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[tunnie]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Just a pity that I need a Zone 2 Dish and Octo LNB due to poor signal strength and need for another feed... Unfortunately it wasn't a Sky engineer so couldn't blag it

You will find yourself confused when you switch back to SD after watching HD for so long.... you will think the picture has gone blurred 

Did you go for the 1Tb box?

Now that mine is out of warranty is there any way I can get 1TB box,

If its out of warranty i would buy a 1.5Tb SATA drive from eBuyer and shove that in 

Allready got a samsung 32mb cache one, but will thay take any make of drive and is there any size limit as I would rather stick a 2tb in it.

Think the size limit is 1Tb, 1.5 is biggest you can use. Since 1Tb ones are actually 800/900gb depending which one you get the 1.5's eeek out the most of the space. Skys Firmware only allows 999Gb 

[Nickbat]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Just a pity that I need a Zone 2 Dish and Octo LNB due to poor signal strength and need for another feed... Unfortunately it wasn't a Sky engineer so couldn't blag it

I know I'm a bit dim, but how can you have poor signal strength from a satellite? I thought it would be the same for everyone.

 :-? :-?

[feeutfo]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Just a pity that I need a Zone 2 Dish and Octo LNB due to poor signal strength and need for another feed... Unfortunately it wasn't a Sky engineer so couldn't blag it

I know I'm a bit dim, but how can you have poor signal strength from a satellite? I thought it would be the same for everyone.

 :-? :-?

usually line of sight issues, trees, hills mountains, buildings etc .......afaik?

ours is on a pole above the roof line as our row of houses is directly in line with the satelite position. Mount it on the side of the building front or back and dish cant getma signal. Hence above the roof line and special hights team in our case.

[Mr Skrunts]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Just a pity that I need a Zone 2 Dish and Octo LNB due to poor signal strength and need for another feed... Unfortunately it wasn't a Sky engineer so couldn't blag it

I know I'm a bit dim, but how can you have poor signal strength from a satellite? I thought it would be the same for everyone.

 :-? :-?

Wait for the thunder and lightning and it's "0" signal strength :-/

[steve_daly]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Blu Ray is even better, and the HD sound from them is bloomin excellent.

Sky HD is good, but I think the quality varies from channel to channel. I would say some of it is just up-scaled SD content, but the genuine HD content is good.

It's a shame that Sky being Sky decided to mess us around with the sound. You can only get 5.1 via optical, for some reason they decided not to pump the 5.1 via the HDMI output quite an odd thing to do considering most people would be stuck with that option due to TV or home cinema limitations.

Also, did the engineer update the box to the latest EPG software?

[Dishevelled Den]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Just a pity that I need a Zone 2 Dish and Octo LNB due to poor signal strength and need for another feed... Unfortunately it wasn't a Sky engineer so couldn't blag it

I know I'm a bit dim, but how can you have poor signal strength from a satellite? I thought it would be the same for everyone.

 :-? :-?

Depends where you are in the country, those further north or west need the zone 2 dish as they see the satellite sitting lower in the sky. 

I run my HD installation from an 80cm Triax solid dish through a .2 Inverto octo lnb so have little trouble with bad weather except in the most appaling cases - then, I use a 1.2 metre Unicorn Reference prime focus dish if I really want to watch the telly rather than listen to the good old fashioned radio

[Dishevelled Den]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Just a pity that I need a Zone 2 Dish and Octo LNB due to poor signal strength and need for another feed... Unfortunately it wasn't a Sky engineer so couldn't blag it

You will find yourself confused when you switch back to SD after watching HD for so long.... you will think the picture has gone blurred 

Did you go for the 1Tb box?

Now that mine is out of warranty is there any way I can get 1TB box,

If its out of warranty i would buy a 1.5Tb SATA drive from eBuyer and shove that in 

Allready got a samsung 32mb cache one, but will thay take any make of drive and is there any size limit as I would rather stick a 2tb in it.

As Tunnie has pointed out 1Tb seems to be the maximum capacity that's practical at the moment.  If you are going to install a larger capacity disc (which is very easy) try and choose one suitable for a PVR application as they seem to run quiter than discs usually used for computers.

Anything greater than 500Gb generally requires Copy+ to be used during the installation.

I would also be aware of the heat and power supply issues generated by using these larger discs as the Thomson boxes became troublesome when the psu's, which were built to a price, were asked to handle these modifications.

The new EPG runs from the disc now so this additional load will excercise any disc of a larger capacity even further especially when considering the heat/power supply issue.

[Dishevelled Den]

... And what a difference. Didn't believe it could be so noticeable but it is

Blu Ray is even better, and the HD sound from them is bloomin excellent.

Sky HD is good, but I think the quality varies from channel to channel. I would say some of it is just up-scaled SD content, but the genuine HD content is good.

It's a shame that Sky being Sky decided to mess us around with the sound. You can only get 5.1 via optical, for some reason they decided not to pump the 5.1 via the HDMI output quite an odd thing to do considering most people would be stuck with that option due to TV or home cinema limitations.

Also, did the engineer update the box to the latest EPG software?

Sky HD is good, but I think the quality varies from channel to channel. I would say some of it is just up-scaled SD content, but the genuine HD content is good

I would agree with that R. 

It depends on the production value of the creators, HD specific productions are really quite stunning, witness Sky Arts, Discovery, National Geographic, Luxe, Sky News to name but a few where the lighting and set designs are intended to show this medium at its best.

Even though the signal is being broadcast at 1080i resolution - at much lower bit-rates than first used (irrespective of the allegedly enhanced codecs used to maintain quality) the HD service is certainly worth the money and makes the foibles of all the Sky receivers, firmware, software and the EPG worth bearing with.

[steve_daly]

Luxe is a great channel to highlight the massive difference between SD and HD.

I often use it to show non believers because the SD and HD versions of the channel are next to each other (obviously showing the same content) and you can easily flick between the two. The difference I think is staggering.

Even now having had HD for some time, some of it still blows me away with detail and colour

[same #same#]

you want to try 3D, 50" or bigger better screen, small is rubbish, HD chanels even better at 600hz +. just dont like wearing the 3D glasses, and sound wow can hear a fly fart.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Just remember that when you do these comparisons that SD quality varies massively to.....hence the difference can often be artificially 'enhanced'