The Digibox is a
device marketed by
Sky UK
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
in the
UK and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to enable home users to receive digital
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
broadcasts (satellite receiver) from the
Astra satellites at
28.2° east. An
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
service was also available through the device, similar in some ways to the American
MSN TV
MSN TV (formerly WebTV) was a web access product consisting of a thin client device that used a television for display (instead of using a computer monitor), and the online service that supported it. The device design and service was developed by ...
, before being discontinued in 2015. The first Digiboxes shipped to consumers in October 1998 when Sky Digital was launched, and the hardware reference design has been relatively unchanged since then. Compared to other satellite receivers, they are severely restricted. As of 2020, Sky Digiboxes have become largely outmoded, superseded by Sky's latest-generation
Sky Q
Sky Q is a subscription-based television and entertainment service operated by British satellite television provider Sky, as a part of its operations in Austria and Germany, Ireland, Italy and in the UK. The name also refers to the Sky Q set-t ...
boxes and
Sky Glass
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
televisions; the previous generation Sky+HD boxes are still in use, however.
Base technical details
The Digibox's internal hardware specifications are not publicly disclosed, however some details are clearly visible on the system. All early boxes except the Pace Javelin feature dual
SCART
SCART (also known as or , especially in France, 21-pin EuroSCART in marketing by Sharp in Asia, Euroconector in Spain, EuroAV or EXT, or EIA Multiport in the United States, as an EIA interface) is a French-originated standard and associated 21- ...
outputs, an
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such a ...
serial port, a dual-output
RF modulator
An RF modulator (or radio frequency modulator) is an electronic device whose input is a baseband signal which is used to modulate a radio frequency source.
RF modulators are used to convert signals from devices such as media players, VCRs and ...
with passthrough, and
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
socketed audio outputs, as well as a 33.6
modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
and an
LNB cable socket. A
VideoGuard
VideoGuard (sometimes referred to simply as ''NDS''), produced by NDS, is a digital encryption system for use with conditional access television broadcasting. It is used on digital satellite television systems - some of which are operated by News ...
card slot, as well as a second smart-card reader are fitted to the front (these are for the Sky viewing card and other interactive cards). All share an identical user interface and
EPG
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...
, with the exception of Sky+ HD boxes which have used the new Sky+ HD Guide since early 2009. The DRX595 dropped the RF modulator outputs. A PC type interface was fitted internally to some early standard boxes but was never utilised by Sky. The latest HD boxes only have a single SCART socket but have a RCA/phono socket for composite video output. All Sky+ and HD boxes have an optical sound output.
The serial port outputs data used for the
Sky Gnome
The Sky Gnome was a device from British Sky Broadcasting launched under their Sky Digital brand. It allowed users to listen to radio channels and digital television from their Sky digibox from around the house.
History
The Sky Gnome was released ...
and Sky Talker. The Sky Gamepad sends data to the box via the serial port.
Uniquely, the second RF port outputs a 9 V power signal which is used to power 'tvLINK' devices that can be attached to the RF cable next to a TV in a remote room. The tvLINK has an IR detector and sends commands from the remote control back to the Digibox on a 6 MHz carrier on the RF cable. This allows the Sky box to be viewed and controlled from another room by running a single RF cable.
All Digiboxes run on OpenTV (the latest HD boxes now use what is known internally as Project Darwin software) with Sky's EPG software and
NDS NDS may stand for:
* Low German ( nl, Nedersaksisch, links=no, german: Niederdeutsche Sprache, links=no, ISO 639-2 language code: nds), a West Germanic language native to Northern Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands
* Lower Saxony (german: Niedersa ...
VideoGuard
VideoGuard (sometimes referred to simply as ''NDS''), produced by NDS, is a digital encryption system for use with conditional access television broadcasting. It is used on digital satellite television systems - some of which are operated by News ...
conditional access. The Digibox receives software updates over the air, even when in standby mode should an update be available. The software features Sky-controlled channel numbering, the ability to view OpenTV or
WapTV
WapTV now Miniweb was the name given to the company which originated the WTVML (Worldwide TV Mark-up Language) as a content format for the delivery of Interactive TV applications using Internet Servers. The system is an Interactive television tec ...
applications provided as "interactive" or "teletext" content on channels (with the full-Internet style service available at first via
Open... and later
Sky Active
Sky Active was the brand name for interactive features on Sky Digital and was available in the UK and Ireland. It enabled a viewer to interact with TV content, respond to an advertisement or access internet-based services.
History and techn ...
), parental controls, the ability to order
PPV
PPV, ppv or pPv may refer to:
Technology
* Pay-per-view on cable or satellite television
* People Powered Vehicle, a human-powered vehicle from 1970
* Police Pursuit Vehicles, the most common police vehicles in the United States and Canada
Scienc ...
events and some basic control over lists of favorite channels and show reminders.
Early decoders seemingly support only 700 channels approximately in their channel listing, as Sky has announced it is halting SD channels' launch applications, with over 100 awaiting launch, over 600 existing channels, and an average closure rate of 1 per week.
Digibox remote control
The Digibox
remote control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
comes in four physical designs - blue with new Sky logo, blue with old Sky logo (this version was being issued from around the first year of the Sky service, although that logo fell out of use before it launched), black with new Sky logo (Sony boxes only) and silver with new Sky logo. However, all have multiple variations at present with a new version of Sky remote control being produced every year, to support the addition of new televisions to its
universal remote control
A universal remote is a remote control that can be programmed to operate various brands of one or more types of consumer electronics devices. Low-end universal remotes can only control a set number of devices determined by their manufacturer, whi ...
capabilities.
Use outside Sky's system
The units are
DVB-S compatible, and usually carry the DVB logo on the front. However, their use as a DVB-S receiver for anything other than Sky services is seriously limited by their reduced choice of
symbol rate
In a digitally modulated signal or a line code, symbol rate, modulation rate or baud rate is the number of symbol changes, waveform changes, or signaling events across the transmission medium per unit of time. The symbol rate is measured in ''b ...
s (22,000 and 27,500; additionally 28,250 and 29,000 on
Sky+ HD
Sky+ HD was the brand name of the High-definition television, HDTV service launched by Sky plc on 22 May 2006 in the United Kingdom and Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky to be viewed. For the first two ...
), and their inability to store more than 50 (fewer still on some models) non-EPG channels without losing them. Following a software "upgrade" the Digibox will not display programmes from non 28.2 East Satellites. Additionally, once any form of parental controls are enabled, the "Other Channels" menu requires PIN entry on every use.
The box also refuses to let users view channels which are free-to-air but displaying flags claiming encryption, which locks out some channels even on the satellites Sky use themselves, such as Free to View channels and the "EPG Background Audio" channel.
Manufacturers and non-common features
Digiboxes have been made by
Amstrad
Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad ...
,
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
,
Thomson Thomson may refer to:
Names
* Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin
* Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson
Businesses and organizations
* SGS-Thomson Mic ...
,
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
,
Grundig
Grundig (; ) is a German consumer electronics manufacturer owned by the Turkish Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods (major appliance) manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. The company made domestic appliances and personal-care produ ...
, and most commonly,
Pace
Pace or paces may refer to:
Business
*Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US
* Pace Airlines, an American charter airline
*Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...
. Although the reference designs were identical, a number of digibox lines have specific faults or traits, such as failing modems on Grundig units, and unstable tuners on older model Pace boxes. Some units add features not found on other models, such as
S-Video
S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video ) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate channe ...
sockets on some Grundig units, and
TOSLINK
TOSLINK (from ''Toshiba Link'') is a standardized optical fiber connector system. Also known generically as optical audio, its most common use is in consumer audio equipment (via a "digital optical" socket), where it carries a digital audio st ...
output on Sony's.
For a long period of time in 2004 and 2005, only one Digibox was in production, the Pace DS430N, but Amstrad and Thomson have resumed production with the DRX500 and DSi4212 boxes respectively. Digiboxes for new customers are assigned randomly, and cannot be chosen, creating an after market for specific boxes due to their individual features. Sky bought out Amstrad satellite production in 2007 and now only distribute boxes which initially appeared as Amstrad models but are now badged merely as Sky.
Standardized design
In late 2005, it was announced that all future Digiboxes would have a standardized cosmetic design, although retain the three current makers, and have a slightly redesigned remote control, which would be recoloured white with some blue keys.
Thomson and Amstrad began supplying these boxes in late 2005 (with the DSI4214 and DRX550, respectively), with Pace following in late 2006 (with the DS445NB). The standardized design is known as the "Flow" design.
Other Digiboxes
A second generation of Digibox exists, marketed as
Sky+
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In th ...
. These
PVR units have three versions: the 40 GB PVR1, the 40 GB PVR2, and the PVR3 which is fitted with a 160 GB HDD with 80GB available for user recordings, and the remaining 80 GB reserved for use by Sky Anytime. All have dual LNB inputs and an optical digital audio output, as well as all other features of the Sky box. These units are manufactured by Amstrad, Pace and Thomson only, and use a different remote control. USB ports are fitted to the PVR3. When Sky+ was launched, there was an additional £10 monthly charge to access the Sky+ functionality if two or more premium packages were not subscribed to. Sky have now removed this charge, effective 1 July 2007. Without a Sky+ Subscription, the Sky+ box reverts to the functionality of a normal Digibox, albeit without Autoview modes.
