Chorus very bad value compared to Sky etc...

skywalker_208

Is it just me or is Chorus very bad value compared to the current prices for sky etc?

Paying around 26 quid a month for about 15 crappy channels while others i know have sky with 50/60 or probably more for around the same price!

and know im getting text on every channel telling me i have to retune to make way for Broadband services! (I dont have the original remote for the TV so cant retune anything!)

rant over!

Sponge Bob

sure you get more than that for free with a second hand sky box and a dish

Kotek Besar

I agree that UPC are very expensive, comparatively speaking. In the UK, Virgin Media customers get 2mb broadband for just £10 per month. It is not compulsory to take the TV either, and analogue TV is given "free".

The same service from UPC costs €46.48 per month. In short, Irish consumers pay three times what UK consumers pay, for an equivalent product.

boomerang

Sounds like you've got the analogue service?

Chorus digital is a lot better value for money.

Service problems aside, I think Chorus offers a good alternative to Sky.

(Bet I'll probably get laughed off the board for that, but I do believe it.)

Kotek Besar

boomerang wrote:

Sounds like you've got the analogue service?..

Analogue is what I pay for.

boomerang wrote:

..Chorus digital is a lot better value for money.

Service problems aside, I think Chorus offers a good alternative to Sky..

Depends on what you want of course, but compared with what's available in Ireland, because in reality it's unfair to compare with offerings of another country, I'd have to say that I quite agree with you - but only if you need the broadband too. Saying that, having Sky would give access to a host of very good FTA satellite channels that you wouldn't get of course with cable. I know much of it is often considered rubbish, but I had Sky digital installed over NTL digital, specifically for certain FTA channels as well as Sky+.

PauloMN

skywalker_208 wrote:

Is it just me or is Chorus very bad value compared to the current prices for sky etc?

Paying around 26 quid a month for about 15 crappy channels while others i know have sky with 50/60 or probably more for around the same price!

and know im getting text on every channel telling me i have to retune to make way for Broadband services! (I dont have the original remote for the TV so cant retune anything!)

rant over!

Why not get Sky then? What's the problem? BTW if you think the 15 or whatever channels on Chorus/NTL are bad, I wouldn't expect too much of the 50+ channels have on a basic Sky package.

Don't forget there's pros and cons to each option though - you loose Setanta Ireland, and have to prick about to get ITV on Sky. You also are confined to using the Sky box at one point whereas with the analogue service, you have in effect limitless multiroom.

If you are only interested in TV, I think Sky is a good bet. If you want good broadband/telephone but don't want Eircom, I don't think there's any better option than NTL. If you have NTL broadband, no point in paying for Sky on top of it.

All depends on what services you want, and how you want to get them.

Kotek Besar

PauloMN wrote:

..If you are only interested in TV, I think Sky is a good bet. If you want good broadband/telephone but don't want Eircom, I don't think there's any better option than NTL. If you have NTL broadband, no point in paying for Sky on top of it.

All depends on what services you want, and how you want to get them.

I couldn't agree more..

PauloMN

benifa wrote:

I couldn't agree more..

I think everyone should do a cost analysis of what they have and what they need to be honest. There's so many options out there now that savings can be made.

I had NTL analogue with 3Mb BB, an Eircom line hardly used and the full Sky digital pack with Setanta. I've dropped Eircom and Sky and moved the lot to NTL. I've read all the horror stories regarding customer service etc., but I reckon I've saved around €50 per month without losing anything really - still have digital TV with sports/movies/Setants, 3Mb broadband and a phone line. I can't justify an extra €50 per month just for a more solid Sky/Eircom service, and I've had no major problems with NTL to date.

Still have FTA on the satellite dish giving me the regional BBC stuff which I use the odd time as well.

Kotek Besar

On a side note, regarding NTL customer services..

I've called them about 3 times recently, and each time got through to very friendly, very helpful people who know their job and do it. They called me back when they said they will and each time resolved my issue to my complete satisfaction.

Now whilst admittedly it's not exactly a "fair test" and could well be a fluke, the truth is that the customer service that I've experienced from NTL recently has been refreshingly top class. Could it be a result of the UPC take-over, or was I just lucky?

skywalker_208

just to answer a couple of the questions there...

Yes I did look into chorus digital and was told theres a tree in the way?? so i cant get it.
Cant really get sky because I dont own the house and will be moving out soon anyway.

lucernarian

benifa wrote:

On a side note, regarding NTL customer services..

I've called them about 3 times recently, and each time got through to very friendly, very helpful people who know their job and do it. They called me back when they said they will and each time resolved my issue to my complete satisfaction.

Now whilst admittedly it's not exactly a "fair test" and could well be a fluke, the truth is that the customer service that I've experienced from NTL recently has been refreshingly top class. Could it be a result of the UPC take-over, or was I just lucky?

I wouldn't be too happy to have to call them 3 times like that in the first place.

Were they all technical issues?

Kotek Besar

To_be_confirmed wrote:

I wouldn't be too happy to have to call them 3 times like that in the first place.

Were they all technical issues?

It was only because my mobile kept cutting out. Billing issues actually, errors with a discount that I should have got but didn't.