NTL V SKY

Beeker

Some advice please.

My parents have the basic NTL analog TV package. It costs them something like €74 every 3 months. I was looking at the NTL site to see about getting the digital package with the record/pause live tv included. As far as I can make out it would cost the €25 per month for ther package and €5 for the box, a total of €30.
I have SKY and for €28 per month I have a lot more channels as well as the + box for no extra cost.
Sky is cheaper and provides far more channels.
It looks like SKY is far better value or am I missing something????

Jax Teller

sky is great , had ntl for awhile 2 years ago and didnt like it at all

Beeker

Some advice please.

My parents have the basic NTL analog TV package. It costs them something like €74 every 3 months. I was looking at the NTL site to see about getting the digital package with the record/pause live tv included. As far as I can make out it would cost the €25 per month for ther package and €5 for the box, a total of €30.
I have SKY and for €28 per month I have a lot more channels as well as the + box for no extra cost.
Sky is cheaper and provides far more channels.
It looks like SKY is far better value or am I missing something????

JDxtra

Sounds like you dont have all the packs on Sky. All the non-premium packs add up to around €32 per month, making it just a tad more expensive than NTL. Basic multi room is a lot cheaper and simpler with NTL. If this is required, keep it into consideration when choosing.

JDxtra

Sky often have new customer offers, so check these. Also confirm what the install costs will be for both so there are no surprises. You can make real savings if you combine phone and broadband with NTL, which is something Sky cant offer.

Beeker

JDxtra wrote: »

Sounds like you dont have all the packs on Sky. All the non-premium packs add up to around €32 per month, making it just a tad more expensive than NTL. Basic multi room is a lot cheaper and simpler with NTL. If this is required, keep it into consideration when choosing.

True I dont have all the packs with sky because I dont want them. What I have is plenty and it looks like what I have is far more that you can get with ntl for roughly the same money. As far as I can work out its the Bargin Deal for €30 or the TV Deal for €77 per month but nothing in between????
Bargin has few channels and TV has loads. With Sky you can get loads of channels for just €28 and you do not have to pay an extra €5 per month for the box.
What an I missing here?

Koloman

Beeker wrote: »

Some advice please.

My parents have the basic NTL analog TV package. It costs them something like €74 every 3 months. I was looking at the NTL site to see about getting the digital package with the record/pause live tv included. As far as I can make out it would cost the €25 per month for ther package and €5 for the box, a total of €30.
I have SKY and for €28 per month I have a lot more channels as well as the + box for no extra cost.
Sky is cheaper and provides far more channels.
It looks like SKY is far better value or am I missing something????

No, it's around 20 Euro for a standard box from NTL but if you want the record/pause box as you put it then it's a extra 5 Euro on top of that. So that would make it 25 Euro a month not 30.

Beeker

Koloman wrote: »

No, it's around 20 Euro for a standard box from NTL but if you want the record/pause box as you put it then it's a extra 5 Euro on top of that. So that would make it 25 Euro a month not 30.

I might be wrong but its €20 for new cusomers but €25 for existing pust the 5 for the box.:(

bk

Beeker wrote: »

I might be wrong but its €20 for new cusomers but €25 for existing pust the 5 for the box.:(

No, €20 is the entry level product.

Beeker wrote: »

Bargin has few channels and TV has loads. With Sky you can get loads of channels for just €28 and you do not have to pay an extra €5 per month for the box.
What an I missing here?

What you are missing is UPC's pick and mix section which can give you a frightening array of options:

http://www.upc.ie/deals/made_to_measure/

UPC's entry level Digital TV pack costs €20 per month and gives you about 40 channels plus the 17 channel analogue service for multiroom for free.

The DVR is an extra €5 per month, so total cheapest option is €25 not €30.

Take into account that a Sky+ box will cost you €24.50 and install €40, with UPC both are free.

UPC particularly comes into itself if you also get phone and BB from them, works out a lot cheaper then the alternative.

