while the procedures are gone through.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> They'll have to go through the procedure of a) analysing the rresults of the trial b) getting the BBC Trust to agree to a full service and c) getting a full license from Ofcom.
> 
> As they can't do those things until the trial is completed, there's a definite possibilty that the off switch will be pulled.
> 
> Hopefully common sense will prevail and they will continue to briadcast while the procedures are gone through.


Sounds like all that could take up to a year or more. Meanwhile Murdoch goes on managing to charge a £10 per month premium for Sky HD and a further £10 per month premium for Sky+ functionality, unless you have a £37 per month or above sub.

Sky sub prices will be under threat once the BBC and ITV's own satellite HD service and Freeview Playback with Series Link starts to become widely available.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> Sounds like all that could take up to a year or more. Meanwhile Murdoch goes on managing to charge a £10 per month premium for Sky HD and a further £10 per month premium for Sky+ functionality, unless you have a £37 per month or above sub.
> 
> Sky sub prices will be under threat once the BBC and ITV's own satellite HD service and Freeview Playback with Series Link starts to become widely available.


There's only one £10 - the HD £10 includes Sky+.

You don't need to pay the £10 to get the BBC today, and there's nothing worth watching in ITV in SD!


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> There's only one £10 - the HD £10 includes Sky+.


Not if you don't already pay for at least two premium channels.


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## phurren (Apr 23, 2003)

Thanks for all of the useful info, it has certainly given me something to think about. I may avoid Sky HD altogether for a while and just use the HD-ness of the new TV to watch HD DVD/Bluray [depending on which one of them I go for!]. Then probably when more stuff is broadcast in HD I'll look at it again.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> Not if you don't already pay for at least two premium channels.


Sorry Pete, you're wrong. If you pay the £10 you get Sky+ functionality no matter what package you're on.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> Sorry Pete, you're wrong. If you pay the £10 you get Sky+ functionality no matter what package you're on.


You're saying Sky HD throws in Sky+ with it regardless of which channel package you are on then?

So even if you only go for the £15 per month 2 Mixes package and pay £10 for Sky HD you also get Sky+ functionality thrown in for nothing on a Sky HD box????

Strange because with Sky+ alone you have to take at least 2 Premium Channels to get Sky+ functionality thrown in for free. I think you will find that is also actually the case on a Sky HD box and contract though.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> You're saying Sky HD throws in Sky+ with it regardless of which channel package you are on then?
> 
> So even if you only go for the £15 per month 2 Mixes package and pay £10 for Sky HD you also get Sky+ functionality thrown in for nothing on a Sky HD box????


Sigh. Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. Because that's how it works.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> Sigh. Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. Because that's how it works.


Interesting.

But I imagine they assume you will be a sports or movie addict so are bound to pick one of the premium packages.

Its amazing though that Sky+ is still not made free on a Sky+ box to anyone paying £15 and upwards. This will surely change once Freeview Playback with Series Link gets going.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

I don't believe many people have Sky+ active on a non-premium package, although Sky don't publish many figures on that. Around 2m have Sky+ while ~5m have Sky World.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> I don't believe many people have Sky+ active on a non-premium package, although Sky don't publish many figures on that. Around 2m have Sky+ while ~5m have Sky World.


Obviously not many pay extra for Sky+ alone due to how they price it. That's to say you would have to be paying at least £15 + £10 which isn't far off £37 where the Sky + is "thrown in".

Obviously Stuart to a man in your position it would be perhaps incomprehensible to imagine why people don't want to shell out £37 per month upwards for Sky for a rubbish recording interface.

However for those of us who don't a Tivo with a Lifetime Sub appears to remain by far the better bet. :up:


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> Obviously Stuart to a man in your position it would be perhaps incomprehensible to imagine why people don't want to shell out £37 per month upwards for Sky for a rubbish recording interface.


That was entirely uncessary and uncalled for Pete. You can be downright unpleasant.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> That was entirely uncessary and uncalled for Pete. You can be downright unpleasant.


Sorry I didn't mean to offend you TCM but you can yourself be rather stubbornly over supportive of Sky's extortionately expensive subscription structure.

In my experience its a lot more money for very little more real actual program choice unless you happen to like Premiership Football or Test Cricket where Sky have you over a barrel.  :down:


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## Wonder_lander (Jan 13, 2003)

OK managed to pick up a Sky HD upgrade for £149 with no installation as I already have multiroom (This was via currys stafford).

I have sky+ in the bedroom and downstairs sky and Tivo.

I'm going to be swapping out the sky box for the HD one and connecting it to my TV by the HDMI cable. From what I gather the ideal thing would be to get a second multiroom sub but I don't feel I can justify this. 

Would I be right in thinking that I can use the SKY HD box to record HD content and TiVo for all else. If I wish to play back something from HD I need to ensure that TiVo isn't scheduled to record something else all it will record will be my HD programme that I am playing back?


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

Wonder_lander said:


> Would I be right in thinking that I can use the SKY HD box to record HD content and TiVo for all else. If I wish to play back something from HD I need to ensure that TiVo isn't scheduled to record something else all it will record will be my HD programme that I am playing back?


If TiVo is scheduled to record during a HD playback - I think it will change to the correct channel to record while watching.

You'll need to make sure TiVo isn't already recording when you go to playback on the HD box.


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