Amstrad: Sky+

Your Views

Comments (76)

Anthony Leeds, W. Yorkshire on June 6th, 2005
A Stable box, doesn't like having an upgraded drive, seems to be drawing too much power - I've experienced the vertical lines issue (see the forums) only whilst the bigger drive is installed.

Dave, Fareham Hampshire on June 7th, 2005
The standard box seems fine. Had no crashes, no lockups, and only the very odd missing programme, and that could have been user error !

Andy, Berkshire on June 17th, 2005
Had Amstrad box for 1 year now.. no issues at all.. still waiting latest software download though.

Mark, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on June 20th, 2005
Have used for 6months before upgrading with 120gb samsung drive and still works perfectly, no missed recordings, perfect picture. The fan has been connected to work all the time to stop it getting hot (power supply). Slugish remote response on occasions.

Steve, Chelmsford on June 25th, 2005
Had only a couple of minor issues, Once with the vertical lines issue, and the time occasionly on ITV Channels loosing time. Apart from that been running it for 8 months now and nothing has gone wrong.

Malcolm, Morecambe on July 4th, 2005
Reasonably stable but if you use a TV Eye then the box hangs. Pause the SKY+ from the TV Eye then use the remote on the SKY+ box. It will show a green line then hang and reboot.

Fred, Warks on July 4th, 2005
Had ours 9 months. 1st remote replaced under warranty after 8 months. Crashes about once a week on average but good pic. Needs a planner rebuild every 3 months or so. Regularly loses series links for programmes - you et about 6 of a 12-week series. No new software yet though our standard box in another room has had the auto update.

Jim Kilwinning, Ayrshire on July 24th, 2005
have a 120gb Maxtor installed few problems in last few months but nothing compared to my pervious 2 Pace V1 boxes so would reccomend Amstrad on this occasion

Bazak, Bromley on August 25th, 2005
Had it for two weeks. Locks up all the time. Missed recordings. Switches itself off.

John, Essex on September 22nd, 2005
I have two Amstrad boxes and both are fine, my main one is upgraded to a Samsung 160GB HD and have never had any problems with it at all, no heat issues or verticle line issuses.

Mark Hubble, Middx on September 24th, 2005
Typical Amstrad. No where near up to the standards of its peers. I have both a Pace and Amstrad box. Pace box is excellent, no problems. Amstrad box. Bad Things (1)Loses series links (2)Vertical Lines Issue (3)Lets me record and watch a programme then decides it has used 0% and the programme is unavailable. (4)Switches itself off. (5)Remote slow. (6)Locks up all the time (7)Removes items from the planner (8)Often goes to "searching for listings" (9) "I" button doesn't always work in Planner but does in TV Listings (10) Failes to record a programme even though I may have watched the whole programme through! (11) Puts in programmes that I don't watch. I had to delete "Home and Away" from the planner 4 weeks in a row! I don't watch any soaps. (12)Need to do a planner rebuild weekly. (13)Keeps telling me it's initialising my sky card. (14)Skips part of recorded programme. ie. I watch to 39 mins then it jumps to 43 minutes. If I keep reselecting different times I can eventually watch the whold prog. (15) Picture freezes for 5 - 10 seconds every hour or 2. (16) Tells me series link information is not available when it is. (17)Gives "Recording Selection Failed" Even when I'm trying to take the recording option off. (18)Cancels my recordings to add in its own. (19) and so on and so on. I will never buy another Amstrad (or Samsung)product again. Good Things (1) Sound, not too bad. (2) Hmmmmmm

Mark L, Oxford on October 9th, 2005
Been using my V3 box for just over 4 hours. I cant comment on what is wrong with it as I haven't seen any other V3 boxes. I know what people mean about the ticking noise, you can hear it if you listen out for it. But most hard drives are not silent. I was expecting an off putting noise. Touch wood, i's all ok.

Richard, Leeds on October 11th, 2005
I have had two boxes. The first one lasted for about 8 months during which time the clock kept lagging and as a consequence missing parts of recordings. Then the internal fuse blew and the box had to be replaced. New box doesn't seem to have the time lag issue, but the hard drive is much noisier (you couldn't hear the hard drive on my first box). This one seems to have the issue where sometimes it randomly selects programmes to record even though you have no idea what they are. Ocassionally it records something then won't let you watch it.

