Subscriptions:
What Packages Are Available?
The table below shows the packages and prices as at 05 February 2009:
What Is The Minimum Level of Subscription?
This depends upon what features you want.
The cheapest way to use the recording features is either £9.75/month with no subscrption channels, or the option below
The cheapest standard Sky package is £16.50 (one entertainment mix) and includes Sky+ recording functionality
The cheapest route to HD is £26.25 (one entertainment mix @ £16.50 and the HD pack @ £9.75)
The cheapest multiroom subscription is also £26.25 (one entertainment mix @ £16.50 and the multiroom subscription @ £9.75)
If I Don't Subscribe, Can I Record the FTA Channels?
For free? No. The cheapest way is laid out above, either £9.75 just to record FTA channels, or £16.50 for the lowest subscription package which includes Sky+ recording functionality.
Does The HD Pack Constitute A "Mix" for Sky+ Recording Purposes?
No. In order to enable the Sky+ recording features, the minimum subscription is currently £16.50. The cheapest route to HD with recording capabilities would be 1 mix and the HD pack (£16.50 + £9.75).
Is The HD Pack Mirrored On The Multiroom Subscription?
No. Should you have more than one Sky+HD box, you will need to pay the £9.75 subscription for each box you wish to view subscription HD content on.
Installations:
What LNB Will Be Fitted?
From talks with the installers in my area, I am led to believe that you will almost certainly be fitted with a quad LNB - this will allow 4 outputs, meaning you could have 4 standard boxes, two Sky+ or Sky+HD boxes or a single Sky+ or Sky+HD box and either one or two standard boxes. For customers taking multiroom in more than two rooms, an octo-LNB (8 outputs) will be fitted. It is unlikely you will be fitted with an octo-LNB unless absolutely necessary (i.e. you probably wont get one if you simply ask in the hope you can install Freesat yourself off the spare LNB outputs).
What Is A "Standard Install"?
From Sky's suppled definitions to ASA's, a standard install is a single box in a single room, with a maximum of 10m of cable. The dish will be wall mounted below roof level of a 2 storey property. Non-standard includes properties higher than two stories, ground and pole mounts.
Do I Need A BT Line?
No. You need a fixed phone-line, that can be from BT, Virgin, Post-Office or Sky themselves. VOIP lines cannot be used.
Can I Choose My Own Box?
No. You can ask nicely, but the general rule of thumb is that you get whatever the engineer has on his van.
How Can I Tell If I Got A Refurbished Box?
New boxes tend to be delivered in a black, blue or red branded box. Refurbished boxes are usually in plain cardboard boxes.
Can I Demand A New Box?
No. You will be supplied with a box that is suitable for purpose (i.e. capable of decoding either Sky or SkyHD signals. The condition of the box (i.e. whether or not it is new) is irrelevant as long as it is fit for purpose. You can ASK for a new one, the same you can ASK for a specific brand, but the installer/Sky can decline.
Equipment:
Do I Own My Box?
Yes - from day one the box is yours. The downside to this is that after 12 months, it is your responsibility to have the box repaired if it fails.
How Big Is The Hard Disk?
300gig. 160gig is available user storage, 140gig is reserved for Sky Anytime TV.
What Connections Will My Box Have?
There are some variations on this, but as a general rule, all boxes will have 2xSCART (1 RGB-enabled), Stereo Audio Out (Phono), Modem connection, Optical Audio Out (TOSLINK), RF In, RF Out, RF Out 2 (With power for Sky Eye remote extender). Some boxes will have an RS232 port (unused for customer application) and of course the satellite input connectors (1 on standard boxes, two on Sky+ and Sky+HD boxes). I believe some boxes also have SVIDEO sockets too.
HD boxes will have the above connections plus an HDMI port. Older HD boxes may still have component out. The Samsung HD box also has a USB port under the flap where the viewing card is located. This has no known use at present.
Do I Need To Keep My Box Connected To The Phone Line?
