Originaly Posted by Gadgmeister on 22/11/2009

Windows7intouch.com

 

Below is a List of what is available in Windows7 Media Center from the UK ( BSkyB
) SkyTV Sky Player integration, what is listed below is the first view you will see
of the various packages on offer from Sky but the list below is only the tip of the
Iceberg and does not show details on all Programmes, some programmes that are covered
by your current Sky Subscription are NOT free and it is impossible to list every
programme available, a good rule of thumb to gauge whether the program will be available
for free with your current subscription is …. If its a popular program it will
cost money. Examples like Sky1`s  Futurama , Dom Jolly Happy Hour , Buffy , Relic
Hunter , StarGate Atlantis , 24 , Brainiac and many many more programmes are NOT
free even if your Sky TV subscription covers them , cost per programme varies on
a per program basis

 

In a perfect world

The whole confusion of which channels are free and which are not could be easily
resolved by allowing the Subscribers current TV subscription to cover the exact same
channels within Media CenterThis cannot be achieved because Sky Launched the Multiroom option long before the
Media Center integration and charge money for the privilege, if they were to allow
Media Center users to have all of there current SkyTV subscription available it would
effectively give Multiroom capability for FREE to Media Center users and this is
something SkyTV will not do, they SHOULD but wont …. Plain and simply its down
to Money money money

 

It Just wont do

SkyTV have made the Sky Player integration almost unusable as an every day way of
consuming there content within Media Center, it is the most frustrating thing to
find a channel or program you normally view now asking for money before it can be
seen, here at my house I would dearly love to only use Media Center as a single interface
for all Digital Content but the lack of proper Premium Tv content integration means
that Media Center remains second place and unused by the Children and the Wife who
are the main consumers of Tv…… The UK remains devoid of proper Premium content
integration within Media Center and this is a terrible shame, what is needed and
has been needed for a very long time is a PROPER SkyTV Pc card, a One off yearly
payment for its usage that covers ALL of your current subscription  

 

Integration

Sky Player IS a fine integration of a Tv system, the interface is well laid out and
responsive BUT despite this the fact that a large percentage is NOT free no matter
what subscription you have means that it will probably become a item to delete from
the Control Panel, it might be visible in the Media Center interface but removing
it is no issue, simply go to Start>Control Panel>Programs and Features and scroll
down until you see SkyPlayer for Windows Media Center

 

Other Tv alternatives exist that are Free such as adding a cheap FreeView PC card
Tuner
, adding in TunerFree MCE and many more options besides, have a look at this
article from
Sarah Perez on Channel9 to get ideas for alternative methods of watching
Tv content in Media Center

 

Unfortunately theDigitalLifestyle is a tad narrower than my own web site where this is displayed For the Full size List visit Windows7intouch.com

 

Originaly Posted by Gadgmeister on 22/11/2009

Windows7intouch.com

0 thoughts on “SkyTV Sky Player Integration Within Windows7 Media Center … hmm”
  1. Good article. It seems doomed to failure to me unless sky make it much easier for non-subscribers to buy programs, and for subscribers to get access to what they have already paid for. Shame, because I think it will put other broadcasters off the platform.

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