Tony, Barnsley on October 12th, 2005
Had nothing but problems with mine. Picture keeps freezing for 5-10 secs, runs very slow at times, misses recording, loses EPG listings, noisy hard drive. 1st box lasted just over 2 months - then got black screen with 2 green vertical lines. Replacement just as bad!!!

John Price, Barrow-in-Furness on October 17th, 2005
No probs until latest software download. My remote is very sluggish, can't slow motion, scroll between channels intermittent. Looks like Sky is gonna get a call. Otherwise no failed recordings etc...

Lee Wise, Doncaster on October 19th, 2005
Got the Amstrad Sky Plus box. It is stable but crashes once a week, leaves me to search about 2 to 4 channels only. I have to reboot for fix. Remote much slower than my ever so face Pace Sky Digital Box. Needs improvements for the future.

Paul, London on October 30th, 2005
Go the new Amstrad DRX280 PVR3 last week, but didn't start off too well. Distinct Burning smell from the box soon after install, turned itself on from standby regularly. Got a replacement a few days later. This box works fine, a little slugish even with latest software. Noisy HDD as expected. 7/10

Simon, Milton Keynes on October 30th, 2005
The Amstrad boxs are altogether poor. They are slow & unresponsive, the hard drive sounds like a carriage clock ticking away & it swithes itself off. Generally unreliable & one to steer clear of.

Peter, Horley on November 12th, 2005
This is a replacment box.Has given problems since installation such as over recording and freezing. Box lasted 3 weeks and has now failed completely. Awaiting sky with box number 3 defintely not Amstrad! Good system , shame about the hardware.

Craig, Stoke-on-Trent on November 20th, 2005
Just had sky + installed. They turned up with an Amstrad box - picture quality is very good compared to my last Grundig box but it has a very annoying clicking sound.

Iain Bell, Saltash on November 22nd, 2005
I got an Amstrad box as replacement for my Pace Sky+ box, which sadly went wrong after 18 months of working fine. The Amstrad is rubbish, it keeps switching itself off, the screen goes black and fails recordings all the time. One to avoid!

Matt Phillips, Manchester on November 25th, 2005
Had a Pace PVR2 which failed after 7 months but was a very good box, sky sent a replacement amstrad...heap of crap...turned itself on and off, remote wouldnt work after software upgrade, recorded programs sound and video out of sync, grainy picture. Complained to sky, they sent another box, an amstrad again!! exactly the same problems, they are now sending me a BRAND NEW PVR3 so as to avoid legal action.

Olly, Oxfordshire on November 27th, 2005
Had two Amstrad PVR3s installed last Monday, both are rubbish - they crash, tick and reset overnight. Sky are swapping both boxes for Pace PVR3s tomorrow, finally I should have more reliable viewing!

Richard, Cardiff on December 5th, 2005
I had an Amstard Digibox installed on Wednesday 23rd Nov. The B****dy thing ticks so loadly you can hear it over the normal volume on my TV. Due to the reluctance of Sky to either send an engineer out to fix or replace it I cancelled the agreement on 28th Nov. There response was that there is a firmware update coming however they could not provide a date. The ticking is the hard drive and I do not believe a firmware update will fix it.

Warren, Shropshire on December 5th, 2005
The annoying ticking sound whilst watching sky can be stopped by altering the rewind option in Sky+ settings to Off. This stops constant recording to enable instant rewind during normal viewing only. Small price to pay for piece and quiet. I never use rewind in normal anyway...

Mike, Falkirk, Scotland on December 29th, 2005
Had the Amstrad Box for 13 months now and have experienced very few problems. Very good picture although the hard drive can be a touch noisy at times. So far, so good. Hope my good fortune continues for at least the next 13 months.

Daniel, London on December 31st, 2005
I've had the box for just under 2 years now and for the first year I had no problems. In recent times I've noticed the main problem is it can't handle too much at once - I'm pretty sure it's down to the dodgy updates. When recording 2 programmes at once you can hear the hard drive scratching noise. The trick is to take things slowly and don't ask the box to bite more than it can chew. My main annoyance with this machine is the recordings - playback is choppy and the sound cracks. If I can't see a programme I want to watch and have to recored it, I make sure I only record that one programme and nothing else. I put this down to old age and probable burnt out components.

