Sky+ HD best boxes?

[admin_exported]

Hey guys, i'm new to the forum as i've only recently stated to make my way into the wonderful world of LCD's, blu ray and so on.

I'm moving into my first house on Sunday, getting my 40" Sony W5500 and Sony BDP-S350 (thanks to the reviews on this very site) on Tuesday and have ordered Sky+ HD to be installed on Wednesday.

Now i've been reading around the internet a lot about Sky+ HD boxes and there seems to be a "top 3" in regards to quality of there boxes, them being Samsung, Pace and Panasonic.

First of, i was wondering if anyone could share there own experiences with the box they currently have and also if they have any information regarding any of the other branded boxes?

Second, i was wondering if anyone could tell me if I'm allowed to ask the engineer when he calls for a specific type of box? I was hoping to get the Samsung box you see.

Also considering I'm a new customer, what rights do i have if they bring me a refurbished box?

Thanks for any replies and to the people at What Hi Fi for there excellent reviews that has greatly helped me choose my LCD and Blu ray.

Tom

 

[Anonymous]

If you are a new customer then you should get a brand new box, you only ocasionally get a refurb if your 1st box goes faulty.

I have a Samsung box, and TBH i think it totally outshines a few friends of ours boxes. They have Pace/Thomson and Amstrad units and all of them have their own very small, but very significant problems. Amstrad have lip sync issues, the other 2 suffer from slow software, especially with the new, (and thoroughly rubbish) EPG. There, i saod it. I'm sorry, but until they get their act together with a few updates, it is much of a muchness!

Our Samsung box has never failed since we had it last November, no stalling software, no lip sync issues, amazing speed through the EPG, (*old style - dreading the update), and amazing picture. Even SD stuff looks good, including ITV, which usually looks like it's being watched through a pair of Pretty Polly's! My Tosh LCD may have something to do with that, but it's still good!

Not sure if you get a choice, but i spoke nicely to our engineer who had nicely rung us the night before the install. I asked him if he could get a Samsung box....and voila! He arrived with one. great stuff

Pot luck really, hope you get what you want

 

[Anonymous]

Appreciate the reply thank you

 

[peter8171]

I got a Samsung box last November as well, and I've only had a couple of the usual issues with it. Every now and then I need to do a hard reset (switch it off at the wall for 30 seconds and then wait 2 minutes to switch it back on). I also had an issue when it froze while I was on holiday and I lost 4 recordings (after a few emails and phone calls, I've got a month's free subscription as an apology) - It pays to be persistent when complaining to Sky, and make sure you record when you made calls and the names of who you spoke to. Other than that, the picture quality on the HD channels is really good and SD content is pretty good too, as an aside, having a small child, I think I've found the worst quality broadcast channel - 623 (Baby TV). If you can find worse, let me know...

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Annoying ain't itwhen u get contradicting advice. I've had a Thompson box for 15months. No problems except a reset monthly just to keep things running ok. New EPG is so much better than previous. Slick, intuitive, fast. Well done Sky software guys. Knock bad companies every time but my experience with Sky, the box and the EPG has been first rate. Virgin has a long way to go to offer HD and DD.

 

[Anonymous]

Got an amstrad myself and its an excellent box. yes its has a lip sync issue but it easierly ajusted by the sync adjustment available in the sound menu

 

[Anonymous]

i hav ethe amstrad box and its excellent, yes it has a lip sync issue but this is easily resolve via the sync ajustment in the sound menu