Category: TV

Sky by Mobile on the k800i

I’m still loving the k800i but Sky haven’t updated their Sky by Mobile app to support the new phone. No matter – there is still a way to run the app and remote record.

Firstly download the following file to your pc – http://mobile.sky.com/SBM/SonyE_vid/SkyMobile_SonyWithTv.jar. Then transfer the file to your phone. Running the app on your phone will ask you to install it. Say Yes and pick a location that suits. Running the app for the first time will allow you to enter your username and password. From then on it should connect with no issues (unless the Sky site is down). I didn’t have to change any other settings (with T-Mobile UK) although your mileage may vary depending on your carrier. More info can be found on AV Forums for getting it to work on O2. There is now really no excuse for missing that recording.

Film 4

Well done Channel 4 – Film Four went free from 9PM tonight and is now viewable on all digital platforms including Freeview. Unbelievably people are complaining that it now sucks as the films contain adverts. I just wish for those people Channel 4 had a pay option so they could still have there advert free movies but at a cost…I wonder how many would pay. I wonder how many ever paid as it is so much easier to complain than complement.

Sky introduces Remote Record

Sky launched a new feature for Sky+ (and HD) users today – Remote Record. This allows users to set-up Sky+ recordings via:

  • Text message
  • Sky by Mobile
  • Sky.com

Text Message
You first need to register your mobile to your phone. Then you can simply send a text to 61759 in the format Programme title. Channel Number. Day/Month. Time. i.e.

24. Sky 1. 02/07. 21:00.

You will get a confirmation message if the details are correct. If they aren’t you will get a text message with four options that are the nearest match to your request. Select which option and the recording is added. If you are unsure of the time send Programme title to the above number and again you will get a text returned with a list of the next available programs. All very smart but the text request will cost 25p plus normal text charges. I can also see problems in entering the program titles correctly. Still, there are easier ways to use this service.

Sky by Mobile
Sky by Mobile has been around for a while allowing you to get news and video’s via your mobile. From today you can also set Sky+ recordings. For this to work you need a compatible handset, to have linked your Sky box to your mobile and then download a java app to your phone. Once downloaded, installed and run it is very easy to view the full Sky tv guide, select programs to record and also search for a program by keying in a title and letting the app find it for you. Key for me is that this service is free – you only pay for the data you’ve downloaded as per your normal service provider charges. It also doesn’t download much data meaning this is by far the cheapest way of remotely using your Sky box. Another reason for looking at T-Mobiles great web surfing deals.

Sky.com
Not available yet (August is the rumour) but hopefully this will be the easiest way of remote recording. Login to Sky.com, browse the channel list and select a program to record it. Sounds simple and hopefully the interface will be quick and easy to use.

Nice to see these features being added. Always handy in case you forget to set a recording.

Sky HD – 1 Month Update

It’s been four weeks since Sky HD was installed – here are my thoughts so far.

Sports
The World Cup in HD looks amazing. I was really impressed with most of the BBC coverage. A couple of the games earlier in the tournament seemed to be of lower bit rate which made the picture look slightly blurred as it moved. Apart from that I have no complaints with the BBC – just a shame ITV showed their HD games on Telewest only as when you swapped to an ITV game you got a pixelly unfocussed mess that rammed home the benefits of HD. Looking forward to Premiership and Ryder Cup.

Wimbledon has also been great. Centre and No 1 courts were displayed in HD and the difference was massive. I saw no blurring of the ball as reported elsewhere but I think some of these issues are down to poor quality tv’s rather than the broadcast itself. One point to note – the BBC suffered from a dead pixel. Well I found it quite funny – wonder if they’ll get a refund on their equipment or did they buy it from a firm that only offers returns for more than five dead pixels?

Movies
HD films + Dolby Digital 5.1 sound = better than upscaled DVD experience. Spiderman 2 and Sin City looked vastly superior to the non upscaled DVD versions and still better even when the DVD was upscaled. The only issue is that some broadcasts are using Dolby Pro Logic II which just isn’t as good as Dolby Digital. Oddly second or third broadcasts of the films (Spiderman for example) did have Dolby Digital unlike their original screenings.

Despite that if you like movies and you’ve got an HD Ready TV then it’s a no brainer – Sky HD really is that good. Will have to wait and see if they are as good as HD-DVD/Blu-Ray although I would have through the new hi-def disks will be better again (less compression I imagine).

Programming
Lack of content is the main issue. Sky One are broadcasting HD repeats through the night which shows just how good the programs will look – the only problem is I’ve seen most of them already. BBC HD is a trial service with repeats and Nat Geog and Discovery aren’t showing much new. The main issue is that many of the US import series have ended and so we’re waiting for them to start. Also there are still few programs shot in HD, especially in the UK which is a situation that will only improve.

