Sky HD worth it?

noellinnane

I've been wondering if the extra Eur15 is worth it?

The picture quality of my SD Sky Plus box has been annoying me on my HD tv for a while now.... but considering that ROI customers don't actually get all of the HD channels our UK counterparts get, is it worth the extra Eur15?

Or.... alternatively am I better off leaving Sky and getting Freesat HD for UK HD channels and Soarview for ROI HD channels??

John mac

depends on what channels you subscribe to.
if you watch a lot of sport and movies then yes.
i have a hd box but dont subscribe to hd pack,
i am happy enough with bbchd bbc1hd and itvhd (stvhd sometimes has ther programming on) oh and lifestyle hd;) 273

watty

That would pay for 50 DVDs in a year.

It's not worth it.

zuroph

found it was worth it with sports pack, but I've just dropped sports, and am getting out of HD next month when contract is up.

John mac

watty wrote: »

That would pay for 50 DVDs in a year.

It's not worth it.

even better Blu ray .. full hd (1080p as it is now)then .:D

An Tarbh

I got fed up with the lack of HD Sports on UPC and so I switched to Sky but it hasn't been worth it as far as I'm concerned. Sure when content is shown in HD in Sky it's an amazing picture quality but more often than not they don't show sport in HD even though the host broadcaster in various countries is actually showing it in native HD. I emailed Sky complaining about this fact and rather than answer my question they just tried to fob me off with an offer of €15 credit on my account, which incidentally didn't come off my next bill. If UPC do manage to get their hands on the same deal that Virgin in the UK got I'll be straight back to them.

Zynks

I just dropped Sky HD + Vodafone and moved to UPC (HD + 30 Mb BB + phone) - with the better broadband and €35 savings overall, i am a very happy camper.

seanybiker

I dont think its worth it. yeah there is a big difference with the HD but Im happy at being able to see something so paying more to be still able to see it albeit a bit better is just madness

Crackity Jones

watty wrote: »

That would pay for 50 DVDs in a year.

It's not worth it.

I dont think you should generalise...It's not worth it to you. In my opinion if you have sky sports and movies it's worth having albeit expensive. The improvements in PQ and sound are noticeable depending on your set up.

steveon

I'd have to agree with my counterparts here the Hd pack is only worth taking if you are subscribing to the sports packages....otherwise simply take the Hd box without the hd channels, and add BBC and Itv HD to the other channels for free...

watty

Sky Sports is madly overpriced and Sky Movies is a waste of money compared to buying DVDs.

But if you want Sky sports and you have a 42" or larger HDTV (or >36" in smaller room) then you might want Sky HD. Very overpriced.

Cantona's Collars

watty wrote: »

Sky Sports is madly overpriced and Sky Movies is a waste of money compared to buying DVD's.

I used to buy DVD's-then realised they were a waste of money and space,watch once and leave on a shelf gathering dust,I always had Sky movies as it only cost me €9 a month along with Sports.
I have my movies stored digitally now which saves space and can play them on my 47" LED. The movie channels are being switched off in a couple of weeks as I have seen anything they show and that's the only reason.It's like people with Sky refusing to pay €2 a month for the Kids pack yet spend an average of €20 a week on kids dvd's-I actually know a couple of people who do that,economic madness.
HD is worth it if the individual deems it so,the best way is to watch the fta hd channels for a while before committing to a hd contract,if you feel you will benefit and it warrants €15 p.m then subscribe.

mad muffin

Only worth it if you have the sports pack? What? Why?

You get Sky 1 HD

Now Also Atlantic HD

Living HD

FX HD

BBC HD

Comedy Central HD

Bio HD

SYFY HD

E4 HD

Universal HD

Good Food HD

Euro Sport HD

Rush HD



Five or six HD Documentary Channels.

And I'm sure I missed some other HD channels That are worth watching.

jimmyendless

Zynks wrote: »

I just dropped Sky HD + Vodafone and moved to UPC (HD + 30 Mb BB + phone) - with the better broadband and €35 savings overall, i am a very happy camper.

Are you Craig Doyle?

Cantona's Collars

Seems to be a hell of a lot less channels in HD on UPC. You can combine UPC broadband/phone with Sky and still save a few quid.

Dymo

I don't think it's worth it at all, it is a great picture but I don't value it at €15 a month. I dropped it after my contract was up. BBC and ITV HD are fine for me.

Minstrel27

mad muffin wrote: »

Only worth it if you have the sports pack? What? Why?

You get Sky 1 HD

Now Also Atlantic HD

Living HD

FX HD

BBC HD

Comedy Central HD

Bio HD

SYFY HD

E4 HD

Universal HD

Good Food HD

Euro Sport HD

Rush HD



Five or six HD Documentary Channels.

