Sky Q

The Cush

dubsaab wrote: »

What really got me was he would not connect a Sky Q box to the system to see if it would work.

I am off to the Sky talk to forum now.

Looks like it should be plug and play or at least go to the receiver settings to select LNB mode to SCR. This from the Triax webpage

The dSCR provides 16 user band channels to be selected, allowing the Sky Q receiver to record 4 channels and the viewer to watch another.

This solution can also be used in Sky Q or Legacy modes and once the dSCR detects the Sky Q receiver it automatically switches to SCR functionality.

zg3409

Page 6 of this very up to date document shows Sky Q and a normal Sky box in an apartment multi switch set up. SCR mode seems to be used for both old and new units:
http://www.unitrongroup.com/download.php?lang=en&id=657

I updated the wikipedia entry on LNBs to include the new Sky Q LNB:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_downconverter#Sky_Q_LNB

winston_1

lertsnim wrote: »

Or perhaps nobody is experiencing any of this phantom interference you are on about. The devices are legal and it's time to get over it.

Yes they are legal to buy and own. Causing interference is illegal, which they all do.

It is not phantom interference, it is real, which is why Ofcom have stopped people from using them.

Johnboy1951

winston_1 wrote: »

Yes they are legal to buy and own. Causing interference is illegal, which they all do.

It is not phantom interference, it is real, which is why Ofcom have stopped people from using them.

That is interesting ...... and you gave no indication of this in a previous reply ....
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99583332&postcount=523

If Ofcom have had these devices withdrawn from the market, or, in some other manner, prevented people using them, can you provide a link to the relevant documentation please?
I have been unable to find anything relevant.

The Cush

Attached is a presentation on SkyQ at a recent CAI event.

Johnboy1951

Sky Q (Silver) apparently has 12 tuners, which - if I read correctly - are all dedicated to particular tasks, so that if a particular task is not being used then the tuner cannot be allocated to a different task.
This being the case the tuner for PiP is solely for PiP and otherwise is unused.
This seems strange, so I doubt my interpretation.
Could someone else confirm this or tell me how wrong I am? ta

On the matter of the LNB which as I understand it is a wideband device with two outputs V & H.
Is this type of LNB usable with 'off the shelf' components?
Is there any limitation on the number of 'tuners' and thus channels that can be tuned?

I have found it difficult to find 'layman's details' of the technical side of things .... type of 'tuners', how they are arranged and used etc etc. Mostly I find Sky blurb and no detail.

The Cush

Sky have provided little to no detail of the technicalities of SkyQ, the presentation above was compiled and presented by the CAI. The CAI themselves have been a little critical of this in the past, as the installers body in the UK, and are out of the loop at least in the initial phase of roll out.

As regards the tuners, this is the first semi-official information we've had as regards their use and yes they appear to be allocated to specific tasks.

Like a regular aerial the new wideband LNB feeds the full band IF signal direct to the tuners where it is processed unike the existing setup where the this work is done at the LNB. So it would appear the feed could be split like a regular terrestrial aerial to multiple receivers with FBC tuners but taking into consideration the signal is spread across a wider chunk of spectrum from 290 MHz to above 2 GHz.

Johnboy1951

Thanks The Cush for the confirmation that I appear to be reading things correctly.

Is there anything at all available about how Sky have done the tuners?

Initially it seems the tuner arrangement could be much simpler than the ordinary tuners in use today, which should mean a considerable reduction in cost ...... always of course depending on the availability of the wideband LNB.

MarkAnthony

Anyone else finding SkyQ deleting half watched programmes (not fully watched) or am I being incredibly stupid and it's moving them somewhere in the 'feature not a bug' vein.

Many Thanks

Max Q

Quick question for those of you with Sky Q installed for a couple of weeks now..especially those not on Sky Broadband..

How are you finding the stability of the Sky mini over wifi? I've seen a couple of videos on youtube of picture loss and connectivity issues on the mini, and there seems to be plenty of complaints on the sky forums about it. Are any of you experiencing this?

I've an install date for Sky Q booked for next week and am beginning to have second thoughts as my current Sky+ HD setup is working well and I'm getting nervous about some of the stuff I've seen and read that the product has been launched too early before all the gremlins have been ironed out.

I'm on Virgin Media 360Mb for broadband with their latest 2.5/5GHz router so I'm not expecting wifi to be an issue really but just concerned reading some of the reports from early adopters.

