Merits or otherwise of a Sky Plus box.

[andsome]

'Er indoors likes to paint, and has some of the TV painting programmes on VHS video. The problem is that when she watches she cannot stop at a particular point and practise as easily as if she could if the programme was on DVD. How does a Sky Plus box compare in facilities with a DVD recorder? Does it have a hard drive, and can you watch the beginning of a recording at the same time as the rest of the programme is recording? What advantages if anything does one have over the other? Any advice would be most welcome please. One other thing, can I transfer my VHS recordings to DVD using a Sky Plus box?

[CurlyWhirly]

I no longer have Sky as I cancelled my Sky subscription last year and I now have a Freeview DVD recorder instead.

Even so, I would definently recommend Sky Plus as I found it excellent when I used to use it.

The version I had was the original one and it only had a 40 Gb hard drive which I think could record around 10 hours worth of TV (recalling from memory).

There is a newer Sky Plus digibox out now with a larger hard drive that will enable you to record more TV programmes though.

As Sky Plus has 2 LNB feeds, you can record from 2 TV channels at the same time while simultaneously watching a pre-recorded TV programme B)

Also it is a doddle to record a TV programme as it uses the standard EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) so all you need to do is click on the TV programme that you want to record and that's all there is to it!

Also, it is possible to watch a TV program while it is still recording, in fact you can watch it right up to the point that it is recording at.

Unfortunately, I don't think you can transfer your VHS recordings to a DVD using a Sky Plus box, as to the best of my knowledge, Sky Plus only has a hard disk!

You can however transfer any recording on to VHS if you connect your video recorder up.

Finally, you can also pause live TV like a live football match and when you do this, it will automatically record so that you can watch it back later, at least it used to be the case with my older digibox version.

[bvw]

Another option andsome....I've not got one but I've heard they're good for recording 2 different TV stations whilst watching another...160GB hard drive, as well as pausing live TV etc...

http://www.humaxdigital.com/uk/products/pvr-9200t.asp

[andsome]

Sounds promissing so far, I will give it more thought before dashing in head first. Many thanks.

[CurlyWhirly]

Sounds promising so far, I will give it more thought before dashing in head first. Many thanks.

A while back I think that Sky were offering a special deal of a new Sky Plus digibox at only £100!

I bought one when they first came out a few years ago and paid nearly £400 for it :0

Incidentally, the only reason why I packed Sky in was because I no longer wanted to subscribe to any packages and just wanted to pay the £10 monthly subscription fee but when I rang them up last year, they refused so I cancelled.

Let me point out that the £10 monthly fee is waived if you subscribe to a minimum package, I think I was paying around £20 a month and as I was subscribing at the time, I didn't have to pay the £10 fee on top.

[doug]

Sounds very similar to the Digifusion box we recently invested our heating allowance in. Freeview. Record 2 channels while playing a previously recorded program etc. Pause a currently watched channel, then pick it up (records 30 mins of the channel channel. The fast forward and slow motion options are impressive. Can copy recordings to tape for archiving etc. This computer based technology is getting everywhere!

Chum who's staying with us at present is (or more accurately Mrs Chum) is most impressed but they are on cable and would like something similar. Any suggestions before they depart in a couple of days? Hope this isn't going off topic!

[bvw]

Doug, Telewest cable are bringing out their TVdrive shortly.Costs an extra tenner a month but the box is free.

http://www.telewest.co.uk/html/tv_drive/New_Tabs/

[Tankus]

wait another 4/5 months and get the HiDef one

[doug]

God, forgotten about this conversation. Mrs Doug is very pleased with "Her" Digifusion box. All looking very neat and tidy now with the 26 in LCD TV sitting on a bespoke octagonal (elongated) table on castors so it can be swung around so it is viewed in the dining area and then in the living room, All the cables are tidied away and best of all is the drop down glass door on the front. Seventeen month G'son is frustrated because he can't poke and twiddle with anything. Give him time as he is often playing with the handled on the top of this door. The controls for the TV are on the top. Hopefully when he's old enough to reach those he will be more of a sociable animal. We are now expecting a 3rd G'child in June. We now think the house is child proof. Hard lessons to relearn after 25 year gap.

May have taken this thread way off it's original topic - sorry folks.