And I'm sure I missed some other HD channels That are worth watching.

BBC HD is FTA and does not require a HD subscription. Out of the channels you list I would have watched five from time to time. But that's just me.

Dymo wrote: »

I don't think it's worth it at all, it is a great picture but I don't value it at €15 a month. I dropped it after my contract was up. BBC and ITV HD are fine for me.

I have to agree with that. HD is all fine and dandy but it is a rip off being asked to pay an extra €15 per month for channels you already receive in SD. I got rid of it and I really don't miss it at all.

Hygro

John mac wrote: »

depends on what channels you subscribe to.
if you watch a lot of sport and movies then yes.
i have a hd box but dont subscribe to hd pack,
i am happy enough with bbchd bbc1hd and itvhd (stvhd sometimes has ther programming on) oh and lifestyle hd;) 273

How did you get the HD box if you don't subscribe to the HD pack? did you subscribe to it originally?

I'll be getting ordering sky in the next week or so and would like the HD box (without subcribing to the HD package for the moment).

JDxtra

All new subscribers get a HD box. If you take the HD pack though you will get a bigger discount overall.

JDxtra

I don't think Sky HD is worth it, hence I don't subscribe to it. I’ve no interest in Sky Sports, ESPN or Sky Movies so maybe that makes a difference.

Unfortunately the SD channels are now slowly becoming like “nag-ware”. I think Sky are forgetting that we are already paying for these “pay TV” channels and we already have to suffer endless adverts on them. Now we also get nagged constantly about getting them in HD as well. Branding Sky Atlantic only as Sky Atlantic HD is a typical example.

zuroph

Does anyone know is there a term of notice you have to give to cancel HD, like the 30 day one on sports pack?

homer simpson

I just got the HD subscription in today myself....

My SD plus box shít the nest and was quoted nearly 300 for a new one but HD box is was 30 no brainer really...

The min initial HD sub has to be 12 months, you cant take it off i you dont like it after a month, which is the only downside. I'm impressed with it so far but i watch pretty much any sport and love Discovery channels ect so i'll like it anyways im sure...

noellinnane

Thanks for all of your opinions guys, appreciate it.

I don't watch any sports on the TV, or Movies I buy Blu Rays for that....

So, what are peoples opinions on FreeSat HD?

watty

pay once...

Minstrel27

Freesat HD has limited HD channel choice but it's free and I do watch the BBC channels quite a bit.

chris_ie

I like HD. Yeah the €15 a month charge is a bit ridiculous and I thought they would have gotten rid of it by now. I subscribe to Sports, Movies, Comedy channels and now will watch Sky Atlantic so watch quite a bit in HD.

I find it hard going back to SD at times (bit fussy sometimes ha). If you watch a match in HD and compare to SD theres a big difference. But as someone else mentioned it also depends on the size of your TV.

spillit67

15 euro a month for just improved picture quality isn't worth it imo. The content is the same. 180 euro a year for just improved PQ? No thanks, I buy a HD tv for that. I wouldn't mind paying extra once off just for the Box. Think about how much HD tvs have dropped in price and all Sky have dropped is the Box price.

Ridiculous price tbh.

chris_ie

I'm sure if you ring sky and explain your interested you could get some kind of deal out of them. When I got Sky HD the first time round, the day the came and installed it there was a half price offer advertised. I was raging, after paying full price. In fairness it wasn't Sky's fault but with the subscription charge for HD etc I was just a bit annoyed at the time So I rang them and explained the situation. By the end of it I got half price HD for a year I think it was.

chris_ie

homer_simpson wrote: »

....but i watch pretty much any sport and love Discovery channels ect so i'll like it anyways im sure...

Nature programs etc, the likes of on Discovery are always fantastic in HD. Love watching them. Watching football in HD then comparing with the SD, it looks quite blurry in comparison.

Its about personal choice really, its like surround sound. Some people aren't bothered about it but others, like myself, think it really adds to movies etc. The same as a HD picture would.

mad muffin

spillit67 wrote: »

15 euro a month for just improved picture quality isn't worth it imo. The content is the same. 180 euro a year for just improved PQ? No thanks, I buy a HD tv for that. I wouldn't mind paying extra once off just for the Box. Think about how much HD tvs have dropped in price and all Sky have dropped is the Box price.

Ridiculous price tbh.

Well if I have to pay, I have to pay.

