NTL Digital Vdeo Recorder v. Sky+

4diarmuid

Any one have an opinion on the quality of the NTL DVR versus the Sky+.

How good is it? I have Sky+ which I think has the best software in a satellite box I've seen. My sister has NTL and interested to know anything about it.

Hope you can help!

murpho999

Hi,

Well I am a former Sky user but I moved recently to a property where dishes are not allowed so I am now an NTL user.

At first I had the old Pace box which I found absolutely horrendous and I got the new DVR about 4 months ago. The DVR is a huge improvement on the Pace box but for me it is not a patch on a Sky+ box. Here's why.....

1) No 1 reason is that there is no series link. Series link is a brilliant and simple feature on Sky and it is not on NTL's box.
As I've stated before on other posts, I do not understand why NTL do not have this as they have had about 3 years to look at Sky's box. It is possible to schedule manual repeat recordings on a dalily or weekly basis but this is cumbersome and will not make allowances for programme schedule changes or time over runs.
NTL have told me that they will have a series link but no idea when.

2) You can only record one programme compared to two on Sky's .

3) Menu layout is much more logical and quicker on Sky. On Sky you can get to your Planner in 2 quick button presses. Menu and Green. On NTL it's Menu then DVR, and then you must choose either My Programmes which is your recorded programmes or you must choose MY TV agenda which is a list of your scheduled recordings. I prefer the way Sky's is all together. Sky's response time is quicker too.
Also, you cannot see what programs you have viewed with NTL.

4) Whilst in My Programmes you can only play a programme from the start or from your last stop point. With Sky you can choose the actual minute yourself. Can be very frustrating, for example if you have to stop a recording and leave halfway. Someone else watches the program in full. When you come back to watch your program you have to fast forward from the beginnning rather than keying in your stop time like you can with Sky.

5) If you are watching a programme and imagine you are halfway through it and you decide to start recording it. No problem just press record on either Sky or NTL. Big difference is that Sky will record the whole programme from the start whilst NTL will only record from when you press record. So if you watch a programme and decide that someone else in your household would find it interesting you will lose the start with NTL.

6) Pause and rewind TV is a great function but I have found some issues. Firstly, I find when rewinding and forwarding with NTL it's very hard to play from and exact point it often jumps about 20 seconds ahead whereas Sky doesn't. Also, if you have paused your TV programme and begin watching again and accidently press the 'UPC' button this will return you to live tv and you cannot go back to where you where. It seems to clear the memory. With Sky the program will always remain in the buffer until you change channel. This can be very frustrating and is a major issue for me.

7) Quick Guide. The search banner often gets stuck on my screen with NTL. Only way to clear it is to press 'Help' and go back again or restart the box. Either way you will lose your buffer content if you have paused TV.

8) Guide: NTL guide loads a bit slower than Sky but is still pretty good. It has less categories than Sky. It has 'All Channels'. Movies. Entertainment. Kids, News & Docs, Sports, Music and Other.
There is also no search or A-Z function like Sky has.

9) Remote: I find changing channels a bit fiddly on the NTL remote when trying to key in the channel number. If you do not key in the 3 digits quick enough then the box will switch to 101-RTE 1. Very strange and annoying.

10) Another Major Issue. NTL has NO interactive services. They have told me that they are coming, but hey, so is Christmas!:)

11) Channel line up! Lots more on Sky. and more +1 channels too but on NTL you get ITV and BBC3 and 4.

12) Customer Service: Pro's and cons here. NTL's have a brought poor customer service to a new level, they miss appointments, break down, and it's so hard to get through to them.However, they are based in Ireland, so so after 2 hours of being on hold, they will give you prices in Euros and will not struggle to pronounce your name or spell your address. Sky will answer the phone pretty quickly but I don't find them geared up for Ireland at all. No idea about place names etc. Try get them to arrange an engineer to go to an O'Shaughnessy in Dun Laoghaire or Tallaght!:D

13) Signal. I regularly have signal breakdowns with NTL whereas I NEVER EVER had that with Sky. Often had no signal for a whole weekend with NTL


I think that's about it. Overall, NTL DVR is not a bad product, it's way ahead of their previous PACE box, but it's just not in the same league as Sky's box. I get the impression that this box was forced on them from the UPC head office in Holland, where there digital TV is not as developed as here and they have nothing like Sky (I know this as I used to live there). Therefore the box is not geared up for Ireland, even when you press 'Menu' the background shows 'Instellingen' which is Dutch for 'Settings'.

If NTL can make improvements they could have a product to seriously compete with Sky's but if were you I would go for Sky.

Sorry for such a long posting, turned into a bit of a rant for me, but it I hope that it helps you or someone else reading this to make a decision.

watty

RTE / BBC better quality on Sky.
An Irish Sky sub won't record ITV though or BBC3/BBC4 etc. Only BBC1/BBC2
An N.I. address Sky+ or SkyHD sub gives you recording access on ITV, extra BBCs and Five etc as well as RTE1, RTE2 and TG4. No TV3 at all. But most of importance would be recordable on UTV.

4diarmuid

Thank you for an excellent reply. Not a rant, a detailed explanation exactly what I needed.

My sister is of an age where the complexity of the video still holds difficulties and from my experience of SKy+ that would be perfect.

I didn't have the goods on the NTL DVR but now I have. The extra channels are no big deal but ease of use is critical. I think I'll leave it for now and recommend she stay as is.

Unfortunately she is on the wrong side of her apartment block facing north so no chance of a dish.

Thank you for your replies.

Regards