It seems ok to me to be honest.

I've not felt the need to delve into the settings.

is that because vag com doesnt work on it?:P:rofl:

Just wondering after reading this thread and buying a hdmi ready freeview box, how does the hd bit get to the tv will it be through the aerial socket or another socket? the tv i have is hd ready but the hdmi lead to dvi i bought didnt work and still have this hdmi ready freeview box plugged into a hd ready tv via scart socket. Just dont want to start looking at getting sky hd+ to find that i cant actually connect to hd cos the tv is only hd ready for terestrial signal.

The HD signal is pure digital, so needs either DVI or HDMI, the box you have is probably an upscaling box which means it will still be anologue but it will upscale or resize if you like the picture so it fits a HD ready tv screen better, which in turn makes the picture more viewable on flatscreen tv.

At least I think this is what you have ??

If you were to get Sky HD you need a TV with HDMI input as iirc some of the content is scrambled using the HDCP system which will only work through HDMI and some DVI conectors.

I think I got that right, I'm sure if I havn't someone will correct me in due course

HTH

The HD signal is pure digital, so needs either DVI or HDMI, the box you have is probably an upscaling box which means it will still be anologue but it will upscale or resize if you like the picture so it fits a HD ready tv screen better, which in turn makes the picture more viewable on flatscreen tv.

At least I think this is what you have ??

If you were to get Sky HD you need a TV with HDMI input as iirc some of the content is scrambled using the HDCP system which will only work through HDMI and some DVI conectors.

I think I got that right, I'm sure if I havn't someone will correct me in due course

HTH

Freeview isn't HD at the moment i believe that'll be coming after the analogue switch off. The only ways to get HD channels at the moment are SkyHD, Virgin or FreeSat. All of which need to be connected to the TV via either HDMI or component leads. You can still view using a scart lead (you can with SkyHD anyway) but the picture is just standard SD quality.

Most channels don't show 100% HD content Channel 4 HD for instance but does upscale the SD stuff so that it does look that little better than the same program showing at the same time on normal Channel 4.

On the SkyHD platform some channels are pretty much 100% HD though like LuxeHD, Discovery HD, History HD, Crime HD, Disney Cinemagic HD or the Sky HD movie channels.

So in answer to the question yes to view any HD content on any platform the HDMI connection will be required.... Not sure about the HDMI-DVI lead mentioned as would have thought there would be HDMI ports on the TV and any HD box so a normal HDMI lead is all that's required.

By the way 'HD ready' means the TV won't recognise 1080p inputs which are 'full HD' SkyHD etc only transmit at 1080i & 720p which is what an 'HD ready' TV will accept. So you will see no difference when watching Sky HD on either your HD ready TV or my full HD plasma etc.....

Cheers

Dave.

Freeview isn't HD at the moment i believe that'll be coming after the analogue switch off. The only ways to get HD channels at the moment are SkyHD, Virgin or FreeSat. All of which need to be connected to the TV via either HDMI or component leads. You can still view using a scart lead (you can with SkyHD anyway) but the picture is just standard SD quality.

Most channels don't show 100% HD content Channel 4 HD for instance but does upscale the SD stuff so that it does look that little better than the same program showing at the same time on normal Channel 4.

On the SkyHD platform some channels are pretty much 100% HD though like LuxeHD, Discovery HD, History HD, Crime HD, Disney Cinemagic HD or the Sky HD movie channels.

So in answer to the question yes to view any HD content on any platform the HDMI connection will be required.... Not sure about the HDMI-DVI lead mentioned as would have thought there would be HDMI ports on the TV and any HD box so a normal HDMI lead is all that's required.

By the way 'HD ready' means the TV won't recognise 1080p inputs which are 'full HD' SkyHD etc only transmit at 1080i & 720p which is what an 'HD ready' TV will accept. So you will see no difference when watching Sky HD on either your HD ready TV or my full HD plasma etc.....

Cheers

Dave.

I know all this as I already have Sky HD :P:P:P:)

I was trying to help Paul as his freeview box has hdmi but is not HD which as you say isn't avaliable on freeview as yet, there is of course Freesat but there ain't much in the way of stuff too watch on there yet.

For info ...........The new sky boxes don't seen to come with component so really it HDMI all the way from now on.

I know all this as I already have Sky HD :P:P:P:)

I was trying to help Paul as his freeview box has hdmi but is not HD which as you say isn't avaliable on freeview as yet, there is of course Freesat but there ain't much in the way of stuff too watch on there yet.

For info ...........The new sky boxes don't seen to come with component so really it HDMI all the way from now on.

My mistake..... Quoted the wrong post..... I meant to quote the post above yours.

You're right about the new SkyHD boxes they now have no component out..... The only way to get that is by having an old Thomson box but i think the cons of that particular box far out weigh the pro of having component out.

