New channels added this year opinion

Ranicand

Added to our service this year was
ITV 2
ITV 3
ITV 4
Sky Arts
Sky Real Lives
FX
Sky 3

Zone Reality was removed and FX was inserted in it's place Plus ESPN America and ESPN and ESPN HD where added to Max and the new Select Plus packs.

In my opinion Sky is padded out with a lot of rubbish channels and their guide is just a clutter of mostly rubbish channels like Open Access and Sumo TV you get the idea.

Among the rubbish on Sky there are just a few channels of any quality that we don't have on UPC.

If anymore channels are added in the future here is my opinion on what they should be.

Watch Yesterday Good Food have all been mentioned on here and I would add 3 more to that list.

Sky Movies Screen 1 Sky Movies Screen 2 and lastly Military History.

The six above channels are all from provides UPC all ready carry channels from.

Lastly I think the EPG is in need of a reshuffle.

dunworth1

Ranicand wrote: »

Added to our service this year was
ITV 2
ITV 3
ITV 4
Sky Arts
Sky Real Lives
FX
Sky 3


Lastly I think the EPG is in need of a reshuffle.

the ITV channels are great FX is ok (a bit too much ncis) could care less about sky arts , real lives and 3 seem to be all crap on them.

yes i agree on the epg shuffle.

An Tarbh

not even added Sky Arts and Real Lives to the favourites, could well do without them.

One channel I'd like to see added is S4C, purely to get the Magners League rugby coverage, not sure what sort of coverage we'll get next year if Setanta loses the rights, as seems to be the case.

Good Food, Yesterday and Watch seem like good ones to get.

The EPG is a mess but I doubt we'll see it sorted any time soon.

zilog_jones

I like watching The Sweeney and other old crap on ITV4 - it's like a spritual successor to Granada Plus. But they repeat the same episodes too frequently within a short time frame (e.g. the same episode four times within two days), so it's not something I could even watch on a daily basis as there's too much repitition.

The other channels are pretty redundant. I would have been interested in FX if they hadn't dropped The Colbert Report, but they don't seem to offer anything else that isn't on some other channel.

I think the other UKTV channels would be a good addition as others said. I take it "Blighty" is out of the question over here lol

+1 for the EPG is a mess - the 500 series channels makes no sense. Bravo should be moved down to the other general entertainment channels, and the Discoveries should all be together. QVC, E! and other crap can stay up there, and they should move Smile, Buzz and other rubbish up there too.

decies

Sky arts often show old concerts,why no Sky arts 2,everything with ntl is an effort :rolleyes:. Looking forward to seeing tour de france on itv4,no more sean kelly mumbling on eurosport.

Minstrel27

An Tarbh wrote: »

One channel I'd like to see added is S4C, purely to get the Magners League rugby coverage, not sure what sort of coverage we'll get next year if Setanta loses the rights, as seems to be the case.

I'd imagine it would be close to no chance of seeing that appear. An all Welsh language channel wouldn't be viable imo.

An Tarbh

well we have a francophone channel so I see no issue in having a Welsh channel especially one which offers English subtitles on all programmes.

Infoanon

Ranicand wrote: »

Among the rubbish on Sky there are just a few channels of any quality that we don't have on UPC.
Lastly I think the EPG is in need of a reshuffle.

EPG badly in need of a clean up, of the new channels added, Sky 3 & Real lives are poor, ITV 2-4 Good , Sky Arts ok and FX is providing whats already available on other channels.

Its a pity Watch/Good Food/Yesterday where not added ahead of Sky 3 / Real lives.
What about the other CBS channels - they look good and what about eg Bravo 2, Sky Arts 2 etc etc and the missing Discovery channels - Turbo & Home & Health

The other major weakness UPC has is the lack of interactive...now adding that would be something to shout about !

angel01

Loving the ITV stations, enjoy Sky3 and Real Lives

Minstrel27

An Tarbh wrote: »

well we have a francophone channel so I see no issue in having a Welsh channel especially one which offers English subtitles on all programmes.

TV5? That is meant for pan European broadcast. S4C isn't.

Freddie59

An Tarbh wrote: »

not even added Sky Arts and Real Lives to the favourites, could well do without them.

