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Original poster

Would you recommend buying a SKY+ box or a DVD recorder with harddrive?

37 replies

99redballoons · 26/11/2006 15:59

Hi, we see more and more people with Sky+ in their homes and it looks great. We only have a VCR atm and we want to upgrade but can't decide where we should invest our money- Sky+ or a DVD recorder with harddrive.

-do you have experience of both and which do you prefer?
-we want the ability to pause play
-want to transfer at good quality to dvd (mainly the kids programs)
-it would be nice to record one sky channel and watch another.
-advice please on what features to get, and reliable makes/models etc.

Thanks for your help!

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 26/11/2006 16:07

We have the freeview equivalent (I think) and it is fantastic. We can record one channel and watch another and we can record lots of things and keep them. I don't know much more but dh said yesterday "this is the best gadget I've ever had" and it is fab. I've no idea whether it transfers to dvd thoufgh

geekgrrl · 26/11/2006 16:11

we have a DVD & HD recorder - to be honest I wish we had the Freeview equivalent of Sky + - there have been to many instances where I've forgotten to set it, to make sure that Sky is tuned into the right channel, or to stop it overwriting a previous recording when I'm recording a series (ours does this automatically and it's a real pain).

Hoever, we're in a non-freeview area, and I would not want to pay a Sky subscription. At the moment we just get the free channels, which is all we need.

MamaG · 26/11/2006 16:12

www what make is that? I want a freeview box and yours sound sgreat

geekgrrl · 26/11/2006 16:13

just realised how crapola my typing is today.

MrsBadger · 26/11/2006 16:15

We looked at Sky+, but isn't just the initial outlay, you still have to pay out a subscription every month, which can work out very expensive.
Haven't looked at DVD recorders so am not an expert in that area but couldn't see how they were particularly better than a VCR (unless, as you suggest, they have a hard drive too)

We have a PVR - basically a digital Freeview box with a hard drive. It's a Humax PVR 9200T

  • You don't get Sky but you do get all the Freeview channels (which is plenty for us!)
  • You can pause & rewind live TV
  • You can do 'chase play', ie record a programme at 8pm then start watching the recording at 8.10pm once you've finished what you're doing.
  • You can record one channel and watch another (in fact you can record two channels while watching something you recorded earlier, and sometimes we can record two channels and watch a third - not sure how we manage that)
  • You can't record to DVD but the big hard drive means there's room for about 50 films, and you can take them off onto a laptop/PC and then onto DVD, iPod etc
  • The user interface (ie seeing what's on when, what you're recording etc) is really good.
  • You get 'red button interactive' stuff, which a dvd recorder wouldn't give you.

Hope this helps a bit...

AnguaVonUberwald · 26/11/2006 16:44

We have the sky+ and love it, it makes Sky worth having IMO. You can record one channel and watch another, or record two channels and still watch something prerecorded. you can record an entire series just by preseing the R button and the green "series link" button! you can pause live TV etc!! Highly recommended!

AnguaVonUberwald · 26/11/2006 16:45

plus its free if you have the sports or movies channels

Smurfgirl · 26/11/2006 17:13

We have sky + its amazing. We don't pay any extra for the box (although our subscription per month is not cheap). I love never missing my fave series etc.

CorrieDale · 26/11/2006 17:16

Sky+. We have both and we have never used the DVD's harddrive because Sky+ is so brilliant. You can record two channels at the same time, or record one and watch the other. It's absolutely fantastic, truly. I would sooner lose the dishwasher than Sky+.

spursmum · 26/11/2006 17:18

Another vote for Sky+ here. Its the best thing ever invented and I don't forget anything because I set up Remote Record so I can text my box to record a programme I fancy. Or do it the easy way and add all the programmes when you get your Tv magazine on a Saturday!!!

ellasxmasshoppingmadmum1 · 26/11/2006 17:28

We have sky + since june and it has completely revolutionised our lives!! We both work shifts and used to find setting video to record things too time consuming/ difficult and also quality on playback is not so good. Now just one touch of button with sky + you can record whatever you like and the entire series if you like. Then its all waiting for you so after a weeks work I can just have a night watching all my favourite programmes back to back in original quality sound/picture. Being able to pause/rewind live tv and fast forward adverts when you have recorded something is fantasic too. I rarely ever watch stuff "live" now! You have plenty of storage space on hard drive to keep some kids programmes on there but I don't know if you can record to dvd. I just buy dd cheap dvds from asda etc when she really wants something.

