Sky V's Chorus

jammie

Just wondering if Chorus is better than Sky, I've just the basic package on sky around €30 a month, can chorus offer the same?? Thanks

dr.bollocko

nope!

Futureman

Chorus is rubbish, and SKY have probably the best overall Digital television platform in the world. No contest.

watty

Basic pack on Sky is about €22 per month.

If you get the new fangled Digital Cable UPC is upgrading the old Chorus to, and want phone & broadband from UPC as well as TV, then Chorus is better.

If you just want TV, then Satellite is better choice and you still get 40 odd channels when you cancel.

I wouldn't say Sky is the best platform in the world. Currently though in Ireland, both Free Satellite and Pay TV Satellite (not just Sky) offer the best picture quality and choice.

Also the only platform here currently for integrated PVR (Playback is IDENTICAL to live signal) and HDTV.

Futureman

watty wrote:

I wouldn't say Sky is the best platform in the world.

Fair enough. What is?

watty

It's too general a statement. It depends on what you want, if you are in city or countryside, Country, if Broadband or VOD is wanted... Or if you want Pay TV or just FTA TV.

It's like perfume. There is no best perfume. It depends on your skin, presonality etc... Watch The Christmas list

Never buy Perfume for someone else unless you know their preference. Chocolate is a bit safer!

Futureman

SKY Digital is the BEST - when you compare it with any other satellite platforms worldside under any heading: quantity of channels, interface/menu, range of channels, ease of use, functionality, SKY + (recording, live pause, series link, & personal planner), interactive services, box office services, HD services, customer service, remote record facilities from your mobile phone, SKY multiroom, etc, etc.

watty

How many of these worldwide cable, digital terrestrial, japanese fibre to the home, satellite platforms have you used or researched?

If I spoke German & English and had 13E, 19E, 28E and 23E and one cheap German pay TV package I might thing Sky was fairly limited and expensive. The best English channels don't even depend on Sky at all. I'd have more HDTV.

Mossy Monk

Futureman wrote:

SKY Digital is the BEST - when you compare it with any other satellite platforms worldside under any heading: quantity of channels, interface/menu, range of channels, ease of use, functionality, SKY + (recording, live pause, series link, & personal planner), interactive services, box office services, HD services, customer service, remote record facilities from your mobile phone, SKY multiroom, etc, etc.

just like Sky Italia which theoretically gives you access to more FTA on Hotbird. cant comment on customer service and so on as i have never used the Sky Italia version

MisterAnarchy

Futureman wrote:

SKY have probably the best overall Digital television platform in the world. No contest.

You are codding yourself .
The vast majority of Sky's EPG is garbage or FTA.

watty

There was more FTA Italian on Hotbird before Sky took over two Itallian Operators. Some quite good channels were "encouraged" to join the Digibox encrypted platform. Overall the Italian consumer has suffered and will suffer finacially. Also the open platform CI boxes that allowed Italians to subscribe to other services are now phased out to Sky Digibox NDS only viewing card, locking Italian customers to only one pay platform just like in UK and Ireland.

Sky's box and marketing is seriously anti-competitve. Sky may be the most successful platform financially, but it is at expense of Customer, National Broadcasters and weaselling past intentions of EU and local regulators. Serious allegations have been made in the past as to how competitors have been dealt with.

Sky do have a well run business, largely excellent customer care and fairly easy to use GUI. But Content & Price wise they are strangling the Broadcaster and the Consumer. Only large Broadcasters like ITV and BBC have the clout to oppose them. On various occasions Ofcom backed Sky's arguments against broadcaster claims. So now ITV has ditched Sky's over priced Encryption.

The EPG costs are quite scandalous. It will be interesting to see if the joint BBC/ITVC4 "freesat" box with alternate EPG ever sees the light of day. It may be a bargaining chip to get a reduction in EPG costs.
I doubt EPG cost Sky more than about £200 p.a. for radio and £500 p.a. for TV. The broadcasters pay to produce the information in Electronic form for direct automatic use. The bandwidth cost is minimal and may also be paid for by broadcaster.

