NewNiceMrMe Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 In setting up the new sound system I noticed this. There is an ethernet port on the back of our Sky+ HD box. So I went online to find out what benefit I'd get from plugging it in. I am now even more puzzled - because nobody seems to know. Some say it is redundant and disabled, pending 'future' facilities. Others say it is for the Sky Anytime service - but it can't be because we have that and use it (and plenty of people say this online too). Others ask if you can access media elsewhere on your network, but no it's not for that either. My immediate thought was movie on demand access, but it's not that. I've seen lots of other suggestions about what it is for online, but nobody seems to really know or have an answer that doesn't result in someone saying "No, doesn't do that." Does anyone have the definitive answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 My sky+ box has a USB port..... who knows what thats for ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 It doesn't do anything I'm afraid, it's one of those 'for future expansion' things that manufacturers pointlessly add that never get used. I've always wondered why they waste money fitting things that will never get used. Sky boxes download everything via the satellite, the telephone connection is only used for verification purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyb Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 There are 3 extra ports on the Sky HD box that are not used, Ethernet, USB and eSATA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Oh well. I guess I won't be plugging a cable in then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Do the Sky boxes have access to on demand services like iPlayer, YouTube or 4od? If not, then maybe it's for that in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 gents, its for Sky Anytime+, Sky's on demand service - if you're a Sky broadband subscriber you connect it your your Sky HD box and hey presto - a bigger version of Sky Anytime is available to you - I've signed up for it, just waiting for them to contact me about setup Sky Anytime+ - Enjoy Movies on Demand and VOD from Sky TV I've always wondered why they waste money fitting things that will never get used. Sky boxes also have a fully certified EMVCo Level 1 smart card reader capable of taking Visa/MasterCard chip payments - thats not used! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 gents, its for Sky Anytime+, Sky's on demand service - if you're a Sky broadband subscriber you connect it your your Sky HD box and hey presto - a bigger version of Sky Anytime is available to you - I've signed up for it, just waiting for them to contact me about setup Sky Anytime+ - Enjoy Movies on Demand and VOD from Sky TV Sky boxes also have a fully certified EMVCo Level 1 smart card reader capable of taking Visa/MasterCard chip payments - thats not used! Are you sure it uses the Ethernet port? We were offered anytime+, and I asked about the setup, and they said no extra connections were required, just swap our 02 broadband box for the new sky one, and then as your a subscriber, they activate anytime+ on your sky+HD box in the normal way (via the satellite). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpongpo Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 It definitely uses the Ethernet port. They might activate it via satellite to make the box work but it needs the cable in the back of it to download stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 But it's only for Sky Broadband users? Well that's fecking stupid. Why would I want to go from 50mb on cable to their offering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Why would I want to go from 50mb on cable to their offering? At a guess, to get access to Sky Anytime+ ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyb Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Do you have to take Sky's broadband option to get sky anytime +, surely you can use any broadband solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Looking at the Sky website it seems that Anytime+ is a hook to get people onto Sky broadband packages.... probably why they are offering it 'free' ? Once you have a Sky TV subscription, one of our latest Sky+ or Sky+HD boxes and Sky Broadband Unlimited or Everyday Lite, you're ready for Sky Anytime+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorin Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Apparently the usb port was supposed to be so customers could connect external devices to the box, like a hard drive etc. This was never enabled and thus not used at the moment. The ethernet port is used by Sky anytime system to stream media to the box, similar to the BT Vision system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xaddiction Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I've signed up for it, just waiting for them to contact me about setup It's been available for about 3 or 4 months. When I got a letter from them about it I went onto my account at sky.com and activated it. Plugged a cable from the box to the router and it was all done. The menu in anytime changes too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xaddiction Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xaddiction Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Oh I forgot to mention... The anytime+ programs start to download when you select to veiw or record them. But they appear to be in SD. The programs that would normally be available to anyone with standard anytime are still there and are in HD ( if it was broacast in HD) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Also if you press tv on your sky remote then help button you can change between the AV channels using the 4 colour buttons. And if you press the play button this lets you scroll between the screen formats 16:9, wide, zoom etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Also if you press tv on your sky remote then help button you can change between the AV channels using the 4 colour buttons. And if you press the play button this lets you scroll between the screen formats 16:9, wide, zoom etc That depends what TV you have, on my Panny, the Help button does cycle the AV inputs, but the coloured buttons do nothing, the select button freezes the image on screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpongpo Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 But it's only for Sky Broadband users? Well that's fecking stupid. Why would I want to go from 50mb on cable to their offering? At least you have the option Living out in the sticks does have it's benefits; unfortunately, 50mb cable is not one of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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