Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days
would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware?
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could be, but it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the cables. Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off their SD channels.
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
The Todal wrote:
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days
Wind may had misaligned your dish, rain may have got into your LNB.
would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware?
The satellites are owned/operated by Astra, not sure if the channels are sufficiently grouped onto transponders, such that they could turn down
the wick on Sky's channels without affecting other operators?
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels >whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote >more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD
channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off >their SD channels.
The Todal wrote:
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days
Wind may had misaligned your dish, rain may have got into your LNB.
would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware?
The satellites are owned/operated by Astra, not sure if the channels are sufficiently grouped onto transponders, such that they could turn down
the wick on Sky's channels without affecting other operators?
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a legal >aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have not >upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes freezes. >There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be correctly aligned
(I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal strength" is at maximum
whereas "signal quality" on some but not all channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky to >degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to abandon
their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If that is what
is happening?
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could be, but >> it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the cables. >> Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but
channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels
whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote >> more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off >> their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm
not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum:
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box. Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as
I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never
heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all
too tedious.
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could
be, but
it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the
cables.
Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but
channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels
whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible,
devote
more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD
channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just
switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm
not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum:
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box. Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as
I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never
heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all
too tedious.
On 21/02/2025 09:50, The Todal wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I don't watch television anymore but when I had Sky some years ago there
was frequent degradation and freezing of the images.
A telecommunications engineer (not Sky) told me satellite dishes
frequently get 'clogged' with static, degrading the signal.
A suggested remedy that worked well for me was to completely disconnect
the aerial from the television once in a while. An hour disconnected,
seemed to do the trick for me.
Static build up is far more prevalent when atmospheric pressure is high
so expect more bad reception on those murky dull days in winter and
bright sunny weather in summer.
Regards your last question, "possible degradation of the signal by Sky"?
I can't give an answer as I don't know? If pressed I would probably
say no. What I do suggest, try disconnecting the aerial as outlined,
you may well have the good signal you wish for already for your receiver
via the dish.
It would be interesting to know if this work-around has helped you.
Perhaps you will oblige us with your outcome?
Good luck anyway.
omega
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
On 21/02/2025 09:50 AM, The Todal wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
It's hard to see how Sky could do that, except for installing a
substandard dual LNB within the dish.
Are there any trees interrupting the dish's line of sight to the
southerly sky?
The Q machine is almost useless to me. After so many years of Sky boxes
(from the original analogue 1989 model to Sky+HD) having an analogue
output in the form of a SCART socket, the Q only has HDMI, meaning that video-recordings can no longer be made. And the older boxes have a whole cpying routine built into them!
I sent the Q back and reverted to Sky+HD.
On 21/02/2025 10:18 AM, The Todal wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com>
wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have >>>> not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these >>>> days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >>>> phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky >>>> to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could
be, but
it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the
cables.
Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality,
but
channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD
channels
whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible,
devote
more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD
channels.
 Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just
switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm
not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion
forum:
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box.
Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved
between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as
I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never
heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all
too tedious.
Do you not have ITV1 and ITV1 HD available via an aerial?
Here, we have three Sony Bravias in various rooms and a Sony DVD-R/HDDmachine attached to each of them (paranoid about missing episodes of
TPTV's longer drama series, such as "The Brothers").
I paid a couple of hundred pounds a year or two back for a new roof
aerial and aconnection into three rooms, including thr main bedroom.
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:18:34 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote: >>>
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have >>>> not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these >>>> days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >>>> phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky >>>> to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could be, but
it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the cables. >>> Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but >>> channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels >>> whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote >>> more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm
not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum: >>
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box.
Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved
between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as
I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never
heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all
too tedious.
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky'quality' dial on Sky transmission equipment and so new equipment would
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
From inside knowledge I'd say that is highly unlikely. There is no
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:31:11 GMT, "Omega" <crazy@last.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 09:50, The Todal wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
I don't watch television anymore but when I had Sky some years ago there
was frequent degradation and freezing of the images.
A telecommunications engineer (not Sky) told me satellite dishes
frequently get 'clogged' with static, degrading the signal.
A suggested remedy that worked well for me was to completely disconnect
the aerial from the television once in a while. An hour disconnected,
seemed to do the trick for me.
Static build up is far more prevalent when atmospheric pressure is high
so expect more bad reception on those murky dull days in winter and
bright sunny weather in summer.
Regards your last question, "possible degradation of the signal by Sky"?
I can't give an answer as I don't know? If pressed I would probably
say no. What I do suggest, try disconnecting the aerial as outlined,
you may well have the good signal you wish for already for your receiver
via the dish.
It would be interesting to know if this work-around has helped you.
Perhaps you will oblige us with your outcome?
