Is Sky HD worth it?

More Music

As above.

Is it true most channels are only 720p?

Did you say "wow" when you first saw it?

Is there enough HD content at the moment?

Is it worth €15 extra per month?

andy1249

Ive had it since launch ,

Is it true most channels are only 720p?

No , HD channels are all 1080i. Theres a big difference.

Did you say "wow" when you first saw it?

Yes , BBC HD was the best at the start , but not now , the quality on that channel has dropped somewhat , Sky Movies are fantastic though.
It still has the Wow factor. In fact now , I wont watch SD unless I absolutely have too.

Is there enough HD content at the moment?

Thirty something channels and counting , thats if you have the full package of course.

Is it worth €15 extra per month?

Easily.

Calibos

Will be getting Sky in with HD in few months once our renovations are completed.
I wouldn't worry about whether it's 720p or 1080i. You'd have to be sitting within 2 or 3 feet of a 42in plasma to tell the differance between 720p and 1080p never mind 720p and 1080i. At normal viewing distances you won't see a difference. Tests have sown that most people couldn't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p until their 'projector' screen sizes went above 130inches!!

You'll be wowed by the difference between SD and 720p if you are talking 10 or 12 feet from a 42in plasma/LCD but if you will be sitting 14 feet from a 30/36 in display for example then I fear you might be wondering what all the fuss about HD is.

clickhere

I am going to finally make the move and get the sky hd full package (movies + sports) currently on ntl. All these packages can be so confusing where would you good people on boards recommend where i would go to get the best deal. im in the dublin 20 area. Thanks if you can help.

ScrubsfanChris

It depends on the size of the tv and how far away you sit from it.
For instance, if you sit 12ft from a 37/32 inch tv then you wont see a difference unless you strain really hard.

Watch this very informative video about tv viewing angles/distance to.......
http://www.whathifi.com/Video/Get-the-best-from-your-TV/
Look about 1:30 minutes in.

You will also able to output 5.1 audio on Sports aswell and mabey some other channels (BBC HD) and ofcourse Movies.

newbie2

More Music wrote: »

Is it worth €15 extra per month?

Absolutely. you'll never watch sport in SD again.

rednik

Yes it is definitely worth it. More and more channels becoming available and if you like sport as already stated you will not watch it again in SD. I personally watch football, golf, cricket, american football in HD and it really is that good. Thing is you can compare it by watching the SD channels for yourself when you subscribe and if you don't notice the difference it's off to Specsavers for you.:)

Nehaxak

One thing though to point out, it's not worth paying the extra money per month for HD unless you're also subbed to the sports and movie packages as they are the bulk of the HD channels available.

Which of course then drives up the cost further, a lot.

HD should be bundled in for free if you sub to the sports and movie packages imo.

Minstrel27

It is not worth €15 per month in my opinion.

newbie2 wrote: »

Absolutely. you'll never watch sport in SD again.

I have. HD looks nice but it is not necessary, especially at the price Sky charge for it.

John mac

still the same answer

rovingrover

I don't have it and don't think it is worth it. I would only want it for football.

I've watched a few games at a friend's house and while it is better I don't think it is THAT much better. I've also asked in the Sony shop, DID and powercity to show me a football match in HD beside an SD one and again not a huge difference. They all kept trying to show fish or blueray nature programmes to show the quality. Fine they are great but I won't be sitting at home watching fish if there's football on tv.

I'd recommend going to a shop and asking them to show you the difference. If see a good enough difference then it is for you.

tbh

I'll put it to you this way, as a non-techie person. I have it, and if I had to make cutbacks, it'd be one of the first things to go but I'd miss it. It annoys me when I have to watch the SD version of sport or a show I'm used to seeing in HD, but it's not the end of the world. If you wouldn't miss the extra 15 quid, and you already have a HD TV, you might not say "wow!" all the time (although you will at first) but you won't regret it either.

John mac

rovingrover wrote: »

I'd recommend going to a shop and asking them to show you the difference. If see a good enough difference then it is for you.

Thats the worst place to view hd stuff!

Owenw

You'll get a better 'wow' effect from a blu-ray player and a 1080p TV over 46inches.

Once you get used to SkyHD the SD channels all look soft and slightly blurry. This gets worse the bigger your screen is.

BBCs Planet Earth Blu-Ray is jaw-dropping on a Panny 50inch!

enfant terrible

rovingrover wrote: »

I've also asked in the Sony shop, DID and powercity to show me a football match in HD beside an SD one and again not a huge difference.

Get a look at HD on a really good TV like a Panasonic plasma.

Has anyone heard of existing customers managing to get HD for less than 15 euro per month.

Calibos

I've a feeling some of the 'Not worth it' lads might be watching 32in Tv's from 12ft or 42in TV's from 15ft etc etc.

Beyond a certain distance from a certain size screen it is definately not worth it. OP has to tell us what size TV he has/his missus will let him have and how far back he will be sitting from said screen, for us/him to make a more definitive worth it/not worth it judgement

Minstrel27

Calibos wrote: »

I've a feeling some of the 'Not worth it' lads might be watching 32in Tv's from 12ft or 42in TV's from 15ft etc etc.

Sorry to say you are wrong. 40" Sony Bravia from 3 feet usually.

Besides I did not say HD was bad. I said it was not worth Sky's charge. Standard definition is still watchable you know.

More Music

Calibos wrote: »

....OP has to tell us what size TV he has/his missus will let him have and how far back he will be sitting from said screen...

LOL. Too late for that. 9-10 feet away admiring my 40 inches!

Thanks to John mac for the other link. I was too lazy to click search.

John mac

here's a calculator for distance .


I have another one somewhere will post it up when i find it.


here it is

cupthehand1

Interesting Twitter page here from Darren Long - Director of Operations at Sky Sports to keep an eye on, he keeps it updated regularly

Amongst other things confirms Sky Sports News HD is on the way (rumoured to be August)


http://twitter.com/Darren_R_Long

byte

Of course, the more people that think the HD levy is "worth it", the less likely Sky are to drop that levy (like they did with Sky+).

If they can offer the HD channels FOC in Italy, can't see why they can't do the same here (well, they can, just refuse to).

Euripides_

Nehaxak wrote: »

One thing though to point out, it's not worth paying the extra money per month for HD unless you're also subbed to the sports and movie packages as they are the bulk of the HD channels available.

Which of course then drives up the cost further, a lot.

HD should be bundled in for free if you sub to the sports and movie packages imo.

I completely agree... I have the HD package, with variety, music, and knowledge... and I love the HD, when i press tvguide to see whats on, I automatically select the HDonly tab... Id prefer to watch everything in HD now if i could. However, I do feel a need to upgrade to movies... but it drives up the cost too much.. I think if they cancelled the 15euro p/m for people taking movies or sport also... they would get alot more business...

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Scotty #

I was reluctant to add another €15 to my bills just for a better TV picture... But I did.

I'll never go back.

Once you watched a bit of MotoGP on HD and then go back to SD it's like your watching some amateur footage shot with a video camera.

Minstrel27

If only the BBC would cop on and put the Moto GP live on BBC HD.

crosstownk

I've Sky HD and I think it's great.

When I got it first I wasn't impressed when I hooked it up to my 32" TV but now I have a 50" display and the difference is amazing and my display is 1280x768.

So it would appear, to me, that you need a larger screen to notice the difference or else you need to be quite close to a smaller screen.

Minstrel27

crosstownk wrote: »

When I got it first I wasn't impressed when I hooked it up to my 32" TV but now I have a 50" display and the difference is amazing and my display is 1280x768.

Set it to 1920x1080i to see some sexy images.