I've been having the signs of capacitor failure on my Thompson HD box
again (third time now, happens every year or so) and I spoke to Sky
cancellations department in an attempt to get this fixed for free,
instead of paying £65.

They eventually said I could have it for free, or, if I prefer they
said that as there is an offer starting tomorrow (26th May) for
existing customers starting a specific HD package - Sky First HD or
something like that, or starting Sky multiroom. The offer if for the
1TB box for £49. They said they can give me that, even though I'm
already subscribed to that package, and would call me back tomorrow
and arrange that.

Some questions though...

Is the new 1TB box by Amstrad? There is some suggestion that Amstrad
boxes don't suffer from the bulging capacitor issue that has plagued
the Thompson boxes.

Other than the smaller size, and bigger hard drive, are there any
other improvements on the 1TB box? Is it faster for example?

--
Vincent

Vincent wrote:
: Is the new 1TB box by Amstrad? There is some suggestion that Amstrad
: boxes don't suffer from the bulging capacitor issue that has plagued
: the Thompson boxes.

Amstrad are owned by Sky now. There are no known power supply issues with
them. £49 is a good price - some people get these at £99 or £149!

: Other than the smaller size, and bigger hard drive, are there any
: other improvements on the 1TB box? Is it faster for example?

It is faster. Compared to my previous Thomson it has no component video (no
boxes have had for ages), no second SCART and no S-VIDEO output (none of
which I used).

Would it not be worthwhile buying some panasonic FM series capacitors and
fixing the Thosom box yourself?


"Vincent" wrote in message
...
I've been having the signs of capacitor failure on my Thompson HD box
again (third time now, happens every year or so) and I spoke to Sky
cancellations department in an attempt to get this fixed for free,
instead of paying £65.

They eventually said I could have it for free, or, if I prefer they
said that as there is an offer starting tomorrow (26th May) for
existing customers starting a specific HD package - Sky First HD or
something like that, or starting Sky multiroom. The offer if for the
1TB box for £49. They said they can give me that, even though I'm
already subscribed to that package, and would call me back tomorrow
and arrange that.

Some questions though...

Is the new 1TB box by Amstrad? There is some suggestion that Amstrad
boxes don't suffer from the bulging capacitor issue that has plagued
the Thompson boxes.

Other than the smaller size, and bigger hard drive, are there any
other improvements on the 1TB box? Is it faster for example?

--
Vincent

On Wed, 25 May 2011 10:41:40 +0000 (UTC), (Brian
Mc) wrote:

Vincent wrote:
Amstrad are owned by Sky now. There are no known power supply issues with
them. £49 is a good price - some people get these at £99 or £149!

It is faster. Compared to my previous Thomson it has no component video (no
boxes have had for ages), no second SCART and no S-VIDEO output (none of
which I used).

Brilliant! Thanks for the information.

On Wed, 25 May 2011 20:07:28 +0100, "Stephen"
wrote:

Would it not be worthwhile buying some panasonic FM series capacitors and
fixing the Thosom box yourself?

If it were a choice between that or £65 callout, yes. I've done this a
few times for friend's and family.

But, this wasn't the case here. Like I said, they offered to replace
the existing box, and potentially new LNB, new wiring, dish alignment,
new dish, all with 90 day guarantee, for free. I don't have any
recordings that I won't have watched in a couple of days so I have
nothing to lose with the free option, but a lot to gain. If I went
with this option and the capacitors failed again in a year or two I
could have always replaced them then. I would still have a newer box,
and benefited from all the extras the £65 callout provides, but for
free.

Their alternative offer was for a new 1TB box for £49, which is an
absolute bargain (given they're like £300 new), and cheaper than
upgrading my existing box to 1TB with a new hard drive + new
capacitors. The 1TB box is faster, runs cooler, and is smaller. Every
time I go away on holiday I have to swap everything from HD to SD,
which is a hassle, so the 1TB box for me is well worth £49.

--
Vincent