L
LooPrEvil
I am thinking of getting a HD box, has anybody got any recommendations of good equipment, or equipment to avoid. Thanks.
Lou.
Lou.
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C
ChrisFrost
A HD box for what?..... Sky HD, Freesat HD, Freeview HD, Virgin Media HD.. or do you have something else in mind.
We're good here but we aren't mind readers you know
We're good here but we aren't mind readers you know
We're good here but we aren't mind readers you know
Not good enough! What do I pay you for?
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LooPrEvil
I' m interested in what people would recommend based on the options available. If I only wanted to consider Sky HD etc I would go to Sky, but as you say, there are many options!
Lou.
Lou.
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The first thing to do is determine what options are availiable in your area. SKY HD and freesat HD are availiable accross the whole country. Virgin media and freeview HD aren't.
The next thing to decide is what channels you want in HD and whether you want any pay SD channels. Afaict sky offers pretty much everything (for a price), virgin offers less, freeview less again and freesat the least. OTOH freesat boxes can usually also be used for receive foreign satelite channels.
If you go with SKY or virgin you won't have any choice in the equipment, if you go with freeview or freesat there is a choice but I haven't personally used them so I can't make any reccomendations.
The next thing to decide is what channels you want in HD and whether you want any pay SD channels. Afaict sky offers pretty much everything (for a price), virgin offers less, freeview less again and freesat the least. OTOH freesat boxes can usually also be used for receive foreign satelite channels.
If you go with SKY or virgin you won't have any choice in the equipment, if you go with freeview or freesat there is a choice but I haven't personally used them so I can't make any reccomendations.
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LooPrEvil
Thanks plugwash. That is my dilemma. We have all the services that you and Chris have mentioned, but I do not know what to opt for. Skys Sports would be of interest, but I am also interested in the non subscription alternatives.
Lou.
Lou.
I have the XL TV from virgin, which is every channel minus sports and movies, a lot of rubbish I must say but the cartoon channels suit my kids so I wudnt have any less
Regarding footie I never miss a game, 5 famous letters MYP2P
Regarding footie I never miss a game, 5 famous letters MYP2P
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I have a sky HD box but only pay the minimum sky fee and i refuse NEVER EVER to pay the HD fee. BBC and a few others pipe HD for free on there, so im happy with that. Mainly good for recording etc but the new Freeview PVR boxes look just as good.
Plus the misses gets her living TV BS etc.
Otherwise i would opt for a Freesat HD box as i find i only really watch BBC1/2 Channel4 most of the time. The rest of it is repeated ****e, and if i want to see a movie i go to cinema or download it (of yourse i pay for it).
Plus the misses gets her living TV BS etc.
Otherwise i would opt for a Freesat HD box as i find i only really watch BBC1/2 Channel4 most of the time. The rest of it is repeated ****e, and if i want to see a movie i go to cinema or download it (of yourse i pay for it).
L
LooPrEvil
Thanks for the advice re Sky / Virgin boxes.
Lou.
Lou.
I have a Sky HD box and also a Virgin V+ box in the bedroom. I tend to find the virgin boxes far more reliable.
I have one of the earlier Sky HD boxes and they have newer versions out now which are better but I still find that once every couple of months it will crash and reboot or the signal starts breaking up and I need to reboot the box.
Virgin are coming out with a new box very soon which is based on tivo (http://tivo.virginmedia.com). I used Tivo years ago and still have the old box in the loft and its user interface still beats anything offered by virgin and sky now. I would be very interested in switching my Sky HD box for the new virgin tivo depending on how much they wanted to charge for the extra box of course!
I have one of the earlier Sky HD boxes and they have newer versions out now which are better but I still find that once every couple of months it will crash and reboot or the signal starts breaking up and I need to reboot the box.
Virgin are coming out with a new box very soon which is based on tivo (http://tivo.virginmedia.com). I used Tivo years ago and still have the old box in the loft and its user interface still beats anything offered by virgin and sky now. I would be very interested in switching my Sky HD box for the new virgin tivo depending on how much they wanted to charge for the extra box of course!
L
LooPrEvil
I have the XL TV from virgin, which is every channel minus sports and movies, a lot of rubbish I must say but the cartoon channels suit my kids so I wudnt have any less
Regarding footie I never miss a game, 5 famous letters MYP2P
Lee or anybody else, what is the web address for MYP2P, and how do I navigate it? Cheers.
Lou.
L
LooPrEvil
I have the XL TV from virgin, which is every channel minus sports and movies, a lot of rubbish I must say but the cartoon channels suit my kids so I wudnt have any less
Regarding footie I never miss a game, 5 famous letters MYP2P
Lee or anybody else, what is the web address for MYP2P, and how do I navigate it? Cheers.
Lou.
Sussed it out - quite simple really (once you get the correct website!).
Lou.
M
Mickymoody
I've seen the difference between HDTV, or besides a good quality TV, and the normal TV wins every time.
A cheapo LCD HD ready, from Asda, doesn't compare to a £1000 CRT non HD ready TV, or a B&O 30 year old TV. Sorry, I've seen the difference, and it don't compare.
A cheapo LCD HD ready, from Asda, doesn't compare to a £1000 CRT non HD ready TV, or a B&O 30 year old TV. Sorry, I've seen the difference, and it don't compare.
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LooPrEvil
I take your point Micky, however how would a tv compare if two identical models sat side bt side, one with a HD Box and the other one without?
Also defining what is a good quality tv is not easy for somebody like me - just the average guy in the street, there are so many branded sets with a great spread of prices on the market!
Any advise is much appreciated.
Lou.
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Mickymoody
I see your problem there, TV's aren't 'always on HD', they mainly receive 'normal' TV pictures, only certain channels are devoted to HD. (Or if you are using interlaced HD DVD's); so, as I'm into my consumer tech, and, as you say the guy in the street, and due to current encoding issues with HD, get a HD ready set, 1080p version, the best reviewed you can get for the price, but if you are expecting wow, don't, and stick with what you currently use. HD isn't worth paying a premium for atm. IF you have a decentish CRT set, then a cheap LCD with HD won't cut it. You will be disappointed. And the joy of a decent CRT set is that everyone is flogging them cheap on ebay, for want of Plasma (too unreliable), and CRT HD (disappointed). Go to a shop and compare. Hard under the harsh lights and pressure selling, maybe try a specialist TV seller.
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