Can Sky HD boxes be manually tuned into the new ITV HD channel? I need clarification on this point please as there are many conflicting viewpoints about this and I have yet to find a way to do it. I have one of the earlier Thomson boxes; it might be that only the more recent Pace boxes are capable of doing it. Any advice?

Thanks,
Simon. 

Yes, they can (channel 10050?). Problem is, there's almost nothing on ITV HD (apart from home England matches, the odd film and Kingdom). You also have to manually select it from 'Other Channels' from the Sky EPG, which is a pain. Works on the Thomson boxes - Other Channels is your key.

Hi Simon, definitely YES! On my last visit to the UK I tuned in my son's box to get the ITV HD channel in 'other channels'. He has watched football in HD on it.

It only works on those boxes that have received the new EPG. His box (Pace) has, whereas my son-in-law's Amstrad hasn't yet and therefore he can't get it.

moxxey:

Yes, they can (channel 10050?). Problem is, there's almost nothing on ITV HD (apart from home England matches, the odd film and Kingdom). You also have to manually select it from 'Other Channels' from the Sky EPG, which is a pain. Works on the Thomson boxes - Other Channels is your key.

Hi Chris,

I have tried to do it through the Other Channels submenu but it won't allow me to manually type in the new channel number, the only available option is an automatic search and the box does not pick it up that way, only radio stations. Any further advice?

Simon.

You've got to configure it manually Simon and I can't remember how - do a Google search?

kokomo:

Hi Simon, definitely YES! On my last visit to the UK I tuned in my son's box to get the ITV HD channel in 'other channels'. He has watched football in HD on it.

It only works on those boxes that have received the new EPG. His box (Pace) has, whereas my son-in-law's Amstrad hasn't yet and therefore he can't get it.

I do have the latest EPG software installed but cannot do it for the reasons stated above. Can you give me a detailed description of how to do it and I can try again now? I am using the Beo 4 remote which I assume should still be OK. I can use the Sky remote if need be. Thanks.

Simon.

You can find this in a 1 minute Google search :)

To do this, go to the Add Channels menu and use the following settings:

11.427
H
2/3
27500

Channel 10510

Here's a link with step-by-step instructions:-

http://www.tellytoad.com/page/itv-hd-on-sky-hd.aspx

Thanks for the advice guys, will try in about an hour and post results.

Simon.

Got it up and running successfully! Many thanks to you both for the info and links.

Simon.

Nice one Simon. I think ITV HD has an excellent picture - was watching the England game on ITV HD last night.

I agree, I was watching it too.

The_Beonic_Man:

Got it up and running successfully! Many thanks to you both for the info and links.

Simon.

Glad to hear it Simon.

The references to the football however got me thinking. Whereas if I had HD, football (and sport!) would be the last thing I'd be interested in watching, both my son & son-in-law have HD solely for the football and I suspect that's the case for the many (majority?). Indeed adverts on Sky for HD seem to lay the emphasise on watching football and sport in HD.

I wonder therefore how many HD boxes and HD televisions have been bought just for the sport and how many would have been sold if sport and in particular football, was not broadcast in HD?

Put it this way - football looks awful in SD now, compared to HD. If you watch an England match on ITV SD, it's so blocky it's almost unwatchable.

HD is excellent with fast moving objects and camera panning. So, for football and similar programmes, HD is king. If you're just going to watch the news and other slow moving programmes, HD is far less relevant.

kokomo:

The_Beonic_Man:

Got it up and running successfully! Many thanks to you both for the info and links.

Simon.

Glad to hear it Simon.

The references to the football however got me thinking. Whereas if I had HD, football (and sport!) would be the last thing I'd be interested in watching, both my son & son-in-law have HD solely for the football and I suspect that's the case for the many (majority?). Indeed adverts on Sky for HD seem to lay the emphasise on watching football and sport in HD.

I wonder therefore how many HD boxes and HD televisions have been bought just for the sport and how many would have been sold if sport and in particular football, was not broadcast in HD?

 

Well I agree with you that many people (if not most) subscribe to HD for the sport. Funnily enough I have an HD box but only use the free HD channels which is why I was eager to get the ITV HD channel added. I don't subscribe to the HD channels because I am not a premium subscriber (sport and movies) and the only channels left are uninteresting to me. I think that Luxe TV which is an HD broadcast shows off HD content the best, at least in my experience so far. I recently bought 'Planet Earth' on Bluray and while it is good, it is not a touch on the broadcats from Luxe TV.

Simon.