Digital TV News

Sky offers hat trick of ‘designer’ set-top boxes

Tuesday 18 May, 2010

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Sky has unveiled a trio of limited edition World Cup-themed Sky+HD set-top boxes, which are HD and 3D ready and come with a massive memory, letting you record up to 240 hours of HD TV.

Britain’s biggest satellite TV provider, Sky (www.sky.co.uk), is helping footy fans warm up for this year’s World Cup with the launch of three limited edition football-themed Sky+HD 1TB (terabyte) boxes.

Each box, which is both HD and 3D ready, comes with 1TB worth of storage capacity, letting customers record up to 240 hours of super sharp high-definition programming, so fans don’t have to miss a single goal, penalty or victory.

The limited edition boxes cost £249 each and will be available by the end of May, before the tournament kicks off on 11 June.

A spokesman for Sky said: “The exclusive designs are a must have for any football enthusiast looking to soak up every detail of World Cup drama!”

The boxes have been crafted by fashion designer Wayne Hemingway, celebrated illustrator Gerald Scarfe and national acting treasure, Phil Daniels.

Hemingway, co-founder of fashion label Red or Dead, said the inspiration for his design came from England’s World Cup glory year, 1966, and the winning score against Germany, 4-2.

“Any fan would instantly recognise the meaning of these iconic numbers,” added Hemingway.

English cartoonist and illustrator, Scarfe, best known for his work with Pink Floyd, has created a patriotic design in his unmistakable trademark style, with a cartoon footballer in the 1966 winning team’s strip. He said: “The sense of excitement, anticipation – and dare I say it hope - that is growing in England as we approach the World Cup is tremendous.”

Finally, Daniels of Quadrophenia fame, has designed a Sky+HD 1TB box heavily inspired by a trip to South Africa, covered in brightly coloured flags.

Jon Ingram, operations director at Digitalchoices.co.uk, thinks the new boxes look great and are a must for any fan wanting to cheer on their team. He added: “What’s more the Sky+HD 1TB box can store up to 240 hours of HD recording, so with matches scheduled at 12.30pm, 3pm and 7.30pm, you can watch all the football action live and record your favourite shows on other channels.”

Sky recently announced the launch of four new HD channels, including Five HD and Sky Sports HD 4. Along with the launch of Sky News HD on 6 May, customers will be able to access up to 42 high-definition channels. Sky plans to launch a further eight before Christmas 2010.