I got an extra 3rd lead run down from the dish so I can use Freesat as well. ITV HD is only available on Freesat (although there are bodges that allow access from Sky) and it cost me a pint to have the extra lead, so I thought why not?

Now have Sky +HD

Freesat

Freeview

Terrestrial analogue

Chris

How does that work with the switching voltages?

How does that work with the switching voltages?

No too sure what you mean? Setup is pretty straightforward, sky box enters the tv through an hdmi lead, freesat tuner is built into the tv set fed from the dish, analogue and freeview tuner built into tv fed from the aerial lead.

Source setting from the tv is a case of choosing input source from the tv menu or externally (sky box) from av menu.

All works well enough but swmbo is a bit of a technophobe, so is enjoying figuring it all out:D

Chris

Why would you need all 3? :confused:

Why would you need all 3? :confused:

Surely you mean all 4?

The television that had the panel we wanted (the Panasonic 600Hz plasma) was only available with Freesat included. Freesat does not really give me the choice I wanted, but for the sake of running an extra lead down from the dish, I can have both satellite based systems. Freesat has the advantage of having ITV HD which Sky does not, and easy access to all regional ITV / BBC services too.

The Freeview and Analogue is available if I plug my old aerial lead into the Panasonic TV, so I have plugged them in to assess / compare service quality.

I got the benefit of double service tonight, recorded two separate HD programs while watching a third on Freesat.

Am finding a big variation in the quality of broadcasts on HD. Some look good, others much less so.

Chris

You might as well because you can Chris - good on ya

Steve

On a domestic quad type LNB, they're all independent... you could have four separate receivers all sending switching tone/voltage up their own cables without an issue.

Like Multiroom would load it for example? I have been running both together, viewing programs on one while recording on another two channels and it seems to work fine.

Chris

You might as well because you can Chris - good on ya

Steve

Decadence, the fall of many a civilisation:cool:

Chris

Yep... we have Sky+ in our daughters room & Sky+HD in the living room...

Lady E was most likely on about the voltage that's sent up the cable from the receiver to switch bands & polarisation... most end users don't need to care about such technicalities so long as we can watch Emmerdale with a decent picture!

Which raises the question, how does it handle different receiving parameters simultaneously? I am assuming the LNB, being a quad unit, has 4 separate LNBs inside it, so each box gets its own.

Chris

Lady E was most likely on about the voltage that's sent up the cable from the receiver to switch bands & polarisation... most end users don't need to care about such technicalities so long as we can watch Emmerdale with a decent picture!

I was and wondered if the voltages might accidentally be sent to the same polarised element and do a little bit of damage in the long term? But I am obviously worrying over nothing and should find a nice chap to sort mine out too, as I have not had the EPG update from SKY, so I can't get ITV HD thorough SKY yet:(.

Umm - when I'm allowed the Sky remote!

Here we go:

BRAND NEW SKY+ PLUS REMOTE REV 8 ORIGINAL RRP £29.99!! on eBay (end time 06-Dec-09 08:04:07 GMT)

And herein begins 'SKY WARS' (!!)

It's part of the design but could contribute to failure... that along with other factors such as the weather. Won't Sky have specified exhaustive MTBF testing? :eek:

I have no idea to the testing SKY do or the specs they set, but it just seemed to me to be potentially asking for failure somewhere down the road. I imagine the LNB will give up the ghost first from again naturally…..at least I hope so.

Have you played with the new EPG? You can be sat there pressing buttons with no response... then all of a sudden your 15 button presses all happen at once! :eek:

I haven’t got it yet, hence no ITV HD. I don’t mind the slight fiddling about to get it though. Roll on Freeview HD. Although it will probably have such poor data rates that the picture will look like PAL did 10 years ago:rofl:

BTW, I know you ain't gonna change but pink on white is a lot harder to read than black on white! Anyone ever told you? :rotz:

I could suggest you do a search, but it would take you too long to sift through the people who dislike it and the people who approve. I changed a couple of times and several people said they preferred it.

I was and wondered if the voltages might accidentally be sent to the same polarised element and do a little bit of damage in the long term? But I am obviously worrying over nothing and should find a nice chap to sort mine out too, as I have not had the EPG update from SKY, so I can't get ITV HD thorough SKY yet:(.

There should be no worry about the wrong voltages being sent. Each decoder / receiver has its own line to its own lnb (did some research and found a quad lnb has four seperate block converters in it). Very impotant thing here is for the uninitiated not to just split the downlead and run two devices off one downlead (like you might with a conventional aerial)

Chris

There should be no worry about the wrong voltages being sent. Each decoder / receiver has its own line to its own lnb (did some research and found a quad lnb has four seperate block converters in it). Very impotant thing here is for the uninitiated not to just split the downlead and run two devices off one downlead (like you might with a conventional aerial)

Chris

I hadn’t really thought about the LNB that SKY fits and I think I had wrongly assumed that it was a twin or perhaps a Quattro. But it appears to be a Quad, so I can see how this would be a good solution. Just a pity the fitter didn’t offer me the extra cable option, as you can’t have enough PVRs (I was up to 4 until my Digifusion died )

Very impotant thing here is for the uninitiated not to just split the downlead and run two devices off one downlead (like you might with a conventional aerial)

Yikes! Yeah that could end badly. Would never even crossed my mind to try something like that, but I can't speak for other people :eek:

I'm sure there's some who've tried it, and probably not got very far and/or ruined some equipment in the process...

Steve