Sky Q

Marcusm

techdiver wrote: »

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.

I insisted that it was what I wanted, for future proofing or as a back up. I knew Actavo wouldn't instal it on my house anyway. Still had to wait in the queue for a properly qualified person to come and dump all the boxes in the hall. I did get an Indy to install it although I have not had the additional cables run for the extra ports yet.

Buggy is a good description; when I go away "power cuts" seem to cause failed recordings. Of course there have not been any power cuts but it does rather screw things up.

techdiver

Marcusm wrote: »

I insisted that it was what I wanted, for future proofing or as a back up. I knew Actavo wouldn't instal it on my house anyway. Still had to wait in the queue for a properly qualified person to come and dump all the boxes in the hall. I did get an Indy to install it although I have not had the additional cables run for the extra ports yet.

Buggy is a good description; when I go away "power cuts" seem to cause failed recordings. Of course there have not been any power cuts but it does rather screw things up.

Just to clarify. Did you get a Hybrid LNB installed with Sky Q?

Marcusm

techdiver wrote: »

Just to clarify. Did you get a Hybrid LNB installed with Sky Q?

Actavo (formerly Siteserv or Sierra) on behalf of Sky (driving the Sky vans) delivered a hybrid LNB. Because I insisted on one. They installed nothing, the Indy did but because of time constraints, I am only using the Q part of the LNB. There are 2 Q connectors and 4 standard ones although they are not marked as such - you have to work out that the 2 on one line are Q and the other 4 are standard.

Sorry if I was unclear. The kit is available but is being rationed.

techdiver

Marcusm wrote: »

Actavo (formerly Siteserv or Sierra) on behalf of Sky (driving the Sky vans) delivered a hybrid LNB. Because I insisted on one. They installed nothing, the Indy did but because of time constraints, I am only using the Q part of the LNB. There are 2 Q connectors and 4 standard ones although they are not marked as such - you have to work out that the 2 on one line are Q and the other 4 are standard.

Sorry if I was unclear. The kit is available but is being rationed.

Cheers for the reply.

I've asked for one before my install, so hopefully it'll be sorted. I've read some other threads and forums and even the sky reps have mentioned that they can supply a hybrid lnb if requested.

Fingers crossed.

techdiver

Another questions for you guys.

Does the touch remote work with the mini? I assume it wouldn't, but would be handy if it did, since I won't be using it in the main room with the silver box and that I plan to hide the mini behind a mounted tv. Would be handy to not need line of sight to it.

Max Q

techdiver wrote: »

Another questions for you guys.

Does the touch remote work with the mini? I assume it wouldn't, but would be handy if it did, since I won't be using it in the main room with the silver box and that I plan to hide the mini behind a mounted tv. Would be handy to not need line of sight to it.

The mini is IR only unfortunately. I was planning on doing the same and hiding the mini behind a wall mounted TV but ended up mounting it on a bracket above the TV. Also, the mini does run quite hot (as does the silver box) so I was concerned about the longevity of it with poor ventilation.

techdiver

Max Q wrote: »

The mini is IR only unfortunately. I was planning on doing the same and hiding the mini behind a wall mounted TV but ended up mounting it on a bracket above the TV. Also, the mini does run quite hot (as does the silver box) so I was concerned about the longevity of it with poor ventilation.

Fortunately, since Sky actually own these boxes and are just "loaning" them to use, they will replace broken ones I assume.

I'll be placing my silver in a cabinet. I have purchased a couple of CPU fans and am going to hot wire them to run from USB and drill some holes in the cabinet for air circulation.

Max Q

techdiver wrote: »

Fortunately, since Sky actually own these boxes and are just "loaning" them to use, they will replace broken ones I assume.

Yeah that's true, but I just didn't want the hassle!

ffocused

techdiver wrote: »

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.

I got one installed by Sky. I had a Setanta multiroom subscription which does not work on the Q mini so I needed to keep my old Sky multiroom box connected for Setanta. Look back through the thread & I have pictures of it posted.

techdiver

ffocused wrote: »

I got one installed by Sky. I had a Setanta multiroom subscription which does not work on the Q mini so I needed to keep my old Sky multiroom box connected for Setanta. Look back through the thread & I have pictures of it posted.

I was just told they won't supply me with a hybrid as they don't support third party setups!

In fact I was told they would only be fitting the new lnb to my existing dish until I made the point that my existing dish was not supplied by sky.

