Standard Sky Q box capacity

[andthatisthat]

I'm still using an old dinosaur of a Sky+ box but considering upgrading to Sky Q in the near future. I record a lot, and I was wondering what the recording capacity of the standard-issue Sky Q box is these days? I tried looking online,  but it doesn't seem to be explicitly stated anywhere (the only help page that I could find said there were multiple types of box with different capacity but didn't indicate which is the one that you currently get as standard!).

[nigea99 · Accepted solution]

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@andthatisthat wrote:

I'm still using an old dinosaur of a Sky+ box but considering upgrading to Sky Q in the near future. I record a lot, and I was wondering what the recording capacity of the standard-issue Sky Q box is these days? I tried looking online,  but it doesn't seem to be explicitly stated anywhere (the only help page that I could find said there were multiple types of box with different capacity but didn't indicate which is the one that you currently get as standard!).

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hi @andthatisthat 

The 'standard' box is a 1TB (UHD/HDR) box but with an option of 2TB box.

Be Aware there are 3 types of 2TB boxes UHD non HDR, UHD/HDR with separate power supply & a 2TB version of the 1TB UHD/HDR box with internal power supply

If upgrading from SKY HD they mostly only offer an upgrade to a 1TB NON UHD box for free.

Please note if switching from Multroom - SKY Q is different as all recordings are only made & stored on the (single) main box 

EDIt : Most of the above is mentioned in some general notes I have made for those considering moving from SKY HD to SKY Q

SKY HD to SKY Q 

[andthatisthat]

thanks @nigea99, that's super-helpful! I think I'd prefer a 2TB box, but depends how much extra it is! I might call up over the weekend and make some enquiries...

[TimmyBGood]

@andthatisthat 

Depending on who you get through to they may deny the existence of a modern 2TB entirely.

The 1TB UHD/HDR has been the standard main Q box since November 2019 (so by now may outnumber all previous models added together) and when ordering online there's no 2TB option at all.

[nigea99]

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@andthatisthat wrote:

thanks @nigea99, that's super-helpful! I think I'd prefer a 2TB box, but depends how much extra it is! I might call up over the weekend and make some enquiries...

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if opting for a 2TB box make sure they agree to an HDR box (unless you really are not bothered)

You can't really ensure you which version of the 2TB HDR boxes you get - there is little difference between them other than the power supply.

I have the separate power supply version - the one thing that is otherwise different is that this version doesn't support UHD for iPlayer - but I always use my TVs iplayer if I want UHD 

[nigea99]

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@TimmyBGood wrote:

@andthatisthat 

Depending on who you get through to they may deny the existence of a modern 2TB entirely.

And when they do acknowledge a 2TB version may not understand HDR vs non HDR

The 1TB UHD/HDR has been the standard main Q box since November 2019 (so by now may outnumber all previous models added together) and when ordering online there's no 2TB option at all.

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[andthatisthat]

Thanks @TimmyBGood and @nigea99 - looks like it might end up being luck of the draw. Can you still record a decent amount of stuff on a 1TB box in HD? (I say this as someone whose Sky+ box is full of SD recordings and only has about 4% space left on it currently...)

[nigea99]

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@andthatisthat wrote:

Thanks @TimmyBGood and @nigea99 - looks like it might end up being luck of the draw. Can you still record a decent amount of stuff on a 1TB box in HD? (I say this as someone whose Sky+ box is full of SD recordings and only has about 4% space left on it currently...)

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There was I thinking I am a bit of hoarder with recordings. - that much in SD must be far more than you can realistically watch.

You do need to consider that no SKY Box is really intended for long term storage - whilst I have stuff I have kept I realise the HDD could fail .

I am not too sure exactly how much space is taken up for pause/rewind (don't forget this is needed for each  minis you might get)  & base system

Other than that on my box:

HD recording is typically around 2.5-3.5 Gb per hour

UHD around 7.5-8.5 Gb per hour

(I don't really have enough SD recordings to quantify but assume around half of SD)

[andthatisthat]

@nigea99 you're right, it is far more than I can realistically watch - it's not that I'm keeping anything (apart from one or two recordings) for long-term storage, it's just that I have a terrible habit of recording more than I have time to watch! I've accepted that I'm just going to have to wave goodbye to most of what's on my Sky+ box without watching it and I'll have to try to get into more realistic habits with Sky Q, but I was just curious in case I end up in the same situation again...

[nigea99]

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@andthatisthat wrote:

@nigea99 you're right, it is far more than I can realistically watch - it's not that I'm keeping anything (apart from one or two recordings) for long-term storage, it's just that I have a terrible habit of recording more than I have time to watch! I've accepted that I'm just going to have to wave goodbye to most of what's on my Sky+ box without watching it and I'll have to try to get into more realistic habits with Sky Q, but I was just curious in case I end up in the same situation again...

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Many people do cope with a 1TB very easily & do get in the habit of record/watch/delete

I do tend to hang on to some recordings / downloads (even when I know they are likely to remain on 'On demand')  So I suspect you really would find a 1TB too small - I run my 2TB around the 75% mark but could easily reduce that as I have a few UHD recordings that I could  delete 

If you do watch things like F1 then you do need to get in the habit of record/watch/delete

[TimmyBGood]

@andthatisthat 

From memory only 700GB of the 1TB disk is user space, and Sky typically claimed that was 'up to 150 hours of HD'