One channel I'd like to see added is S4C, purely to get the Magners League rugby coverage, not sure what sort of coverage we'll get next year if Setanta loses the rights, as seems to be the case.

Good Food, Yesterday and Watch seem like good ones to get.

The EPG is a mess but I doubt we'll see it sorted any time soon.

S4C??!!:eek: We had that rubbish in Waterford for years and were DELIGHTED to see it replaced with real Channel Four. NO THANKS!!!

A bit disappointed in FX after all the hype surrounding it. ITVs are great though.

who is this

Freddie59 wrote: »

A bit disappointed in FX after all the hype surrounding it. ITVs are great though.

Agreed. I wanted it because I (rather foolishly) assumed UPC had had the foresight to negotiate a contract encompassing the HD one.

UPC have at BEST one HD entertainment channel (I say that cause half the time BBC HD is off air or showing sport). Silly me thought they might get another.

Rosser

Very pleased with Sky Arts it's like a TV3 detox, pity it's not in HD and accompanied by Sky Arts 2.

The EPG needs a tidy for sure begining with the removal of Buzz & Smile

Simon201

Just gimme Sky 1 HD and Channel 4 HD and I'd happily pay more...

10000maniacs

They should get rid of all of the Sky Sports and Movie channels and replace them with the HD versions. Very few people have SD televisions at this stage.

dunworth1

10000maniacs wrote: »

They should get rid of all of the Sky Sports and Movie channels and replace them with the HD versions. Very few people have SD televisions at this stage.

they are in talks with sky to get the HD channels

zilog_jones

10000maniacs wrote: »

Very few people have SD televisions at this stage.

You'd be surprised at the amount of people who have massive HDTVs but still only watch analogue crap on them, never mind digital SD cable.

But you do kinda have a point - to save bandwidth and potentially improve picture quality they could just ditch the SD channels where there is an HD equivalent available - the HD boxes they currently use will also downscale to SD so it doesn't matter if they have an HDTV or not. Only problem is replacing all the SD-only STBs in the country, which will cost shítloads.

Cupart

Ranicand wrote: »

In my opinion Sky is padded out with a lot of rubbish channels and their guide is just a clutter of mostly rubbish channels like Open Access and Sumo TV you get the idea.

And on UPC we get quality channels like ITV3, ITV4, City Channel / Channel South, Fashion TV, The Den, Cúla 4, DCTV, EWTN, God Europe, 6 x Euronews, Smile and Buzz :rolleyes:

At least on Sky you can also choose what type of programming you want to subscribe to. It's ridiculous I'm forced to pay for Kids channels that I never watch :mad:

So, in my opinion the "new" channels have made no difference. FX swapping out CBS Reality made no difference, and how just rebroadcasting free Sat channels (ITV2-4) is a great thing is a mystery to me. I'm paying for something I can get for free with a EUR 100 system (or three months UPC MAX subscription) + multitude of other free channels...

zilog_jones

Cupart wrote: »

and how just rebroadcasting free Sat channels (ITV2-4) is a great thing is a mystery to me. I'm paying for something I can get for free with a EUR 100 system (or three months UPC MAX subscription) + multitude of other free channels...

A lot of people don't want the hassle and clutter of having FTA satellite on top of cable. Many people living in apartments aren't allowed to install dishes. Also, €100 won't get you a dish and a Freesat HD DVR.

fulhamfanincork

The max pack should get Sky movies 1 for free.

Cupart

zilog_jones wrote: »

A lot of people don't want the hassle and clutter of having FTA satellite on top of cable. Many people living in apartments aren't allowed to install dishes. Also, €100 won't get you a dish and a Freesat HD DVR.

I never insinuated that one should have both systems. What I'm saying is that UPC is re-broadcasting FTA channels and charges us for something we could have gotten for free with a Freesat system or even a cheap Lidl/Argos sat system for less than €100.

Back to the original thread, I can't see this being one of those UPC wow moments (:rolleyes:) getting us ITV2-4 and all the other cr@p.

It's a farce IMHO, BUT that said I think UPC are trying to move in some sort of direction. If it's he right one now that's another question...

angel01

10000maniacs wrote: »

They should get rid of all of the Sky Sports and Movie channels and replace them with the HD versions. Very few people have SD televisions at this stage.

