BBC Channels

[aliasthad]

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

@rscott 

Which model of Sky+HD box do you have?

Sky+HD DRX895 2TB

@oj01 

Unless, it's a very old Sky box and the recording is being done on a VCR.

Yes, I record to a DVD recorder. Since the older Sky+HD boxes still have RF OUT, I have it connected manually to other TVs and still use Magic Eyes as MultiRoom is too expensive and coax cable is free. The SCART socket allows me to connect Sky to a DVD recorder so I can keep my recordings forever, and the HDMI port allows me to connect to a SmartTV. So my system is totally McGuyvered, but over the years I've adapted to try and keep costs to a minimum and retain functionality. I've had to ditch Sky Movies and Sky Sports like ballast off a balloon just to keep the costs the same. Any more price hikes and it won't be worth it. The messages are intrusive and block the very service I'm paying for.

I have contacted Sky about the onscreen messages and they have freely admitted it's a promotion saying:

"This is something that is broadcast on a wide scale to all Sky customers who do not have the required subscription. We have no ability to remove this advertisement from individual Sky boxes and at the moment the only way to clear these is pressing the back up button as you have done already."

I pointed out that I do indeed have 'the required subscription' and it is clear that Sky are targeting those who still have older boxes as a way to boost revenue.

[Annie+UK]

---

@aliasthad wrote:

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

So what's the issue then? You get a warning that you can remove with the press of a button

[oj01]

---

@aliasthad wrote:

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

@rscott 

Which model of Sky+HD box do you have?

Sky+HD DRX895 2TB

@oj01 

Unless, it's a very old Sky box and the recording is being done on a VCR.

Yes, I record to a DVD recorder. Since the older Sky+HD boxes still have RF OUT, I have it connected manually to other TVs and still use Magic Eyes as MultiRoom is too expensive and coax cable is free. The SCART socket allows me to connect Sky to a DVD recorder so I can keep my recordings forever, and the HDMI port allows me to connect to a SmartTV. So my system is totally McGuyvered, but over the years I've adapted to try and keep costs to a minimum and retain functionality. I've had to ditch Sky Movies and Sky Sports like ballast off a balloon just to keep the costs the same. Any more price hikes and it won't be worth it. The messages are intrusive and block the very service I'm paying for.

I have contacted Sky about the onscreen messages and they have freely admitted it's a promotion saying:

"This is something that is broadcast on a wide scale to all Sky customers who do not have the required subscription. We have no ability to remove this advertisement from individual Sky boxes and at the moment the only way to clear these is pressing the back up button as you have done already."

I pointed out that I do indeed have 'the required subscription' and it is clear that Sky are targeting those who still have older boxes as a way to boost revenue.

---

@aliasthad I have the same box and Magic Eye setup as you, but never watch the SD channel versions so have never seen the message.

Presumably, you must be live recording the SD channels to DVD? Why? 

You could live record the HD version to the DVD or record either version to the Sky box and then transfer it to DVD. 

[aliasthad]

---

@Annie+UK wrote:

---

@aliasthad wrote:

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

So what's the issue then? You get a warning that you can remove with the press of a button

---

Apart from it being annoying and insidious, I explained before how it ruins timed recordings if you're not there to back it up.

[Annie+UK]

---

@aliasthad wrote:

---

@Annie+UK wrote:

---

@aliasthad wrote:

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

So what's the issue then? You get a warning that you can remove with the press of a button

---

Apart from it being annoying and insidious, I explained before how it ruins timed recordings if you're not there to back it up.

---

Don't use the SD channels to feed your recorder, simples

[aliasthad]

---

@oj01 wrote:

---

@aliasthad wrote:

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

@rscott 

Which model of Sky+HD box do you have?

Sky+HD DRX895 2TB

@oj01 

Unless, it's a very old Sky box and the recording is being done on a VCR.

Yes, I record to a DVD recorder. Since the older Sky+HD boxes still have RF OUT, I have it connected manually to other TVs and still use Magic Eyes as MultiRoom is too expensive and coax cable is free. The SCART socket allows me to connect Sky to a DVD recorder so I can keep my recordings forever, and the HDMI port allows me to connect to a SmartTV. So my system is totally McGuyvered, but over the years I've adapted to try and keep costs to a minimum and retain functionality. I've had to ditch Sky Movies and Sky Sports like ballast off a balloon just to keep the costs the same. Any more price hikes and it won't be worth it. The messages are intrusive and block the very service I'm paying for.

I have contacted Sky about the onscreen messages and they have freely admitted it's a promotion saying:

"This is something that is broadcast on a wide scale to all Sky customers who do not have the required subscription. We have no ability to remove this advertisement from individual Sky boxes and at the moment the only way to clear these is pressing the back up button as you have done already."

I pointed out that I do indeed have 'the required subscription' and it is clear that Sky are targeting those who still have older boxes as a way to boost revenue.

---

@aliasthad I have the same box and Magic Eye setup as you, but never watch the SD channel versions so have never seen the message.

Presumably, you must be live recording the SD channels to DVD? Why? 

You could live record the HD version to the DVD or record either version to the Sky box and then transfer it to DVD. 

---

I can't speak to anyone else's set up, but this message appears on any channel at any time and even on the viewing guide. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with SD channels. It's just a random pop-up message through the Sky box. And I do live record HD channels on my DVD recorder depending on what program I want to save. My Sky+HD box was second hand and I don't think the hard drive works anymore.

[Annie+UK]

Strange I have no reports of that message on our HD channels

[aliasthad]

---

@Annie+UK wrote:

---

@aliasthad wrote:

---

@Annie+UK wrote:

---

@aliasthad wrote:

@Annie+UK 

So what happens when you press BACKUP?

