So why would I want Sky Plus?

[danielrickard]

Hi there all,
I currently use Tivo with my Telewest cable service, but the area I'm moving to is a cableless area so I'll be getting Sky.

What happens with my ToDo list, wishlists and season passes when I update Tivo to tell it I now have Sky Digital. Does it automatically change to the new channels - so it will go to 106, rather than 120, for SkyOne and 401 rather than 511 for SkySports1 etc?
Or am I going to need to reprogram all my programs?


When I first realised I'd be losing cable I thought of Sky+. I'd assumed it was the same as Tivo but had the advantage of being able to either record two channels at once or watch one while you record another - very handy as I'll be living with my girlfriend!!
But I used this round a freinds house recently while housesitting and other than the above I think it's pretty naff. Unless I was missing out on LOADS of it there's nothing like Wishlists, which I find very useful as so many programs are shown on more than one channel.
And how can they not have the beloved Tivo sounds... It was too strange!!

Why has TiVo stopped with just the first series boxes in the UK. How come we don't have the latest and greatest? People are getting an inferior product (IMHO) in Sky+ shoved down their necks and TiVo's just been left to die on these shores.

Style over content. Again. With everything! Always! Shocking!!

[cwaring]

What happens with my ToDo list, wishlists and season passes when I update Tivo to tell it I now have Sky Digital. Does it automatically change to the new channels - so it will go to 106, rather than 120, for SkyOne and 401 rather than 511 for SkySports1 etc?
Assuming the channel callsigns are the same, it should do, yes.

Agree with your other comments. Keep your Tivo :) With the extra channels Sky has (eg Sky 2) there'l less of a chance of un-resolvable programme clashes ;)

[DeadKenny]

If you're considering HD, that would be a reason why as you can only get HD with Sky+ ;)

It may be inferior as a PVR, but it's the best product on sale in the UK. Yes, that's right because TiVo isn't sold officially in the UK any more. It still has some advantages on regular standard def TV too, especially in picture quality.

UK TiVo's are slowing sinking into obscurity, and will eventually die from hardware failures and the listings will dry up eventually (it will happen some day despite assurances to the contrary, especially when some TiVo exec realises it's too costly;)). Even in the niche market there are other options matching TiVo (MythTV, Windows MCE, etc) with far more support and are products that are evolving. When HD takes over from SD, TiVo UK will be dead...

... unless they do something about it, *cough*, *cough* ;)

[GeoffT]

Why would you want Sky+? For me the biggest decider was losing the ability to record radio channels. I know there's a work-around but to be honest I can't be arsed. These days I'm more interested in recording and watching TV than hacking this bit of hardware or that bit of software just to get the Tivo to do what I want.

I'll miss my Tivo certainly when my Sky HD box eventually arrives. Lord knows I was a huge advcocate of Tivo when it first appeared in the UK and persuaded several of my friends to get them. And no doubt I'll quickly learn that Sky+ has its drawbacks too. But the Tivo is slowly beginning to feel like that five or six year old car that's tired and ready for trading in. Time to move on I feel.......

GeoffT.

[cwaring]

If you're considering HD, that would be a reason why as you can only get HD with Sky+ ;)
There is some content HD on Telewest Teleport but yes, for actual HD channels (ie Sky One) then Sky have the monopoly at the moment. No surprise there then ;)

It may be inferior as a PVR, but it's the best product on sale in the UK.
It may be the best "on sale" but TVDrive is better, but that's rented :D

[Automan]

If you keep your Tivo try and get a normal Digibox rather than Sky+

Sky+ and Tivo are not an ideal match as if you want to watch anything Sky+ has recorded at the same time Tivo wants to record a program you will be in trouble.

Automan.

[danielrickard]

Thanks for all your helpful responses...

I know Tivo's no longer on sale in the UK - a travesty! - but I want to keep it as long as I can, while the lifetime subscriptions to the listings are still honored.
So looks like I'll just be getting a normal digibox and sticking with Tivo while I can... Or until the arguments over Friends or Football get so unbearable we need that 2nd receiver!

Speaking of which - do I need to / how can I change my subscription as my phone number will be changing when I move - will it still honour it from the ID on the system board, or does it use the number you're dialling from?

Cheers

[Cainam]

You might WANT to tell Customer Services that you are moving (in case Tivo come back into the UK and want to give existing users a fantastic deal on a new box :rolleyes: ), but there is really no need to.

The lifetime sub is attached to the motherboard, so it does not matter where you dial from, or even if you dial in at all (which is why it works fine if you have a Turbonet or Cachecard, and connect over broadband)

[blindlemon]

I'll just be getting a normal digibox and sticking with Tivo while I can... Or until the arguments over Friends or Football get so unbearable we need that 2nd receiver!There's a simple answer to that: Get another TiVo :D:D

[danielrickard]

I'd need a 2nd digibox though - two Tivo's still wouldn't be able to record the bike racing AND Friends when they clash on a Sunday! :-)

And you can't buy them anymore anyway

[chimaera]

I'd need a 2nd digibox though - two Tivo's still wouldn't be able to record the bike racing AND Friends when they clash on a Sunday! :-)

And you can't buy them anymore anyway
There will probably be a few TiVo + Sky digibox pairs coming onto the used market soon though, as people upgrade to HD. I expect I will be parting with mine in June.

[blindlemon]

And you can't buy them anymore anywayNot new, I grant you.

