Which 4K TV?

Another issue I have had with the Atlas cables is that on my Oppo the on screen menu was only visible when the "Deep colour" HDMI setting on the TV was turned off. With the setting turned on, 4K HDR discs played but the on screen menu didn't come on screen. This happened on both the Sony and LG TV's I've tried. I know there have been some issues with Oppo 203 so I just put it down to a quirk of the machine.

Someone lent me a couple of cheap and cheerful 5m HDMI's yesterday so I could try something else and now the Oppo on screen menu is visible in both modes !

Early days, but since getting the cheap cables yesterday, I've watched around 5 hours Sky Q, one episode of Planet Earth II and Fantastic Beasts etc on 4K HDR blu ray with no issues. If everything continues to run ok with these cables over the next week or so I think I'll stick with them. I'm reluctant to keep parting with hard earned cash on expensive cables if I can't get any certainty they'll work.

I also noticed that the Sky Q box runs hot, however most of my issues were on start on when everything is cold.

Strange business this !

The Sky Q can run rather hot.. I run in Ethernet mode to the mini box and the router and switch off the wireless SSID.. seems to run cooler.

A slight digression - after a brief flirtation with Freesat, we returned to Sky after they made us a really good offer for a year's subsrcription (then we'll have to play the "I'm going to cancel" game again...). I'm quite tempted by the Sky Q box but looking at the various forums it does seem to suffer some reliability issues. I wonder what you folks' experiences are?

Sky Q has worked flawlessly for me. We have a main box with a wired connection and a mini box connected wirelessly. The installer had to put a wifi booster in.

It needs the occasion power cycle but what doesn't these days.

The general impression from the family was that picture and sound quality was improved over the previous box too.

Its a great platform and I'd certainly recommend it.

I came back to Sky via the LG deal and may stay with it at the end of the freebie period - although as they say, nothing is ever free! The main and mini boxes work perfectly and like some others on the forum I run the shooting match as Ethernet rather than wireless. The only issue is that the main box can run hot so I have mine on an open shelf with three isolation cones underneath.I use the latest Chord HDMI cables elsewhere but had to swop to an Audioquest Graphite as the electronics in the Chord HDMI plug didn't appreciate being gently fried by the Q box. Fine when warming up but the signal would die when the Q box was up to cooking temperature. Too much going on in that teeny weeny case methinks.

tonym posted:

A slight digression - after a brief flirtation with Freesat, we returned to Sky after they made us a really good offer for a year's subsrcription (then we'll have to play the "I'm going to cancel" game again...). I'm quite tempted by the Sky Q box but looking at the various forums it does seem to suffer some reliability issues. I wonder what you folks' experiences are?

Hi Tony, Sky Q works ok - there are a few foibles but when isn't there? Best to set up using Ethernet and switch off the wifi and power line adapter modes - you can ask the installer to do - but most seem not to know how to do this - mine included  - so I sorted it after he had gone. With ethernet you will have perfect streaming with out the issues of wifi or God forbid power line adapter mode... and the Sky Q and Mini box will run slightly cooler - and you will get less congestion on your wifi spectrum and digital mains noise for your Naim.

My big issue with Sky Q - which is more about Sky really - is the  really high compression they use on many of the channels such as Sky Cinema  - i found the Sky Ultra really too highly compressed with too many artefacts - so I stick with HD 1080P. The upscaler in the Sky Q and minibox is rather poor - so best use your TV upscaler, however currently there is no way for the Sky Q to switch between HD and Ultra automatically depending on content - so standard HD material can look  soft and artificial if you set the  Sky Q to Ultra - so it is a manual adjustment if and when to watch Ultra - and the Sky Q box does prompt you to change - a bit of a faff - but as the Ultra is rather mediocre as I have said  I don't bother much with it 

Many thanks guys, I'll give this a bit of thought. I'm a bit put off by the fact you don't actually own the box, which is OK if you're intending to stick with Sky.

Funny that Tony, I like the fact that you don't own the equipment. Any repair/replacement etc is now at Sky's cost.

