SKY+

Alex wrote:

You still
would not be able to record anything you want digitally over HDMI if
the content provider enforced HDCP.

Yes, you would. You do not understand how this works.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Zero Tolerance wrote:

Let's pursue your argument a bit further. Let's suppose that all the
VCR makers gang together and introduce a monthly fee for VCR use. Will
you pay it happily?

If the products are sold on that basis and if, on balance of the
features and benefits offered by the product, I consider it to be a
good deal and I choose to pay it, then yes,

You're just being silly.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Zero Tolerance wrote:

Not digitally.

A DVD recorder is digital. An offboard PVR like TiVo is digital.

They make digital recordings of an analogue source. This introduces
quality loss.

DTT recorders, Sky+ and non-Sky sat recorders make bitstream
recordings of the original digital source.

Only Sky+ charges for this, and the charge is unjustified as the
entire functionality is contained within the box at the time of
purchase.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Zero Tolerance wrote:

It only differs in content availabilty, not in functionality.

The difference being that Telewest HD does not HAVE any content at
all. (And they charge you £15/month to record it digitally.)

So, not so different to SkyHD then which charges £10 to record and £10
to receive and which includes a lot of upscaled SD output.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Alex wrote:

The NHS postcode lottery is much more deserving of this debate than
Sky+ subscription fees.

No, because the postcode lottery is indeed a lottery.

The same is not true of the Sky+. Quite the opposite in fact.

In that case they can get cable or record from DTT.

It has been explained to you many times that satellite is the only
source that many people can receive.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Zero Tolerance wrote:

You aren't excluded from this, unless your phone line is too long in
which case it is hardly anyone's fault. You have a wide choice of ISPs
at hugely varying prices from free to quite expensive. You can buy any
PC you want and use it with any ISP.

The same does not apply to the Sky+.

The same does not apply because you are comparing generic with
specific. "You can buy orange juice anywhere, the same does not apply
to Tesco Premium Ginger Beer."

This is precisely the problem. Sky+ is a monopoly product that no one
else makes, because Sky prevent them from doing so.


Ditto, Sky+ is available only from Sky, but other recording solutions
are freely available.

Only non-similar ones.

The technology that powers the Sky+ is available to all and is used in
many other devices. But those who, through no fault of their own,
cannot receive other platforms must pay Sky to use a Sky+, even if
they don't want to record Sky channels with it.

This is appalling.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Alex wrote:

Do you know nothing about Sky HD and HDMI connections?
Pure digital, all the way.

With copy protection so that you cannot make a copy if the provider
doesn't want you to.

What has that got to do with it?
The question was one of whether the TV displays a digital signal, not
whether it was copy protected or not.

The whole thread is about what you can copy, and how. If you stick to
one topic at a time you may not tie yourself up in knots.

Not if you know what you are talking about.

Actually HDMI allows you to make your own bitstream recordings for
playback on your own equipment.

It doesn't allow you to share such recordings.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Alex wrote:

Why should I be excluded from broadband greater than 1Mb? That's
the way the cookie crumbles. Life ain't always fair.

You aren't excluded from this, unless your phone line is too long

In that case you aren't excluded from DTT. Thanks for playing.

What on earth are you talking about?

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Zero Tolerance wrote:

Apparently people with Sky+ are so delighted with the service that not
only are they happy to pay for it, but they're also far less likely to
cancel their Sky subscriptions overall.

You have this back to front.

Most people taking Sky+ are already die-hard full-package Sky
subscribers who would have Sky anyway, regardless of how bad it is.
And as they don't have to pay the Sky+ fee, why not have it? Very few
people on low-tier subs take Sky+ unless they actually already wanted
an excuse to upgrade to a higher tier thus "saving" the £10 fee, and
even fewer take Sky+ without a Sky sub at all, thus requiring them to
pay the £10.


On that basis, my guess is
that it can't be too long before Sky will earn more cash from loyal
and happy non-cancelling customers by making Sky+ free to all.

This makes no sense at all.



And if then, why not now?

Dunno - maybe there aren't enough customers for the maths to work out
just at the moment. (e.g. Sky+ income from 1 million customers
outweighs cost of loss from 7 million customers, but not 10.. I don't
know.)

You can say that again.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Alex wrote:

Not digitally, with the quality and ease of use of a PVR.

But you still haven't told us why you want to do this, other than
the fact that you want it because everyone else has it.

Because it is higher quality

Granted. But decent equipment gets you a perfectly acceptable
recording over scart

No, it doesn't.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/8vef5
UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
BBC/ITV reception trouble? ; http://www.astra2d.com/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)