I've found out today that the time limit for getting a replacement 'new' box from Sky is 90 days from install date so am going to see how our Amstrad box goes. I'm still not happy with the contrast setting and keep fiddling with it most days to try and get something i like on screen..... Obviously it'll never be perfect as with the contrast being permenantly set on high from the box there is detail lost in bright areas and just lowering the contrast on the TV doesn't get that detail back.

Cheers

Dave.

i know that hd doesnt work on freeview yet, but as the tv says hd ready (and only slots on the back are rgb, s video, the four colours one and dvi) i tried to connect the digi box we just got which says its hdmi ready to the tv. But as there is no hdmi socket on the tv i bought an expensive adapter from maplins that you stick the hdmi cable into to change it to dvi and plugged it in. the tv on dvi channel is franctically measuring out the size, but on the digibox when i try to enable hdmi it wont accept it as its not going into an hdmi socket. so just wondered really how the sky hd one would work before even considering it as i havent had much with this current set up (event hrough i know hd isnt broadcast yet on freeview ) but want to have it ready for when it is.... hope you get what i mean lol.

In that case then you may be scuppered with SkyHD as you need an HDMI port to see the HD output. As said above the only SkyHD boxes with component out are the old Thomsons which are only installed now as recon replacements for warranty claims etc.... You could get one off ebay of course but they really aren't the most reliable of all the boxes.

Looking online i've found a few forum posts that say to use an HDMI to DVI converter so you may be ok etc..... As that's what you've already got then maybe the freeview box or the lead are faulty etc....

How about doing a google search for SkyHD and your TV model number...... Might bring something up??

Cheers

Dave.

Edited 4 March, 200917 yr by WaveyDavey

Maybe this would better suited Play.com (UK) : HDMI To DVI Gold Plated Cable 1 Metre : Electronics - Free Delivery

Just got off the phone to Sky tier 2 support regarding the contrast issue on my Amstrad box. The guy i spoke to said he had nothing about it being a known issue so has booked me a service call for Monday afternoon to have a new box installed....... He did say that there are an awful lot of people watching the performance of the Amstrad boxes now that Sky own them as more and more people are realising it's now Sky's name on the line etc....

Just looking for various things to record as evidence of how my blacks are actually grey..... Preferably something i've got on blu-ray so as to give a good comparison to the engineer.

Cheers

Dave.

Maybe this would better suited Play.com (UK) : HDMI To DVI Gold Plated Cable 1 Metre : Electronics - Free Delivery

basically what my adapter does, but will bear it in mind, cheers!!!

Well had the engineer come round this afternoon with a new replacement box and guess what............................... It was another Amstrad with the same fault.... Contrast stuck on high.

I've kept the original box rather than the replacement so as to watch a couple of recordings we didn't get a chance to watch. Also said i didn't want another Amstrad as the fault is looking like it affects all Amstrads, or very much all of them, so Sky have spoken to the engineers manager who is allocating him a new Pace box tomorrow morning.

Let's see how the new Pace box goes.

Cheers

Dave.

The guy i spoke to said he had nothing about it being a known issue so has booked me a service call for Monday afternoon to have a new box installed....... He did say that there are an awful lot of people watching the performance of the Amstrad boxes now that Sky own them as more and more people are realising it's now Sky's name on the line etc....

How can they not know, the major UK avforums are full of posts with Amstrad HD box and contrast stuck on high. Trouble is, the Pace box has had a recent recall and the samsung has a weak power supply that struggles to power upgraded drives. My Thomson box is 2 years old, has a 1TB drive in it and still works perfectly well.

How can they not know, the major UK avforums are full of posts with Amstrad HD box and contrast stuck on high. Trouble is, the Pace box has had a recent recall and the samsung has a weak power supply that struggles to power upgraded drives. My Thomson box is 2 years old, has a 1TB drive in it and still works perfectly well.

The Pace recall was due to the power cables to the drive not being secured in place as they should have been. All new Pace boxes now have the cabling tie wrapped in place so it is secure. Or that's what come to light on the AVForums and other sources.

I know a few folk who have Thomson boxes and they have nothing but probs with them...... I work for part of the Thomson group and get staff rates etc.... for Thomson products and i still wouldn't have one...... Even the lads who receive long service awards all seem to pick money alternatives to the Thomson products in the awards catalogue. The days of Thomson being half decent are seemingly long gone.

The Amstrad issue now looks to have been acknowledged by Sky though they haven't decided what they're gonna do about it. The three options so far would look to be software fix (if possible), Leave it as it is where by people get a change of box if they report their's faulty or another mass recall. Personally if they can't fix it via software update i don't htink they'd go for yet another high profile recall for something that isn't safety related.

Hopefully the Pace box tomorrow WILL be one of the new post recall boxes otherwise that one will be getting refused too. :rolleyes:

Cheers

Dave.

I've still not noticed an issue with mine.