Also please don't open the same thread in multiple forums, I've merged them here.

whosedaddy?

and how does the picture quality compare?
some claim sky has superior picture quality...

UPC might be cheaper, but if sky has "significant" better picture quality for SD channels (which are the majority of channels), it still might be better value.

Beeker

bk wrote: »

Also please don't open the same thread in multiple forums, I've merged them here.

Thanks for info! Sorry for starting on two different forums but was unsure which to go far as it relates to both!

spongeman

whosedaddy? wrote: »

and how does the picture quality compare?
some claim sky has superior picture quality...

UPC might be cheaper, but if sky has "significant" better picture quality for SD channels (which are the majority of channels), it still might be better value.

Value is not the the most important part here I feel. The difference is that Sky has a hugely better picture quality. And thats always important for me.

bk

spongeman wrote: »

Value is not the the most important part here I feel. The difference is that Sky has a hugely better picture quality. And thats always important for me.

I would disagree, Sky has only slightly better picture quality, but not a massive difference, most people probably wouldn't notice the difference.

Also Sky can vary greatly, some channels can have a high bitrate and excellent pq, others can have a very low bitrate and awful PQ.

maggy_thatcher

My experience with the two:

1. Picture quailty - Sky wins hands down. The "low bitrate" channels are generally ones like TruMovies etc, and I've found this actually affects sound more than picture.
2. Channel selection - Sky has many more channels, but UPC have a few channels more conveniently available (e.g. BBC3/4, BBC News), whereas Sky only has them hidden away under 'Other Channels'
3. User Experience - When UPC had the Purple interface, I found it fairly easy to use (if a little clumsy at times); then they switched to the 'Blue' interface (I'm sure there's a better term for it!), and I found it buggy as hell, and really awkward...random crashes, pausing while entering channel numbers would make it pick some other channel that it thinks you mean; etc. In fact that was what prompted us to get rid of the UPC box and replace it with Sky. The only thing I miss on Sky's user interface is the ability to get program information on a program you aren't actually watching without going to the TV guide. Sky Anytime is also pretty good, especially if you have the movie channels. Have they added the ability to watch one/record one or watch pre-recorded+record two to UPC yet?
4. Cost - Sky costs between €21.50 and €31.50 a month excluding premium channels depending on what packs you want. UPC these days only seems to have one €27.50 package available (at least for new customers). We have the €23.50/mth option, which has pretty much any channel I'd want.
5. Warranty - this is the only +1 on UPC for me - with UPC they own the hardware, with Sky you own the hardware. If something goes wrong with the box, with UPC they'll replace it, with Sky you have to buy a new box.

There's no clear winner really, it's really down to what you prefer. We used to have Sky TV and UPC BB, but we've since moved to an area that UPC only has very basic coverage, so we're down to Sky TV and no BB until I figure out who to go with.

Freddie59

bk wrote: »

I would disagree, Sky has only slightly better picture quality, but not a massive difference, most people probably wouldn't notice the difference.

Also Sky can vary greatly, some channels can have a high bitrate and excellent pq, others can have a very low bitrate and awful PQ.

+1 to that. The joys of flat-screen LCDs.:) Even though I have one myself I was in my niece's house last night and she has a 100Hz Sony CRT. The picture quality is absoloutely stunning, either on NTL analogue or digital. Many people forget the viewing/distance ratio when purchasing LCD TV sets, either for NTL or Sky.

http://www.dtvcity.com/lcdtv/lcdscreensize.html

bk

maggy_thatcher wrote: »

Channel selection - Sky has many more channels, but UPC have a few channels more conveniently available (e.g. BBC3/4, BBC News), whereas Sky only has them hidden away under 'Other Channels'

UTV also and one thing to note, you can record these "Other Channels" on the UPC DVR, but not on Sky+

maggy_thatcher wrote: »

Cost - Sky costs between €21.50 and €31.50 a month excluding premium channels depending on what packs you want. UPC these days only seems to have one €27.50 package available (at least for new customers). We have the €23.50/mth option, which has pretty much any channel I'd want.