Eddie, Devon on January 3rd, 2006
I have two Amstrad boxes - one upstairs and one in the living room, both are having the same problems. 1) Recordings Failing 2) Remote locking up 3) Live pause not working and one runs noiser than the other. Just book another appointment with the engineer to have a look at them as they are only 1 month old.

Andy, Somerset on January 10th, 2006
Utter C**P! Had ours for a month, keeps crashing, remote very sluggish, recording glitches with the sound and lip sync problems and the box just keeps turning off. I am going to contact Sky and try and get a pace box.

JJ, Gloucestershire on January 11th, 2006
had this for about 3 months now. often misses recordings. needs reboot roughly twice a week. occasionally cannot even view recorded progs without rebooting box. it's great having sky+ but more relaible method may be a DVD-Recorder instead...!

Mark, Staffs on January 16th, 2006
box is a year old. initially hard drive was noisy but it bedded down after a couple of months.Was worried cus it was an amstrad but i have been pleasantly suprised by the quality of the box.Kept the box well ventilated and occasionaly the picture will freeze for a few seconds but all in all i am very happy with the box.

Neil Macdonald, Barra Western Isles on January 20th, 2006
We have had this box for 2 months it keeps crashing and/or locking up. Sometimes fails to record programmes. When it works it's fine... but.

Neil, Cambs on January 23rd, 2006
Slow to change channel, crashes regularly. Compared to every other box I have owned this is by far the worst. Avoid if possible.

Rob Mac, Devon on January 26th, 2006
Much to my surprise, I now have a new EPG on my Amstrad. Amstrad A20AI02 (new since update) 4F2001 1.31AOI (new since update) EPG version Sky+4.00o (new since update) Has it fixed the jitters.. nope Record National Geo and watch CH.4, jitters like hell.. Do other people experience this on these channels? I have come to the conclusion its a hardware fault but only on certain frequencies, as recording BBC2 and watching LivingTV (for example) seems ok. I have tried every possible combination of sky+ tweaking. Only bonus the f/w has offered as far as i can see is a quicker channel changing experience. New hard drive (WD1600BB), New f/w New LNB New coax Countless factory resets and f/w reloads No fix I am gonna have to buy a new sky box... officially fed up

Mathew Rennie, Dumfries and Galloway on January 27th, 2006
I've had 2 Amstrad boxes in 1.5 Months, I got them free via the introduce a friend offer. The boxes themself have had no problems, what my problems are with is the LNB and Firmware on the box... One important FACT though... DO NOT USE THE THE RESET FUNCTION... this will not help diagnose the problem, it's main purpose is to help return the box to a near factory condition. Don't belive me, then think about Defragmenting your computer every 1 min, then think about how long your hard drive on your computer would last if this was going every min on the min 365 days a year??? mmm give it about 4 months and then your have one dead hard drive. Don't blame the boxes... blame the software!!!

Andrew, Sheffield on January 28th, 2006
Crashes every day unless you do the engineer planner rebuild. Had 2 new replacements - start okay and then fault starts again. Just had it replaced with a pace box today. Sky still claim they have had no complaints from anyone apart from me.... To get thinigs sorted, ask for the disconnections team - insist on talking to them.

H, Oxford on February 2nd, 2006
My Amstrad V3 box is fine, no ticking noise, it's as good as any other Sky+ box I have seen.

George Birleson, Isle of Grain on February 3rd, 2006
We are having problems with a new sky plus box 40 hour installed in Nov 2005. We are now on our second new box and still experiencing momentary loss of sound and vision on playback. Everything on the system has been checked by the sky engineers. The will now be on their 4th visit to rectify the fault.

Claire, Middlesex on February 5th, 2006
Having a lot of the problems mentioned here. Not unusual to reboot EIGHT times a day, records then doesn't let you watch, misses recordings, noisy fan-like sound (hard drive?), sync problems, FF going in slow-mo, slow response to remote... Sky told me too that no-one complains about Amstrad boxes despite a Sky engineer and Sky technical staff member telling my brother (who was having same problems with HIS Amstrad 4 times within 2 weeks of getting it) off the record that this was a known issue with Sky, but with the high demand for boxes Amstrad rushed them out anyway. Apparently my brother is lying... Hmm. Sky engineer visit #1 due on Monday and I've demanded a Pace box or disconnection. Never mind the contact, if Sky do not provide the service I'm paying for, then THEY are the ones breaking the contract. Shame. I like it, but, you know, I can live without the expense and spend the money on DVDs every month instead. BTW Brother also advised that you should demand a SKY engineer, not a contractor, turn them away if a contractor turns up.

