SKY + software enhancements

[stevet987]

I received an email saying that my Sky+ HD Box would no longer be receiving software enhancements and that I was being offered a free upgrade to Sky Q. We are very happy with Sky+ HD, have a lot of recordings and also have Freesat in another room connected to the dish. I have a lot of questions

1) What are the downsides of not accepting the offer?

2) How soon will the Sky + HD service deteriorate without software enhancements and will it become unusable?

3) How long is the free offer open for?

4) Can I upgrade to Sky Q and keep the Freesat connection for the other TV?

5) If I upgrade to Sky Q, can I connect the old Sky+ HD Box to a separate TV and watch the recordings?

[Mark39 · Accepted solution]

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@stevet987 wrote:

I received an email saying that my Sky+HDD Box would no longer be receiving software enhancements and that I was being offered a free upgrade to Sky Q. We are very happy with Sky+HDD, have a lot of recordings and also haveFreesatt in another room connected to the dish. I have a lot of questions

1) What are the downsides of not accepting the offer?

The hard disk will eventually fail. Diminishing support for Sky+ equipment. The offer may expire.

2) How soon will the Sky +HDD service deteriorate without software enhancements and will it become unusable?

There hasn't been any software upgrade for many months. It's unlikely to become unusable as a result of a lack of updates

3) How long is the free offer open for?

I doubt Sky will say.

4) Can I upgrade to Sky Q and keep theFreesatt connection for the other TV?

You would need to request a hybrid LNB. I'm not sure that Sky still provide,them

5) If I upgrade to Sky Q, can I connect the old Sky+HDD Box to a separate TV and watch the recordings?

I'm afraid not.

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[FastEddie1]

I wouldnt expect Sky to end this offer of a free SkyQ box if they expect to keep our loyal custom.

And as with the Sky+ App, I expect the Sky+HD box will keep working, albeit with the (already reduced) functionality.

[Help+Iain]

Will my Sky+ TV box eventually stop working if it no longer receives software enhancements

[Mark39]

That's unlikely. It's more likely to stop working because the hard drive fails. Even the latest Sky+HD boxes are at least 8 years and hard drives don't last indefinitely.

[rscott]

The core functionality (viewing and recording satellite broadcasts) should continue, but some of the additional services, like red button content on Sky Sports channels may well disappear - it's already gone for F1 and was never available for Sky Tennis.

[TimmyBGood]

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@Help+Iain wrote:

 if it no longer receives software enhancements

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That's something of a red herring from Sky because there haven't been any 'software enhancements' for some years now (since the last GUI revision) and frankly there's no need for any: Sky+ will never get on-board apps, multiple recordings or UHD output, for example, because those are hardware functions.

We're assuming channel moves will continue to be reflected in the EPG, which is really the only relevant 'change'.

[Spurslad01]

I have been told the same for many months now and i would love to sign up to Sky Q, unfortunately i live in a block of flats in Hackney in London that has a communal dish, but my council has refused to add the adapter needed to receive the Sky Q service. I can not get a seperate dish as the council will not allow that either so i am at a dead end. I know i can sign up for Sky Glass or Sky Stream but i do not want to do that due to a potential unreliable wifi connection, so i have little options available. I have tried to contact Sky in regards to this without success, therefore i may have no other alternative but to leave Sky when my contract expires. In this day and age you would think that councils like Hackney and big companies like Sky would cater for the needs of everybody, but i personally feel discriminated against all because i live in a block of flats.

[Mark39]

@Spurslad01 stick with Sky+. There's no reason I know if why it should stop working for the foreseeable future. Well, up to the end of the decade anyway when all satellite services will cease as the orbiting satellites are likely to be decommissioned.

[Daniel0210]

@Spurslad01 

If a council or independent landlord can get Sky customers off a satellite system they can forget about having to arrange engineers to look at a communal system which they probably regard as win win for them. 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Spurslad01 wrote:

In this day and age you would think that councils like Hackney and big companies like Sky would cater for the needs of everybody

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Because local authorities are known for having loads of money to spare and multinational corporations famously don't care about profits?

As @Daniel0210 indicates, it's absolutely in the interest of landlords and building management companies to see satellite television replaced by streaming, and Comcast will happily encourage them.