You can still get the €20 package from UPC. €27.50 is for HD and DVR.

I agree that UPC's DVR is a little too expensive, and distorts UPC's value versus Sky, they should allow people to pay a once off fee for it.

While UPC's entry level product offers less channels, some might argue it is better value then Sky's. If you only get two Sky Subs, for instance Entertainment and Docs, then you don't get any music channels, kids channels, etc., that maybe fine for some people, but not great for a family with wide tastes. UPC has the advantage that it gives you the top rated one or two channels from each category.

Also UPC can be great value when you take into account free analogue multiroom.

coylemj

My house has three TV points, they were all the old Cablelink TV/FM connector boxes but I hadn't been connected for several years. I decided to go with UPC because with Sky I'd need a digital box at each location whereas with UPC I only need one digital box at the main TV and I have free analogue (20 channels) TV at the two other points.

UPC don't yet offer broadband (or HD) in my area but when they eventually do I'll be able to dump my Vodafone BB and consolidate on to one service provider, this was another reason to go UPC.

thomasjad

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. Anyway I have a few questions about multiroom viewing, it's €8.50 per month extra, is that per room? Is there a limit to how many rooms? Most importantly if I have a Digital + HD box in my same room could I get another Digital + HD box in another room or would it have to be the basic box?

bk

thomasjad wrote: »

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. Anyway I have a few questions about multiroom viewing, it's €8.50 per month extra, is that per room? Is there a limit to how many rooms? Most importantly if I have a Digital + HD box in my same room could I get another Digital + HD box in another room or would it have to be the basic box?

- yes €8.50 per extra box
- I think they recommend 4, but you might be able to go higher.
- yes you can get a Digital + HD box for extra rooms, but you will have to pay for the box, I think it is €90.

maggy_thatcher

I imagine that it would be difficult to go much higher. Firstly once you go past 4 you'd need more than an Octo-LNB on your dish (can you even get more than that?), unless of course you use the old non-plus boxes. Secondly with Multi-Room Sky have this very irritating requirement that all boxes are hooked up to the same land-line. If you had more than 4 boxes + a regular phone, your REN on the line might go too high.

What we've done in-house is we just have one box, and then use a wireless video-sender to send it over to a different TV. It does mean we can only watch one channel at a time, but we can live with that.

Max Power1

why does this issue come up again and again?

Sky is waaaaaaaay better. Unless you want internet and tv from same company.

Freddie59

Max Power1 wrote: »

why does this issue come up again and again?

Sky is waaaaaaaay better. Unless you want internet and tv from same company.

And phone.......and no call-out fees.......and you're not responsible for the equipment.......etc.:)

Koloman

Max Power1 wrote: »

Sky is waaaaaaaay better.

No, Sky are just way better at hyping up their own business. On a value for money basis then UPC is better.

Freddie59

Koloman wrote: »

No, Sky are just way better at hyping up their own business.

Max Power1

Freddie59 wrote: »

And phone.......and no call-out fees.......and you're not responsible for the equipment.......etc.:)

and many channels not available on NTL - ITV1-4, Channel 5, Living TV2 etc. COmpetent customer service, and a much better EPG system

Koloman wrote: »

No, Sky are just way better at hyping up their own business. On a value for money basis then UPC is better.

riiiiight.

hightower1

Max Power1 wrote: »

and many channels not available on NTL - ITV1-4, Channel 5, Living TV2 etc. COmpetent customer service, and a much better EPG system.

ITV1-5 = the bill....endlessly... oh and dancing with stars lol
Channel 5 = The dregs of daytime tv but with the added bonus of being carried through the night!
Living +2 = Great! If I menstrated and had breasts ...... +1 hour.


But it doesnt end there... Live roulet TV 24/7!!! cant live without that!
Infomercial tv.... excellent! Classicial music tv... if I dont have some Bethoven before I head out on the booze Iit aint a REAL night out!