The message disappears.

So what's the issue then? You get a warning that you can remove with the press of a button

---

Apart from it being annoying and insidious, I explained before how it ruins timed recordings if you're not there to back it up.

---

Don't use the SD channels to feed your recorder, simples

---

The message box appears randomly and even on the viewing guide. It's generated through the Sky box and is there to force users to upgrade. Many of the HD channel versions are not part of my subscription and it's incredibly unfair of Sky to spam paying customers with intrusive promotional messages under the guise of a BBC switchover for a service I have no intention of purchasing . So unfortunately your suggestion is not an option for me. I am not trying to change anyone's opinion on the matter, I merely wanted to let the OP know they were not alone in their experience and frustration.

[oj01]

The common link between @aliasthad and @TDGuy seems to be that they have Sky+HD boxes without the HD Pack subscription.

They shouldn't need the HD Pack and don't need to replace their boxes to continue watching FTA HD channels from BBC and ITV. 

The strange thing is that the message is appearing on any random SD and HD channels when it should surely only appear on BBC and ITV SD channels.

The other oddity is that nobody else has jumped on this thread with the same issue. There must be thousands of customers with Sky+HD boxes without the HD Pack.

Just a thought, @aliasthad. You mentioned that your box was second hand. Did you replace an old Sky SD only box yourself with it without Sky's knowledge (nothing wrong with doing that of course) ? Could Sky's systems still think you have an SD only box (even though you've told an operator who likely wouldn't have a clue). Could Sky's system be targeting customers who it thinks have SD boxes. 

[aliasthad]

---

@oj01 wrote:

The common link between @aliasthad and @TDGuy seems to be that they have Sky+HD boxes without the HD Pack subscription.

They shouldn't need the HD Pack and don't need to replace their boxes to continue watching FTA HD channels from BBC and ITV. 

The strange thing is that the message is appearing on any random SD and HD channels when it should surely only appear on BBC and ITV SD channels.

The other oddity is that nobody else has jumped on this thread with the same issue. There must be thousands of customers with Sky+HD boxes without the HD Pack.

Just a thought, @aliasthad. You mentioned that your box was second hand. Did you replace an old Sky SD only box yourself with it without Sky's knowledge (nothing wrong with doing that of course) ? Could Sky's systems still think you have an SD only box (even though you've told an operator who likely wouldn't have a clue). Could Sky's system be targeting customers who it thinks have SD boxes. 

---

Hey, I think you've got it! When others on this thread pointed out they'd never seen the message on HD channels I realised it probably has been limited to the SD channels. The message appears so frequently and randomly that I didn't realise that's likely the case, especially as it even interrupts my viewing menu.

I did indeed buy and install a second hand Sky+HD box to replace my SD Pace Digibox without informing Sky, so they really could be targeting those they think have SD boxes. I have no technical knowledge as to how this would be done or why the response from Sky complaints department didn't address it, except as you suggested that they don't have a clue! I wonder if pointing out that I replaced an SD box with an HD box would change anything, since they actually said "we have no ability to remove this advertisment from individual Sky boxes".

[Annie+UK]

@aliasthad This might also be why you cannot record on your Sky+, give Sky a call and get them to activate the Sky+ features and tell them to update you account to reflect your HD box 🙂

Sky+ features are free to all subscribers 🙂

[aliasthad]

---

@Annie+UK wrote:

@aliasthad This might also be why you cannot record on your Sky+, give Sky a call and get them to activate the Sky+ features and tell them to update you account to reflect your HD box 🙂

Sky+ features are free to all subscribers 🙂

---

Thanks for the suggestion - so worth a try. I never really bothered with the hard drive and thought it had malfunctioned due to age. I never thought it would need activated!

[TDGuy]

I have taken a photo of the message as it appeared yesterday on ITV HD but I can't work out how to add it to a post.  I am still getting the message several times a day but only on one box (I have multiroom)

My daughter replaced our old SD boxes with  second hand HD ones recently that she got on ebay for us (we are almost 80) so we can keep BBC channels. She paired them up with our cards through sky, which she did online somehow, and my account shows that we have Sky HD boxes. 

I don't have HD channel pack. I have Variety package with multiroom, costing almost £60 a month. This is a heck of a lot, considering others are getting HD and cinema for that price, but when we call (usually my daughter if I'm honest) to discuss a better deal, all she gets is promotion of Sky Q,, which is not an option for us, and she is worried about making changes incase we lose ability to record as the operator could not reassure her that if we had Signature we could still record.. I don't think we can get HD channels anymore without Q and I am not paying another £12 ontop of tv license for cinema. I want to keep my second satellite feed so that it is easy for us to go to freesat recorder if we need to cancel Sky and still have tv in two rooms, as I watch a lot of football and things on the second set. 

[Daniel0210]

@TDGuy 

To add an image (which are checked before becoming visible to all)…
https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Did-you-know/Using-images-or-videos/ba-p/3711140 

[Mark39]

@TDGuy I've seen other reports of Sky no longer providing the Signature package unless you upgrade to Sky Q, which means you're paying over the odds for the legacy Variety pack.

The bottom line, I'm afraid, is that Sky+ is legacy, if not obsolete hardware which Sky are no longer maintaining. 

You don't need the HD add-on to receive the free to air channels such as BBC1 and 2, ITV1, Channel 4 and C5 on a Sky+HD box.

May I ask why Sky Q is not an option for you?  There's a good chance it would be cheaper.