topic Sky Q longevity in Sky Q

Sky Q longevity

Skyconfused1 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:09:40 GMT

Hi. I like to keep recordings of old series for years on sky plus. This can no longer be repaired without going through many unofficial steps However I understand that on Sky Q they disappear from recordings if Sky lose the rights and it is even worse for some non Sky recordings. Furthermore they dont even make Sky Q anymore and since December they dont even like to sell them to new users. Presumably that means you get a refurbished one if you can get one from Sky and they are going to be unsupported with new software soon and have extreme issues by the end of the decade like Sky plus has at the moment. So if I buy a Sky Q how long can I expect to use it easily ? I assume in due course I will need to buy a TV recorder or switch to Virgin. I would like to put this off as a recording process that is part of an overall package is much preferred. Perhaps someone knows of one ?

Re: Sky Q longevity

xenon81 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:15:14 GMT

"However I understand that on Sky Q they disappear from recordings if Sky lose the rights and it is even worse for some non Sky recordings"

No, that's only true for On Demand/Catch-Up downloads, and is exactly how it works on Sky+HD too. Anything you record (as opposed to download) is kept for as long as you like, or at least until the hard drive fails.

For now you can still get Sky Q by calling Sky, but satellite TV is expected to end around 2029/2030.

All TV providers are moving to streaming based solutions. You mention Virgin but they only provide a streaming box to new customers now.

Re: Sky Q longevity

Timelord2018 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:47:45 GMT

@xenon81 wrote:
"However I understand that on Sky Q they disappear from recordings if Sky lose the rights and it is even worse for some non Sky recordings"

No, that's only true for On Demand/Catch-Up downloads, and is exactly how it works on Sky+HD too. Anything you record (as opposed to download) is kept for as long as you like, or at least until the hard drive fails.

For now you can still get Sky Q by calling Sky, but satellite TV is expected to end around 2029/2030.

All TV providers are moving to streaming based solutions. You mention Virgin but they only provide a streaming box to new customers now.

For now you still get TV 360 on Virgin by calling or via WhatsApp when ordering if you live in a traditional cable area, for a fee (not full fibre areas)

Re: Sky Q longevity

Skyconfused1 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:38:26 GMT

Thanks for the answers. It seems odd that noone at all plans to support recording in latest hardware as there is a demand.

Re: Sky Q longevity

nigea99 — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:48:14 GMT

@Skyconfused1 wrote:

Thanks for the answers. It seems odd that noone at all plans to support recording in latest hardware as there is a demand.

hi @Skyconfused1

Not really, the owners of the content generally prefer to retain full control for streaming.

Some allow downloads but only for limited periods (for use when away from networks/travelling etc)

Re: Sky Q longevity

stereohaven — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:19:30 GMT

@Skyconfused1 wrote:
Thanks for the answers. It seems odd that noone at all plans to support recording in latest hardware as there is a demand.

It is a declining and increasingly niche 'demand' sadly and hardware manufacturers/content rights holders are adjusting accordingly.

Re: Sky Q longevity

TimmyBGood — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:41:04 GMT

@Skyconfused1 wrote:

It seems odd that noone at all plans to support recording in latest hardware as there is a demand.

Alternatively, local storage and playback of copyright content was a technological development which the rights owners only tolerated reluctantly during the VHS-PVR era and are glad to see coming to an end.

Television subscriptions are for content access: ownership isn't transferred and so retention on tape or hard drive was never a right.

Re: Sky Q longevity

TimmyBGood — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:40:25 GMT

@Skyconfused1 wrote:

Presumably that means you get a refurbished one if you can get one from Sky and they are going to be unsupported with new software soon and have extreme issues by the end of the decade like Sky plus has at the moment.

Sky+ is a quarter century old and hasn't been manufactured for a decade, so issues with it aren't really surprising. Q is rather a lot younger: the 1TB UHD HDR main box model is from late 2019.

A timetable going forward isn't currently public: Sky has a contract with SES for satellite data transit into 2029 (which would be the 40th anniversary of Sky satellite broadcasting)

The trio of satellites at 28.2E are known to be approaching the exhaustion of their positioning propellant, and SES has no announced plans for any replacements.