Sky charge the broadcasaters Millions (tens of thousand p.a. per radio channel) UNLESS the broadcaster hands program rights to Sky for free.

Futureman

MisterAnarchy wrote:

You are codding yourself .
The vast majority of Sky's EPG is garbage or FTA.

What channels is SKY's EPG missing exactly? It has everything!

Futureman

watty wrote:

Sky charge the broadcasaters Millions (tens of thousand p.a. per radio channel) UNLESS the broadcaster hands program rights to Sky for free.

??? Sky charges millions to broadcasters? PA? For what?

Mossy Monk

Futureman wrote:

What channels is SKY's EPG missing exactly?

the ITV channels? the BBC channels? channel five?

Zaphod

Futureman wrote:

SKY Digital is the BEST - when you compare it with any other satellite platforms worldside under any heading: quantity of channels, interface/menu, range of channels, ease of use, functionality, SKY + (recording, live pause, series link, & personal planner), interactive services, box office services, HD services, customer service, remote record facilities from your mobile phone, SKY multiroom, etc, etc.

Rupert ... is that you?


Did you compare it, for example, to Dish Network? Their DVRs have the same standard Sky+ features (live pause, series recording, favourite channels, genre grouping, EPG etc) as well as picture-in-picture and recording of 3 channels simultaneously. And a USB port which connects directly with a portable media player. Compare that with the fun you'll have trying to get anything from a Sky+ harddrive.

And they provide in excess of 30 HD channels as well as numerous SD ones. How many HD channels are on Sky?

watty

Futureman wrote:

??? Sky charges millions to broadcasters? PA? For what?

For nothing really.. Allowing them to have EPG slot/ listings. Broadcasters provide all the info. It's all 100% automated.

Futureman

watty wrote:

For nothing really.. Allowing them to have EPG slot/ listings. Broadcasters provide all the info. It's all 100% automated.

An EPG listing is about UK£50k pa - not millions.

watty

Futureman wrote:

An EPG listing is about UK£50k pa - not millions.

The BBC & ITV are paying millions each.

However 50K would easily pay for ALL the EPG.

Radio is much cheaper. Are you sure that is not price for a 0.1% non-premium TV channel or Radio station?

slave1

From a guy who was stuck with Chorus for years, I would never go back, the picture and sound quality from Sky is superior and no downtime, Sky+ is a great piece of kit, also if you try Sky for a year you'll have all the equipment and FTA capability and if you felt that way inclined could still try Chorus

dr.bollocko

Also u know what really bothers me about Chorus? Having a widescreen tv, I like to watch whatever I can in widescreen. 16:9 is it?
But in any case, on Sky, even individual programmes on a channel are broadcast on widescreen from time to time, and chorus doesnt have this option. In fact, if you look at some channels that broadcast mostly in widescreen, it actually cuts off the edges, leaving you to play wordgames with the cut out titles on the screen.

barrera

cystic5roses wrote:

Just wondering if Chorus is better than Sky, I've just the basic package on sky around €30 a month, can chorus offer the same?? Thanks

Sky have best range of channels, excellent picture and sound quality, great customer service, and the leading innovators in these islands in new digital services.

Chorus are the spawn of the devil, offering awful picture and sound quality, non-existent customer service, and innovation extends to devising ways of screwing their customers.

A "never again" former Chorus customer.

Foggy43

barrera wrote:

Sky have best range of channels, excellent picture and sound quality, great customer service, and the leading innovators in these islands in new digital services.

Chorus are the spawn of the devil, offering awful picture and sound quality, non-existent customer service, and innovation extends to devising ways of screwing their customers.

A "never again" former Chorus customer.

I might have believed you but you said 'great customer service'.

watty

Actually compared to the "industry" Sky's customer service not bad. Have you experienced or read about NTL, Telewest, Comcast, Time-Warner...

Foggy43

No Watty!
It just makes me laugh when someone mentions Sky's customer service. I'm afraid I cannot say why