Posts Tagged ‘amstrad’

New Sky+ HD EPG

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012
sky-epg-new

Sky are in the process of rolling out updates to the Sky+ HD EPG, initially just available for the Amstrad DRX890 and DRX895 box. All other boxes are scheduled to get the update later in the yar, apart from Thomson DSI8215 for which there are no plans.

Key features:

  • Fresh new look – same layout but brighter colours and more channels per page
  • Genre tabs added to the planner
  • New quick links in the TV Guide – icons to jump to  Channels, Recordings, On Demand, Rentals and Search

Video and more info

Yet more info

* that’s not my hand in the picture by the way……… my hand is much hairier! [evil laugh]

Is My Sky Digibox Software Up To Date?

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

How do I find out if the software in my Sky box is up to date?

This question crops up regularly on forums, mostly when people buy second-hand boxes off eBay or dust down an old box that’s been in storage for a while.

Most of the time people look for the EPG Version Number displayed on the System Details page and accessed as follows:

Services >> 4. System Setup >> 5. System Details

Services Menu System Setup Menu System Details Menu

The latest EPG Version Number for standard Sky boxes (ie not Sky+ or Sky+ HD) is likely to be 3.8.8. If older EPG software is installed (earlier than 3.4.4b) you may find you are unable to access certain channels, especially radio stations. Here are some of the signs: missing channels from 204 – 999, no radio channels, no menu music, losing channels after a few days and occasional lock-ups.

If you’re in this situation the best thing to do is a forced software update, but if the box is old you may find that Sky have stopped transmitting software updates in the forced update stream (Pace 2600C1 boxes, for example, have this problem). In that case, the best solution is just to leave the box plugged in (standby is fine), connected to a satellite feed and eventually it should receive an update. This will probably take several weeks. There are reports of some boxes being unable to update at all because they’ve missed to many interim updates.

What’s with the other numbers?

The numbers on the System Details page can be confusing. You would think Version Number would tell you the software version number, but it actually relates to the hardware version of the box. The first four characters of this identify an exact model of box and the last the hardware revision, eg 9F05xx is a Pace 2500S3. The Model Number is more like a firmware version and it varies between manufacturers and models.

Sky EPG Version History
(more…)

Top Ten Sky Boxes

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Another often asked question is “what is the best sky box?” and if you google it, the answer you get will depend on when the question was asked. Sky Digital was officially launched on 1st October 1998, so some models are over 10 years old. The original boxes were produced by Pace, Grundig, Amstrad, Panasonic, and Sony. In 2005/6, Sky standardised the look of the digibox to produce the white “flow” design manufactured by Pace, Thomson and Amstrad.

startca, a top-rated seller on eBay, produced a Sky Digibox History and Buyers Guide. Here’s his top ten:

  1. Pace BSKYB 2600CI/DS430N
  2. Panasonic DSB 30
  3. Panasonic DSB 31/40
  4. Sony VTX 760/750U
  5. Pace BSKYB 2500S4/5
  6. Amstrad DRX 550
  7. Panasonic DSB 50
  8. Amstrad DRX 400
  9. Pace BSKYB 2500B/N
  10. Panasonic DSB20

I’d probably put the Pace 2600C1 above the DS430N as it has a stronger tuner. There no mention of the Pace 1000 Javelin minibox either, which is quite well thought of. No mention either of the newer Pace “flow” boxes – Pace DS440N/DS445NB.

How To Identify Your Sky+ Plus Box

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

If you have a problem with your Sky+ box it helps to know what the make and model number is. They all look fairly similar, presumably design criteria laid down by Sky, but there are 3 different manufacturers, 4 different specifications – around 9 different models.

There should be a sticker on the underside of the box identifying the make and model, if you have access. If not there are other ways to identify your box.

To get the version number of your box access the following menu:
Services >> 4. System Setup >> 5. System Details

Services Menu System Setup Menu System Details Menu

The different specifications are commonly referred to as PVR1, PVR2, PVR2.5 and PVR3 (version numbers in brackets):

PVR1first generation, 40GB, no Sky Anytime

Pace BSKYB3000

Pace BSKYB3000 (9F20xx) – silver and black (422mm x 355mm x 74mm)

PVR22nd generation, 40GB, no Sky Anytime

Pace BSKYB3100

Pace BSKYB3100 (9F21xx) – white, card flap left, no air vents on top (380mm x 243mm x 72mm)

Amstrad DRX180

Amstrad DRX180 (4F20xx) – white, card flap right, top covered in air vents

PVR2.5160GB, no Sky Anytime

Thomson DSI6210

Thomson DSI6210 (4E20xx) – white with “160” design on front panel (360mm x 242mm x 68.5mm)

Pace BSKYB3100

Pace BSKYB3100 (9F23xx) – white, card flap left, no air vents on top (380mm x 243mm x 72mm)
This is a refurbished Pace PVR2 with a larger hard drive with a different version number.

PVR33rd generation 160GB (80GB personal storage), Sky Anytime


Pace TDS470N (9F22xx) – white, card flap left, air vents on top in two blocks (360mm x 251mm x 72mm)

Amstrad DRX280
Amstrad DRX280 (4F21xx) – white, card flap right, top covered in air vents (380mm x 243mm x 72mm)

Thomson DSI8210

Thomson DSI8210 (4E21xx) – white, card flap right, no air vents in top (360mm x 242mm x 68.5mm)