IanG posted:

Funny that Tony, I like the fact that you don't own the equipment. Any repair/replacement etc is now at Sky's cost.

I suppose that's fine if you intend to stick with Sky long-term, but unless they give me a good deal at the end of my discount year I might well ditch them again. So the £199 would seem expensive, given my old box performs very well.

I'm not sure I've ever understood the logic of this ownership thing with Sky. I've been with them for years and ever so often get cold-calls from their sub-contractors wanting to sell me 'insurance' to defray repair costs if anything goes wrong.  This is typically about another £15 a month.  The call always starts with a statement that they know my Sky box has 'just gone out of warranty'. I usually ask why I would pay to repair a box I don't own? They give me some phaff about costs also cover labour, call out charges.  The call normally ends when I state that if I had a problem and Sky refused to fix the kit for free I would simply dump them and use Virgin or BT Infinity, both of which are available in my street.  

All that said, when I did have a problem with my Sky box (its HMDI socket failed), Sky sent out an engineer and replaced it with a new upgraded box for free.  So I wouldn't worry, Tony. If you have a problem, while Sky will bluff a bit initially, they know which side their bread is buttered and won't risk losing the customer.   

Sky doesn't own my HD box, I do. It's getting quite elderly but still performs well (OK, I did have to replace its power supply a few years ago), and of course if I decide not to pay for Sky any more it still works fine as a Freesat device.

Just thought I would provide an update.. as a bit of fun I downloaded Monster Inc in 3D from Sky last night and watched it on the E6 .. first time I used this 3D tech, absolutely blooming great fun.. I like how the TV converts into a window where there appears parallax depth and layers like there is real space behind the screen, and occasionally stuff comes in front of the window into the room.... it's a shame 3D is dieing out .. especially as I understand only really now does the consumer hardware do it true justice. The glasses are quite in obtrusive too. But yes I can see why you need a good size screen with high luminance  for it to work well, but I like how the viewing doesn't have to be concentrated, vision away from the screen is normal, just a bit dimmer.

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Just thought I would provide an update.. as a bit of fun I downloaded Monster Inc in 3D from Sky last night and watched it on the E6 .. first time I used this 3D tech, absolutely blooming great fun.. I like how the TV converts into a window where there appears parallax depth and layers like there is real space behind the screen, and occasionally stuff comes in front of the window into the room.... it's a shame 3D is dieing out .. especially as I understand only really now does the consumer hardware do it true justice. The glasses are quite in obtrusive too. But yes I can see why you need a good size screen with high luminance  for it to work well, but I like how the viewing doesn't have to be concentrated, vision away from the screen is normal, just a bit dimmer.

I agree. Simon. I bought a Panasonic Viera TX-58DX902 a few months ago to replace a pretty good Samsung LED. Not only is the picture quality stunning, but the 3D content I own, and the 3D films available from Sky are really excellent on this set.

I bought the set specifically for its Ultra HD capability and its extremely natural (to my eyes) colour range, and have been delighted so far with the Ultra HD films I have purchased. My intention was to upgrade from my Sky HD subscription to an Ultra HD subscription from one of the potential providers (Sky, Virgin or BT) with Sky Q Silver being the favourite, albeit at a cost.

However, one of your posts above has thrown a spanner in the works, when you posted"....I found the Sky Ultra really too highly compressed with too many artefacts - so I stick with HD 1080P" and "but as the Ultra is rather mediocre as I have said  I don't bother much with it" . I'd be grateful if you could clarify a few things for me.

I take it that you have the Sky Q Silver box/service, and have compared its Ultra HD capability with that of your Ultra HD Blu-ray player and found it to be significantly less good? Does your comment apply to both Ultra HD movies and Sports (Football) content, and if so are there really any significant advantages to the Sky-Q service over the standard HD service other than larger capacity storage. The new interface was going to be a bit of a worry for me, as a number of reviewers have questioned whether or not it is better than the standard (excellent) HD box/service.

 Are you glad that you upgraded?