Paul Cooper, County Durham on February 7th, 2006
Absolutely useless! I've had loads of failed recordings, problems with sound drop outs, when going to planner I regularly receive an error message stating "Please Wait" not sure how long your supposed to wait but after an hour and a half I became fed up. Only way to resolve the please wait problem was to unplug the system!!!! Have now had a Pace PVR3 installed and this is excellent.

Daniel, Caversham, Reading on February 14th, 2006
I've owned the box for 3 weeks now. I've had it hang 5 times in one evening when changing channels, but its been ok since. Slow channel changing I assume is due to the live recording to disk having to respond. I can live with that. It fails to record on a few occasions which is a pain. I work with and hate computers. Instead of these technology corporations leaning from years of mistakes, they provide us consumers with more complicated rubbish that does not work as intended by design. These Sky boxes will have an IP address next, routable over a public insecure IP network, that needs patching, firewalling, upgrading, backing up, antivirus software updated, supported by the Channel 4 IT crowd. I can’t wait. Foamy rant over.

Danny, Congleton, Cheshire on February 26th, 2006
Complete rubbish. First few weeks from install the only problem was a noisy fan, then the real problems kicked in - 'power cuts' which always seem to happen during prog's you really want to watch, glitchy sounds on the recordings, shuts itself down at will - had engineer call outs, phone calls to sky CS involving wiping hard drive etc, remote control doesnt work... I'm ready to give up !

Kashif on February 28th, 2006
Had for last one month frequent crashes and missed recordings. Called sky on various occassions who have eventualy agreed to replace that.

pipesfranco, UK on March 2nd, 2006
Ive just had Sky+ installed and I lost the set top box lottery and ended up with 2 Amstrad boxes. What a nightmare audio dropouts, lipsyncing problems boxes crashing, and when calling Sky to be advised these are known problems I had a fit. How can Sky be installing new customers with inferior products which breaches the standard of the contract. After 6 departments later I have been promised 2 Pace boxes to arrive in the next few days. This is disgusting and I for one will not stand for a sub-standard service. If you are having the same problems I suggest calling up and when, as I was by the first so called technical representative, told that sky was not aware of this, oh, and we must have been unlucky to get this problem! tell them you DEMAND a Pace box and ASAP or a nice follow up call to trading standards will be instigated to discuss their breach of contract due to a poor quality service and not recieving the promises given. Stand firm, this is for all Sky and potential Sky subscribers.

CC, London on March 7th, 2006
Further to pipesfranco message of 2 March 2006 below, I have called Sky today as I have been having problems with my Amstrad Box, only 6 weeks only and problems included sound dropping out, picture breaking up and box freezing when trying to delete recorded programmes. After numberous "helpful" suggestions from the technical line, still the problems persist. Sky then told me they would arrange an engineer visit - he cam this weekend and replaced the box with a brown box Amstrad - I guess this is a recon! Not happy as my new box is replaced by a recon after such a short time. Next day, the problem is there again! Called Sky tody and was told this was a known problem with Amstrad and that they are working on it! Also told the engineer visit was a waste of time - which I had worked out for myself. I have contacted the Customer Care Department (joke!) and told them I want a new box not a recon and that it is to be a PACE or Thomson within 14 days or I am contacting Trading Standards as clearly they are selling products that are not of merchantable quality. Also asked for a refund of fees paid and a reduction for six months. I will let you know what happens.

Steve Crockett, Dover on March 16th, 2006
Pace box went screwy after 18 months, (sound and vision gliches, partial recording, lock ups etc etc). Amstrad box fixed all of the issues except the sound & vision gliches but added another issue of not recording if put into standby. Amstrad box replaced yesterday and still has sound and vision gliches. Interestingly this new one has old software. So it will be another call to Sky tonight. Bl**dy Rubbish

Pete, Blackpool on March 26th, 2006
Amstrad box installed 1 week ago, six resets, two switch offs and no luck for me as engineer brought another Amstrad box yesterday. Ok yesterday, faulty today (please wait banner that does not go away). Absolute rubbish. I am SO disappointed with Sky using these boxes.

