Wait for EE TV or take a new Sky deal as you can't record on TV Mini?

[bigrob]

Hello

From my other threads - I am switching from Sky 900Mbs to EE 1.6Gbs on Monday the 27th.

EE don't offer TV yet with 1.6Gbs broadband but apparently it is expected soon - maybe don't hold your breadth.                                        The sales lady said I just needed to ring up when the broadband was activated to get the TV - hmmm.

Before I found out you can't as yet get TV (via this forum) I phoned Sky and cancelled my TV deal that has run out - due to finish on 18th Feb with the notice period.

Last night I was staggered to read on here that you can't record on the TV Mini box. i.e., if I want to record & watch in a room other than the lounge I would need to buy a TV Box Pro from somewhere like eBay.

I have to be have the ability to record and watch in another room as my mother-in-law lives with us and she has her own TV room.

I now have a choice

1) Keep Sky rolling on the current high price and wait and see if/when EE allow me to get TV                                                                                    Then buy a TV Box Pro from somewhere for her room

2) Phone Sky and see about getting a better deal on TV    (Sky is very expensive)                                                                                                           I am then tied into Sky for 24 months (as I see the old 18-month contracts have long gone )                                                                               I wanted all my billing& contract in one place

3) Change from 1.6Gbs to 900Mbs with EE, get a TV package, and buy a TV Box Pro from elsewhere for my mother-in-law                   Then wait for EE when they will let me switch up to 1.6Gbs                                                                                                                                                   Probably the sensible option but I wanted the 1.6Gbs and who knows when EE will offer the 1.6Gbs upgrade with TV

If anyone has got through all of that, is bored, and has any thoughts please let me know.

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@bigrob 

What does your Mother in Law actually watch and does the room she is in have an aerial or satellite point or have you been recording on the main Q box and she has been watching on a mini?

[bigrob]

She records Emmerdale, Corrie, Father Brown, David Attenborough etc. 

She can set them to record using the main lounge Q box or her Mini Q box. All works very well as she goes up in the evening to watch her shows. 

I cut out all the old aerial cables a few years ago as I couldn't see we would need them - & they were in every bedroom...

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@bigrob 

Is the ‘Watchlist’ a potential answer here?

Instead of recording you just search for the shows regularly watched and add them to the watchlist to view via the catch up apps?

A subscription to itvX Premium and Channel4+ will be cheaper than Sky and remove almost all the adverts and improve picture quality.

[bigrob]

@Profile closed 

Thank you. I haven't heard/read about the Watchlist so that looks like it could be an option. I will do a search to see if I can find how this works.

[Profile closed]

@bigrob I don’t think EE really cover it well, check out the help from YouView themselves on it:

https://support.youview.com/youview-box/on-demand-players-apps/how-do-i-add-content-to-my-watch-list... 

It isn’t perfect, but what is?

[bigrob]

@Profile closed 

Thank you for the link.

Yes, clear as mud. That could work, but I would need to be able to try it out myself first and then if I think it could work, show it to my mother in law and get her to learn it.

At 87 I think it may be a challenge too far. 

[Weerab2024]

@bigrob if it's just the usual programmes all the time, you could quickly set them all up and job done. No need for recordings or lessons.

iPlayer for Mr Attenborough. Hopefully iPlayer would recommend him automatically if his shows have been watched often before.

These can be set up individually on the mini hub and the pro box separately incase she decides to watch on the pro box. Would save you sourcing another one. 

[Richardr66]

If it is just the standard channels, worth trying to do a deal with Sky for the lowest possible package they have.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that there is a simple answer outside of the Sky solution for a box connected via wifi and which shows recordings from the main box. I assume there is no satellite or aerial connexion to where her minibox is.

Outside of the Sky solution, I suspect non-recordable boxes are the only real answer, and that would mean her using the interactive services rather than recording.

As you say, EE don't currently do TV with the 1.6 Gb service, and we don't know when they will start, so I wouldn't personally count on that at all.

[Midnight_Voice]

@bigrob 

Considering Option 3 - I can’t answer for the Sky possibilities.

With no aerial connection in her room, you are going to need a Box Pro in IP Mode for her. Which in turn demands EETV. So EETV, a supplied Box Pro for you, and a purchased Box Pro for her.

Plus an end to the Sky Q possibility of setting a recording on one box, and then watching it on another.

What she could do, though, is maybe use the EETV app on a tablet or phone, paired with her box, so she can set recordings wherever she is in the house, and only has to go to her room to watch them.

I just dropped from 900 Mbps to 500 Mbps with no discernible difference. Do you really need 1.6 Gbps - have you got gaming teenagers, or a home business with multiple workstations? 900 Mbps should be enough, I would have thought; what speed have you got now, and do you have plenty of margin?