Sky+ HD – Information and Advice

The Sky satellite dish will need to have a multi-LNB fitted and two cable feeds from the dish to the Sky set-top box. This is so that the Sky+ box can record two channels at the same time.

Like standard Sky boxes, the Sky HD box must also be connected to a UK phone line.

More details on Sky+HD installation at Sky.com.

If you don’t want to pay a subscription, the channels BBC One HD, BBC Two HD and Channel 4 HD are available subscription-free.

Yes – if you wish, you can buy your own Sky+HD box, rather than having to go through Sky. A Sky+HD box requires two separate feeds from the satellite dish, and your dish will need an LNB with multiple outputs – this is to support recording one channel while watching another. Once connected, you’ll need to call Sky Customer Services to get them to “marry” the serial number of your new Sky+HD box to your Sky viewing card, and then to activate the Sky+HD subscription, so you can view the HD channels.

Sky won’t activate a box unless they’re happy that it’s legitimate, and you’re not misusing your account by swapping cards between boxes on a regular basis.

If you’re brave, you can pick up a Sky+ box cheaply on Ebay

• What is HDMI? See our HDMI Section
• TV doesn’t have enough HDMI sockets? See our HD FAQ
• Need a decent quality HDMI lead? We recommend TV Cables or Maplin Electronics.

Some users got the new look EPG version quickly, while others had a longer wait.
There appears to be no way to “force” an upgrade to the newer version of EPG – you have to wait until Sky roll it out to your box as an over the air upgrade.

Boxes made by Thomson and Pace should have received the upgrade by August 2009. Boxes made by Samsung got the upgrade in November 2009, and Amstrad users got the update in December 2009.

Note though that Sky+HD needs two feeds from the satellite dish, but standard Sky only needs one. If you only have one feed at the moment, Sky will have to run a second lead from the LNB on the dish to the Sky+HD box.

When you switch been a standard definition channel and an HD channel, you should notice a crisper picture with more detail. If not, there are a few things to check:

• You need to have an HD-ready TV set. If your TV does not support HD, it won’t be able to show high definition images
• You need to connect from your Sky+HD box using an HDMI cable. If you connect using a SCART lead or a co-ax aerial lead, you’ll only be able to see standard definition images
• You need to set the TV so that it’s viewing via the HDMI socket (not via SCART or aerial)
• Make sure your Sky+HD box is set to output in HD. Go to Services > Settings > Picture and make sure “HD resolution output” isn’t set to 576. We’d recommend “Automatic”.

If you’re still not getting the most from HD, you may want to play with your TV’s picture settings (brightness, contrast, colour, etc), and check that your TV is not in a non-HD mode. As all TVs are different, you’ll need to check the manual for information on how to get the best picture from your TV.

To watch Sky programmes in HD, you need to connect to your TV using an HDMI lead to a suitably equipped HD-ready TV.

If you have two HD TV sets you want to connect to, you may be able to use the HDMI connector for one TV, and the Component connectors for the other TV, although over a long distance, this may not be practical. If you need long cables or extra connectors, try TV Cables or Maplin Electronics

If you have non-HD TV sets elsewhere in the house, you can still connect these to the output of the Sky+HD box – if you’re connecting to a TV in another room, you’ll typically use a co-ax aerial lead. With this solution, you will be able to watch all of the channels from your main Sky+HD box on a second TV – but this will be in Standard Definition (you can’t run HD over aerial cable).

You can use a “Magic Eye” TV Link (pictured) with a Sky+HD box to allow you to use a remote control in the second room to remotely change channel. More on Sky Magic Eyes.

See our Sky in other rooms section for more on Sky in extra rooms.

You can force your Sky box to update to the latest software. The procedure can be found on the Satcure FAQ

Please visit our Sky forum to discuss version numbers and updates

For more details, see our Sky Anytime+ page

Well, the video sender can’t be used to transmit high definition around the home. Firstly, most AV senders use SCART connectors, and High Definition doesn’t work over SCART. Secondly, the bandwidth needed for sending HD wirelessly, isn’t there. Although you can’t send HD using a video sender, as the Sky+HD box has SCART sockets, so you’ll still be able to send standard definition pictures to another TV wirelessly.