Plasma, Sky+HD & HDMI leads

milkydrink

Right, just bought the 42 inch Pioneer plasma & we are on order for a Sky+HD box.

I'm looking at those HDMI cables but I don't know one from the other

I looked on ebay some cheap some expensive, but I don't know if the more expensive ones are better or just more expensive?

Am I right in thinking there will be just one HDMI socket in the back of the TV & we get to connect that socket to one thing - the most used being the sky box. Do all the new Sky+HD boxes come with this socket or is that like asking if all kettles come with a power lead:doh: Don't want to shell out for cable & find we can't use it.
If the TV has only one socket, then we just carry on with scart leads for that - hardly use any way.

This may be even sillier, but the picture in the manual looks like they say to use the scart & the HDMI for the sky box, is that right:o

I will need a 2 or 3 meter lead, any recommendations?

Thank you
Kim

chilli_dog

you should just be able to connect you lead from the sky hd box to the tv.

You can spend as much as you want on the lead, to be honest i dont see jow a £100 pound cable can make that much difference?

I have one of these,

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5345258.htm

It works just fine.

If your in a virgin cable area they give you a HD box and signal for free you no?

milkydrink

chilli_dog wrote: »

you should just be able to connect you lead from the sky hd box to the tv.

You can spend as much as you want on the lead, to be honest i dont see jow a £100 pound cable can make that much difference?

I have one of these,

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5345258.htm

It works just fine.

If your in a virgin cable area they give you a HD box and signal for free you no?

I haven't got the HD box yet, are you saying that sky will provide it with the box? Because I've just been on the sky web site & I think they are saying that, but not sure?
Do you use that one for a TV to sky HD box?
No, not Virgin. DH would "NEVER" leave sky!! LOL

Thank you

chilli_dog

Im with virgin tv and get a hd box included in my package.

As i understand it, with Sky you have to pay £199 for the hd box and then another £10 a month extra for the Hd service.


sorry if im wrong, not been with sky for a while now.

milkydrink

Actually its £299:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: But Currys do it half price (£149) when you buy a new HD TV (as per Pioneer, just bought:D ).

& yes it is an extra £10 per month:eek: on top of the £53.50 we already pay:eek: & as DH wants to put old sky+ box from our living room into bedroom it will be yet another £10 for another multi room:eek: .

So £73.50 per month:eek:

Anyway back to the leads, don't want to dwell on the above:mad:

There are HDMI to HDMI & there are HDMI to DVI and I don't know what ones I need to go from Pioneer plasma 42" TV to Sky+HD box & the manual is like the bible & not really explaining it, LOL.

emmaroids

but the 10 quid a month will come off your bill after 6 months :money:

and you will get a hdmi cable when they install your sky hd, and that connects the hd box to your tv.

milkydrink

emmaroids wrote: »

but the 10 quid a month will come off your bill after 6 months :money: .

Very interesting, no-one told me about this, can you tell me more?
So I only pay extra for the Sky+HD for 6 months then its just the package & multiroom?

emmaroids wrote: »

and you will get a hdmi cable when they install your sky hd, and that connects the hd box to your tv.

LOL, I just phoned them because I couldn't find the answer on the web & they confirmed this.

turbobob

I think a HDMI cable is supplied with the Sky HD box, it was for me. All Sky HD boxes have an HDMI output. The vast majority of HD ready TV's have an HDMI input now, sometimes two. If you have the model number for your TV I'm sure someone can check for you.

As for whether an expensive cable is worth it, I would say not. HDMI cables transfer digital information. Either it works or it doesn't.

Buying a super expensive SATA cable (a cable that connects the hard disk to the mainboard) and putting it in your computer would not affect the quality of the data that is stored on your hard disk - its either there or its not, so I don't see why a HDMI cable would be any different

milkydrink

Turbobob

How do you get on with Sky+HD then, do you find the picture much better than normal sky?

Do you know anything about FREE after 6 months:j

My TV is a Pioneer PDP-4270XD & as far as I can make out it only has one HDMI socket, which I don't think is great for such an expensive TV, but then again its not that bad because we hardly watch DVDs anyway.

Thanks
Kim

turbobob

I'm using it with a Sony Bravia TV. Yes the picture on the HD channels is fantastic The National Geographic HD channel is good for showing what it can do.

Looked up the TV and yes it looks like it has one HDMI input. Still, shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I don't know about the £10 subscription stopping after 6 mths. Will have to look into that!

emmaroids

kimevans wrote: »

Very interesting, no-one told me about this, can you tell me more?

i just gotta letter saying that the 10 quid per month for HD didnt apply as i have had it 6 months and i am a sky+ customer.
this happened last year so im a bit scetchy on the full details lol.