SKY HD Box reception in South Western France?

[Cupart]

Hey all,

I was thinking of getting a SKY HD box and bring it with me to France, mostly for the new free Sky+ feature and then also being ready for HD when more propper HD channels appear.

The million dollar question:

What is the tuner like compared to the good old Pace DS430N which is brilliant? Also what quad (or twin output) LNB should I get?

Thanks,

Fred

 

[dxsat]

Performance of the Thomson HD Sky box is virtually identical to that of the Pace 430n. If the dish size is adequate to give you enough rain margin, then almost any twin or quad LNB will do. I'd be inclined toward Invacom, if only because they come with a four year guarantee.

 

[billnot]

I would actually say that the tuner is *better* than that of the 430N, and possibly even better than the legendary 2600C1. As I have just said in another post, people are buying the HD box initially for the good reception and BBC HD, but with an eye to the future for activating the recording facilities and paying for a proper HD subscription.

This isn't as daft as it sounds. A second hand 2600C1 will cost EUR220, a new Sky HD box under EUR300.

 

[dxsat]

Quality on Thomson HD boxes seems to vary somewhat, some are better than others. I've installed six of these in the past six months, even the best one was not as good as the Pace 2600CI. All were very similar to Pace Sky Plus TDS470n and 430n. Picture quality on the HDMI output is really stunning. They're noisy though and throw out heat in large quantities.