Anything on NTL is channels you ACTUALLY watch as opposed to 400 channels of utter cack clogging up that excellent epg.

I would trade all of those channels for a proper one like channel 4.

maggy_thatcher

hightower1 wrote: »

I would trade all of those channels for a proper one like channel 4.

You mean channel 135/136 on the Sky EPG? And on top of that, when Channel-4 blocks transmission to Ireland for whatever reason, just go back onto the Other Channels list and grab the UK version to go with it.

hitbit

Sky may appear to have far more channels than UPC but many are god, porn, hd, shopping and quite a variety of obscure ones. Remove these and the gap narrows considerably.
Sky installation and multiroom are far more expensive.
Sky insist on you having an active phone line connected to each box at all times. This creates a major problem if you need 4 or more boxes in your home as domestic phone lines carry a max of 4 REN so nothing left for phone, broadband etc.
Sky customer services people are unhelpfull, rude and arrogant. Just try and speak to anyone in their Milton Keynes centre. They will never return your calls and when you call them again quoting the name you were given they will deny all knowledge of that person. I actually have signed by persons whom they deny exist. So the question is are they lying or are the names ficticious inventions.
Sky picture quality is no better than UPC though I am on a Fibre Optic Cable.
I switched to UPC, TV, Broadband and Phone a year ago.
There installers were, pleasant, polite, professional and did a good job.
They are much cheaper than others including Sky.
Their customer services people are excellent ( I acknowledge it sometimes takes a while to get through to them but when you do they are not rude or impolite like Sky's people).
Sky have a great range of channels but so do UPC.
Sky picture quality is excellent but no better than UPC's.
Don't know about Sky's but UPC Broadband and Phone are great and cheap.
But when it comes to the people you have to speak to on helplines UPC staff simply blow Sky out of the water.

Hitbit

BostonB

Funny because was told by sky you had to pay extra if you didn't have a phone line. I've also read of lots of people disconecting their sky box from the phone line with no problems. Perhaps that's no longer possible and the sky person was telling me porkies.

And as a UPC customer for many years my experience of them is certainly not as dream like as yours.

maggy_thatcher

BostonB wrote: »

Funny because was told by sky you had to pay extra if you didn't have a phone line. I've also read of lots of people disconecting their sky box from the phone line with no problems. Perhaps that's no longer possible and the sky person was telling me porkies.

And as a UPC customer for many years my experience of them is certainly not as dream like as yours.

You only need a phone line if you have Sky Multiroom. If you have a single box you won't need it.

BostonB

maggy_thatcher wrote: »

You only need a phone line if you have Sky Multiroom. If you have a single box you won't need it.

Ah. How often do they check the boxes are connected to the phone line?

Ranicand

Ok UPC vs Sky the two of them are big companies why do people side with either?

You need to add up the pros and cons of the two then make an informed choice.
1
Picture quality UPC has raised bit rates in the last few months and with the HD box upscaling the picture I would say that Sky and UPC are about the same on picture quality.

2
Channel choice Sky has a lot more channels.
Sky EPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_on_Sky_Digital
UPC EPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_on_UPC_Ireland

3
Value and price UPC wins here hands down each extra room is 8.50 per month not 15.00 also the HD box is 7.50 not 15.00.
Phone and broadband can be bundled into this package with UPC with Sky you need a phone line from another provider.

4
Customer service
Ok I have read bad things about the two but I think Sky is worse they are rude and their billing department tends to mess up bills and blame the customer.
Yes UPC can have very long waiting times during peak hours but I always find them polite.
Also when UPC said they would call me back they did Sky did not.

5
Aftercare
With Sky you own everything and all call outs are 100euro.
When I was with Sky and the Drive died in my first Sky Plus it was replaced with a reconditioned box the buttons on the front of the box did not work plus it was an older model that did not run Sky Anytime.
My second Plus box died some time later and I asked Sky could I get a new box I would even pay for it the answer was no you get what the engineer has in the van.
UPC replaced my DVR for a new one I thought their was a fault turns out the fault was with my TV input but it cost me nothing.
I asked for TV in a 3rd room and requested a new UPC branded standard box not and old NTL one the answer was no problem.

