I am new please help! some confusing questions..

[mstar]

I am new to Anytime+ so please be gentle :-)
I have a few i like have a few questions...

1. What i gather is that Anytime+ also allows you to stream shows which are not downloaded to the hard drive? is that right? This is why i need the sky wireless adapter for £60? if i dont use the wireless adapter i can still use anytime+ or not? is the latest shows where i need the wireless connection to the sky box?

2. IS there anypoint in the Anytime+ if its not the latest series? e.g if i wanted to watch all the series of Glee is this available? or is it only past series of shows?

3. I have my old black Netgear router DG934 and white DG834 router, I am not sure if i can re-configure/flash this so i can use it as a wireless receiver for the Sky+HD box for Anytime+? And not pay sky £60 for their sky receiver?

4. There seems to be various solutions to the problem any idea which is the best performing or most reliable?

5. I am curious to know what is going to happen as i have the D-Link sky router and it is "G" not "N" wireless speed (the location of the router is on the bedroom floor which is directly above my sky box which is in the living room so not to far). Most here talking about wireless N attachments to use instead of the £60 sky adapter. What am i missing on if i use Anytime+?? is it essential to have wireless N?

[Isitme]

1. The program is downloaded to your hard drive and put in the planner. You can watch it at any time the 'program available' notice comes up. The programs in the Showcase part of Anytime+ have already been downloaded to your hard drive by satellite. These can either be recorded to your own part of the hard drive or viewed when they are available. The programs here change every few days.

2. Of course there is. It is not just series which are available but documentaries, films etc. I don't know if Glee is included at all, as it is not something I watch.

3. If you flash the DG834GT with 3rd party firmware you might be able to use it as a wireless bridge. There are many other alternates available, a cheaper wireless bridge or range extender, ethernet cable, homeplugs, etc. The Sky wireless bridge is probably the most expensive.

4. Best performing is an ethernet cable followed by Homeplugs.

5. Wireless N is not essential for Anytime+ to work, although it is preferable if you are going to use wireless.

[Scubbie]

I am new to Anytime+ so please be gentle :-)

aww... Spoil sport

1. What i gather is that Anytime+ also allows you to stream shows which are not downloaded to the hard drive? is that right? This is why i need the sky wireless adapter for £60? if i dont use the wireless adapter i can still use anytime+ or not? is the latest shows where i need the wireless connection to the sky box?

Anytime+ downloads content from Sky's servers to the hard drive in your Sky+ HD STB. Provided that it is downloading at a suitable speed, you will get a prompt on your screen to let you know when you can start watching it, before the download has completed.

Since the downloads are over the Internet, you will need to connect your Sky+ HS STB to a suitable connection on your home network, to allow it to then have access through your router to the Internet. How you connect your STB to your home network is your choice. There are a host of options available to you, the WiFi adapter that Sky provides is one of them.

If you have not connected your Sky+ HD STB to your home network, then you will have 'Anytime' displaying when you look at the Anytime content. Once you have connected your STB to your home the 'Anytime' content gets renamed 'Showcase'. Anytime or Showcase content is aired via the Satellites on a hidden channel by Sky and is automatically recorded when it is possible by your Sky+ HD STB.

2. IS there anypoint in the Anytime+ if its not the latest series? e.g if i wanted to watch all the series of Glee is this available? or is it only past series of shows?

The content varies hugely. All of it will have been aired, much will have recently been aired, whilst some may have been available for a couple of years now. It really depends on what is available.

I have just looked to see what is available with respect of Glee. Currently there are 4 choices. Two are the latest episode (SD & HD). The other two are the Movie in 3D. The movie is an SBO event, so would be chargeable.

Other series have more content.

3. I have my old black Netgear router DG934 and white DG834 router, I am not sure if i can re-configure/flash this so i can use it as a wireless receiver for the Sky+HD box for Anytime+? And not pay sky £60 for their sky receiver?

A better option, provided that your electrics are fine, would be to purchase a pair of HomePlugs or a suitable length of Ethernet cable, than the WiFi adaptor from Sky. A suitable pair of HomePlugs will set you back around £35 (aim for at least 100 or 200mbps).