So now it seems like I need to have 2 dishes on my house just because they won't give me a hybrid lmb. A bit pointless if you ask me. It would be less work for all involved....

Johnboy1951

techdiver wrote: »

I was just told they won't supply me with a hybrid as they don't support third party setups!

In fact I was told they would only be fitting the new lnb to my existing dish until I made the point that my existing dish was not supplied by sky.

So now it seems like I need to have 2 dishes on my house just because they won't give me a hybrid lmb. A bit pointless if you ask me. It would be less work for all involved....

I believe it might be illegal to have more than one dish on a house .... maybe check your local council regulations?

techdiver

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I believe it might be illegal to have more than one dish on a house .... maybe check your local council regulations?

Well, multiple properties around me have more than one dish, so I don't think it's an issue. My current one is very ubiquitous on the side of my property. A second one can be placed at the rear of the house too. I've only heard issues about dishes on the front of properties.

Either way once it's installed I will try and track down a hybrid LNB myself and install it on one dish and remove the other.

Edit: Can a multi lnb holder work for both lnbs on a sky dish? Something like this - http://www.freetv.ie/multi-lnb-holder-2-way.html ?

MarkAnthony

ffocused wrote: »

I got one installed by Sky. I had a Setanta multiroom subscription which does not work on the Q mini so I needed to keep my old Sky multiroom box connected for Setanta. Look back through the thread & I have pictures of it posted.

techdiver wrote: »

I was just told they won't supply me with a hybrid as they don't support third party setups!

In fact I was told they would only be fitting the new lnb to my existing dish until I made the point that my existing dish was not supplied by sky.

So now it seems like I need to have 2 dishes on my house just because they won't give me a hybrid lmb. A bit pointless if you ask me. It would be less work for all involved....

Connect the dots people :pac:

techdiver

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Connect the dots people :pac:

Chance my arm and tell the installer I need it for Setanta?:D

mossie

Max Q wrote: »

The mini is IR only unfortunately. I was planning on doing the same and hiding the mini behind a wall mounted TV but ended up mounting it on a bracket above the TV. Also, the mini does run quite hot (as does the silver box) so I was concerned about the longevity of it with poor ventilation.

You can actually use the touch remote with the mini but you are only supplied with an IR remote for this. Also the touch remote can only be paired with one box at a time so you can't just use it with the Silver and then take it to the mini, you have to set it up each time.

Dave_Dublin

The only thing I don't like (having had it since it first became available) is that I CANNOT watch "other channels" on the mini Q boxes - - - big disadvantage in this house

I didn't know this when it was being installed and so I had the main box put in the wrong room . . . Had to drill holes in a wall + purchase satellite extension cables to move it because the stupid installer CUT my other two cables (that were previously used for the 2nd Sky+HD box) rendering them useless as they're now too short to reach the dish

zg3409

techdiver wrote: »

Edit: Can a multi lnb holder work for both lnbs on a sky dish? Something like this - http://www.freetv.ie/multi-lnb-holder-2-way.html ?

No. I assume the new Sky Q LNB is the same shape as the old Sky LNB. This is designed to mount on a Sky only dish (other dishes have a slightly different holder) and mount in the centre position.

If you have one dish with a normal LNB and a second dish with a Sky Q only LNB, then you cannot combine them on one dish. You would need the special Sky Q and legacy LNB which is currently only available through Sky and no other source. If I were you I would insist they supply this before starting any work.

techdiver

zg3409 wrote: »

No. I assume the new Sky Q LNB is the same shape as the old Sky LNB. This is designed to mount on a Sky only dish (other dishes have a slightly different holder) and mount in the centre position.

If you have one dish with a normal LNB and a second dish with a Sky Q only LNB, then you cannot combine them on one dish. You would need the special Sky Q and legacy LNB which is currently only available through Sky and no other source. If I were you I would insist they supply this before starting any work.

From my reading there is little I can do on the Sky end. I'm going to roll the dice that the installer will fit a hybrid if I ask for one.

Also, I'd assume at some point the sky q and hybrid lnb will be available in the same way as others through third party suppliers as the dish and lnb become your responsibility once installed and at some point faulty ones will need to be replaced....

techdiver

Does anyone know if it's more expensive to order extra Sky Q Mini's post install than at install time?

I might want more, but want to see how I like it first.

