New Sky+ 160 box offers 80 hours storage

["Mark McCall" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds15252.html

New Sky+ 160 box offers 80 hours storage
12:22 BST, Wednesday 4th August 2004 -- by Alan Jay
BSkyB's new premium product - the 'Sky+ 160' - will offer an average of 80
hours storage capacity. It will cost =A3399 and come with two USB ports for
future expansion.

Sky+ 160, so called because of its 160 Gigabit hard disk, is expected to be
sold for =A3399, and is expected to be available from October 2004.

Brian Sullivan, Director of New Product Development and Sales at Sky said
today: "Sky+ is transforming the way we watch TV. The next stage of
that
revolution will be the forthcoming launches of Sky+ 160, and the software
upgrade to all Sky+ boxes, providing even more flexibility, choice and
control for our growing customer base.

"Feedback from Sky+ owners since it first launched in 2001 has been
amazing
and we are constantly working to make the product the best TV experience
available anywhere. After listening to customers we are delivering this new
interactive recording and sorting functionality as well as the option for
a=
n
average of 80 hours storage space with Sky+ 160. Once again Sky is leading
the way in digital TV, putting viewers in control of their TV
schedules."

The Sky+ 160 is a product which has been awaited by many users of our
forum=
s
since the original launch of Sky+ in 2001. Its use of a 160Gb disk is
interesting: the current Sky+ hardware only appears to have a disk capacity
limit of 132Gb. And some will feel that the anticipated price point of
=A33=
99
- =A3200 more than the standard box might be considered a little steap
considering that a base =A3160Gb IDE disk currently - defined by the
manufacturer as perfect for a PVR - seems to be selling on the net for
unde=
r
=A380!

The two USB ports could be interesting depending on what support is
provide=
d
for their use and only time will give us an idea of that.

This probably means that there will be no direct hardware upgrade, although
Sky could offer an upgrade path for existing users with the swapping of
hardware. We look forward to seeing more on the pricing of this product and
more specification details when it becomes available in October.

Keep an eye on the forums for more details and speculation