The
Sky+
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In th ...
2TB box has 2 TB to record to and is manufactured solely by Thomson. This unit is also fitted with USB ports. (this unit has been discontinued)
A third generation of Digibox also exists, with the additional ability to receive
DVB-S2
Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite - Second Generation (DVB-S2) is a digital television broadcast standard that has been designed as a successor for the popular DVB-S system. It was developed in 2003 by the Digital Video Broadcasting Proje ...
HDTV
High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
signals in the
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related tec ...
format. The initial sole manufacturer of these
Sky+ HD
Sky+ HD was the brand name of the High-definition television, HDTV service launched by Sky plc on 22 May 2006 in the United Kingdom and Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky to be viewed. For the first two ...
boxes was Thomson, and made their debut on 22 May 2006 with the launch of HDTV channels on Sky. Although around 17,000 digiboxes were initially produced, they could not meet demand and some had to wait for longer for their SkyHD Digibox. Past manufacturers are Thomson, Pace, Amstrad and Samsung.
These boxes have all the features of a Sky+ box, as well as a
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
output, and the early Thomson DSI8215 model has component video output. Both
SATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard to ...
and
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
ports are also supplied, currently used for the
Sky Anytime+ service. As well as requiring a Sky+ subscription or any subscription, HD versions of the subscription channels require the payment of an additional £10.25 (or €15) per month, although HD channels can be viewed on free-to-air services such as
BBC One HD
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
,
BBC Two HD
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
,
BBC Four HD, CBBC HD,
ITV HD
ITV1 HD is a British free-to-air high-definition public broadcast television network operated by ITV plc, the company which is contracted to provide 13 ITV1 services across the UK. ITV1 HD simulcasts them in high-definition (excluding former Cha ...
,
ITVBe HD,
Channel 4 HD
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service i ...
,
NHK World HD and with a Freesat from Sky card,
Channel 5 HD
Channel 5 is a British free-to-air public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel launched in 1997. It is the fifth national terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom and is owned by Channel 5 Broadcast ...
.
On 16 March 2011, Sky launched the Sky HD box, primarily targeted at multiroom subscribers. and also used for Freesat from Sky installations. The Sky HD box is not a personal video recorder, meaning it has no hard disk and cannot support the Sky+ functionality. These were later replaced with Sky+HD boxes, which had both sets of functionality.
Card pairing
All Sky boxes, whether Digiboxes, Sky+ or SkyHD incorporate card pairing. This involves the 'marrying' or 'pairing' of a viewing card to one particular STB, thus preventing one card (and indeed subscription) being used on multiple digiboxes. During installation the engineer will initiate a 'callback' from the STB to Sky via modem and telephone line, transmitting details of the viewing card number and the box in which it is installed. Once this step has been completed it is no longer possible to view premium channels such as Movies or Sports on any other box besides that which the card was paired with. The card can still be used to view non-premium channels such as
Sky1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
but will display an error message when attempting to watch a movie channel or sports channel with an unpaired box and card combination. A card can be 're-paired' in some instances such as STB replacement or multiroom relocation, however this must be initiated by Sky and cannot be completed by an end-user.
Power consumption
Standard Digiboxes use almost as much power in standby as when active; the "standby" setting merely mutes the sound and cuts off the picture, but internal signal processing continues at the same rate.
Sky Digibox power consumption
/ref> Sky+ boxes are believed to reduce their power consumption more significantly in standby because they can spin down hard disks. Power consumption for the standard box varies from around 10 to 18 Watts. Most Sky+HD boxes consume up to 60W when active, falling to ~30W when the disc is powered down. To some degree, this has been addressed with the latest DRX890/895 HD boxes. These have a power consumption of 45W max but now have a "deep sleep" mode consuming around 1/2 W.
See also
* Digital television adapter
A digital television adapter (DTA), commonly known as a converter box or decoder box, is a television tuner that receives a digital television (DTV) transmission, and converts the digital signal into an analog signal that can be received and displ ...
* Set-top box
A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
* British Sky Broadcasting
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
* Sky (UK & Ireland)
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
* Astra 28.2°E
Astra 28.2°E is the name for the group of Astra communications satellites co-located at the 28.2° East position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg. It is one of the major TV satellite positions s ...
References
External links
Sky information Free information at satcure.co.uk
Official Astra consumers/viewers' website
SES satellite operator's official trade/industry site
SES guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites
* http://www.heyrick.co.uk/ricksworld/digibox/index.html (last updated June 2009)
{{Media in the United Kingdom, television
Products introduced in 1998
Audiovisual introductions in 1998
Television technology
Consumer electronics
Broadband
Satellite television
Amstrad
Sky Group