How to avoid Sky Plus communal dish issues

by John Fitzsimons on 09 June 2012  |  5 comments
Tweet

Sky explains how to avoid problems with its Sky Plus service if you're living in a flat.

Back in March, we highlighted the issues many people have with Sky Plus if they live in a block of flats.

So we've asked Sky to put together the following guide to ensure any issues are kept to a minimum.

1. Check your feed

Recording two programmes at once and enjoying full Sky Plus functionality requires two satellite feeds, but if you live in a flat, you may share an older communal satellite system with a single feed.

Step one is to find out what feed your TV system has. Simply look at the back of your Sky Plus box. You will find two sockets called Dish Input 1 and Dish Input 2. If you have a wire going into each, then you have two satellite feeds, known as Dual Feed. If it only goes into one then you have a single feed system.

2.      If it’s Dual Feed….

You should have access to all Sky Plus functionality with a dual feed communal TV system. If your Sky Plus service is limited then it is likely that it has been set up incorrectly. In the first instance ensure that you have set up the Sky Plus box correctly by following the instructions in this link.

If you are still having problems then it may be an installation problem. The next step is to contact the engineer that installed your box, explain the problem and ask them to come and check the system has been installed correctly.  

3.      If it’s Single Feed…

You'll still be able to use your Sky Plus box, but with more limited personal recording, and you'll need to carry out a few simple steps in order to make the most of your box and its features.

You will need to activate single feed mode. Please ensure the dish input cable is connected to Dish Input 1 at the back of your Sky Plus box and that no recordings are currently in progress before following the steps on this link.

4.      Upgrading your system to Dual Feed

The Sky Plus service will always have limitations if your flat uses a single feed communal TV system. This is an issue with the TV system and not the Sky Plus equipment itself. We recommend that you speak to other residents as well as your property manager to discuss the options to upgrade the communal system to Dual Feed. The following options might be helpful:

• Contact your residents’ committee to see if other people would be interested in an upgrade to a Dual Feed communal TV system to allow them to use Sky Plus.

• Let your property manager know how many people in your block want the system upgraded.
• Recommend that your property manager contacts Sky’s dedicated communal TV team for advice – call 08442 410 331 (lines open 9.00am - 5.30pm, Monday to Friday) or go to www.sky.com/communaltv.
• Sky will then arrange for a local Sky-approved installer to contact your property manager and give an estimated cost for installing/upgrading to a Dual Feed communal system. Once that has been agreed, they can start the work needed to get a Dual Feed system up and running.