Why? I have an older tv and why should I lose that when I don't have a HD tv. Don't generalise please

Max Power1

10000maniacs wrote: »

They should get rid of all of the Sky Sports and Movie channels and replace them with the HD versions. Very few people have SD televisions at this stage.

easily the most ridiculous suggestion Ive heard all year.

angel01

Rosser wrote: »

Very pleased with Sky Arts it's like a TV3 detox, pity it's not in HD and accompanied by Sky Arts 2.

The EPG needs a tidy for sure begining with the removal of Buzz & Smile

Buzz and Smile help pay for the new channels you get..

An Tarbh

that's all well and good but that still doesn't justify mixing them in with the entertainment channels, should be put alongside QVC in the 500s with Bravo and +1 going into the hundreds in their place.

paulm17781

angel01 wrote: »

Buzz and Smile help pay for the new channels you get..

Then what do I pay €39 per month for? If muck like that is going to "pay for the new channels you get" then I would expect a relative discount.

angel01

paulm17781 wrote: »

Then what do I pay €39 per month for? If muck like that is going to "pay for the new channels you get" then I would expect a relative discount.

Thats crazy. If you get Sky, there are absolutely loads of channels you would be not interested in, what is the issue, if you don't like it, don't watch them and just watch the stations that you do like?

Ranicand

angel01 wrote: »

Thats crazy. If you get Sky, there are absolutely loads of channels you would be not interested in, what is the issue, if you don't like it, don't watch them and just watch the stations that you do like?

But what if somebody tunes in because they think they might like it but then halfway through the program they find out they don't like it I think a refund and compensation for lost time should be in order.:D

paulm17781

angel01 wrote: »

Thats crazy. If you get Sky, there are absolutely loads of channels you would be not interested in, what is the issue, if you don't like it, don't watch them and just watch the stations that you do like?

With Sky they're free. No one is actually paying for they're not on an intrusive spot on the EPG. If they were up at 511 / 512, I wouldn't give a toss. It is insulting on a closed pay platform that we are paying for muck we don't want to watch.

angel01

paulm17781 wrote: »

With Sky they're free. No one is actually paying for they're not on an intrusive spot on the EPG. If they were up at 511 / 512, I wouldn't give a toss. It is insulting on a closed pay platform that we are paying for muck we don't want to watch.

They are never free really. Honestly, do you expect to just get channels you do want to watch? What you don't like, I do so why should I pay extra?

Cupart

angel01 wrote: »

Thats crazy. If you get Sky, there are absolutely loads of channels you would be not interested in, what is the issue, if you don't like it, don't watch them and just watch the stations that you do like?

Wrong. If there are types of channels you don't watch you don't subscribe to them on Sky. Why should I pay for The Sponge Bob channel or Barbie Channel when I NEVER watch them? Sky gives me the option to opt out, UPC doesn't :mad:

Ranicand

Cupart wrote: »

Wrong. If there are types of channels you don't watch you don't subscribe to them on Sky. Why should I pay for The Sponge Bob channel or Barbie Channel when I NEVER watch them? Sky gives me the option to opt out, UPC doesn't :mad:

I am happy with UPC from the tone of your posts it seems you like Sky better.

There are a number of people here and having multiroom with phone and broadband works great for us.

I don't watch the Movie channels I like the HD documentaries, in one of the other rooms sports is watched including ESPN HD and is the last room the movies are watched along with the Entertainment channels.

With Sky this would cost 15 euro for each extra room and another 15 to get ESPN.

I had Sky multiroom but I left Sky after them treating me like dirt by going with UPC I was also able to get rid of Eircom at the same time.

Sky is better for you because it suits your needs and UPC is better for me because it suits mine.

I take your point on the ITV channels and the extra BBC channels being free to air on Astra but I always hated that they were not in the guide on Sky and they can not be recorded.

If you can go with Sky their package layout suits you better.:)

paulm17781

angel01 wrote: »

They are never free really. Honestly, do you expect to just get channels you do want to watch? What you don't like, I do so why should I pay extra?

