Re: UK Sky and MCE
- From: Tiny Tim <_tim_dodd@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 14:28:42 +0000
On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 12:55:12 -0000, "Aussie Rules"
<AussieRules@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I am looking at setting up a new system, and I am looking for some answer to
>a few questions...
>
>If I get Sky Digital(early next year) there will be a special Sky box that
>comes with that. Can I plug that box into a MCE machine, and then have the
>MCE control everything. I would want to be able to see the Sky Programs etc
>on my MCE menu system etc... (I want one central location to do all, not
>some one the MCE and some from the Sky... one remote, not changing to TV on
>the MCE box then having to use the Sky remote to change channels...).
>
>I guess I want the sky box just to decode the signal, and pass it all to the
>MCE machine?
>
>Is there an option? Does it currently work like this on Sky plus?
>
>Is there anywhere I can read up on the UK options for MCE/Sky..
>
>Thanks
>
I've had MCE 2005 for a year, connected to a Sky Digital digibox.
Three weeks ago I had problems with my LNB and had to get a Sky
repair. I decided to go for Sky+ while they were at it. Here are my
opinions of the two systems...
Sky+ records the original MPEG broadcast and loses nothing in quality
in its recordings. Playback material is a bit/pixel perfect match for
the live broadcast. With MCE you lose quality because the broadcast
signal must be decoded from MPEG to PAL composite or s-video, squirted
along wires to the MCE box, re-encoded back to MPEG by the graphics
card and written to disk. Then to play it back the MPEG recording has
to be decoded yet again and squirted back over analogue connections to
your TV/Monitor.
Sky+ has two tuners and one decoder so you can record two different
channels at the same time and also watch an existing recording. Or you
can record one channel and watch another channel live at the same
time. With MCE you will only have one digibox to tune and decode the
signal. That means you can only record one channel at a time and
cannot record and watch a different live channel at the same time. You
can record something and watch an existing recording at the same time
though.
Sky+ has direct control over channel changing and always picks the
correct channel. MCE uses an IR blaster to change channels. IME this
is about 90% accurate so quite often you end up recording the wtong
thing.
Sky+ seems (so far) to have a better grip on recording a series,
insofar as the Sky planner knows which broadcasts for the series. The
MCE guide seems to be missing detail on which programmes are and are
not repeats so for things repeated several times a week in similar
timeslots on different channels MCE cannot pick just one occurrence of
the right programme to record, while avoiding recording clashes. So
things like Lost or Nip/Tuck end up with multiple repeat recordings
which you have to manually tidy up - that is assuming you have
recording clashes that mean you need to grab a broadcast when there is
a free recording slot rather than at a set time every day/weel.
Sky+ has limited recording space. 80GB is nothing compared to the
650GB I have on my MCE machine. So I can't just save up a series like
"24", for example, to watch when it suits, without archiving it off
somewhere.
Sky+ menus suck and the planner has far less features than MCE. e.g.
with MCE you can schedule recordings based on a keyword search such as
"David Attenborough" or "Gadgets" etc. and pick up all sorts of
interesting recordings with little effort. There is no equivalent
feature in Sky+. I hate that in Sky+ if you want to do anything useful
with the planner you have to stop watching your broadcast or
recording. MCE just pops the TV into a little window and keeps playing
while you play around with the guide/planner.
MCE lists recordings grouped by series name or arranged by date. Sky+
just lists things by date.
The Sky EPG naturally has all the channels listed, together with
programme information. The MCE guide has several channels missing and
despite numerous complaints using the correct process MS is doing
nothing to plug the gaps. Some channels that are listed have no data
so they are equally useless.
If you want to get broadcast quality recordings and reliable channel
changing on MCE then you are going to have to buy one or more DVB-S
satellite receiver cards. They will be OK for FTA satellite channels
but if you wnat FTV or subscription channles then you also need a CI
slot and a CAM to hold your Sky card. There is no guarantee that any
of these that work today will continue to work in the future and it
will cost about £150 or more for a DVB-S card with CAM. If you're
happy with FTA then there is no risk but if you want more then you
will be limited by the number of Sky cards you have as well.
Of course, MCE offers much much more than just TV and it is great to
use one control to do TV, music, photos, videos, DVDs, DIVX etc.. But
if great picture quality is your goal and reliable channel changing
too and you want Sky then I think Sky+ is a better way to go. At £65
or less to be fitted and £120 per annum to use it is a far lower cost
option than a full-on MCE PC. You can also cancel within 28 days if
you decide not to keep it. My MCE PC cost me £1,000 in total and many
man-hours of effort to tweak and fix and at the end of the day the TV
quality cannot match Sky+.
Hope that helps,
Tim.
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