Good luck anyway.
omega
I think both the cause and cure suggested by the engineer are technically implausible, for several reasons. If, on the other hand, there was any advantage in removing power from the LNB for a time (which I doubt) this could
more conveniently be achieved by removing power from the terminal equipment (satellite box) for a time.
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
Assuming your kit can do it ISTR the Freesat satellite is in the same
beam for a Sky dish so you can test the decoder effectiveness with that.
On 21/02/2025 10:35 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:18:34 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote: >>>>
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have >>>>> not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these >>>>> days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all >>>>> channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >>>>> phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky >>>>> to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If >>>>> that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could be, but
it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the cables.
Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but >>>> channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels >>>> whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote >>>> more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm
not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum: >>>
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box.
Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved
between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as >>> I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never
heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all >>> too tedious.
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service
seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV >> over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with >> (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can
record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
Is the Puck the little Sky box (extension box) for use in rooms other
then the one where the main Q box is located?
My memory of the few months when we had "Q" is that the extension box operated the HDD of the Q box, recording and playing back via a Wi-Fi connection. All the recordings are on the Q box, but accessed (slightly remotely) by the extension boxes.
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
The Q machine is almost useless to me. After so many years of Sky boxes
(from the original analogue 1989 model to Sky+HD) having an analogue
output in the form of a SCART socket, the Q only has HDMI, meaning that >video-recordings can no longer be made. And the older boxes have a whole >cpying routine built into them!
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels
whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible,
devote
more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD
channels.
 Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just
switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm
not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum:
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box. Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of.
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as
I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never
heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all
too tedious.
There does seem to be some traffic about some users of Sky boxes having various decoding issues specific to ITV and ITV HD channels.
On 21/02/2025 in message <m1r3hrF1gqcU1@mid.individual.net> JNugent wrote:
The Q machine is almost useless to me. After so many years of Sky
boxes (from the original analogue 1989 model to Sky+HD) having an
analogue output in the form of a SCART socket, the Q only has HDMI,
meaning that video-recordings can no longer be made. And the older
boxes have a whole cpying routine built into them!
There are ways but this might not be the best group to discuss them?
Martin Brown wrote:
There does seem to be some traffic about some users of Sky boxes
having various decoding issues specific to ITV and ITV HD channels.
My satellite receiver is neither Sky or Freesat, it's a bog-standard
DVB-S2 PCIe card in a Linux PC.
I've just watched half an hour of ITV1 HD, during which the number of
lost, dropped or discarded blocks was zero. There are multiple regional variations, I seem to have picked West Country (West).
On 21/02/2025 10:35 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service
seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV >> over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with >> (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can
record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
From Sky's perspective, doing it that way is cheaper and simpler, andreflects the way that most people watch TV these days. We've got Sky Q, but,
Is the Puck the little Sky box (extension box) for use in rooms other
then the one where the main Q box is located?
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:55:19 GMT, "JNugent" <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:35 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:18:34 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote: >>>
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote: >>>>>
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a >>>>>> legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have >>>>>> not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these >>>>>> days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all >>>>>> channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >>>>>> phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky >>>>>> to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to >>>>>> abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If >>>>>> that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could be, but
it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the cables.
Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but >>>>> channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels >>>>> whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote
more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm >>>> not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum: >>>>
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box. >>>> Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box
because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved >>>> between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. >>>>
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported
the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as >>>> I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never >>>> heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all >>>> too tedious.
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service
seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV
over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with >>> (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can
record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
Is the Puck the little Sky box (extension box) for use in rooms other
then the one where the main Q box is located?
My memory of the few months when we had "Q" is that the extension box
operated the HDD of the Q box, recording and playing back via a Wi-Fi
connection. All the recordings are on the Q box, but accessed (slightly
remotely) by the extension boxes.
I think the Puck is the thing that obtains Sky signals exclusively from the Internet, like their proprietary TV sets. ICBW
On 21/02/2025 11:21 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:55:19 GMT, "JNugent" <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:35 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 10:18:34 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote: >>>>
On 21/02/2025 10:10, Roger Hayter wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 09:50:32 GMT, "The Todal" <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a >>>>>>> legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have >>>>>>> not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these >>>>>>> days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes >>>>>>> freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be >>>>>>> correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all >>>>>>> channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary >>>>>>> phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky >>>>>>> to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to >>>>>>> abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If >>>>>>> that is what is happening?
I very much doubt if the problem is at Sky's end. It certainly could be, but
it is much more likely to be alignment of your dish or water in the cables.
Lower definition channels would not show up as poorer signal quality, but
channels sent at a lower signal strength might.
