Switching from SKY + / SKY HD to SKY Q - some points to note

[Steve+Grother]

Hi, hope you can assist. I phoned today to upgrade to Sky Q. However, I am starting to have some regrets. I told them that I didnt want Netflix but in teh e mail they sent me they have included "Ultimate TV add on" for £6 which I believe is Netflix.

More importantly, I am concerned about HD pricing. I do not currentley pay for HD but seem to be able to view all HD chanells. In the upgrade I was told that I can get HD free for 2 months and then it will be £9 unless I cancel. If I cancel I understand I will not be able to view ceratain HD chanels at all. (which I can now without a HD subs). It seems odd that I can view HD channels (albeit probably in SD) now with my Sky * box but will have to pay for HD if I wish to view such channels under the upgraded setup? Is that right?  If so, how do I cancel this arrangement and stay as I am?

[Anonymous]

I'm currently using a SkyHD+ box with the rf output sending the picture to other TVs. I know the Q box doesn't have rf output so how can I achieve this if I go to Q? All I want to do is occasionally watch whatever is on the main box on another tv at the same time, whether it be live tv or a recording. Sky told me I can only do this with multiple Mini boxes but this seems daft to have to pay for and switch on more boxes just to do what I can already do! Any suggestions gratefully received, thanks.

[Chodley]

HDMI splitter. Note - long HDMI runs are not easy and you need a way to carry the remote IR signal back to the main room.

[nigea99]

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@Steve+Grother wrote:

Hi, hope you can assist. I phoned today to upgrade to Sky Q. However, I am starting to have some regrets. I told them that I didnt want Netflix but in teh e mail they sent me they have included "Ultimate TV add on" for £6 which I believe is Netflix.

More importantly, I am concerned about HD pricing. I do not currentley pay for HD but seem to be able to view all HD chanells. In the upgrade I was told that I can get HD free for 2 months and then it will be £9 unless I cancel. If I cancel I understand I will not be able to view ceratain HD chanels at all. (which I can now without a HD subs). It seems odd that I can view HD channels (albeit probably in SD) now with my Sky * box but will have to pay for HD if I wish to view such channels under the upgraded setup? Is that right?  If so, how do I cancel this arrangement and stay as I am?

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hi @Steve+Grother 

Ultimate TV add on is indeed Netflix - often it is included as part of an overall bundle price but will  appear  separately in any bills. Sometimes it is effectively at no extra cost as the overall 'bundle' is the same price as it would be for just Signature on it's own 

You will thus need to check all detail & maybe discuss further with them

I can't remember all the variants of the base Entertainment packs - I have been on the later packs for too long now - I guess it is possible that if you had a very old base pack (Variety ?) you may have had HD included as standard. 

Unfortunately HD has been a separate add on for many years now (certainly with 'Signature' and I think with 'Entertainment' but I could be wrong) . 

You thus do now need the HD pack to watch any of the non Free To AIr channels (FTA channels being the  likes of  BBC, ITV, C4) in HD so need it for SKY Mix. Atlantic etc and indeed many other non SKY channels 

(N.B  SKY Sports has it's own HD add on but note SKY Sports News is not part of SKY Sports but part of SKY Signature so needs the standard HD add on)

There is also a quirk that you can watch C4 & C5 in HD without the HD add on but need the HD add on to download in HD  

Another thing you need to be aware of is that anything added with a free trial period automatically start charging at the end and need to be cancelled with 31 days notice (so for a 2 month free trial, you must cancel after 1 month or earlier)..

You might not be able to revert to your previous packages but I don't know

The only way to check & change if possible is to call

[nigea99]

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@Chodley wrote:

HDMI splitter. Note - long HDMI runs are not easy and you need a way to carry the remote IR signal back to the main room.

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@Anonymous  some people have had success with HDMI Splitters and even with HDMI to RF converters but note it may need some research - may I suggest your search the SKY Q & possibly SKY HD groups & possibly elsehwere.

There was an old post, now no longer available (archived) from a friend of mine who succesfully used a splitter to watch in his Kichen & bedroom

Note : Splitters are rarely successfull if you want to use with a 4K TV as well

Edit: Yes SKY Q is designed around the use of Mini boxes (with a mutiroom subscription) for secondary TVs which is what SKY will advise - even though that is an expensive set up for casual viewing in one other room

BTW Regarding @Chodley 's note re remote - you may find that may not be relevant as I have found the SKY Q bluetooth remotes to have a very good range. As a test I have used my remote from my back garden & upstairs bedrooms with my SKY Q box in an alcove at the front of my lounge at the front of the house

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I spoke to Sky who said that if I use a q and a mini I can watch the same recording at the same time on both, ie I start watching on q, leave it playing on q and switch on mini where I'll be able to watch the recording as well, as I would do at the moment using rf.  Is this accurate info? How would the mini know what I'm watching on q, let alone automatically show it when I switch it on? Or, as I suspect, is it a bit more convoluted than that?!

I'd love to upgrade to the q box/system but it seems in some fundamental areas it's actually a backwards step? 

Thanks again.

[TimmyBGood]

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@nigea99 wrote:

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@Chodley wrote:

HDMI splitter. Note - long HDMI runs are not easy and you need a way to carry the remote IR signal back to the main room.

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@Anonymous  some people have had success with HDMI Splitters and even with HDMI to RF converters but note it may need some research - may I suggest your search the SKY Q & possibly SKY HD groups & possibly elsehwere.

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https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky/Magic-eye-problem/m-p/4499230/highlight/true#M144918 

[nigea99]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks, I spoke to Sky who said that if I use a q and a mini I can watch the same recording at the same time on both, ie I start watching on q, leave it playing on q and switch on mini where I'll be able to watch the recording as well, as I would do at the moment using rf.  Is this accurate info? How would the mini know what I'm watching on q, let alone automatically show it when I switch it on? Or, as I suspect, is it a bit more convoluted than that?!

I'd love to upgrade to the q box/system but it seems in some fundamental areas it's actually a backwards step? 

Thanks again.

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hmmm - The SKY Sales 'speak' is not quite the same as reality. 

What they have advised is the 'fluid viewing' that was marketed with SKY Q

it sort of works but not quite as seemless as it stated

SKY Q has a marker on a recoding for the position last watched(I think SKY HD had similar) 

To watch on another box (e.g. a mini or switch back to the main box) you pause a recording and exit Then when you go to watch on another box you start watching from where the marker is set (the default is this action)

BTW On SKY Q all recordings are made & stored on the Main box - the minis access the Main box recordings to watch them (as it does with Live Satellite)

[nigea99]

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@TimmyBGood wrote:

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@nigea99 wrote:

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@Chodley wrote:

HDMI splitter. Note - long HDMI runs are not easy and you need a way to carry the remote IR signal back to the main room.

---

@Anonymous  some people have had success with HDMI Splitters and even with HDMI to RF converters but note it may need some research - may I suggest your search the SKY Q & possibly SKY HD groups & possibly elsehwere.

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https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky/Magic-eye-problem/m-p/4499230/highlight/true#M144918 

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Many thanks @TimmyBGood  I thought I remembered a recent mention but hadn't searched for it

[oj01]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks, I spoke to Sky who said that if I use a q and a mini I can watch the same recording at the same time on both, ie I start watching on q, leave it playing on q and switch on mini where I'll be able to watch the recording as well, as I would do at the moment using rf.  Is this accurate info? How would the mini know what I'm watching on q, let alone automatically show it when I switch it on? Or, as I suspect, is it a bit more convoluted than that?!

I'd love to upgrade to the q box/system but it seems in some fundamental areas it's actually a backwards step? 

Thanks again.

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@Anonymous Slightly more convoluted, yes. As you can watch the same or different live tv/recordings on the Mini as you do on the Main Q Box.

Note you will also need to pay for the Multiscreen monthly subscription. 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I thought that was the case. I'm aware of the 'pause q, switch off q, switch on mini and resume on mini' feature from when my mum had it installed but not the 'play on q, pause on q, switch on mini and watch q on mini at the same time' or even 'play on q, switch on mini and watch what's on q' feature. I get the feeling I was being told what they thought I wanted to hear...and that was retentions team, not just the usual sales peeps!

[Anonymous]

Great, thank you 😃👍🏻

[nigea99]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yes, I thought that was the case. I'm aware of the 'pause q, switch off q, switch on mini and resume on mini' feature from when my mum had it installed but not the 'play on q, pause on q, switch on mini and watch q on mini at the same time' or even 'play on q, switch on mini and watch what's on q' feature. I get the feeling I was being told what they thought I wanted to hear...and that was retentions team, not just the usual sales peeps!

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You can watch on both as you can watch the same recording/channel (or completely different) but you would probably need to search for position of where you want to watch  & never get them completely in synch with each other (Sports tend to be the one people are bothered about with this)

[Anonymous]

Not quite as straight forward as simply switching the other tv on and selecting the channel with the sky hd rf output then 🙄🤪😂

[nigea99]

As a few recent switchers from SKY HD to SKY Q  have raised, an additional function not present on the SKY Q boxes that I didn't mention in my main notes is the BBC Text service

The BBC Text system was due to be switched  off & migrated to a new system on other platforms  many years ago but the plans got scrapped after concerns were raised so whilst other systems such as SKY HD still have it, Q does not I am afraid