Channel Finder

The set-top box is great, and there’s promise of some new goodies – the box has an Ethernet connector , as well as two USB sockets.

Another feature worthy of mention is ‘Sky Anytime’ – This started rolling out in 2007 on Sky+ HD boxes. The Anytime service uses space on the hard disk, and captures some top Sky TV programmes and movies overnight. This means that there’s always a selection of programmes ready to watch on-demand.

Stunning picture, a powerful box, and the promise of more good stuff to come. Put your HD-ready telly through its paces, and enjoy!

So, is there a downside with Sky HD? Well, at the moment, it’s the amount of content. There’s just not a lot of HD programming out there at the moment. What there is, has a heavy sport, movie and nature bias. The available programming continues to expand, and it’s worth the wait.

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

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).

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• High-Definition Television
• BT Vision+ HD Box Review
• Virgin Media V+ HD Box Review