As massive geeks we love nothing better than a good EPG, and none have impressed us more than the Sky Guide. But this autumn Sky HD owners will be treated to a shiny new menu system, and we've had a sneak preview.
The HD Sky Guide brings several changes, but three particularly stand out. Firstly, as you can see above, you now get a mini TV preview to show what's playing on your selected channel. Handy if you want to schedule your weeks TV while skim-watching Peep Show.
Finding your recorded programmes is a little easier too, thanks to the new 'series stacking' feature (see below). These are basically programme folders that stash all the episodes you've recorded, reducing the need for lengthy scrolling down pages of lists.
Finally, the search is now much improved. At the moment you can only search by three characters and three days ahead, but the new guide lets you enter the full name and search by genre and sub-genre (for example, 'action movies'). Best of all, you can also put a filter on the guide for hi-def content, and any programmes that are HD are highlighted in yellow.
It's not a revolutionary overhaul, but then the Sky Guide didn't really need one. Naturally, it won't be the only development for the Sky HD box this year – we're sworn to secrecy over the upcoming changes, but you'll be the first to know when Murdoch's henchmen give us the nod.