With Sky, you can cancel your subscription and there are a load of channels still available, muck like Smile / Buzz fall under this. UPC had the nerve to add them, give them prominent EPG placings and claim they were new channels. I am yet to meet one person who knows what they are.

On Sky, they are free, with UPC you pay for the service and every channel.

kryogen

cant get most of the new channels cause im not on cable apparently, funnily they want to charge me the same price for much less channels

Cupart

Ranicand wrote: »

I am happy with UPC from the tone of your posts it seems you like Sky better.

There are a number of people here and having multiroom with phone and broadband works great for us.

I don't watch the Movie channels I like the HD documentaries, in one of the other rooms sports is watched including ESPN HD and is the last room the movies are watched along with the Entertainment channels.

With Sky this would cost 15 euro for each extra room and another 15 to get ESPN.

I had Sky multiroom but I left Sky after them treating me like dirt by going with UPC I was also able to get rid of Eircom at the same time.

Sky is better for you because it suits your needs and UPC is better for me because it suits mine.

I take your point on the ITV channels and the extra BBC channels being free to air on Astra but I always hated that they were not in the guide on Sky and they can not be recorded.

If you can go with Sky their package layout suits you better.:)

Yes, I do prefere sky not only for the reason I gave earlier but also because:

1. HD is not available where I live, SKY+HD is available everywhere (neither is UPC Phone and BB).
2. SKY SD is cheaper than UPC SD (if we can call it that) and
3. The SKY+(HD/SD) box is so much more responsive than the UPC DVR.

The UPC phone service and/or Broadband is irrelevant as we're discussing Digital TV and has nothing to do with which is better: SKY or UPC. Of course UPC is better on BB/Phone as SKY doesn't offer these services in Ireland

I agree 100% with you that it's a bit of a pain not being able to record BBC3, BBC4, BBC HD etc when on the Irish SKY EPG

I'm not trying to convince anyone that SKY is better than UPC, but it seems like some many people in the forum are praising UPC when they add more cr@p (in my own opinion) to a current not very interesting EPG as it is. Unfortunately I don't have a choice other than UPC where I am during the week days and it costs me EUR 34 pr month (SKY is EUR 32) so I do have good grounds for comparing

Ranicand

Cupart wrote: »

The UPC phone service and/or Broadband is irrelevant as we're discussing Digital TV and has nothing to do with which is better: SKY or UPC. Of course UPC is better on BB/Phone as SKY doesn't offer these services in Ireland

I think it is very relevant for this reason.

If I had Sky I would still want a phone service and broadband.

Getting the 3 in a bundle saves me money.

Also having one debit coming out of my account instead of three makes things much more simple to manage.

UPC sells packages in bundles and some of the tv packages come with Phone and broadband.

Also it is not a case of saying which is better simple fact Sky does have a better tv service thats a fact.
If Sky had treated me better I would still be with them there where a few things that annoyed me about the Sky EPG that I think UPC have done better like the extra BBC and ITV channels.

UPC offer a TV package that is good enough and by sticking in the phone and Broadband that is what makes the deal for me along with cheaper multiroom.

Also another reason phone is relevant here is because you need a phone line for Sky Multiroom and the cost of the line rental must be considered.

Some posts on here are getting under your skin because you really want SKY and you can't get it.

You could try a private installer if it is an awkward install maybe?

surf board

Hi all,

with UPC saying they're going to roll out VOD & move to DOCSIS3 later this year, what are the chances of more HD channels being included in their lineup?

I have spoken to a rep a few times & aside from them saying "we're in negotiations with sky" for their HD sports & movies, anybody any insight if e.g sky1HD, film4HD, itvHD etc would or could be added to the epg? The Sky HD channels would most likely be premium (bar sky1), but what about non-premium?

There seems to be a lot more HD channels with UPC in other European countries. Is the non uptake of more HD channels due to HD not being available to everyone yet? I would have thought that the more HD they have, the more interest from the public. With Sky hoping to have around 50 HD channels by end of year, how many will UPC have? thanks

rebeve

Sky cs is not the holy grail.In my time with sky I found them at times to be complete dricks to deal with. I find upc to be better and a massive improvement on the old chorus regime . I now have phone ,bb , tv .They are as good if not better than any other company in the comm area .