ITV HD on Sky+HD Boxes

If you have Sky+HD with the "new" programme guide, here's how

^{Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV 10th December 2009 at 08:03}

Jordy writes:

It continues to amaze me how many viewers still don't about this... If you can't wait for Freeview HD and want a high definition Christmas FOR FREE. Have a Sky HD box with the new epg them you're in luck...

ITV HD, still being promoted as exclusive to Freesat, can now be added to all Sky+ HD receivers that have been updated to Sky's new electronic programme guide (EPG) and operating system. ITV HD programmes are few and far between, but they do include Champions League, FA Cup and England's World Cup qualifying matches, so if you're a football fan it's a valuable addition. It also means that Sky HD customers can view all the HD channels currently available in the UK (without an additional subscription or hardware) and that Freesat no longer has any exclusivity.

So here's our step-by-step guide to adding ITV HD to your Sky HD receiver.

Important: You must have the new EPG to add ITV HD. If your box hasn't been updated yet and the on-screen menu doesn't look like the one in the pictures below, then there's nothing you can do only wait. Thomson boxes are due to be updated in phases during March and April, Pace, Samsung and Amstrad between April and early May.

Adding ITV HD to your Sky HD box

Step One

Press TV Guide on your remote to enter the EPG. The default All Channels view will be the first thing you see and the middle menu bar will have focus. Anything that has focus is indicated by a light blue background.

Step Two

Press the Up Arrow on the remote to give the top menu bar focus. It defaults to TV Guide.

Step Three

Now use the Left or Right Arrow keys to move along through the options. You'll need to press it twice to the left, or eight times to the right, until you reach the Options menu.

Step Four

Use the Down Arrow key to move the focus back to the middle menu bar. Sky+ Setup is the default option.

Step Five

Use the Left or Right Arrow keys to move through the options. If you use the Left key it'll require four presses, whereas the right arrow key has to be pressed five times. Stop when you get to the Add Channels option.

Step Six

Press the Down Arrow key to give the main body of the menu focus. Here you need to enter the frequency, polarisation, symbol rate and forward error correction (FEC) values of the satellite transponder upon which ITV HD is broadcast. Use the remote control's numerical keys to add the frequency and the Left/Right Arrow keys to change the polarisation. The other two values are suitable in their default states. Enter the following:

Frequency (GHz): 11.427
Polarisation: H
Symbol Rate (Mbaud): 27.5
FEC: 2/3

When the values are correct, press the Yellow button on your remote to Find Channels.

Step Seven

The box will now take a few moments to scan all the channels available on that transponder. While it's doing so, you'll see the following notice and the mini-TV (if enabled) will temporarily go blank.

Step Eight

After a moment, the Sky HD box will display all the services it has found. ITV HD is cryptically labelled as "10510". Use the Down Arrow on the remote to highlight that option, then press the Yellow button on the remote to Store Channel.

Step Nine

A small tick icon will appear next to “10510”, and you can now save your changes by pressing the Select button on the remote.

Step Ten

The Sky HD box will confirm the changes to the channel line-up, and you can press Select to continue.

Viewing ITV HD on your Sky HD box

Step One

From the sequence above, follow steps One through Four, which will take you to the Options menu. Ensure that the middle menu bar has focus, then press the Right Arrow button four times to select Other Channels. If you use the Left Arrow button, it takes five presses.

Step Two

Press the Down Arrow to give focus to the main area of the menu, then highlight the "10510" option and press Select once to show a preview in the mini-TV, or twice to go to view ITV HD itself.

The Quick Version

On the remote, press "Services" -> "9" -> "5" -> "Select" -> "Select", which can be programed as a macro if you have a learning device.

What you're likely to see is the "This service is currently unavailable" message. That doesn't mean you have done something wrong, just that ITV HD isn't actually broadcasting at the time. Unlike Channel 4 HD or Sky 1 HD, ITV HD only shows native HD programming, and that can sometimes mean only one or two programmes during an entire week. The rest of the time the ~10.5Mbs bandwidth is totally wasted, which is a shame given how dire the ITV 1 SD picture is via satellite. There is a guide to upcoming ITV HD programmes on the ITV website...