@HenryHallsDanceBand wrote:
Firstly, I take it that you have a Sky box you are getting this football on, and you have this set up to put the output on to the coaxial cable that leads, eventually, to the TV, and so you watch this on the analogue side of the Sony TV, which has been tuned to whatever channel the Sky box puts analogue out on?
Correct - the Sky HD box is in my front room - and beside where by feed from the dish comes in. I have a coaxial feed from the Sky box RF1 coaxial output to every room in the house. My (poor) understanding is that the signal is amplified by a box in the loft (and blended with the terrestial signal - I think) from which coaxial leads are taken to each room.
RAB: That sounds correct.
If so - or if that is what the salesman honestly thought you described - then he was quite right about the problem.
But he was so wrong about the solution that if he sold you the YouView box to be the solution here, then you have been very seriously mis-sold, and you should consider taking it back.
To be fair he did say that the use of the YouView box might improve things - the box packeting the coaxial signal and then suppling the better signal to the TV using an HDMI lead. That's what I've done - to no huge discernible improvement. He said just bring the box back if I didn't see any improvement - which I'll do if it is of no use to me if I replace my Sony with another make.
RAB: Tommy rot. A YouView box can't even 'see' the Sky signal, because the signal is analogue, and YouView boxes only tune digital channels. Choose a specifically Sky channel, like Sky One, and then try to see it on the YouView box. You won't be able to.
Even the oldest Sky boxes have SCART output, and these Sonys have a SCART input, so this is the least you should do - use a SCART cable, instead of the coaxial link, between the Sky box and the TV. SCART still won't quite be 1080 HD, but it will be a hell of a lot better than coax, to say nothing of easier to access, as the Sky box can grab the TV automatically when you turn it on.
Really don't want to have another lead from front room to back room (where new TV will live). But if that is the only solution.
RAB: Not knowing your domestic arrangements, I don't know why you don't have the new TV in the room where the Sky box is, and move the existing TV to the back room, Perhaps you have your reasons, but have you thought of this? A UHD box, given an RF signal at worse than SD resolution has to invent 15 screen pixels for every real pixel it is fed. At least. That's a tall order for an upscaler, which is why the picture is so bad,
More recent Sky boxes have HDMI outputs, but IIRC, these may have dropped the coax output, so I don't think you have one of these. But worth a look round the back of the Sky box, to see if it does have HDMI, and if so, use this instead of SCART for even better results - this can do 1080 HD, as well as grab the TV when you turn the Sky box on.
Got one HDMI output - I use it to provide Sky feed to TV in front room.
RAB: Which probably gives very good results, yes?
Now to this YouView box; it will not get Sky programmes, only broadcast. You can get some Sky over the internet with BT (and possibly TT, though I am not sure), but if either BT or TalkTalk Is your internet provider, then they will (nearly) give you a YouView box.
I can get a not very good Sky feed in the new TV through Analogue Ch68 through the coaxial
RAB: Yes, see above about the 15:1 pixel invention task the TV has to carry out.
Most of what else the YouView box can do, the YouView on the Sony TV can do, except, currently, to record.
So if you were set on recording stuff, and you didn't want to wait however long for this to appear as a feature on the Sony TV, and your ISP is neither BT nor TT, and you didn't agree to buy the YouView box to fix your smearing issue and/or you knew it could not get Sky programmes, then enjoy!
Not interested in recording in back room with new TV. My internet provider is Sky.
RAB: Take it back sooner rather than later, then. It can't do anything to rescue a decent Sky picture, and if you are not interested in recording, it has no value for you.
But if not, take it back and demand a refund, as you were mis-sold. In fact, unless the salesman told you how to fix the Sky issue with the addition of a simple cable, as well as selling you the YouView box, you were definitely mis-sold.
See above - Salesman said it might not improve things so take it back if it didn't
RAB: It is most alarming that he even suggested trying it. As above, it couldn't possibly help.
But if you go back, to return the YouView box or just to buy a cable for the Sky box to TV link, don't let them see you coming again. If you have one, take a techy friend, or a Rottweiler. Or both. Both are good when dealing with Currys.
But if you have to go on your own, you do not want a Monster cable, at a monster price, you just want the cheapest HDMI cable that is labelled High Speed. Or if you need to use a SCART, just a half-decent one from their Sandstrom range, or similar.
Don;t know how I can get a second HDMI feed from my Sky Box - would leave me with putting in a SCART feed - and that will do my wife's head in.
RAB: How, exactly? But to have two TVs at opposite ends of the house, and each having a quality signal from Sky, you are going to need two Sky boxes and a multiroom subscription, and that second box will need a separate satellite feed from your dish. Which Sky will wire for you as part of multiroom.
RAB: Or that eye-wateringly expensive cable system from HDAnywhere.
RAB: Or you could wait until next year for Sky's new system SkyQ which is going to use wireless repeaters to feed multiple TV sets, and sounds like just what you need, except we don't know what it will cost yet.
Do keep us posted about how you get on
Many thanks - I've answered best I can in line.
RAB:Yes, thanks very clear. Have you thought about having the new TV where the Sky box is? Is there a good reason - size, you don't use that room very much, whatever - for not doing this? If Sky over RF is bearable on the other sets in the house,, it might be fine to move the existing TV and put the new TV in its place, where, over HDMI, it will only have to invent three out of every four pixels you see, which it is carefully optimised to do.
YouView Superuser, but not an employee of YouView, nor retained by them for this purpose. It's purely me speaking