How does it manifest?

I've still not noticed an issue with mine.

How does it manifest?

When viewing via HDMI press services..... then system settings..... then picture settings. There should be an option for contrast. Move to the contrast option and press the left or right joypad and it should change between low, medium & high. If your box has the fault the ACTUAL contrast on the screen will not change even though the wording is doing so.

It appears the boxes are stuck on the 'high' setting. I checked mine by going between the HDMI & scart outputs while changing the setting and noticed that when on high both screens were as bright as each other but when on Medium or low the scart image was noticably darker than the HDMI.

The contrast does change when viewing the scart output just not on the HDMI output.

As had been said elsewhere you can adjust the TV contrast but that has two problems..... All other inputs are then too dark..... And you still loose detail in the light areas due to the box sending out an over exposed image in the first place etc... We noticed it a lot yesterday afternoon while watching the Sheff Utd v Brum City match..... and then whilst watching Lost last night all the dark scenes were a misty grey instead of black.

Hope that makes sense Stu???

Cheers

Dave.

Looks like mine is the same but I can't say it bothers me at the moment. I'll keep an eye on things.

Just had the chap back with my post recall new Pace box. Now installed and i have to say it is better than the Amstrad on more than one count.

Boots up a lot quicker less than a minute or so.

SD & HD picture is crisper and i've been able to put the sharpness setting on the TV back down to what it should be from what i'd moved it up to.

HDD a lot quieter than the Amstrad

Much much more ventilation around the case including all the way across the back above the terminations.

Version number is the latest 3006 and the guy was saying you can tell the new post recall boxes as they have green circular stickers on the box and packaging.

Cheers

Dave.

Boot time on my Sky plus takes an age when I reset it due to lock ups (happened 3 times now in 18 months, plus a few power downs for decorating etc).

Did a costing earlier, phone BB and TV, BB is max phone is national calls and tv is just family pack, ran to £51 pm, not what I consider a bargain at all, seems to be the old trick, give the hardware and charge for the software.

I don't think anyone claimed that Sky TV is a bargain although depending on what level of TV you have chosen it might not be as expensive as you think.

Did a costing earlier, phone BB and TV, BB is max phone is national calls and tv is just family pack, ran to £51 pm, not what I consider a bargain at all, seems to be the old trick, give the hardware and charge for the software.

An extra £10 would see me with HD and a £30 odd bill/month for all mixes. BB add £5, and as ypu wont be paying BT for line rental, this is almost irrelevant.

An extra £10 would see me with HD and a £30 odd bill/month for all mixes. BB add £5, and as ypu wont be paying BT for line rental, this is almost irrelevant.

Maybe I've done the maths wrong, but it came to £50 something on the tally box on the site, that was just one tv pack and max BB and Sky line rental with free national calls, maybe if I go another route some of it's already in with the already selected options.

Maybe I've done the maths wrong, but it came to £50 something on the tally box on the site, that was just one tv pack and max BB and Sky line rental with free national calls, maybe if I go another route some of it's already in with the already selected options.

You are probably about in the right ball park but it becomes clearer if you break it down -

If like me you are forced to have a BT based BB then that's £24 per month

BT Line rental on top of that is £10 per month

We pay about £30 for our Sky TV which is made up of the mixes and the HD subs which is £10.

Add in a bit for the free National calls and it's starting to look a little better don't you think.

I got my HD box installed today - Amstrad, and it seems to be suffering the same problem. Blacks aren't black anymore, just a misty grey.

I can't be doing with changing the TV settings everytime I use the Playstation, and the brightness of the screen on SkyHD is starting to hurt my eyes!

Is it possible to request a PACE box from customer services?

I got my HD box installed today - Amstrad, and it seems to be suffering the same problem. Blacks aren't black anymore, just a misty grey.

I can't be doing with changing the TV settings everytime I use the Playstation, and the brightness of the screen on SkyHD is starting to hurt my eyes!

Is it possible to request a PACE box from customer services?

As you're just up the road from me you may get the same contractor company come out to replace the box if you report it as faulty......

I reported it to Sky and when the contractor/engineer arrived with another Amstrad i let him try it before refusing it and asking for the existing one to be put back on.... I then phoned Sky who contacted the engineer's manager saying i was requesting a Pace and the manager of the firm allocated me one..... If they hadn't had a Pace i would have gone down the "i'll wait for one" road.... or gone for a Samsung at a push.

Sky themselves cannot put a request for a specific box so it has to be the engineer or his manager that allocates a specific box etc..... The woman at sky who i spoke to did actually say the engineer should have phoned his manager and not her but she was happy to make the call etc.....

Any probs / advice just give me a shout...... There is a software fix in the offing for the contrast fault but having now had the benefit of seeing both the Pace and Amstrad perform on my setup the Pace wins hands down.

Cheers

Dave.