MarkAnthony

on Sky BB here - the connection is rock solid. I had my concerns over this with third party BB. Hope it gets fixed for you!

If you could keep the thread updated that's be very useful for people on 3rd party BB.

Max Q

MarkAnthony wrote: »

on Sky BB here - the connection is rock solid. I had my concerns over this with third party BB. Hope it gets fixed for you!

If you could keep the thread updated that's be very useful for people on 3rd party BB.

I don't have Sky Q installed yet, I'm getting it installed next week and just having some doubts now having read some of the reports online and seen a few videos of problems users are having on youtube.

If anybody who has Sky Q on non-Sky BB, could you let us know if the mini 'plays nice' with your broadband/wifi?

digiman

Max Q wrote: »

I don't have Sky Q installed yet, I'm getting it installed next week and just having some doubts now having read some of the reports online and seen a few videos of problems users are having on youtube.

If anybody who has Sky Q on non-Sky BB, could you let us know if the mini 'plays nice' with your broadband/wifi?

I've got VM broadband and have found no issues with it. In saying that I don't use the mini much as it is in the bedroom.

Slippin Jimmy

Use the mini quite a bit and haven't had a single issue with it.

I am with VM for broadband.

dubsaab

The Cush wrote: »

Looks like it should be plug and play or at least go to the receiver settings to select LNB mode to SCR. This from the Triax webpage

I have Sky Q installed for just over two weeks now, Installer was well versed in SCR's and got the silver up and running quickly. Silver is hard wired, Mini would not connect with a wired connection, so is wireless with the aid of a booster. I had to reboot the mini on the day it was installed and the silver last Monday. Apart from that it is quite stable and I really like being able to access box-sets on the mini.

Thanks for all the advice here.

dubsaab

dubsaab

Max Q wrote: »

I don't have Sky Q installed yet, I'm getting it installed next week and just having some doubts now having read some of the reports online and seen a few videos of problems users are having on youtube.

If anybody who has Sky Q on non-Sky BB, could you let us know if the mini 'plays nice' with your broadband/wifi?

I have Sky Q nearly three weeks now and am on VM 360. I have my own router so I do use the VM one for my network. Silver is a wired connection to my router and the mini is wireless with the aid of the booster. It has it's own WIFI network and is quite stable so far.

dubsaab

Johnny_Fontane

Hi guys, I cant download the sky Q app to my oneplus x phone. Is there any workaround on this?

its very annoying upgrading and then finding out the app isnt supported on your phone.

Sky go and all the other sky apps work, just not sky q

ffocused

Sky Q app is not available for any phone. It's for tablets only.

Johnny_Fontane

ah well, that explains it! cheers!

So how do I remote record on sky q?

ffocused

You can still send remote record requests via the Sky+ app.

swoofer

try this workaround, from a sky forum, using sky app

"Go in to the app
Click the spanner top left
Click connect to SKY+HD Box
Turn off the slider so it isnt looking for the old HD box
Click recordings and downloads
Check card number is right there and click both boxes i.e remote record and remote download
Go back to TV guide on front page and select something
record

Now I have had different levels of success, Some when the box has been in standby and some when the box is on but it does work, Sometimes with a slight lag in me selecting it on the planner"

techdiver

I asked in another thread, but might have better luck here.

For those who have sky q, is it worth it over the standard (taking into account I can get Sky variety + hd pack for €38.50 for 12 months as a new customer).

What are the main selling points? I am keeping Virgin Media broadband.

zg3409

techdiver wrote: »

I asked in another thread, but might have better luck here.

For those who have sky q, is it worth it over the standard (taking into account I can get Sky variety + hd pack for €38.50 for 12 months as a new customer).

What are the main selling points? I am keeping Virgin Media broadband.

Do you have/need multiroom? Do you intend watching TV on laptops/tablets. The main difference as far as I understand is being able to watch on multiple devices as if you are using the main box, so access to recordings, and more total viewable recordings and options. Ideal if you have multiple people (probably more than 2) who routinely watch TV at the same time.

By keeping Virgin media broadband you probably have plenty of speed for alternative services on laptops such as netflix, RTE player, Sky go etc.

