Series links - have i misunderstood their purpose?

[Stenic69]

Hello,

I have always been of the belief that series links worked in two ways

1. To record every episode of a current series

and

2. To continue to do that for future series

For me, 1 works perfectly, or at least nearly perfectly as there have been a few blips but mostly works well.

2 does not work ever. Even for mainstream BBC programmes. Latest example being Question Time. I have a series link setup for that programme, it took a break for Easter and is resuming this week but its not set to record.  I dont ever recall a new season of any programme i have an exisiting series link for ever automatically picking up the next series.  Am i just unlucky or is the functionality just not very clever?

I used to own a Thomson Tivo box twenty odd years ago and the functionality was light years ahead of Skys current options even back then. It was a clever device which learned what you liked to watch and automatically recorded not only the shows you wanted it to but similar shows which it assumed you would like too and it was intiuitive and a joy to use and experience.  With that you had complete confidence all things you wanted to watch would be recorded. With Sky, i have pretty much do everything manually every week to ensure i get programmes recorded. In this technologically advanced era we are now in, why does Sky not offer better on this front or is it just because its priorities lie elsewhere?

[stereohaven]

To be honest @Stenic69, I haven't really had the issues you are describing with series links and yes, that is how they are supposed to work.

You might just want to do some standard housekeeping to see if it improves things such as making sure the software is up to date, doing regular power cycle can clear bugs etc.

It might be you need a new box.

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@Stenic69 wrote:

...is it just because its priorities lie elsewhere?

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They are still committed to supporting Q but there is no doubt the direction of travel is on demand viewing via apps to catch up rather than recording.

[BenJoBanjo]

@Stenic69 

Series links on Sky Q rely on the broadcasters providing correct metadata for all their programming which is linked to the listings on the EPG. 

In recent years this isn't always updated as well as it could be and even small changes to programme names (such as adding the word 'NEW' to the start of a programme titles, signifying a new series) can cause the series link to break. 

As the broadcasting landscape moves away from recording and into the realm of streaming, it's now more common to just do a search for a programme within the broadcaster's own app, or on a platform or operating system which aggregates all content and allows searching within the one interface. This would then provide you with all available episodes of that particular series to stream on demand without the need to set a recording. 

Many streaming platforms such as SkyOS (on Stream & Glass) and tvOS (on Apple devices) will track your viewing of programmes that you stream and alert you to when a new episode is available, all without you having to set any recording. They will also suggest similar types of programming which can be handy. 

TV and broadcasting is still very much in a transitional phase. As the satellite service is wound down (Sky Q is now 10 years old) and DTT services moving to streaming too (Freely), streaming live and on demand is very much the future of how we will all receive and consume TV rather than recording. 

[Stenic69]

@ BenJoBanjo Thanks for your input.

I am dreading the end of Sky Q, as the main reason i use Sky is for watching sport and without the ability to record full matches i simply would miss lots of my favourite sport, as Sky currently dont offer full match replays unless i have missed something on the streaming side of things.

As far as searching goes, that is the only way i feel i can be confident to find things i want to watch or record. Its a very hands on experience using Sky, the user has to do all or most of the work themselves whereas in this day and age i would expect and hope that Sky would be clever enough to be doing it for you leaving you more time to enjoy shows which is after all what its all about.

[Stenic69]

@stereohaven 

My box works absolutely fine otherwise and i certainly keep up housekeeping often.

Could you give me an example of a show  for you where the next series actually records automatically? 

[stereohaven]

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@Stenic69 wrote:

Could you give me an example of a show  for you where the next series actually records automatically? 

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Googlebox is a good example, or Masterchef if you want a BBC show.

I'm not sure if it still does this but, Sky Q used to set blank recordings every week for a series linked show during the time it wasn't on so it picked it up again for a new season.

I'll be honest, there isn't much we still watch regularly on 1 - 5 these days, with live Sports and app viewing filling most of our time, but I do often use the "New Series" section of the TV Guide to see what is coming up and if something is going to be on but hasn't picked up a previous series link, I can add a new one.

As has already been mentioned, meta data is the responsibility of the broadcaster and some of it leaves much to be desired.