MarkAnthony

mossie wrote: »

You can actually use the touch remote with the mini but you are only supplied with an IR remote for this. Also the touch remote can only be paired with one box at a time so you can't just use it with the Silver and then take it to the mini, you have to set it up each time.

+1 touch remotes work fine with the mini, I use the touch on my kitchen mini because it's hidden away.

techdiver wrote: »

Does anyone know if it's more expensive to order extra Sky Q Mini's post install than at install time?

I might want more, but want to see how I like it first.

Yep as they charge an install fee each time. Annoying as they don't in the UK but it's just the was Sky Ireland do things.

Kensington

Anyone finding the mini boxes very buggy? Have had sky q since Saturday gone.

Every single evening when I've arrived in from work, the two mini boxes won't show any live tv, I just get the overlay menus with a black screen and no audio.

The menus work ok, I can watch recordings and on demand without any issue but live tv is a no go. Main sky q box works fine.

I find the only way to fix is I have to power off every single sky box and one by one power on the sky q hub modem, wait for it to fully come online, then plug in the wireless extender and wait for it come online, power on the main sky q box and wait for it to be ready then power on the minis. A pretty tedious 20 minute task to have to do every evening.

It all otherwise works fine after the reboot - until the next day and I have to do it all over again.

ffocused

Next time try to reboot the main Q box only. That will always fix the black screen issue on my mini box.

Kensington

Does it happen every day for you though?

techdiver

I caved in on the whole "keeping my freesat setup for other rooms" and just added 2 more mini boxes to my order.

I'll just hold onto my old LNB and re-fit it if I drop Sky in 18 months. In fairness there is no recurring charge for the extra boxes so the once off fee is kinda worth it anyway. I'll have the main silver box in my man cave and 3 other mini boxes about the house.

techdiver

So I got Sky Q installed yesterday I went for the Silver Bundle plus 2 extra mini boxes (4 boxes in total).

Being a new Sky customer (having never had Sky before), here are my impressions so far.

The Good:

1. Really nice devices. Very sleek and slim and don't take up too much room.
2. Mini's can be easily hidden behind mounted tv's.
3. The remotes that come with the minis are excellent. They don't seem to require direct line of sight, so hiding the boxes from sight is no issue as the remotes work just fine. I was very surprised by this. Are they definitely IR remotes and not RF remotes??[/INDENT]
4. I like the UI for the most part. It is very snappy and has no lag.
5. Picture quality is very good.
6. On Demand/Box Sets and catchup tv is excellent. Full HD quality with 5.1 sound on the ones I've watched so far (GOT and Billions).
7. Ability to record 4 channels and watch a fifth due to using the new wideband LNB system.
8. Mini remotes work with all my TV's (Samsung, LG and old ViewSonic model from 10 years ago).

The Bad/Missing features:

1. The boxes, especially the main Silver one runs very hot. I keep it in a cabinet (not tightly packed), and when I open the door it sounds like a jet engine. This is even the case when the door is open for plenty of airflow. I've never had something run this hot in that cabinet before. I'll have to drill some holes and add some fans for extra cooling.
2. Manual Tuned channels are not available on the mini's. This is quite annoying as the likes of ITV HD, Channel 5 HD can only be viewed in the main room.
3. Persistent asking for pin and no ability to disable it. Apparently Ofcom have forced this bull**** on Sky, but it still asks for pins for On Demand stuff even after the watershed. It also asks for the pin every time you want to go to manually tuned channels.
4. Inability to flick through manually tuned channels. Each time you have to go the whole way through the menu and select a channel.
5. Inability to record manually tuned channels.
6. Silver box can't find 5 Ghz wifi for connecting to. I've read online that this is an issue everyone is having. You can only connect to 2.4Ghz band if not using Sky Broadband. The boxes then broadcast a separate 5Ghz channel, but you cannot connect to it from devices other the mini's themselves.
7. I've encountered one issue already with the mini loosing connection to EPG and Menus. I can still flick through the channels and they load fine though. It was late last night so not sure will it still be the same issue today.
8. Pause on one box and resume on another only works for recorded content and not live tv...
9. Lack of profiles ala Netflix. Once you start watching on one box it syncs across all of them. So if multiple people in the house watch the same thing at different times you can't keep track of where you are.
10. No planner/reminders!! This is a very odd one and probably links to the issue above with profiles. You cannot set reminders, only recordings. Probably due to the fact that the system won't know which device to zap to when a reminder is triggered.
11. Still no 4K/UHD.