I would say it is aimed at 3 or more teenager/adult households, to save fighting over access to the main box/recordings. Normal multiroom boxes cannot access recordings from the main box, they cannot record themselves, although there is a method of watching recordings using the remote eye connector but you are limited to watching the exact same as the main TV in non HD format.

Any other opinions from actual users of Sky Q?

ffocused

My 2 cents as Q customer since launch.

Sky Q advantages
You can record 4 channels while watching a 5th
Multiroom boxes do not need a cable to be ran from dish so can be easily moved
Tablet access
Free engineer visits if needed
Equipment will be replaced free of charge if faulty
UHD (not launched yet)
If using Sky broadband you get a much better router

Disadvantages
If you are not technically proficient i would definitely not recommend it
Still a lot of bugs to be ironed out
Multi screen box frequently drops signal requiring reboot of main box
The wifi mesh can reduce your wifi network to a crawl for other devices
Setanta not available on multi screen boxes
Equipment does not belong to you

The deciding factor for me was cost.
I had HD & multiroom before so Sky Q cost reduced my bill by €2 a month.
I tend be be an early adopter so ordered it on day 1.
I would not recommend it to anyone if it is going to increase your monthly bill significantly, but if you intend to get HD & multiroom it's worth a shot as it costs more or less the same & you can cancel within 30 days of install if you don't like it.

techdiver

ffocused wrote: »

My 2 cents as Q customer since launch.

Sky Q advantages
You can record 4 channels while watching a 5th
Multiroom boxes do not need a cable to be ran from dish so can be easily moved
Tablet access
Free engineer visits if needed
Equipment will be replaced free of charge if faulty
UHD (not launched yet)
If using Sky broadband you get a much better router

Disadvantages
If you are not technically proficient i would definitely not recommend it
Still a lot of bugs to be ironed out
Multi screen box frequently drops signal requiring reboot of main box
The wifi mesh can reduce your wifi network to a crawl for other devices
Setanta not available on multi screen boxes
Equipment does not belong to you

The deciding factor for me was cost.
I had HD & multiroom before so Sky Q cost reduced my bill by €2 a month.
I tend be be an early adopter so ordered it on day 1.
I would not recommend it to anyone if it is going to increase your monthly bill significantly, but if you intend to get HD & multiroom it's worth a shot as it costs more or less the same & you can cancel within 30 days of install if you don't like it.

Thanks for the reply.

I ordered the Sky Q Silver bundle. Got a good deal at €55 for a new customer.

I'm a massive tech head and early adopter and have a 4K TV, so will be interested to see what UHD content is coming down the pipe.

Ludo

Have it about 3 weeks myself here also. Buggy is the word I would use for it and the UX is pretty awful. The touch sensitive remote is crap. Way too sensitive and acts very oddly. The kids (and myself) are constantly pausing tv by accident whenever we touch the remote so it is put away in a drawer most of the time now. A few tweaks could make it very good but for now the only thing making it worthwhile over normal sky for me is the wireless multiroom. Being able to move the second box to another room whenever you feel like it is very handy.

ffocused

+1 for the rubbish touch remote, it is way too sensitive.
I have a big issue with the regular one too, half of the buttons on it open/close the disc drawer on my blu ray player! My solution for it is to leave the blu Ray remote standing on its side covering the ir reciever on the player.

techdiver

I heard about it being buggy and the issues with the remote. I won't be using the remote as I have a Logitech harmony.

Hopefully other issues will be ironed out over time. Still looking forward to getting it though. My advise to everyone is to report all issues. As a software engineer myself, we will often miss things that end users will encounter. It's best to report these issues as the more people that do, the more likely they are to be addressed.

Unearthly

I'd had it for a while now and I actually like it a lot.

For some reason sky+ downloads were virtually snail pace for me making on demand useless. I get my full download speed now and it allows you to view an episode or film about 2 seconds after clicking download. With their TV and movie content this makes it much better than Netflix.

I also like how if you download a show, it stays available to watch, even if it's no longer available to download anymore. Takes the pressure off with deadlines on boxsets

The remote is crap though.

Haven't had any connection issues. Very smooth consistently for me.

techdiver

Have any of you that got sky q installed get a hybrid lnb that will allow existing FTA satellite equipment to still function along side sky q?

I installed my own system about a year ago and have multiple rooms hooked up to my dish. I'd like to avoid having a second dish if possible and just run everything from a single dish.