Darren Walton, Cambs on March 28th, 2006
Not so good, I'm afraid. We are new to this. Had a Thomson box for a few days which refused to update its software, got it replaced with an Amstrad box. I remember Amstrad from their PCs. Not much has changed. The fan is noisy, rather than one of the new super-quiet fans. Recordings playback with breaks in the sound and when I pressed rewind (on one occasion) it took me straight back to the very beginning of the recording - oh and the hard drive does tick.

David, Rugby on April 3rd, 2006
I ve had my box 15 months now with very few problems - have upgraded to 250gb HDD and it brilliant all sky+ should have at least this amount of recording space!!!!

Chris, Reading Berkshire on April 4th, 2006
Had a Pace box for 5 years as a replacement for another Pace box. Hard Drive went on the first. The second one got stuck in standby. Tried all the resets to no avail. waited nearly 2 hours and 4 calls before Sky took my call! Engineer replaced today with an Amstrad (Refurb). If I watch a different channel to one I am recording, the picture and sound will stutter constantly. If I try and record 2 programmes at onec (no problem for the Pace) it comepletely freezes up in chunks! I have yet to try and record 2 programmes whilst watching a pre-recorded programme - The Pace had absolutely no problems. Engineer is coming to replace this Amstrad soon. If I get another Amstrad I will quit my subscription there and then. Apparently if a faulty box is returned - it is only corrected for the fault that was designated. QA does not check the entire box before it is put back out to public use. DO CHECK EVERY FUNCTION ON A REPLACEMENT BEFORE ACCEPTING. I can predict more time off work and phone calls to sky Customer Service.

Chris, Newport Gwent on April 13th, 2006
I have had mine for a month, it skips when playing back recorded programme. Sky+ function disappears at will leaving PLEASE WAIT box on screen when trying to pause/rewind. Crashed a few times. Engineer advised firmware update...did nothing, just had him round, he said it is a software 'glitch' he switched off the instant rewind which kind of defeats the object as thats what they promote on the SKY+ advert. Going to call sky up tonight and tell them I am not happy and if it continues I will demand a new box. I am glad it isn't as bad as the other boxes on here!

Phil, Clacton on April 22nd, 2006
I've had three Amstrad Sky plus boxes so far and I'm just about to call Sky for my next replacement... locks up continually, loses recorded programs, skips on playback... its useless... would advise any and all to avoid like the plague... thinking of ditching Sky all together unless they give me an alternative box...

Nick, Bournemouth on April 27th, 2006
Had Amstrad box for about 18 months now. First year seemed ok but now am getting the usual lip sync and skipping problems on playback I'd say on about 20% of programs recorded although this seems to be getting worse. Not very pleased!!! Should expect better from sky especially as my friends Pace box has been perfect for 2 years now.

Andrew, sheffield on April 30th, 2006
Further to my post of 28th jan. i now have a new Pace pvr to replace the Amstrad which simply is not fit for purpose. how ? I emailed james Murdoch every day until a nice lady from his office replied and sent a REAL sky engineer with new PAce box, upgraded twice the recording capacity I originallly had and 3 months Sky at half price. Threaten court - and carry it out. the amstrad box is not as described (it doesn't do what they say it does) and is not fit for purpose - Clear breaches of the sale of Goods Act. Sky roll over when you start down this road. They have to ! Anybody still getting problems and being told you are unlucky and they never eard of the problem before ? I sent James Murdoch a copy of this web page. Did the trick?

mr b jones on April 30th, 2006
my sky remote control has stoped working the light flashes on the handset and will turn off the reciever but nothing else

Jason, Berskhire on May 3rd, 2006
Had Amstrad box for 18months, finally it gave up recording. The quality got worse and worse (i.e. sound sync probs and pixelation). Luckily, I took out an extended warranty and the sky man has just left me with a new box from Thompson..... At last, I've got rid of Sir Alan Sugar's rubbish :-)

Dave, Falkirk on June 12th, 2006
Had 3 new amstrad boxes every single one has switched itself off with no reason, eventually returning to standby. Incredibly slow at responding to channcel changes (Pace and Thomson are MUCH faster). First one switched off while recording. Not good boxes. Getting our 8th Sky+ replacement this weekend (4 new, 3 "second hand" boxes refused)! Hopeful that the 8th box is not an amstrad and will be usable!

