There’s a major TV deadline coming next month and some Sky users would be wise not to ignore it. From October much older set-top boxes will stop working with anyone still using ageing equipment being urged to switch to something new as soon as possible. If that wasn’t a big enough reason to make some urgent changes, ITV has also just confirmed that it will end its Standard Definition (SD) broadcasts from October as well.
This follows a similar decision from the BBC earlier this year.
“Here at ITV, we have completed our upgrade to all-HD on satellite for ITV1, bringing the best picture quality to all satellite viewers,” the company confirmed in an update.
“From October 2024, households with an SD-only satellite set-top box will need to upgrade to a high-definition (HD) satellite receiver to continue to watch ITV1. ITV1 and ITV2 nationally will no longer be available in SD on satellite.
“There are no changes on Freeview and Virgin Media and satellite viewers with HD boxes are unaffected.”
It’s very easy to check what type of Sky box you have in your living room and if you will be affected by the upcoming change. Just select channel 101 on your remote. If you see BBC One HD, you’re not affected. If you see BBC One in SD, you are and you’ll need to upgrade your Sky box.
You can also press Services on your Sky remote the press 4 then 5 to check the version number of your box – if you see one of the codes listed below you going to lose access to a swathe of channels within weeks.
Digibox
4F01 to 4F08 (Amstrad)
4E01 to 4E05 (Grundig)
9F01 to 9F08 and 9F0A (Pace)
0F01 to 0F05 (Panasonic)
4E06 to 4E08 (Thomson)
Sky+
4F2001 to 4F2006 (Amstrad)
4F2101 to 4F2118 and 9F2101 to 9F2137 (Amstrad or Pace)
9F2001 to 9F2024, PVR2, 9F2201 to 9F2235, 9F2301 to 9F2339 (Pace)
4E2101 to 4E2141 (Thomson)
Don’t panic if your device is going to be made obsolete as Sky is offering free upgrades to a newer Sky Q box.
Just call 0333 759 5121 to get things sorted although Sky is urging customers to do this as soon as possible to avoid long wait times.
An engineer also need to visit so the faster you get it booked in the less chance you’ll have of losing a lot of channels next month.