On a one room install Sky does offer a much bigger channel choice at very good value.

If you want Digital TV in two rooms or more along with phone and broadband UPC wins.

I go with UPC because it suits me others go with Sky because it suits them.
There are links to the channels on each above people thinking of going for Digital should look at the two and decide what is important to them.

BostonB

Every UPC digital box I've seen is very slow. I dunno if Sky is better, but my experience with UPC hasn't been brilliant.

maggy_thatcher

Another big -1 on the side of UPC is that if you're in a house without the cable currently hooked up, the installation charges skyrocket...we recently moved into a new property, and we can see the UPC cable running between our neighbours, but when we talked to UPC about getting hooked up, they said there would be a large one-off cost for installation (they wouldn't quote it without first calling out to see what was involved). At least with Sky the installation is straightforward.

Also, UPC are slow as molasses in terms of upgrading their network. When Sky have a new feature, all subscribers can get to it. For our area, we also found out that UPC only have basic digital TV...no phone, no broadband, no HD, and no date as to when they plan to introduce a decent service. That was the killer blow for us (we were planning to just get their broadband service).

ciano12

SKY all the way

beer enigma

Sky !!!!!

I had UPC for one month - full package with 20 Mb broadband

7 engineer & 10 calls to customer services (35 minutes per call) and I gave up ! - cancelled after four weeks & complained so bitterly that they cancelled the contract.

Just as an extra - I have multi devices connected to my router & UPC have admitted that their top spec wireless router will only support 3 or 4 devices before it falls over..............that got me out of the contract - its rubbish !

BostonB

My UPC was down for 5 hours tonight. Couldn't ring them, they'd stopped answering the phone, and of course you can't email them. Since its been back up Its dropped me half a dozen times.

Kirnsy

quick question. i am a complete noob here and just wanted your thoughts on my case.

the mam has just been offered the digital deal with NTL (UPC?). It'll cost only €3 extra per month and a €30 one off installation fee.

Basically im not 100% sure what this all means. I understand that there is a box being installed and that there will be a menu to browse through channels quicker etc. But will the picture clarity improve (we have a HD tv already)? and will this only be for one tv? (we have two)...if not is it expensive to get multi room on it?
is there anthing else i should be aware of?

thanks

Harpic

I was paying 70 euro a month for Sky.I rang them to take off the movies and asked for the new prices-She reduced the original package for me to 50 euro till Feb'10

Ranicand

Kirnsy wrote: »

quick question. i am a complete noob here and just wanted your thoughts on my case.

the mam has just been offered the digital deal with NTL (UPC?). It'll cost only €3 extra per month and a €30 one off installation fee.

Basically im not 100% sure what this all means. I understand that there is a box being installed and that there will be a menu to browse through channels quicker etc. But will the picture clarity improve (we have a HD tv already)? and will this only be for one tv? (we have two)...if not is it expensive to get multi room on it?
is there anthing else i should be aware of?

thanks

A HD TV means nothing without a HD picture and if you have ordered the HD box your picture will improve beyond your dreams.

If you have a HD tv you should order the HD box.

As regards extra rooms 8.50 per room per month or 12.50 per extra room if the extra room gets a HD box.

There are 10 HD channels on UPC and the regular channels are upscaled by the HD box.

Sam Russell

I have found that Freesat, at zero euros a month beats them both. Picture quality is superb, 7 days EPG, and no 3E. Brilliant.

I do not like sports or movie repeats. But I like no bills each month.

Blaster99

UPC doesn't have a proper HD service, unless I'm mistaken, unless you want to watch Discovery HD. I have the Movie HD package with Sky and it's very good. You can also rent HD movies from Sky which is quite handy.