Rindulus, Aberdeen on June 27th, 2006
got latest Amstrad Sky + box. with following system details:- Amstrad A21B015 1.31BOO Sky+ 4.10c I have recorded heaps of stuff, used the live pause done the two recordinga while watching playback etc etc. I have had no problems whatsoever. tempting fate? probably but I have to say as I see and I have seen none of he problems as detailed below. Have Amstrad sorted their problems out or am I just a lucky customer?

Paul, Lancashire on July 4th, 2006
Had this box for over a month now after upgrading to Sky +. It does everything it should very well. Fast channel changing, excellent picture and sound quality, no failed recordings. Overall, an excellent box. Thank you Sir Alan Sugar.

Roger, Gloucestershire on July 11th, 2006
Just had three Amstrad sky+ boxes in just over 1 week. All rubbish. Twice I have tried to cancel and each time get promised that they WILL fix the problems. First one didnt work out of the box, the next kept turning itself off every hour and the latest one has a fan noise that is so loud it can still be heard when the volume is turned up extremely high so the neighbours can hear it! I have asked for a Pace box but have been told its pot luck and I am likely to get another Amstrad. WHY?? I am BUYING the box from Sky and so I should surely have the choice of what I am purchasing. If the engineer arrives this week with yet another Amstrad, I will refuse it then its DEFINITELY goodbye Sky and Hello cable!

Peter Hawkins, East Devon on July 24th, 2006
I too am having my third amstrad + box installed in just over a week. They and sky+ customer services are useless. The first box had an extremely noisy fan, it would turn off at any time by itself, the network id and transport stream would go to zero so channels would not work and it would lock up all the time. The second box ive had for three days, noisy fan, worse than the first box, wont update to latest software, turns itself off every 30 minutes and locks up so you cant change channels. So far I've rung sky+ customer services 6 times and I've just encountered the most obnoxious woman who obviously doesn't have sky+. When I told her her attitude was not that of a sky representative she nearly went on her high horse so I reminded her of my rights as a consumer, let her chat away and put the phone down. My opinion:-if you upgrade to sky+ DONT have an amstrad box, all you will have is problems one after the other and to think this was supposed to make watching tv more enjoyable!

Peter Hawkins, East Devon on August 2nd, 2006
An update on my previous comments. The latest, third Amstrad box has lasted seven days.it turns itself off going into standby, the sky+ planner comes up blank despite eight programmes being in there and no signal being received comes up when it feels like it, this despite the signal being excellent. Another new box is arriving this friday. Please, not an amstrad, I'm praying!

Nick, Hull on August 17th, 2006
Had mutiple Amstrad boxes replaced, still with no joy. Poor picture, box locks up, misses recordings, records all night, makes awful noises, high pitched washing machine squeals as well as the noisey drives. Cheap rubbish in my opinion. Oh and avoid a company called ASTRASAT like the plague. They turned up drunk on my first install, damaged my brand new tv cabinet, nocked brick out of my wall, then returned with only one box, when they were meant to replace 2. So far terrible service from sky, especially after being a customer for 5 years, this is the worst service ever and the only thing keeping us with sky is the fact we cannot get freeview

Dave, Leicester on August 25th, 2006
Had ours for about 18 months now and we are now on our fourth box.It was last replaced in oct 2005 and we now have the same problems i.e. turns itself off, records things we don't watch, picture freezing, locks up, recordings fail, playback don't work sometimes and so on. Rang sky and even though this is not a year old yet, sky want too charge us £72 for an engineer too come out and tell me something i already know, the box is no good. They said that because the first box was installed over a year ago, the warranty has now expired. According to sky this is a rare ploblem!

Will Griffiths, Wales on September 22nd, 2006
Looks like a cheese grater, but quite stable. But I preferred my old Pace box that was replaced due to a broken modem!

Ian, Colchester on November 24th, 2006
After nine months of grief, frequent so-called engineer visits, replacement boxes (not new and with only three months' warranty!) we got fed up, pulled the plug. Life is so much more enjoyable for us without those stupid boxes!

Neil, Belfast on December 11th, 2006
I've literally just had my Sky upgraded to Sky +. The engineers installed an Amstrad box. The noise is really bad and Sky's general reaction to the complaint has left me genuinely upset. In one simple step they've taken a loyal customer and lost him with cheap hardware. I'm disgusted that I've paid money to basically get a downgrade in service. Replacement to be installed later this week, but if not up to scratch it looks like I'll be binning Sky before Christmas.