But you can get a refurbished, upgraded machine from various sources;)

[Steve_K]

Sky+ and TiVo work OK for me.

Reasons for getting a Sky+ if you have a TiVo

1. Constant reminder of how good the user interface is on TiVo (and the EPG, reliability etc etc) so helps you feel smug.

2. Good as back up route for those programmes you really really have to record

3. Easier to upgrade the storage capacity

4. Higher quality recordings

5. Records two Sky programmes at same time the TiVo is recording the news from the BBC.

steve

[mikerr]

How do people with tivo and sky+ get around the problem of single output from the sky+

..if you are watching something recorded on sky+, then tivo tries to record, and can't change channel so just records the playback of your other recording.

I have this problem with Tv drive.. and other than keeping an eye on the todo list,
any easier way?

[iankb]

How do people with tivo and sky+ get around the problem of single output from the sky+They use a standard digibox on a mirror sub to feed the TiVo, and use the Sky+ independently. It's the only practical way, unless you just want to use the Sky+ as a standard digibox.

[JeromeO'Donohoe]

Assuming the channel callsigns are the same, it should do, yes.

Agree with your other comments. Keep your Tivo :) With the extra channels Sky has (eg Sky 2) there'l less of a chance of un-resolvable programme clashes ;)

As one of the original loudmouths on "are you ready to jump?", I have tried really hard recently to schedule repeats and +1 channels to get over tivo's single recording problem, but recently it's come to the fore again. The Apprentice and Grand Designs...if you want to be able to discuss them the next day, as I do, you're stuffed. Channel 4 could do with a +1 channel, rather than E4 :-)

[healeydave]

If you're considering HD, that would be a reason why as you can only get HD with Sky+ ;)
....
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When HD takes over from SD, TiVo UK will be dead...



Don't anyone have any sleepless nights regarding HD taking over from SD. Its taken several years of missed and extended deadlines to try and convince people to move from Analog to Digital TV. I'm not sure if this has been extended even further than 2010 yet but on that note, what chance do you think HD will make any serious impact on the UK considering its taken the emergence of Freeview and set-top-boxes to cost around £20 before the UK even looks close to meeting the 2010 target and thats just for Digital to takeover from Analog!!

If you think I'm being too pesimistic, consider the following:

1.Every HD channel content has to be duplicated as there is no compatability what-so-ever with SD (can you imaging the service providers having to duplicate every channel BBC1 BBC2, ITV etc whilst they still need to provide the more popular existing SD channels!)

2.HD hardware prices coupled with extra charges for receiving the transmissions (extra subscriptions) are un-popular with the mainstream.

3.Whilst LCD's & Plasma's have probably had the biggest influence over people upgrading their TV's since Colour took over from Black & White, this still leaves a massive amount of the population with HD incompatible TV's and includes a huge amount of early LCD / Plasma adopters with non HD compliant hardware.

So moving from Analog to Digital was cheap and easy compared to the migration from SD to HD and that move will have taken 10+ years so I rekon on we're looking at at-least that long again for HD to make any in-roads!!!!

In-fact HD has come along so soon after many people may have just upgraded to an expensive (non-HD compliant) screen coupled with the massive operation to move from Analog to Digital that I wouldn't be suprised if HD gets itself replaced by another hybrid technology before its even got any significant momentum!!



I might be being too pesamistic and I don't even mind being proved wrong, after-all, you can't always rely on similar historic events as a guide to the future ones :-)

[Ian_m]

I saw a demo of Disney's Beauty and the Beast in high def on a 36" CRT in the States on 1994 at an exhibition at EPCOT, so hi-def is nothing new.

[iankb]

I seem to remember the BBC demonstrating some form of Hi-Def many years ago at the Ideal Home Exhibition.

[katman]

Sony had a demo of an HD CRT Projector at Live '95.

Absolutely stunning.

Also saw £250k's worth of JVC-Hughes LightValve projector at Plasa several years ago throwing a 40ft x 24ft image. Breathtaking.

[HyperionX]

Though it pains me to say it, I think you would choose Sky+ (assuming you have Sky) over TiVo for the reason that Sky+ has a development future in the UK whilst - and I am very bitter about this :mad: - TiVo does not. :down:

For all of the flaws that Sky+ has (and there are a few) with the exception that you have to have Sky, most could still be fixed by updates....

Please note I'm talking about bugs or feature enhancements (i.e. more series links)....not things that we TiVo owners would like copied from the TiVo space.

I would suggest that the biggest real threat to Uk TiVo owners is that the cable providers will also deliver a viable PVR - Telewest already has and since ntl now owns Telewest it's only a matter of time until ntl:Telewest release it to all it's clients too.

At that point the UK will have 3 types of fully supported PVRs for it client base - Sky+, cable PVRs and the various Freeview PVRs. Not much mainstream space for rapidly aging TiVos.... :(

I'm not happy about it but until/unless TiVo come back to the UK the TiVo market will shrink to a virtually nonexistent level. :(

[JeromeO'Donohoe]

Sony had a demo of an HD CRT Projector at Live '95.

Absolutely stunning.

Also saw £250k's worth of JVC-Hughes LightValve projector at Plasa several years ago throwing a 40ft x 24ft image. Breathtaking.

I've been working with HD for 5 years now. I first saw it in 1080p on a Sanyo LCD projector that wasn't even 1920 native, and I was moved to gasps...Band of Brothers it was, and even the title sequence had me gasping. It's a huge leap we're about to do - but not many people have displays to match it.