All in all it is a very impressive system, but it seems to be a work in progress and they seem tight lipped about fixing or resolving and issues thus far. They have no proper roadmap for features and that is slightly concerning as one would hope that their flagship product should be at least as feature rich as it's predecessor.

peteeeed

4K is being launched for the new premier league season in august as far as i'm aware

techdiver

peteeeed wrote: »

4K is being launched for the new premier league season in august as far as i'm aware

Yeah, I read that somewhere alright.

Not the highest in my list of issues though.

lgs 4

techdiver wrote: »

So I got Sky Q installed yesterday I went for the Silver Bundle plus 2 extra mini boxes (4 boxes in total).

Being a new Sky customer (having never had Sky before), here are my impressions so far.

The Good:

1. Really nice devices. Very sleek and slim and don't take up too much room.
2. Mini's can be easily hidden behind mounted tv's.
3. The remotes that come with the minis are excellent. They don't seem to require direct line of sight, so hiding the boxes from sight is no issue as the remotes work just fine. I was very surprised by this. Are they definitely IR remotes and not RF remotes??[/INDENT]
4. I like the UI for the most part. It is very snappy and has no lag.
5. Picture quality is very good.
6. On Demand/Box Sets and catchup tv is excellent. Full HD quality with 5.1 sound on the ones I've watched so far (GOT and Billions).
7. Ability to record 4 channels and watch a fifth due to using the new wideband LNB system.
8. Mini remotes work with all my TV's (Samsung, LG and old ViewSonic model from 10 years ago).

The Bad/Missing features:

1. The boxes, especially the main Silver one runs very hot. I keep it in a cabinet (not tightly packed), and when I open the door it sounds like a jet engine. This is even the case when the door is open for plenty of airflow. I've never had something run this hot in that cabinet before. I'll have to drill some holes and add some fans for extra cooling.
2. Manual Tuned channels are not available on the mini's. This is quite annoying as the likes of ITV HD, Channel 5 HD can only be viewed in the main room.
3. Persistent asking for pin and no ability to disable it. Apparently Ofcom have forced this bull**** on Sky, but it still asks for pins for On Demand stuff even after the watershed. It also asks for the pin every time you want to go to manually tuned channels.
4. Inability to flick through manually tuned channels. Each time you have to go the whole way through the menu and select a channel.
5. Inability to record manually tuned channels.
6. Silver box can't find 5 Ghz wifi for connecting to. I've read online that this is an issue everyone is having. You can only connect to 2.4Ghz band if not using Sky Broadband. The boxes then broadcast a separate 5Ghz channel, but you cannot connect to it from devices other the mini's themselves.
7. I've encountered one issue already with the mini loosing connection to EPG and Menus. I can still flick through the channels and they load fine though. It was late last night so not sure will it still be the same issue today.
8. Pause on one box and resume on another only works for recorded content and not live tv...
9. Lack of profiles ala Netflix. Once you start watching on one box it syncs across all of them. So if multiple people in the house watch the same thing at different times you can't keep track of where you are.
10. No planner/reminders!! This is a very odd one and probably links to the issue above with profiles. You cannot set reminders, only recordings. Probably due to the fact that the system won't know which device to zap to when a reminder is triggered.
11. Still no 4K/UHD.

All in all it is a very impressive system, but it seems to be a work in progress and they seem tight lipped about fixing or resolving and issues thus far. They have no proper roadmap for features and that is slightly concerning as one would hope that their flagship product should be at least as feature rich as it's predecessor.

Sit down totally what that's gonna cost you per year
Freesat HD

techdiver

lgs 4 wrote: »

Sit down totally what that's gonna cost you per year
Freesat HD

I had all the freesat setup. I just got sick of not having the access to the channels I want, when I want them. Trying to watch rugby on crappy streams wasn't cutting it anymore, plus I like the documentary channels also.

jeffk

We are getting this next week

Having issues with a refurb box (they won’t give new ones), the HDMI port seems to be knackered. Was quoted €60 to get someone to look at it a replace port or likely another refurb.

Then the big sell started (or so I thought) about this, said I’ll let them go. For €20 more upfront we get Sky Q with two new boxes. save €14 a month (more than paying the €80 back) and then drops down to €2 saving after 18 months

I’ve the magic eye setup for the parents and picture and sound isn’t HD, so be great that this setup will give them better picture/sound