I think it would be perfectly lawful for Sky to degrade their SD channels
whether it was to encourage people to switch or, equally plausible, devote
more of the limited satellite output power to their more popular HD channels.
Other satellite channels (on freesat) are increasingly just switching off
their SD channels.
Thanks, and I may get an engineer to check the alignment again. But I'm >>>>> not the only person with this problem. Quotes from a Sky discussion forum:
quote
I'm having serious signal problems when I watch ITV using my sky + box. >>>>> Pixelated picture-Spoke to Sky today I'm not eligible for a SkyQ box >>>>> because I live in a block of flats. This problem has got to be resolved >>>>> between ITV and Sky; it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. >>>>>
Thank you, but I was told by Sky that the Sky + box is no longer
compatible with ITV channels and that other people have also reported >>>>> the same issue. The best solution they said is to get a Sky Q box but as >>>>> I'm not eligible they suggested I get a Sky Streaming Puck. Have never >>>>> heard of this before and am inclined to change provider. I find this all >>>>> too tedious.
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service
seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV
over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with >>>> (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can
record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
Is the Puck the little Sky box (extension box) for use in rooms other
then the one where the main Q box is located?
My memory of the few months when we had "Q" is that the extension box
operated the HDD of the Q box, recording and playing back via a Wi-Fi
connection. All the recordings are on the Q box, but accessed (slightly
remotely) by the extension boxes.
I think the Puck is the thing that obtains Sky signals exclusively from the >> Internet, like their proprietary TV sets. ICBW
Oh, OK.
That's "Now TV", I think.
In that case, the Puck is a streaming device with no recording facility.
With streaming available, the recording is all at the company's end (see
also Netflix and Amazon Prime as well as a half dozen or more others)
and the customer doesn't need a local facility.
The Puck is not different in principle from the AppleTV or Amazon Firestick.
On Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:19 +0000, JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:35 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service
seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV
over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with >>> (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can
record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
The Puck has no recording capability. The argument is that it doesn't need
to have, because everything is available on-demand. So you can time-shift, simply by pausing the stream or watching it on catch-up, but you can't time-shift by downloading to a local store and then watching later.
From Sky's perspective, doing it that way is cheaper and simpler, andreflects the way that most people watch TV these days. We've got Sky Q, but, to be honest, I rarely record anything now, if I'm not watching live I do just watch it on-demand.
The counter-argument is that streaming-only relies on an always-on connection, which can't always be guaranteed. And not all catch-up services are equal; BBC iPlayer does it very well but some of the smaller channels
are not in that league.
Is the Puck the little Sky box (extension box) for use in rooms other
then the one where the main Q box is located?
No; the Sky Puck is their streaming-only box. The add-on box for a Sky Q is called a Ski Mini.
Mark
On Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:50:32 +0000, The Todal <the_todal@icloud.com> wrote:
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a
legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have
not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these
days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes
freezes. There is a menu item which tells me that my dish must be
correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal
strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality" on some but not all
channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary
phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky
to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to
abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If
that is what is happening?
Sky do want customers to move off the older Sky+ platform and onto either
Sky Q or a fully streamed solution. I'm not sure that deliberately degrading the signal is part of their plan, but of course the older hardware is now getting older and may well be degrading itself.
Mark
Sky do want customers to move off the older Sky+ platform and onto either
Sky Q or a fully streamed solution.
On 21 Feb 2025 20:10:12 GMT, Roger Hayter <roger@hayter.org> wrote:
On 21 Feb 2025 at 17:14:27 GMT, "Mark Goodge"
<usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:
Sky do want customers to move off the older Sky+ platform and onto either >>> Sky Q or a fully streamed solution. I'm not sure that deliberately degrading
the signal is part of their plan, but of course the older hardware is now >>> getting older and may well be degrading itself.
Sky Q makes no difference at all at the satellite end of the link, so I am not
sure what the advantage is to Sky, unless they arbitrarily charge more for the
newer type of receiving apparatus.
It is different technically, it's not using the same frequency band from the satellite to the dish. That's one of the reasons why switching to Sky Q requires an upgrade to the dish, and why customers using a communal dish can't switch individually - they have to all switch simultaneously, or not
at all.
The advantage to Sky is that the newer system has much higher bandwidth and can therefore carry Ultra HD channels as well as having a simpler hardware solution. Sky HD Multiroom, for example, requires a pair of cables from the dish to each box. The replacement multiroom system, Sky Q + Sky Mini, only needs a single pair of cables to the main box and the child boxes get their feed via wifi (or ethernet) from the main box. That's cheaper to manufacture and more convenient for customers, plus of course the availability of Ultra HD on Sky Q is a big selling point.
