I have used a Thomson Series 1 with Sky in the UK (1999-2006) and NZ (2007-2016) with their standard boxes (usually Pace or equivalent). Recently I have been forcibly “upgraded” to MySky using the new KAON NS1120 500GB decoder. MySky is offered as a freebie to start with for 2 months and does offer benefits, especially if you have never had a TiVo type system. Then $15/month charge though.

Pros: -
• 4 decoders so you can record 3 channels and watch a 4th
• HDMI output for better picture quality
• Component video/audio out to connect to TiVo – works well.
• USB ports in front and back for … who knows. No documentation.
• WiFi and LAN connections to connect to the www for EPG data and Sky on Demand
o Downloaded content can be saved – does not have to stream live.
o You will be laughing if you have unlimited download.
• Fewer errors in the EPG than TiVo.
• Series link (so far) is only saving 1 copy of an episode. Not sure what happens to later repeats. Can save a lot of episodes though so disk fills up rapidly.

Cons:-
• 500GB fills up fast and could find no way of recording in lower quality
• Series Link works well on some series but not all.
o Cannot use wildcards or keywords, has to be a specific programme, channel
o Some programs do not give the option, some one-off programs do
o Could not find a way to prioritise conflicts. Will be few with 3 decoders for recording but I did get one and it cut a film off half way through.
o Don’t know where Series Links go if no program in the guide – are they saved?
• No thumbs up/down or predictive recording
• Remote operation is problematic
o Reaction can be fast (double presses) or slow (several seconds to react). Sky have offered a replacement remote but will charge $25 and only get refund if fault found. Changing batteries sometimes helps. Worse if playing and recording.
o Limited to 30x max forward/back (1 min in 2secs) – no 30 min jump forward.
o There is a setting to jump back but no info on how it works.
• EPG is better than the old Sky boxes but still not as good as the TiVo one and you need 2 key presses at least to get to it.
• You can set up favourite channels but to see them in the EPG takes 3 key presses.
• Sometimes remembers your place in a program if you change, sometimes does not.
• There are USB ports on the front and back but not yet found out how to use them.
• No detailed instructions on functionality.
• Warning that with software upgrades your programmes may get wiped at any time.

So overall it amazes me that 17 years after TiVo there has been such little progress by Sky in making a user friendly system. The only advantages I see are On Demand (which you can do via pc anyway) and 4 tuners (but there is seldom that much to watch at once and also usually repeats).

Hopefully I can get the IR blaster working, otherwise back to browsing through TV guides to find something interesting to watch.