Comments on: Sky HD Review

By: HDTV Lounge Admin

HDTV Lounge Admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:05:25 +0000

Hey Linda,

Make sure output is selected as 16:9 (Widescreen) and try a few different output modes, 1080 / Auto / 720p. Also check the aspect ratio setting out your HDTV, either have it on Auto or widescreen, as that might be causing problems.

I think auto mode (on sky output setting) changes between scart and HDMI, which might help you. Sometimes old non-HD content shown on a HD channel looks squashed, but SD (standard) channels should be fine. Check the aspect settings on the Sky box and your HDTV. Hope this helps.

By: linda jarman

linda jarman — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:19:57 +0000

we have just had an sky hd+ box installed, the hd channel adjusts the size of picture automatically, but when not using the hd channel the sky channels appear as stretched (only certain channels). Our old sky+ box automatically adjusted the picture so we were dissappointed that the hd+ box is causing problems. The sky engineer has put the scart lead back in, as well as the hdmi lead,and we have to go through the process of selecting av1 or hdmi everytime we want to watch certain channels. Do you have any suggestions. Our tv is a sony bravia.

By: HDTV Lounge Admin

HDTV Lounge Admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:37:50 +0000

No problem Gavin, thanks a lot for the compliment.

By: Gavin Hawkins

Gavin Hawkins — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:59:20 +0000

Thankyou for the info, i’ll do that. Best site I have seen for HD usage.

By: HDTV Lounge Admin

HDTV Lounge Admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:46:01 +0000

Gavin;
I would connect the Sky HD directly to your HDTV via the HDMI cable, and then to your AV unit via the HDTV or optical from the Box.

The HD box does have a fan which runs when it is on, but it is very quiet, I hardly notice mine even when the TV is muted.

By: Gavin Hawkins

Gavin Hawkins — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:10:55 +0000

Also My sky+ box fan is nearly constantly in use and therefore makes a lot of noise have sky fixed this issue with the HD box?

By: Gavin Hawkins

Gavin Hawkins — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:01:24 +0000

Just ordered Sky HD (have been waiting for it to get stupidly cheap) I have Sony 40X3000 TV and The Sony Str 3300 AV unit, just wondering which I should connect the HD box to? At the moment the Sky+ box is connected to the AV unit as it upgrades signals to 1080p.

By: HDTV Lounge Admin

HDTV Lounge Admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:06:06 +0000

@ phill, Yes, that sounds very strange to me also. I would say stick with the direct connection via HDMI.

@ jonathan, Check Sky HD is set to widescreen, and also check that your HDTV aspect is set to Widescreen, rather than auto, as this can sometimes cause problems.
p.s, Sometimes Sky 1 HD some old Simpsons etc with bars on each side.

@ Kinny. I’m glad you like the picture quality. As Sky have stated to you that they have some compatibility problems with Denon, I’m not sure what to recommend, I have not heard of this before.

If the Denon firmware is upgradeable, you could try that. If not contact Sky or Denon. Good luck!

By: Kinny

Kinny — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:08:24 +0000

Today was the big day….HD+
WOW what a difference, brilliant sharp colors!

Just one problem, no DD 5.1 with my home cinema amp (this is not an April Fools Joke)

The box is setup for optical – Dolby (tried out all of the delay times), the display on my my amp (DENON AVR-1602) indicates that it’s receiving a Dolby digital single but I’m only getting 1 sec of sound then 15-20 sec silence then a 1 sec burst of sound then silence again. I only get sound when the setting on my amp is set to pro-logic or virtual. Its the same on all channels (BBC HD or sky movies)

The sky engineer did all he could and was very polite and helpful, even tried a 2nd new HD+ box with out results. All in all he spent over 4 hours setting up everything, great service.

We tried two toslink cables (that work OK on my PS3) and one coaxial cable, still no DD 5.1
After the engineer called the problem in with sky-HQ, we were informed the the HD+ box does have compatibility problems with some DENON surround receivers and there is nothing that they can do. Great… good picture-poor sound.

I haven’t called sky technical or costumer service just yet, I wanted to wait if there is anyone that have had a similar experience.
I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks,
Kinny.

By: jonathan burns

jonathan burns — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:50:57 +0000

i have just had sky hd installed, all normal channels are fine and most of the hd channels, however, when i put sky 1 or channel 4 hd on the picture size shrinks down to leave huge black lines around the picture, is this a common problem and is there a way of fixing it? i have tried all of the picture settings on the sky box and on the tv