Costwise, the same pack on both systems is the same price - you're still paying a fee based on content, not hardware. There's no direct income advantage to Sky in getting people to switch. But the availability of additional Ultra HD channels on Sky Q - which do cost more - means that there's a clear upsell opportunity wehich doesn't exist on the older system. And the newer hardware is cheaper to build, mainly because far more of the work is now done by software rather than hardware. Under the lid, a Sky Q
box mostly runs on Linux.
Mark
On 21 Feb 2025 at 17:14:27 GMT, "Mark Goodge" ><usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:
Sky do want customers to move off the older Sky+ platform and onto either
Sky Q or a fully streamed solution. I'm not sure that deliberately degrading >> the signal is part of their plan, but of course the older hardware is now
getting older and may well be degrading itself.
Sky Q makes no difference at all at the satellite end of the link, so I am not >sure what the advantage is to Sky, unless they arbitrarily charge more for the >newer type of receiving apparatus.
Roger Hayter wrote:
Sky Q makes no difference at all at the satellite end of the link
It is different technically, it's not using the same frequency band from the satellite to the dish.
The advantage to Sky is that the newer system has much higher bandwidth and can therefore carry Ultra HD channels
as well as having a simpler hardwareThe point that Roger and myself have made is that Sky doesn't need to
solution. Sky HD Multiroom, for example, requires a pair of cables from the dish to each box. The replacement multiroom system, Sky Q + Sky Mini, only needs a single pair of cables to the main box and the child boxes get their feed via wifi (or ethernet) from the main box. That's cheaper to manufacture and more convenient for customers, plus of course the availability of Ultra HD on Sky Q is a big selling point.
Costwise, the same pack on both systems is the same price - you're still paying a fee based on content, not hardware. There's no direct income advantage to Sky in getting people to switch. But the availability of additional Ultra HD channels on Sky Q - which do cost more - means that there's a clear upsell opportunity wehich doesn't exist on the older system. And the newer hardware is cheaper to build, mainly because far more of the work is now done by software rather than hardware. Under the lid, a Sky Q
box mostly runs on Linux.
On 21 Feb 2025 at 17:28:11 GMT, "Mark Goodge" <usenet@listmail.good-stuff.co.uk> wrote:
On Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:19 +0000, JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> wrote:
On 21/02/2025 10:35 AM, Roger Hayter wrote:
If you are prepared to pay Sky at all (which I am not), then their IP service
seems to be the only way to get a UK-oriented EPG interface to popular UK TV
over an IP connection, which seems to be the way forward as long as you have a
decent Internet connection. If there was any other decent EPG service with >>>> (DRM controlled, obviously) time shifting (and I really don't know if you can
record with the Sky Puck) then I would happily abandon Freesat; because trees.
Can you do time shifting recordings with the Sky Puck?
The Puck has no recording capability. The argument is that it doesn't need >> to have, because everything is available on-demand. So you can time-shift, >> simply by pausing the stream or watching it on catch-up, but you can't
time-shift by downloading to a local store and then watching later.
From Sky's perspective, doing it that way is cheaper and simpler, andreflects the way that most people watch TV these days. We've got Sky Q, but, >> to be honest, I rarely record anything now, if I'm not watching live I do
just watch it on-demand.
The counter-argument is that streaming-only relies on an always-on
connection, which can't always be guaranteed. And not all catch-up services >> are equal; BBC iPlayer does it very well but some of the smaller channels
are not in that league.
My impression is that, certainly on ITV, the great proportion of peak hour quizzes, soap operas and comedies are simply not available for streaming. So there is a great gap in the market for simple time-shifting.
Apologies if anyone thinks this is off topic but I think there is a legal aspect.
As a longstanding Sky customer I still have a Sky HD Plus box and have not upgraded to the latest Sky Q service.
I have noticed that many Sky channels seem to have a poor signal these days including ITV. The picture regularly breaks up and sometimes freezes. There is a
menu item which tells me that my dish must be correctly aligned (I paid for a new dish last year) and "signal strength" is at maximum whereas "signal quality"
on some but not all channels is under 50%.
Have others here noticed the same? Is it thought that it is a temporary phenomenon caused by the winter weather?
And, a hypothetical question, would it be lawful or reasonable for Sky to degrade the signal quality in an attempt to encourage people to abandon their older Sky equipment and opt for the latest hardware? If that is what is happening?
On 26/02/2025 12:56, The Todal wrote:
The upshot of all this: today, the most recent of a series of
aerial/satellite fitters has cured the problem by replacing the LNB (not
sure that was actually necessary but I didn't quibble) and re-aligning
the dish to improve the signal.
If you are up there meddling with it you might as well swap the LNB at
the same time just to be sure. They do suffer corrosion from being
exposed to the elements (especially where I live). The waterproof self >amalgamating tape eventually degrades to a state of brittleness too.
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