Warning this could make you a fat slob (BskyB)

Member Name: nakedchoke

Product:	BskyB
Date:	12/11/01 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: loads of channels, many great services, loads of packages

Disadvantages: could make you lazy, the internet, email isn't great.....yet

INTRODUCTION
Love them or hate them Sky have always been providing a great service. Years of experience have obviously been put to good use with their new mini dish. Gone are the days of huge white dishes that made your house look like a military research facility because this is the dawn of a new era, the mini dish is here.

BUYING
The first thing you will notice when buying your dish is the amount of packages available. I expect there is one to suit the needs of anyone out there. All the prices are good and if you subscribe you will pay monthly although there is the option of buying the dish for £100 and receiving only the free to air channels plus all the usual services. Hopefully the shop staff will help and give you the handy chart and booklet that provides information on all the services you get with the dish. Once you have decided on which packages suits your needs you will have to pay for your dish and go home and wait. Installation is the next step on your way to total entertainment. This is very quick and is done with the minimum of fuss. It was only a matter of days before someone came to fit ours and it took about an hour to fit it. Something that impressed me was that the installer brought more than one actual box with him in case one didn’t work he could try another.

THE BOX AND REMOTE
Smart and sleek is how I would describe the look of the box. There are two card slots, one for channels and one for more interactive features. To use these you just have to phone through and order them to get some added bonuses. One of the problems is that it has to be plugged into a phone socket for 1 year and Sky will send check signals down the line to check you don’t break this part of the contract. I am unsure why this is but I suspect it so you are more tempted to use the interactive features because it’s so easy to do. The remote is big and chunky and has a handy rubber coating making it easy to grip onto. Breaking th
e thing by accident would be very difficult to do, as it’s so solid and strong. Although I wouldn’t suggest testing its strength as a replacement is probably quite expensive. All the buttons are chunky and the whole thing is easy to use.

SERVICES AND FEATURES
One of the most impressive things about this is the amount of things available other than just channels. Sky active allows you to shop, bet, play games, bank and many other things. Shopping is great and there are more shops joining all the time. At the moment some of the best shops are in the high street section and include Woolworth’s, WH Smith and Electronics Boutique. I haven’t used any of the banking options yet but find the games quite entertaining especially as there are prizes to be won. Another great thing is you can order a pizza through your TV so a lazy night in is easily achieved. Disappointingly the Email service uses a sky digital only service so you can only email other sky owners. Now an option to use Yahoo email has been added though and I suspect more will be available in the future. Sky box office eliminates the need for video shops as you can order a new release through your Digi Box for only £3 and they are shown all the time. Pay per view events like boxing matches can also be ordered in the same way. All these features are free of charge except connecting to the Internet and are included in the option of buying the box for £100 as well as all the subscription options

CHANNELS
Hundreds of channels are available and there are so many great things to watch. Some of the main channels are the news ones. Many are there including CNN and Sky news as well as some other well known names. You will always find a film to watch because you can get lots of channels and also the box office service. Another genre that is well provided for is music. So many channels are there for this and most are interactive. You will find so many channels and something f
or everyone is there even different religions and languages are catered for. New channels are becoming available and there are no complaints about this part of Sky.

EVALUATION
Even the fact that this is a relatively new service doesn’t stop it from being a totally complete package. You can never get bored if you have everything this has to offer. The only real problem is the Internet and email services aren’t great but they are bound to improve as so much already has. Sky keep on adding and improving the digital service and soon it will be the only worthy option. Something to keep in mind is that you could become a fat and unhealthy hermit as you can live from this machine. Food can be delivered to your door; you can manage your financing and get entertained 24 hours of the day. This should certainly come with a health warning.

Summary: