Sky+ HD Information and Advice

Sky+ HD Availability:

You'll need to get Sky+ HD installed by a Sky installer - Weekend appointments are available.

• FREE Sky+HD Box if you sign up to Sky's HD service - No installation fee.
  
  There's a £10 per month Sky+ HD subscription charge to get Sky's HD channels, on top of your existing Sky Digital subscription.
  
  You can order online directly from Sky.com.
  

For more details, see the Sky+ HD site (or Sky Ireland).

Got a question?

Thinking of getting Sky+ HD, and have a question? Ask us

Sky HD requires a special Sky+ HD digibox. You can get one of these direct from Sky Digital - it requires installation by a Sky installer.

The Sky satellite dish will need to have a multi-LNB fitted and two cable feeds from the dish to the Sky set-top box. This is so that the Sky+ box can record two channels at the same time.

Like standard Sky boxes, the Sky HD box must also be connected to a UK phone line.

More details on Sky+ HD installation at Sky.com.

To get Sky's HD channels, you have to pay an additional monthly HD fee. Details at sky.com/shop/boxes/sky-hd-box

If you don't want to pay a subscription, the channels BBC HD, Channel 4 HD and Luxe TV HD are available subscription-free

We've been asked if it's possible to buy your own Sky+ HD box, and fit it yourself.

Yes - if you wish, you can buy your own Sky+ HD box, rather than having to go through Sky. A Sky+ HD box requires two separate feeds from the satellite dish, and your dish will need an LNB with multiple outputs - this is to support recording one channel while watching another. Once connected, you'll need to call Sky Customer Services to get them to "marry" the serial number of your new Sky+ HD box to your Sky viewing card, and then to activate the Sky+ HD subscription, so you can view the HD channels.

Sky won't activate a box unless they're happy that it's legitimate, and you're not misusing your account by swapping cards between boxes on a regular basis.

If you're brave, you can pick up a Sky+ box cheaply on Ebay

The Sky+ HD box is designed to connect to a TV set using an HDMI lead. Here are some links related to HDMI connectivity

• What is HDMI? See our HDMI Section
• TV doesn't have enough HDMI sockets? See our HD FAQ
• Need a decent quality HDMI lead? We recommend TV Cables or Maplin Electronics.
  
  

By default, ITV's HD service is not available on Sky - it's only available on Freesat (via the red button), however, it is possible to watch ITV HD content on a Sky+ HD box by adding the channel manually.

To get ITV HD on Sky, go to Services > Options > Add channels, and enter the following details:

• Frequency (GHz): 11.427
• Polarisation: H
• Symbol Rate (Mbaud): 27.5
• FEC: 2/3

Then select "Find channels" and add channel 10510. You can watch it via "Other Channels".

Note that this trick appears to work on the new Sky+ HD EPG guide only.

Sky started rolling out their new-look EPG in March 2009. They phased the release of the EPG to boxes with different version numbers and different manufacturers.

Some users got the new look EPG version quickly, and as of November 2009, some Sky+ HD box owners are still waiting. There appears to be no way to "force" an upgrade to the newer version of EPG - you have to wait until Sky roll it out to your box as an over the air upgrade.

Boxes made by Thomson and Pace should now have received the upgrade by August 2009. Boxes made by Samsung are due the upgrade in November 2009. No news as yet for owners of Amstrad boxes.

"Do I need to change my satellite dish to get Sky HD?" - No. If you're able to get Sky at the moment, your existing dish is fine for Sky HD.

Note though that Sky+ HD needs two feeds from the satellite dish, but standard Sky only needs one. If you only have one feed at the moment, Sky will have to run a second lead from the LNB on the dish to the Sky+ HD box.

One of our podcast listeners asked whether we can expect to see Sky Digital phase out non-HD programming over time, to make way for more high-definition programming. Our take is that we're some way away from that, as there just isn't the volume of TV programming available in the HD format. Doubtless this will increase, but as with Sky Digital, change is slow, and tends to be driven by user demand. Hi-def UK Gold, anyone?

We've been asked if you can get Sky HD in more than one room. Here are some notes:

To watch Sky programmes in HD, you need to connect to your TV using an HDMI lead to a suitably equipped HD-ready TV.

If you have two HD TV sets you want to connect to, you may be able to use the HDMI connector for one TV, and the Component connectors for the other TV, although over a long distance, this may not be practical. If you need long cables or extra connectors, try TV Cables or Maplin Electronics

If you have non-HD TV sets elsewhere in the house, you can still connect these to the output of the Sky+ HD box - if you're connecting to a TV in another room, you'll typically use a co-ax aerial lead. With this solution, you will be able to watch all of the channels from your main Sky+HD box on a second TV - but this will be in Standard Definition (you can't run HD over aerial cable).

You can use a "Magic Eye" TV Link (pictured) with a Sky+HD box to allow you to use a remote control in the second room to remotely change channel. More on Sky Magic Eyes.

See our Sky in other rooms section for more on Sky in extra rooms.

To check which version of software your Sky HD box is using, press the Services button, choose Settings, then select 'System Details'.

Here's what our Thomson Sky HD box reported (Sep 2009):

• Thomson Sky+ HD Box Model: 902020
• Version number: 4E3006
• Operating System Version: 1.32B12
• EPG Software Version: sky+8.3.2

You can force your Sky box to update to the latest software. The procedure can be found on the Satcure FAQ

Please visit our Sky forum to discuss version numbers and updates

Our podcast team had a call from a listener asking whether his existing AV sender used to send TV pictures to a receiver elsewhere in his house, would work with his Sky HD box.

Well, the video sender can't be used to transmit high definition around the home. Firstly, most AV senders use SCART connectors, and High Definition doesn't work over SCART. Secondly, the bandwidth needed for sending HD wirelessly, isn't there. Although you can't send HD using a video sender, as the Sky+ HD box has SCART sockets, so you'll still be able to send standard definition pictures to another TV wirelessly.

The technically-minded out there may be interested in the hidden "installer" menu on the Sky+ HD box, that can be accessed by pressing the 'Services' button, then 0 0 1 followed by 'Select'