I didn't spend the best part of a grand for a 50 inch Plasma just to watch crappy SD on it.

iPlop

Just on the sky HD question.I have the HD sub and I don't like sports.I got the movies for the kids at Christmas.I love love discovery etc in HD.But if you get a HD box and don't get the sub ,the picture is far better than the SD box because theres a HDMI cable supplied and the picture is clearer in SD on the HD box than it would be if you were using a scart.I have a samsung 50" plasma and the SD channels are excellent quality

watty

If SD HDMI is clearer than SCART, then the SCART is not running in RGB mode or the SCART input on the HDTV is poorer than the upscale converter in the Sky Box, i.e. a Poor HDTV. Or it's a dodgy SCART cable.

iPlop

watty wrote: »

If SD HDMI is clearer than SCART, then the SCART is not running in RGB mode or the SCART input on the HDTV is poorer than the upscale converter in the Sky Box, i.e. a Poor HDTV. Or it's a dodgy SCART cable.

Dodgy scart so ,definitely a difference with HDMI

homer simpson

A agree with sink the banana. My SD channels are all better quality since i got the HD box in yesterday, nothing to do with the scart either because the fella connected the scart (the same scart as i used in with my last box) to the telly along with the HDMI cable, and if i go to AV2 on my telly to watch its still a lot better than the quality i got with my old sky box...

_Kaiser_

Although I have Sports, I don't pay for the HD "upgrade". With multiroom I'm already paying about €70 a month as it is AND I'd have to pay another €30 if I wanted HD on both boxes - something they don't particularly highlight incidentially... multiroom does NOT automatically mean you get HD in both rooms.

I don't bother with the Movies... I used to, but like others I started buying DVDs instead and now keep em all digitally (and accessible through ALL the TVs and laptops in the house - kinda like my own multiroom )

As for TV in HD, I can watch that too and usually much earlier as well!

If they dropped the HD sub for even Sports/Movies subscribers for now and (better yet) came out with a Premiership Pack that entitled you to all the football regardless of channel (anyone else noticed how Sky now spread the football over Sports 1 and 2, whereas it used to be all on 1? It's not that there's 2 games on at the same time either... it's so you have to take the full Sports pack ) then I'd quite happily pay, but seeing as their revenues keep rising I guess there's a lot of people happy to pay the equally ever rising prices for the "convenience factor".. oh well!

zuroph

Just rang to cancel, and they didnt try talk me out of it at all, just immediately cancelled for me. strange one, I was all set for the debate!

mad muffin

zuroph wrote: »

Just rang to cancel, and they didnt try talk me out of it at all, just immediately cancelled for me. strange one, I was all set for the debate!

They were like:
http://blogs.soccernet.com/manchesterunited/middle-finger.jpg

jujamax

Same here. Cancelled HD no problem.

kaisersose77

Do they give any offers at all to existing customers? I got through to 3 different people inquiring what the price was for movies, sports and hd pack and explained that I got a HD box already (so they wouldnt have to give me a new box and send out an installer) but not one of them offered anything off the price when I asked them. 2 people in Cork and 1 in Scotland.

While looking at uk forums like digitalspy, they seem to get loads of offers.

iPlop

kaisersose77 wrote: »

Do they give any offers at all to existing customers? I got through to 3 different people inquiring what the price was for movies, sports and hd pack and explained that I got a HD box already (so they wouldnt have to give me a new box and send out an installer) but not one of them offered anything off the price when I asked them. 2 people in Cork and 1 in Scotland.

While looking at uk forums like digitalspy, they seem to get loads of offers.

I just got rid of the movies on Tuesday and I had them for 3 months.I rang up to ask how much for them in November and they said it was x.I said no it's ok that's a rip off ,and the guy on the other end said he'd give them to me for half price for 3 months.That ran out yesterday so I rang to cancel and they offered them to me for 25% cheaper if I kept them.I declined as they're all repeats.

I would usually get them once or twice a year for 2 or 3 months then cancel.I usually get something off them ,I never pay full whack.

Metallergy

what you don't know sure can't hurt you, if i'd not had exposure to HD i doubt i'd miss it. but the HD box is a must have i guess, if just for the better EPG. whatever 'free' HD content that comes with that might whet your appetite though.. or it may not

all this sky lark is a complete rip off, and no concessions for actual customers its just to entice new ones. but we choose what we want to spend our money on i suppose.. wayne rooney's wages. and if we also choose to subscribe to HD on top of that, what should be a standard service may never be

iPlop

Metallergy wrote: »

what you don't know sure can't hurt you, if i'd not had exposure to HD i doubt i'd miss it. but the HD box is a must have i guess, if just for the better EPG. whatever 'free' HD content that comes with that might whet your appetite though.. or it may not

all this sky lark is a complete rip off, and no concessions for actual customers its just to entice new ones. but we choose what we want to spend our money on i suppose.. wayne rooney's wages. and if we also choose to subscribe to HD on top of that, what should be a standard service may never be

Yeah I know ,I got rid of the movies but not the HD sub:pac:

KELTICKNIGHTT

not worth it specialy at the price ,maybe end of year or next year if they manage too get over 100 hd channels and get rid of stupid fee they charge