TheHighwayCod · 26/11/2006 17:30

I LOVE HARD DIRVE SKIY PLUS
FAB FABFAB

spykid · 26/11/2006 17:31

defo sky plus

Am technophobe and love it

CantSleepWontSleep · 26/11/2006 17:34

We luuuurve Sky+, but dh (who just said he finds it easy because he's a techno wizard ) says that to transfer to dvd isn't easy, and that you'll need to buy something extra that costs about £100. Sorry it's a bit vague, but if you want more info then I'll try and persuade him to post (he does occasionally as MrCSWS).

CantSleepWontSleep · 26/11/2006 17:35

Apparently it's something like this that you would need.

Judy1234 · 26/11/2006 17:51

We have sky plus and a DVD player which records. I had to get the shop to set it up and occasionally we record from home camcorder on to DVD so it's useful for that. I don't think my children could live without Sky +, although I'm sure it would do them a lot of good.

trixymalixy · 26/11/2006 22:35

We have a sky+ box and a dvd recorder and it's dead easy to record onto DVD from the sky+ box.

I do like sky+, but the boxes aren't very reliable there was a bit on watchdog about them recently. We are on our second box.

surprise · 26/11/2006 23:13

I love Sky+ too. We record stuff for the kids and then just record it onto DVD, much like you'd use the VCR to record from the TV. Slightly more complex, but you can select all the programmes you want and then they'll run in sequence to be record, eg 6 episodes of Fireman Sam without having to stop and start the machine each time. It's great, but I think the older boxes were a bit more unreliable. According to Which? magazine, Sky+ is the best.

Original poster
99redballoons · 27/11/2006 12:52

Wow! Thanks so much for the replies.

Sky+ really sounds like the way to go but it's just soooo expensive isn't it? We do get Movies & Sports atm, so I wonder what price reduction we'd get? I haven't researched either yet as I thought I'd ask your good opinions and start with the one that gets the most votes.

WWW & Mrs.B - which freeview one did you get?

What is the quality like of copying onto DVD from Sky+?

Maybe the option would be to get Sky+ (if finances work out ok) and a cheap dvd recorder to do the transfer for the kids shows.

OP posts:
Original poster
99redballoons · 27/11/2006 12:55

Forgot to ask about cabling!

Our Sky cable is under the floor and cannot be accessed/added to, so the freeview hd box sounds like a possible as I'm hoping that doesn't need any more cables laying...

Can anyone comment on the cabling?

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 27/11/2006 13:14

Ours is a Humax PVR 9200T - not the cheapest but definitely the best - came second only to the Sky+ box in all the reviews we read.
Re cabling, it just plugs into the aeriel cable that comes down from the aeriel on the roof, and into the mains, same as a normal TV, no extra wiring needed.

Can I ask why you need to write to DVD?

kikidee · 27/11/2006 13:18

We are considering Sky + at the moment. It costs £99 for the box and another £60 for installation unless you take the Multiroom option which is £10 per month. We don't want Multiroom so it would be £160 for us. We have a fantastic introduce a friend offer where we get everything free if we introduce a new customer and they get their box for £50. We just need to find someone who hasn't got it yet or who's moving house and could change the name on their contract. I would love to have it before Christmas.

prettymum · 27/11/2006 13:22

how much would you have to pay for sky plus if you have movies and sports channels, im finding it all too confusing!!

Original poster
99redballoons · 27/11/2006 13:27

Thanks for that info.

Ofcourse! We have a dvd player for the car and it's nice for the kids to have their own programs for the journey and when we stay away at a cottage (or where ever). Last year I managed to connect our old VHS recorder to the PC, copy the programs to the PC and then output to DVD BUT it was such a palaver and terrible quality & time consuming. I've told dh he has to sort us out with something better!! Plus, thinking about it, I quite often lend a video to my sis or mil if they've missed an installment of one of our programs and would still want to be able to do that (VHS would get packed away or put in kids room). How do you get round this, or not bother?!

OP posts:
Original poster
99redballoons · 27/11/2006 13:27

Sorry, post was to Mrs.B

OP posts:
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