Jason, Kinmel Bay, N Wales on January 19th, 2007
Had sky now for over five years had nothing but problems, original sky + box was an Amstrad which I had problems with sound upon connection to my surround sound, contacted sky and it was replaced by engineer with a reconditioned box, same problem again (they had just got the thing out the box for god sake), engineer went back to van and brought a pace box, had no problems up until recently the hard drive appears to be making loud noises as if its working overtime, called sky and they sent engineer out and replaced it with another pace which had the same problem and also would not record two programs at the same time, called sky again sent out another engineer now been replaced with a reconditioned Amstrad although they said I would have a new one has I threatened to cancel, the customer service and products are absolutely useless I don’t believe this is just down to bad luck, if I can give anybody any advise, save your money get Freeview / TUTV.

Steven, Lincoln on March 5th, 2007
The engineer called to fit mine today, a reconditioned Amstrad box a year old and discontinued by Amstrad so I told them to take it away and not come back! I am not having old crap from Sky when I pay for the latest equipment and Sky confirmed it was out of date (Sony, Amstrad, Pace ) all no longer made but Sky has a stock of 20 thousand and they are discontinued stock no longer supported. Don’t stand for it, request a new box or not at all or you will end up with red tape guff. Ask first view it and see! If it’s in a plain brown box with one sticker it’s a reconditioned box!

Craig, Worcestershire on March 16th, 2007
Yeah, alright I guess

Sharon, Rayleigh Essex on March 19th, 2007
Sound dropout really bad at times, especially when we are recording on sky +. Any ideas how to rectify!

Andy on June 10th, 2007
I am thinking of getting a Sky+ box and have heard many reviews on people saying they have been given old boxes. What can I do to distinguish if I am getting a new or old box? I doubt the engineer will actually honestly tell me if I ask, they are bound to say "YES, it's new". Any ideas? Thanks.

Ki, North East England on August 27th, 2007
No problems so far, had it just installed 3 days ago to replace magic eye off box in living room. Only issue was it switched itself off after about an hour after installation.

Conrad Hart, Cornwall on October 3rd, 2007
Had 2 boxes in about 15 months, the first one lasted a few weeks with failed recordings, the second seem to be as bad but soon as latest firmware was loaded in all was ok. Now at this point in time it is sitting there, can't switch it on as its stuck on standby, possible hard drive or Power error. Before it died it was switching itself off all the time, failing recordings, not playing them back at all. Response from remote was better than any freeview box tho. These boxes are the best when they work but not very reliable at all and cannot even watch tv now.Oh well back to freeview or a normal sat box maybe?

Sean, Hampshire on October 16th, 2007
Prior to ordering Sky+, I read the reviews on this page, so when it came to ordering, I insisted I would only go ahead if I don't get an Amstrad box. As the box that arrived didn't have a brand name on it, I checked in the 'system details' after having lots of set up problems, i.e. burning smell, slow remote control. recordings failing constantly.....You guessed it. AMSTRAD !! I called SKY and got nowhere, so wrote them an email explaining the initial order caveats. Got a reply saying I don't have a choice what box I get !!!! ?? When you pay for a black suit, would you be happy with an orange one ? I wrote back advising them I am cancelling my subscription with them after many years. We will see what tomorrow brings. It'd be nice if it was a U-turn from SKY and a Pace box, but that's very unlikely. Scammed by Sky again. My standard Panasonic digital box is WAY faster than this. Absolutely disgusted and VERY angry.

Dave, Essex on October 17th, 2007
3 Amstrad boxes in the last year, latest one has a noisy hard disk which you can hear over the TV, and what I first thought was a lock up was a delayed response from the remote - sometimes up to 10 mins - it then proceeds to do exactly what you told it to do 10 minutes previously and then all the following buttons functions you press in frustration. Logged a call with Sky last night and was told they would swap the box - but then told me that the warranty was 3 days over the 3 months period and wanted to charge me £65, I then had a heated conversation with a so called 'floor supervisor' who was the most obnoxious, rude, and totally inflexible person I have ever spoken to, who would not move from the £65 callout. My wife then mailed Sky Customer services direct to complain, as I was still fuming. I recieved a mail this morning from Sky Customer Relations offering a free callout - so if you dont get anywhere with the call desk then try an Email to customer relations from the sky web site.