Depends on your situation:
a)
You have just had a single box installed
You have two options here - you can keep the box connected and then do with it as you wish after the initial 12 months or you can buy your way out of the "Interactive Discount" by making a one-time payment to Sky of £25. You can then disconnect the box from the line.
b)
If you have more than one box and have a multiroom subscription
It is a must that the second box (the one with the multiroom subscription) remains connected. If you disconnect the second box and Sky poll the box to see if it's there, you will firstly get a warning letter, then maybe a call, then they will charge you full price for the second subscription.
What's In The Box?
Standard Sky boxes and Sky+ boxes come with the following;
Box, SCART Cable, UHF Patch Cable, Telephone to Modem cable, Remote, Batteries, Manual.
Sky+HD boxes come with everything above with the inclusion of a basic HDMI cable.
Will My Remote Control My TV/Amp?
More than likely. A selection of the most popular codes are included in the enclosed manual. To the best of my knowledge, I believe the Sky remotes to use a subset of the "One4All" remote control database so the scope for support is massive. Newer remotes (i.e. those provided with Sky+HD) will obviously have more support for a wider range of devices as the code database has been expanded. Standard Sky remotes, Sky+ Remotes and Sky+HD remotes are all interchangeable but obviously certain hardware buttons will vary.
Should I Take Out A Warranty?
In my personal opinion, no! The first reason is that there are a lot of scam warranty companies out there, many posing as agents of Sky. The second is the simple fact that a broken box outside of your 12 month contract will give you some bargaining power. If your box breaks, you are no longer able to watch TV, and if you can no longer watch TV, you will cancel your subscription. If you try cancelling your subscription due to a faulty box, you will more often than not be offered a repair or replacement (usually a refurbished box) in order to retain your custom. This is playing the game somewhat, but at the end of the day, Sky need your cash, so will probably resolve your box issues in order to keep taking your cash.
Viewing
What Is Anytime TV?
Anytime TV is a pseudo-on demand service whereby the box records a selection of programming each week which is available on rotation. If you wish to save a programme from Anytime TV, simply select it from the Anytime TV list and press the record button, it will then be saved to the user part of the recorder, and will only be deleted when you decide.
What Is Sky Remote Record?
This is a feature that allows you to schedule recording remotely, either from a supported mobile phone using a downloadable client, vis Sky.com or using SMS (charged at 25p each). Full details available via MySky.
How Long Does It Take For A Remote Record Request To Be Delivered?
Sky say to allow 30 minutes - real world tests prove it is almost instant. To test this, go to the "Planner" section of your Sky Guide, schedule a recording remotely, come out and go back into "Planner" and your new recording should be there
How Does Remote Record Work?
Basically, your request is sent to Sky's servers, in turn, your request is matched to a particular box and is then sent out in the satellite signal which is then decoded only by your box. This is much the same way as subscription changes (i.e. adding/removing channels) are delivered to your box over the air.
I Have More Than One Box, How Does Remote Record Work?
Remote Record is tied to a single mobile phone number and box. To make use of Remote Record on more than one box, you will need a second mobile number and an additional account added to the primary MySky account.
What Is Sky Player?
Sky Player is Sky's VOD service that runs on the same platform as the BBC's iPlayer and Channel 4's 4OD (Kontiki). Any customer with a valid subscription can make use of Sky Player to watch a selection of on demand programmes. If you also have a multiroom subscription, you can watch up to 10 live TV streams online using the same Sky Player Client. Sky Player programmes are DRM protected and have expiry dates activated upon first play. Some Sky Player content is PPV or for lifetime purchase. Sky Player can only be installed on a single PC - if you want to reinstall it on a different computer, you must call Sky to deauthorise the first PC. See MySky for full details.
What HD Channels Are Available?
