Sky + (Plus) fails to record, help!!!

pre9pms · 23 January 2006 at 4:51PM

Hi,

We've had sky + installed now for about 4 months, the 80 gig Amstrad box.

Initially, everything was ok. Then occasionally it started to not record programs we had set. When you look in the what you recorded guide it just says "failed".

When this happed, if you pressed pause live tv, or try to record something else, it comes up with the message "please wait, or press backup to exit".

Its now getting worse, doing it almost on a daily basis. The only way to stop it is to switch off, unplug the box, and start again.

I've rang sky five times, and each time all they say is to reboot the box. It's starting to get really annoying, not knowing if it will record or not.

We've got all the packages, so feel really hacked off with sky. Does anyone know how to fix this, or have any of you had similar problems?

Thanks,

Phill.

mondayuk · 23 January 2006 at 4:54PM

I think the response you got from Sky is unacceptable. Your box should still be in warranty so call them back, tell them about the problems you're having and they should send an engineer. As a recent Sky+ convert myself I too have occasional problems that call for a hard reset of the box but nothing as bad as you've described. I think I have the same box as you too.

moomintroll_3 · 23 January 2006 at 5:15PM

Sounds like the hard disc could be starting to become corrupt. If you don't mind losing all the programmes you've recorded you can do a full system reset - this is essentially the same as formatting a PC hard drive and starting again.

I had to do this recently after a catastrophic failure where we lost everything anyway - the disc was so corrupt the box would barely boot.

To do a full system reset do this:

Press 'Services'. Press 4, 0, 1, Select. This takes you into the engineer menu.
There are a bunch of things you can do, the only two options you're interested in are - planner rebuild, this is non-destructive and should take < 2 mins and *could* solve your problem and other is the Full System Reset and is quite a bit more drastic, you lose everything in your planner and start afresh. Choose one, press select to give the OK and the box will reboot. DO NOT TRY TO USE THE BOX FOR AT LEAST 5 MINUTES.

PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU GO INTO THE ENGINEERS MENU AND DO SOMETHING TO RUIN YOUR BOX!!!

G

mondayuk · 23 January 2006 at 5:20PM

That might work but it really annoys me that Sky provides poor customer service. Especially when Sky+ customers pay £10 for the privelage of owning it. If you pay a monthly subscription then in my book Sky are providing a service, therefore problems with the equipment are their problem, not the consumers. If it were me i'd be on the phone making a nuisance of myself.

GuidonTheBee · 23 January 2006 at 5:21PM

We had quite a few missed recordings & very poor playback (jerky picture & out of sync sound) which would be fixed by a power off but would then get worse again over time. An engineer came out after my first call & he replaced the LNB (or whatever its called - the thing that picks up the reflected signal from the dish anyway) which appears to have fixed it.

I agree that you seem to be getting very poor service when they came out & fixed mine without a problem.

wonderfullife_2 · 23 January 2006 at 5:24PM

Hi
Have you ever thought of getting rid of Sky :eek: and buying a decent pvr, with twin tuner and freeview, it'll save you a fortune in the long run

-=Mr-J=- · 23 January 2006 at 5:32PM

Your best bet for researching the problem yourself is to visit the SKy+ forum at DigitalSpy:

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Untold amount of information for the SKy+ here.

As a Sky+ customer, with a Pace v2, for around 3 years now, I can tell you the frustrations will start to become even more tiresome once your warranty period is up. Sky just don't acknowledge the validities of consumer law.

Good Luck,
-=Mr-J=-

moomintroll_3 · 23 January 2006 at 5:37PM

mondayuk wrote:

That might work but it really annoys me that Sky provides poor customer service. Especially when Sky+ customers pay £10 for the privelage of owning it. If you pay a monthly subscription then in my book Sky are providing a service, therefore problems with the equipment are their problem, not the consumers. If it were me i'd be on the phone making a nuisance of myself.

Oh, I agree. The customer service from Sky is lamentable! WRT paying £10/pm I have the 'Sports 2' package where you get Sky Sports 2,3,Extra and the even numbered movie channels (2,4,6,8) and it get Sky+ functionality thrown in. Works out to about £1 more than you'd pay for the family pack then adding the tenner for PVR functionality.

G

mondayuk · 23 January 2006 at 5:39PM

wonderfullife, off topic slightly but here goes....

I have toyed with the idea myself. I see the benefits of cost very clearly but i'm afraid Sky+ does 2 things very well which stops me from being able to change.

1) Includes Sky one, two, three etc which I cant get on freeview, and the only way to get these channels without sky is through Telewest/NTL which is not available in my area, and even if it were....
2) Sky+ present PVR in a very "no-nonsense" way. I've no doubt I personally would have no problems with Media Centre, GB-PVR etc which could serve as a Sky+ replacement, but I am virtually certain that my girlfriend would struggle with it no end. While it's a simple as pressing a button on your remote I think Sky still have my money.

paullwill8 · 23 January 2006 at 5:42PM

The exact same happened to me,(Amstrad sky+ 3 mths old) with sky saying re-boot bla bla.
I rang and said I shall cancel my direct debit with the bank and 3 days later had new box.
Be firm and they will do the same if under warranty, they have to!

Poppycat · 23 January 2006 at 5:46PM

PVR are easy to use too, I have two of them. I accept there are differences in program content between sky and freeview. Wait later this year when the bbc/ITV consortium launch Freesat, don't get this confused with sky.