I had NTL Digital for many years and I find Sky to be vastly superior. I am incidentally comparing Sky+ HD with a normal NTL box so it could be that the UPC HD box is as good, if you can think of any reason to get one.

One of the things that I like with Sky is that I can very easily replace their kit with Freesat and this is most likely what I'll do in at least one room when the contract is up and my current €7.50 multiroom fee deal is up.

bk

Blaster99 wrote: »

UPC doesn't have a proper HD service, unless I'm mistaken, unless you want to watch Discovery HD. I have the Movie HD package with Sky and it's very good. You can also rent HD movies from Sky which is quite handy.

That isn't true, UPC do have a HD service, it has up to 8 HD channels, which is obviously a lot less then Sky HD and you only get all 8 channels if you are on the max package, but they definitely ave real HD.

Blaster99 wrote: »

One of the things that I like with Sky is that I can very easily replace their kit with Freesat and this is most likely what I'll do in at least one room when the contract is up and my current €7.50 multiroom fee deal is up.

FYI if you cancel the multiroom, they will often offer to continue the half price offer for another year.

bk

Kirnsy wrote: »

the mam has just been offered the digital deal with NTL (UPC?). It'll cost only €3 extra per month and a €30 one off installation fee.

I'm guessing your mother has analogue only at the moment, which gives you 17 channels for €24.50 per month.

The deal they are offering is probably the Bargain Deal for €27.50

This will give you one Digital+ HD box (a digital video recorder box that can handle HD) and 40 digital channels, of these digital channels only one BBC HD will be in HD, the others should will all be SD, but they should still look better then the analogue service.

Multiroom costs an additional €8.50 per month, but you don't necessarily need that, you can continue to use the existing analogue 17 channels service for free.

BTW this isn't your only option, there are loads of other options, such as get Digital only with no DVR for just €20 per month, saving your mum €4.50 per month and get 40 channels. See here for options:

http://www.upc.ie/deals/made_to_measure/

Solair

Just be careful when you are comparing UPC and Sky as you will hear horror stories about NTL/Chorus which may be relating to MMDS and also to legacy networks.

I have found their cable service in Dublin and Cork absolutely excellent, although that was not the case a few years ago when the Cork line up was very restricted under the old Chorus 'regime'.

The UPC HD box is absolutely excellent, and it also has quite a lot more recording time than Sky+HD

Again, it depends on what you want.

UPC's advantages : Ease of use, channels are in sensible places on the EPG menus and you do get BBC1,2,3,4,News24 etc along with UTV and Channel 4 actually in the guide, and you can record all of them. Where as on Sky+ you have to manually tune ITV and the extra BBC services and you cannot record them as they're outside the EPG.

If you're bundling broadband and phone, it's a massive saving.

In general, I'd rate UPCs service as really holding its own against Sky, but that's only something that I would say is true of them in the last 12 months. Chorus/NTL was a pretty bad service in the past, but I do think that their current cable offerings are worth considering.

On the Sky side of things, the advantages are the channel range, but just remember that some of those channels are utterly pointless, much of the EPG is full of weird shopping channels and free movie channels that you would never watch in a million years.

It just depends on what you are into!

I'd consider UPC Cable's line up being a bit like Sky Digital stripped down to the good channels.

Sky Digital's downside is :

1) Equipment failures and high purchase costs if you're outside the first 12 months. We have had several Sky+ and Sky+HD boxes mysteriously give up the ghost. With UPC they will replace them, as they own them.

2) Very sloppy standards of installation. Their installers can be shockingly poor.

BostonB

I don't mind there being a problem if it can be resolved. My problem with NTL/UPC, (and Eircom for that matter). Is they don't seem to be able to fix my problems even through they own and maintain all the equipment in the chain, from my connection in the house all the way back to source. Also the tech support and customer support, seem very poor. That seems to common with people with problems.