Channel 4 HD (Free, but card must be inserted)
BBC HD (Free, no card required)
Sky One HD (Requires HD mix)
FX HD (Requires HD mix)
Bio HD (Requires HD mix)
Sci-Fi HD (Requires HD mix)
Sky Arts HD (Requires HD mix)
Luxe.tv HD (Free, no card required)
Sky Real Lives HD (Requires HD mix)
Sky Premier HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Screen 1 HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Screen 2 HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Comedy HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Action HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Family HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Drama HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Sci-Fi/Horror HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Modern Greats HD (Requires Movie Mix)
Sky Sports 1 HD (Requires Sports Mix)
Sky Sports 2 HD (Requires Sports Mix)
Sky Sports 3 HD (Requires Sports Mix)
Eurosport HD (Requires HD Mix)
Rush HD (Requires HD Mix)
Discovery HD (Requires HD Mix)
Crime HD (Requires HD Mix)
National Geographic HD (Requires HD Mix)
Sky Box Office 1 HD (PPV)
Sky Box Office 2 HD (PPV)
Is ITV HD Available?
No! There is an ongoing dispute between Sky and ITV, so ITV are backing Freesat as their primary carrier or ITV HD. There is no ETA for ITV HD.
Can I Disable The "Press Red" Logo's That Appear?
A lot of broadcasters are now using the interactive features of Sky Digita's platform - unfortunately, it is not possible to disable this interactivity, so a programme containing interactive features will likely have the "Press Red" (or similar) prompt displayed throughout the programme. These prompts are NOT present whilst watching recorded programmes.
Technical:
How Much Space Does Recording Consume?
Sky's channels use different amounts of bandwidth, which causes variances in the amount of space required on the hard disk.
An hour long episode of 24 on Sky One in standard definition would take up approximately 1.4gig (about 0.8%). The same programme on Sky One HD would take up 4.5gig (about 2.8%).
These calculations assume an average bitrate of 3Mbps for Sky One SD and 10Mbps for Sky One HD. It's not an exact science unfortunately.
As a rough guide, you can assume an SD channel will use up between 1.5-2gig/hour whilst HD will consume between 4-7gig/hour.
Does The HDMI Port of a Sky+HD Box Carry Multi-Channel Audio?
No. To get multi-channel audio from a Sky+HD box using the HDMI connection, you will still require a connection between the optical out connector of the Sky+HD box and your A/V receiver. There is a known issue with older versions of the Sony SGR-DT820 A/V receiver when using a Sky+HD box - this is resolved in the latest firmware revision.
Other:
I Have Heard Sky Have Trialled 3DTV via Sky+HD - When Can I Get This?
It is true that Sky have held in-house testing of 3D television delivered by their Sky+HD box. This had some limitations in that it required a special television set and also the viewer was required to wear special glasses. There is no confirmed reports that Sky will release this technology to the public.
I Am Not Happy For The Sky Box To Make Phone Calls - Can I Stop It?
Any calls the box makes of it's own accord will be to a freefone number. Unfortunately, the box tends to "phone home" at random intervals in order to validate the telephone number (for "Interactive Discount" eligiblity and also Multiroom eligibility). Attempting to stop these calls will likely result in a letter/call from Sky.
Any other calls which you initiate will have their call charges clearly stated before the modem dials. Some calls are freefone, others are 0844 or 0845 numbers - again the call charges are clearly displayed. If you want to stop all customer-prompted calls, you can pin protect the modem so that any calls must be authorised by the user via a PIN.
What Is My PIN?
If you haven't changed your PIN, the default is the last 4 digits of the viewing card number. It is recommended that you change this as soon as possible. This can be done either via Sky.com or via Sky Active. If you forget your PIN, you can get it reset, again via either Sky.com or Sky Active.
Tip : Dumping The Current Programme To The Hard Disk
If you started watching a programme from the beginning on live tv, it is possible to dump it to the hard disk from the beginning (so say your programme started at 7pm and you watched until 7.15pm then decided to record it). Simply press the record button to dump the recording from the point you started watching.
) no issues to date. 
I'll spend some time later updating the first post with this info 
Linear Mode
