Free Chorus or NTL

watty

There is no such thing as ANY free channels from Chorus or NTL.

In fact even paying for the T V the service quality I find unwatchable in Limerick on analog Cable or MMDS. The Digital services are nearly OK when actually working. But cost the same as buying ONE to 4 DVDs per month.

BUT

Satellite does have free channels. Only about 10% of free satellite channels are on the Sky Platform.

If you want more free channels that the 4 on your TV aerial then get a Satellite Receiver and Dish:

1) Sky Sub. Approx 50 Euro install. About €29 per month. You own all the "free" equipment from day one and can cancel sub after 1 year. Then you still get over 100 TV and over 60 Radio including ALL BBC TV and Radio. FREE, indefinately, legally with NO subscription.

2) FTA Digital Receiver. €50 to €100 install, or DIY. Under €200 from mail order such as www.satellite.ie. Add a motor drive for under €110 and get nearly 30 Satellites instead of one.

3) Digital Card for PC. €70 for basic model needing very high spec PC or about €200 for HiEnd Premium type with built in IR remote, TV out, HiFi & Digital Audio out and DSP chip etc for the MPEG2 decoding.


Plenty of help and info on the satellite forum. No more black screens suddenly from local vandal with wire cutter or NTL/Chorus technical problem.

With the motorised system there is even Premireship footy, American sport etc on FTA Feeds and Foreign channels with a motorised dish.

Cable and MMDS could be good, but it is unlikely to happen here in Ireland given the legacy systems NTL/Chorus inherited and their lack of money/investment and customer support.

We can watch THREE different digital channels on three TVs as we have the Sky Digibox (no sub, free channels only), FTA Digital Receiver (PALCOM DSL4 is fantastic) and Hauppauge Satellite PCI card in PC (Like Skystar1 or Nexus-s). The PC records MPEG2 (Like BBC) direct to disk giving live quality playback and ability to transfer to DVD re-writable (like temporary VHS, except at live quality) for home player.


I buy DVDs now instead of paying a subscription to watch repeats.

Panzer81

Actually Clonmel, Kilkenny and Thurles aren't bad.
Clonmel had a full cable refit, and Kilkenny most of it.
All 3 now have broadband too.
These areas inherited a legacy of good investment (imagine!).

JTMan

Originally posted by Panzer81
Actually Clonmel, Kilkenny and Thurles aren't bad.

The crappy Chorus service where I am in Kilkenny is a complete joke. I have digital and it is completly unwatchable. The picture keeps jumping all the time and often disappears.

I have say that I have never had any problems with ntl (using digital in dublin for over 2 years) and have found the service far superior to crappy chorus and much cheaper than sky.

smoke.me.a.kipper

Originally posted by Panzer81
Actually Clonmel, Kilkenny and Thurles aren't bad.
Clonmel had a full cable refit, and Kilkenny most of it.
All 3 now have broadband too.
These areas inherited a legacy of good investment (imagine!).

i have perfect quality free chorus in clonmel. [it was already plumbed in free here when i bought the place, so i didnt set out to steal cable. just sort of happened.:)]thinking of actually paying them when i upgrade to digital.

Panzer81

Digital Chorus in Kilkenny...
That's on cable then?
Cable shouldn't really suck as much as MMDS can(trees/hills/houses/...).
Is it the old black box or the newer grey 'G6' STB?

Could it be the box itself? They can go absolutely FUNK and need replacement.
Have you attempted to ride the Chorus Cust Service beast?

JTMan

Originally posted by Panzer81
Digital Chorus in Kilkenny...
That's on cable then?

Yeah

Originally posted by Panzer81

Cable shouldn't really suck as much as MMDS can(trees/hills/houses/...).

Oh .. it sucks

Originally posted by Panzer81

Is it the old black box or the newer grey 'G6' STB?

old black box

Originally posted by Panzer81

Could it be the box itself? They can go absolutely FUNK and need replacement.
Have you attempted to ride the Chorus Cust Service beast?

Maybe ... I think it is just the service. I could not get on to customer "service" ... I am leaving KK shortly so I dont care too much

Panzer81

Buggery.
That service shouldn't suck, there's network techs and service techs there to work it.
I assume you have the analogue channels when the digital breaks up anyway.

PK - the king

yeah i know - it's a real pain about having no free channels, after all, it doesn't cost them (ntl & chorus) anything to receive, does it???

icdg

Watty, your original post is not about cable or MMDS at all, but satellite TV!

Given the nature of the replies, I'll leave it here for now however.

And be careful people... no discussing illegal activities.

PK - the king

ICDG - is he not giving out about the fact that satellite has 10% free channels, but cable has 0%??? That's what my initial impression of the post was. The post only seems to be comparing sat to cable&mmds, not talking entirely about sat

parasite

in Cork, chorus provide all the Irish channels & Sky One free, as in you don't need the box, just straight from the wall
:dunno:

Panzer81

Originally posted by PK - the king
yeah i know - it's a real pain about having no free channels, after all, it doesn't cost them (ntl & chorus) anything to receive, does it???

That's a good question.
They take in sky channels and retransmit?
That'd cost something. Comercial rates for NTL/SKY/Chorus are steep. Way Steep!

A company called vericom(?) sometimes sets up estates on cable network and turns on the signal for the first while to entice people. It is turned off after a fair while and then this spurs people to respond positively to hordes of sales people.

This is what the "illegal activity"-looking post is.
It's a sales gimmick, quite a bloody good one too.
Unless the landlord has a deal with Chorus......
Nobody would be silly enough to actually admit anything.

On the topic of illegal cable, in America I heard the penalties are STIFF!
Massive fine as it counts as grand larceny or something.
Fines are like $25,000 sometimes and the cable companies have teams of lawyers
employed, waiting for you to make their day.

Cable-guy suspects tapper. He rings base.
Cops and lawyers show up and they knock once before the door gets booted in.
Lawyers produce something vaguely legal and paper-shaped.
You is screwed.
Cable telcos love a tapper, easy money.
APPARENTLY. Could be a load of cobblers.