For more ideas: http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/askin...e-network.html

If you have more than one connection, then you could use the spare router to provide more access points. See the thread below:

http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/askin...-together.html

4. There seems to be various solutions to the problem any idea which is the best performing or most reliable?

Yes there are different solutions because circumstances dictate that the best one might not be suitable in every home. Personally I would start with looking at an Ethernet cable, as WiFi can be slow. Not everyone want lots of cables running around their homes. Others can't run Ethernet cables behind the walls.

When people ask for specific ideas, often we end up finding out that there is something that prevents it from being ideal. Each offering has positives and negatives. You need to decide which is best in your personal circumstances.

The document linked above provides a few suggestions.

5. I am curious to know what is going to happen as i have the D-Link sky router and it is "G" not "N" wireless speed (the location of the router is on the bedroom floor which is directly above my sky box which is in the living room so not to far). Most here talking about wireless N attachments to use instead of the £60 sky adapter. What am i missing on if i use Anytime+?? is it essential to have wireless N?

The Sky D-Link router is WiFi g.

As for what you are missing: more repeats There is too much for me to attempt to start listing it on here.

Sky announced at the end of January that BBC iPlayer and ITV Player content would become available. They have added access to old ITV Player shows, but newer content and BBC iPlayer will be added soon.

Edit: lol Tom got there too

[mstar]

i love you scrubbie

[mstar]

after researching this and i wanted to know for Anytime is it really important to have a good connection? if i get the Netgear wireless adapter will that give me enough bandwidth to enjoy Anytime+??

If i need a good connection then it seems homeplugs is the way to go. One thing maybe people with homeplugs can answer is what happens if you have appliances running? (e.g hair dryer, washing machine, etc etc) also my house has had totally new re-wired 3 years ago does this make a difference?

[fazedup]

after researching this and i wanted to know for Anytime is it really important to have a good connection? if i get the Netgear wireless adapter will that give me enough bandwidth to enjoy Anytime+??

If i need a good connection then it seems homeplugs is the way to go. One thing maybe people with homeplugs can answer is what happens if you have appliances running? (e.g hair dryer, washing machine, etc etc) also my house has had totally new re-wired 3 years ago does this make a difference?

TBH, the limiting factor in most cases for anytime+ is your broadband connection speed.

The faster your connection, the faster you can download anytime+ content.
Connecting your router to you Sky + HD Box over WiFi, Homeplugs or Ethernet cable doesn't really matter, there should be enough bandwidth with any one of these methods to keep up with even the fastest ADSL2+ connection.

With regard to home plugs, running appliances shouldn't make a difference. They should work, as long as your domestic cabling goes through the same CU. (Fuse Box)

[Scubbie]

Tests will have been made to ensure that interference from other electrical appliances causes minimal disruption to HomePlugs. I would have thought the Scalextric would cause more problems than a hair drier though, at least it did when I was younger and my younger brother was playing with his set.

I also try to encourage people to think longer term where possible. Today you are looking at connecting your Sky STB, later you may be looking at connecting a TV, Blu-Ray player, IPTV STB or Games machine.

There are many devices made for the home market today which are looking to make use of an Internet connection and with many more in the pipeline, whilst today you might not consider it, later it will be second nature for most people and we will all be demanding fast connections.

[mstar]

thats a very good point scrubbie (again xx) i was thinking about, this myself and hence i may actually decide on a homeplug that takes 3 ethernet connections. My sky+HD will take one and i suppose my PS3 the other.

But i think its also pointing out to try and get a pass-through homeplug which thinking about it will help me as i only have 1 double socket near the router in the bedroom (where the master socket is),

out of interest which brands do people reccomend for homeplugs?

[Scubbie]

A Pass-through HomePlug is certainly a good idea.

out of interest which brands do people reccomend for homeplugs?

I haven't got any preference to any particular brand myself. So long as the specs are good, then I am sure that any would be fine.

[speedyrite]

I have found that Devolo kit gives excellent performance and seems to be manufactured to a good standard, but is a bit more expensive than other brands.