Chorus MMDS or NTL MMDS

kopkidda

Got one of them new Thompson DVR boxes installed last week by UPC ,im on MMDS but im not sure if Im chorus or ntl, is there any easy way of telling which one I am?

paulm17781

They're the same company it doesn't really matter. Geography is the main way to tell. Did Chorus or NTL previously operate in your area?

Either way, if you have the DVR, the company that used to run it isn't relative. The fact it's the DVR means that it is a DVB-C area which is better cable technology.

kopkidda

Ye its a DVR alright,but mate of mine who lives beside me gets more channels then me and he is ntl mmds,so im thinking that I could be chorus mmds.

paulm17781

kopkidda wrote: »

Ye its a DVR alright,but mate of mine who lives beside me gets more channels then me and he is ntl mmds,so im thinking that I could be chorus mmds.

Unlikely. It's most likely the package you're on.

If you're neighbour is getting more channels, you're either not paying for the same or there is a fault. There is no way there are different MMDS streams being used in the same area like.

At least I really hope not.

Bazzy

The DVR is not available of chorus MMDS as it works of COFDEM so you are on NTL network or what was the NTL network all upc now.

DigiDec

You can go back to afterdawn with your info now. wink wink !!!!

Solair

I assume they can roll out a DVR for the ex Chorus areas based on DVB-T rather than DVB-C. Such devices do exist, or just produce a thomson DVR box to the same spec with a DVB-T tuner installed instead of a cable tuner.

It was strange that Chorus decided to use DVB-T, I wonder what possessed them to do it?!

To the end user will it actually make any difference, I mean theoretically they could ship a very similar box to ex chorus customers. Does DVB-T drastically limit the channel line up?

Isn't OFDM as used in DVB-T designed to work better in poor signal areas though? Hence it's preference to QAM in DTT

The Cush

kopkidda wrote: »

Ye its a DVR alright,but mate of mine who lives beside me gets more channels then me and he is ntl mmds,so im thinking that I could be chorus mmds.

Do both MMDS antennas face in the same direction (to the same transmitter)?

The reason I ask is in the early days of analogue MMDS there were a total of 23 8MHz channels between 2500 and 2684 MHz available in two groups, one with 12 channels and one with 11 allocated alternately in each area providing 11 or 12 television channels depending on which transmitter your antenna was pointing at.
In the east Limerick area even today neighbouring houses have MMDS antennas pointing at either Woodcock Hill or Keeper Hill.

If your and your neighbours antennas are pointing in different directions maybe your transmitter is broadcasting less channels due to a lack of available frequency.
UPC do say on their website "The number of channels per pack may vary depending on your geographical location".

watty

DVB-t and DVB-c have about the same channel capacity. DVB-t sole advantage is better multipath performance. This is not terribly relevent on 2.5GHz. Less so on 3.5GHz, hence the newer 3.5MHz OFDM WiMAx for fixed wireless does not give any speed advantage over state of the art non-Wimax 3.5GHz fixed Wireless Broadband.

DVB-t had more hype, like WiMax.


You could in same street due to LOS issues have some dishes pointing to a different base. The ex-NTL are entirely digital DVB-c but many ex Chorus areas (all DVB-t) have half the spectrum as analogue TV so only have 1/2 the digital channels.

neilyoung

kopkidda wrote: »

Got one of them new Thompson DVR boxes installed last week by UPC ,im on MMDS but im not sure if Im chorus or ntl, is there any easy way of telling which one I am?

Depends where you live, there is a difference between Chorus and NTL MMDS service still. There are small channel/package differnces ie A Chorus MMDS customer would get different channels than a NTL MMDS customer if they got the Setanta Sport Pack.

The way to tell which you are is:
NTL: Dublin/Galway/Waterford
Chorus: Everywhere else.

paulm17781

neilyoung wrote: »

Depends where you live, there is a difference between Chorus and NTL MMDS service still. There are small channel/package differnces ie A Chorus MMDS customer would get different channels than a NTL MMDS customer if they got the Setanta Sport Pack.

The way to tell which you are is:
NTL: Dublin/Galway/Waterford
Chorus: Everywhere else.

NTL operate MMDS is Mayo and a few other places, I know UPC bought a few small independent operators. Since he has the DVR it is either freshly updated Chorus or ex-NTL.

kopkidda

Thanks a lot for your help,it appears I am NTL MMDS

icdg

paulm17781 wrote: »

NTL operate MMDS is Mayo and a few other places, I know UPC bought a few small independent operators. Since he has the DVR it is either freshly updated Chorus or ex-NTL.

NTL did indeed have the MMDS licence for Mayo. None of the small indepedent operators had any MMDS franchises.

Practically all the MMDS franchises were held for the majority of their lifetime by either Cablelink or companies in which the Princes Holdings / Independent Wireless Cable group had an interest (and which eventually became Chorus.) Since October 2000 Chorus and NTL have been the only companies with MMDS licences.