Be interesting to see what ITV and Channels 4 & 5 do (if anything) over the coming months with regards HD. However for most channels I’m getting a better image than my Freeview box could offer so I’m still pleased – just need a bit more in HD.

Technology
Sky HD’s achilles heel is the hardware itself. Firstly 160Gb is small when recording HD content. 140 Gb is being reserved by Sky for a future download service – would be nice to have option to use it depending on whether you sign up for the service. Secondly Sky has problems with reliability and glitches. According to the Sunday Herald around 30% of users have had hardware problems. More worrying are reports that TV’s are being damaged by the Sky hardware, most prone being Pioneer models when the HDMI port is used. I’ve had a couple of box freezes but thankfully no missed recordings…yet. Firmware updates will sort out the latter but failing and damaging hardware is a far bigger issue that would only be fixed by repair/recall. Hopefully it won’t end up that way.

Overall I’m really chuffed with Sky HD. The Sky+ functionality is superb (should have got it ages ago) and the picture from HD channels is amazing. However I wouldn’t recommend getting it without looking at what is being broadcast first to avoid any disappointment. Sport and movie fans though will love it.

Sports Saturday

  • Philips HD TV – £1600
  • Sky HD Box – £300
  • Sky Monthly Subscription – £52
  • Watching England get knocked out of the World Cup again on penalties, Terry and Beckham shedding tears and Andy Murray winning magestically all in high definition – priceless

Andy MurrayWhat an amazing day of sport. First Andy Murray. Great performance especially as Roddick was serving so well. Still think it’s too early to be thinking of semi’s or final’s but that performance today was one of the best sport moments of the year so far. As for England they didn’t play well when they had eleven men, they had the better of the game after Rooney was sent off, the substitutions were frankly bizarre (take off wide man and put on Crouch, aka gigantaur, with no one left to cross it?) and to be honest the England team performance throughout the world cup did not merit a semi final place. Bye.

Looking forward to Murray in the 4th round now. Just how far can he go? I hoped that the comments on his website would be a bit more positive after the nasty stuff left over the last week but the one copied below shows that despite a really good post match interview some people just never let up.

If you weren’t such an unbelievably lucky hitter and hoper, so incredibly dull and such a nasty piece of work, it would be easy to look past the fact that you’re so dam ugly.

I thought Mr Burns was a cartoon character. I didn’t realise he was real and had offspring.

So sad.

Sky HD – One Week Later

Still loving it. World Cup has been brilliant and BBC really are showing the way with their broadcasts. Been impressed with the cricket as well so looking good for Premiership next year. Was getting used to the picture quality and switched the TV on for the Brazil game earlier this week. It looked awful – pixelly, low detail, lack of colour. I was so disappointed and thought the BBC were maybe using different settings for their admittedly test HD service. I then realised I was on BBC1, not the BBC HD channel. Switched over and normal service was resumed – moments like that really hit home the difference in quality.

There are however some firmware issues. Had the video stutter twice now after watching a recording which is easily solved by powering the box off and on. No Sky+ failures yet but the time does drift on these boxes – about a minute a day. I’m sure a future firmware update will resolve this but in the meantime…

  • Select Services from remote
  • Then press 4, 0, 1 and then Select to enter the Installers Menu
  • Select the Planner Rebuild menu option (number 7 and NOT number 8 which will wipe your recordings)
  • Housekeeping should then start and once complete power down the box
  • Press Sky or the power button to bring the box back on.

For me not a big deal especially when I look at the picture quality I’ve now got. Loving Sky+ also – so easy to use and totally changes how you use broadcast television. Should have bought it years ago.

HDMI Switchbox

Octava 5 Port HDMI SwitchJust when you though it was safe to throw away scart switchboxes as you move to hi-def you soon realise that most HD TV’s come with only 1 HDMI socket, 1 DVI socket and a component socket (although most new TV’s now come with 2 HDMI’s at least). Not much when you think of the multiple HD sources that you could have. To get round this little issue I plumped for an Octava 5 way HDMI switchbox. This works really well as a pass through device and gives long term expandability for any future HD devices I may add.

It allows for 5 HDMI/DVI sources to be connected and so far with my two sources it’s worked with no issues. Although it auto switches it also supports Infra Red selection of an input which is useful feature to have. If you do want one I can highly recommend The Media Factory who answered all my queries and also delivered promptly. Will definitely use them again. Worth noting that the Octava was pretty cost effective when compared to other HDMI switchboxes on the market at the moment.

Also worth considering is the Octava switchbox that also allows for multiple optical inputs – very handy if your amp is low on capacity. Ultimately the switchbox is more expandable and cost effective than upgrading your amp which looking at today’s market will give you one extra HDMI socket which really isn’t enough.