The 2TB Sky+ HD PVR is the largest
capacity box yet from the market leading Pay TV operator, but how does it
perform?
The opposition
Virgin Media TiVo 1TBS
TiVo has the edge over Sky but the system
is often too clever for its own good, and consequently ease of operation
suffers
Freesat Free Time
The updated Freesat platform currently only
offers BBC iPlayer and ITV Player catch-up. Impressive but not quite the
finished article
SKY’S NEW 2TB premium digital recorder is
easily larger than its nearest competition (although there is some devil in the
detail) and offers a Pay TV experience slicker and more accommodating to boot.
But is this evolution of Sky’s tried and tested formula enough to keep it ahead
of the pack as the competition mounts around the world of subscription
television?
The
2TB Sky+ HD PVR is the largest capacity box yet from the market leading Pay TV
operator
Build and connectivity
Ostensibly, this neat newbie looks much
like its 1TB sibling. The color scheme is lighter but there’s not much between
them. The curvy design still looks swish and contemporary, with an upscale
glossy finish. Similarly, connectivity appears the same: there’s HDMI, digital
(optical and coaxial) audio, Scart for legacy kit, dish-friendly F-connectors,
Ethernet, plus (currently inactive) e-SATA and USB ports. The only difference
is some fancy color coding framing some of the inputs. There’s also a sleeping
USB behind the front fascia flap, where your Sky card is parked. Naturally, it
ships with the company’s iconic remote control.
Ultimately the only key difference is the
size of the drive beneath the lid. You might argue that the need for such a
large HDD for time shifting is coming to an end, seen off by a growing army of
streaming services with perpetually available content, but that doesn’t wash
with telly addicts like us. This 2TB storage monster is like lounging around
the house wearing trousers with an elasticated waistband band. Very comfortable
indeed…
Build
and connectivity
Setup
For the majority of users, this new
receiver will be an upgrade on an existing Sky installation. Sky charges $45
for a standard set-up for new customers and $90 for existing Sky TV customers.
Self-set up is available for $22.5. The latter’s a good deal.
All that’s required to get the system up
and running are two LNB feeds from a Sky dish, a telephone connection, HDMI
output and Ethernet. It’s worth nothing that a network connection is integral
to the On-Demand service offered by the revised and improved box. If you don’t
have local wired connection, you can get a Wi-Fi extender which offers a LAN
output, from the broadcaster for a tenner. Alternatively, you can get hardwired
using a Power-line connection from a nearby electrical plug socket.
Sky
charges $45 for a standard set-up for new customers and $90 for existing Sky TV
customers
Basic use
In use, this Amstrad-made box proves slick
and fast. Operating noise seems no different to its predecessor, essentially a
very low level thrum which is easily masked by general TV hubbub.
Those coming to Sky for the first time, or
upgrading from a standard digi-box, will immediately be struck at just how
simple the box is to drive. There’s no confusion as you move around the menus.
The user interface is clean and navigation straightforward and intuitive.
The satcaster has been steadily evolving
Sky+ HD functionality. Common PVR features, including one touch series
recording plus pause and rewinding of live TV, is now joined by an undelete
function. This is invaluable not least because it’s pretty easy, when thinning
out a stack of series recordings, to get carried away and commit the season
finale to the trash.
‘It’s the AV equivalent of an
all-you-can eat buffet rustled up by Gordon R.’
PVR and multimedia
Sky offers by far the largest selection of
HD in the UK, now hitting an incredible 65 channels, covering pretty much
everything from general entertainment and news to documentaries and movies. You
really need a very good excuse to venture beyond this walled HD garden. To access
the whole shebang is a $16 increment to your chosen Sky package.
And this plethora of channels is the main
reason why this new box is so attractive. All these Hi-Def diversions have a
tendency to consume hard drive capacity faster than Usain Bolt downs chicken
nuggets. With 1.5TB of space available for recordings, there’s no reason to
hold back when grazing around the listings: a handful of series links, spread
betting on the latest movie selection and a season pass to Formula One barely makes
a dent. Sky reckons the 2TB box can hold 350 hours of HD material. It’s the
audiovisual equivalent of an all-you-can eat buffet rustled up by Gordon
Ramsay.
The remaining 500GB of the 2TB drive has
been partitioned off for the Satcaster’s Push and Pull On Demand offerings; the
former downloads to your box every night, the latter are pulled in (rather than
streamed) as you request them.
The Sky Anytime branding has been retired,
to be replaced by the more universally accepted On Demand monicker. At the time
of writing, this area has yet to fully take shape: BBC iPlayer joins ITV Player
and Demand 5, with 4oD scheduled to appear sometime next year. You also get
catch-up for Sky One, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts and Sky Sports,
allowing you to peruse virtual box-sets of the channels biggest hits, including
Mad Men, An Idiot Abroad and Mad Dogs, as well as majoring on short-term movie
rentals, via its Sky Store.
There’s no network functionality. If you
have a multi-room setup, with an HD (non-plussed) sat box, you can’t stream
content from the HDD. Hopefully the latter is something the Sky boffins are
thinking of, as the system would naturally benefit from such functionality.