Some people just don't have problems. Though I suspect many aren't that particular. I was watching UPC in a friends house, SD on a HD TV and the picture was terrible and every so often it pixellated badly. Also the Digital box laggy woeful when changing channesl and looking up the EPG. I didn't mention it, but asked was he happy, and he said he was delighted with it.

I think these companies treat problems from an economic point of view. If 95% of customers don't have problems, its not worth their spending time and money fixing the problems of the other 5%. Which is a royal pain if you are in the 5%.

Blaster99

bk wrote: »

That isn't true, UPC do have a HD service, it has up to 8 HD channels, which is obviously a lot less then Sky HD and you only get all 8 channels if you are on the max package, but they definitely ave real HD.

I don't know what you are claiming is not true as you're just repeating what I just wrote. They have the technology (belatedly) but not the content so what's the point?

Solair

BostonB wrote: »

I don't mind there being a problem if it can be resolved. My problem with NTL/UPC, (and Eircom for that matter). Is they don't seem to be able to fix my problems even through they own and maintain all the equipment in the chain, from my connection in the house all the way back to source. Also the tech support and customer support, seem very poor. That seems to common with people with problems.

Some people just don't have problems. Though I suspect many aren't that particular. I was watching UPC in a friends house, SD on a HD TV and the picture was terrible and every so often it pixellated badly. Also the Digital box laggy woeful when changing channesl and looking up the EPG. I didn't mention it, but asked was he happy, and he said he was delighted with it.

I think these companies treat problems from an economic point of view. If 95% of customers don't have problems, its not worth their spending time and money fixing the problems of the other 5%. Which is a royal pain if you are in the 5%.

I have Sky+ HD and to be honest, I would dump sky in a heart beat if it were an option at this stage.

They "upgraded" the software on the EPG, moving it to their new system, which is totally unlike the existing sky EPG that we all know and love.

The new system is so slow it's almost unusable, it is completely full of bugs e.g. on the other channels menu (if you can find it!) it pops up the Now and Next banner constantly at random when you're watching channels. It's now impossible to watch BBC 3/4 etc

The box will also occasionally decide that no satellite signal is being received and then mysteriously find the satellite again when it's unplugged and rebooted.

I called their maintenance guys out and they insisted that it was being caused by my cordless phone, without any evidence! Even if I unplug my cordless phone + WiFi router, it still crashes, he wouldn't accept this and walked out.

My Sky+HD box is now outside the 12 month warranty and they won't replace it or service it without me paying the full installation cost all over again. So, as far as I am concerned they can take it and shove it.

The installers who came out to put the system in day one were also just shockingly poor. They tacked cables across the front of the house in the crudest way you could possibly imagine, drilled crooked holes, damaged plaster, damaged furniture ... you name it! They even used screw-on f-connectors on the thinner duplex coax cable that's used for sky+ installations by squeezing them onto the cable with a pliers. This resulted in loose connections that I had to repair myself! I ended up having to install my own socket on the wall and tidy up their absolute mess.

Honestly, if Sky want customers they shouldn't send out teams of cowboys.

I wouldn't rate UPC or Sky as very good in terms of customer service, but in my experience, UPC did replace equipment in my previous homes without any fuss and did respond to cable outages (we only ever had one) very quickly.

Kirnsy

thanks for all the replies. does multi room viewing mean that its the same channel in both rooms? or is there a seperate box for both?

maggy_thatcher

Kirnsy wrote: »

thanks for all the replies. does multi room viewing mean that its the same channel in both rooms? or is there a seperate box for both?

It's a separate box for both. If you prefer, you can opt for the same channel in both rooms (for free), using a video-sender. That's what we've done.

Solair

There is one anomaly in the Cork UPC Cable network btw, there is no analogue service on it (other than RTE1/2 TV3 and TG4).

Because the old Cork analogue cable network was encrypted and set-top-boxes were required, UPC quite simply did a box-swap programme and then shut the analogue service down completely.

AFAIK, the other UPC cable systems all carry a basic analogue service, which can be used by just plugging your TV in.