Is UPC HD worth the extra money

macman2010

Can anybody advise if the UPC HD box is worth the money.
Currently i have the basic box, which is sh*te.
Is the EPG any better.

patrickmooney

You are getting some channels which are exclusive to HD, like C&I and the showcase BBC HD Channel.

You can try the box out for free in carphone warehouse, at least you can in the one on Henry Street, Dublin. It's a cheap/plastic box. I wasn't impressed.

tallaghtfornia

Was not impressed with there HD service, not worth it as they have no sports or movies, Best option I think is free to air

0ph0rce0

Yeah they dont have the movies or sports but its €5 for the extra 13 HD channels which is pretty alright..

The channels arent to everyones taste but for that price to get the Documentary Channels in HD , Some footie in HD The Shows on BBC in HD and The Movies on MGM HD, Me myself i thinks its worth the extra €5.

bcirl03

Middle of the road for me. As others have said it's €5 extra compare to $kys €15.

If I lost it in the morning it wouldnt bother me, however winter sports such as ice hockey and skiing look brill, other channels not so good.

garlad

Am I right in saying that the HD box will only cost you €1.25 more than the Plus Box?
As per the website:
Digital + = 3.75
HD = 5.00

macman2010

garlad wrote: »

Am I right in saying that the HD box will only cost you €1.25 more than the Plus Box?
As per the website:
Digital + = 3.75
HD = 5.00

You maybe right i dont know but not in my case as i dont even have digital +

icdg

Unless you are a documentaries fan it isn't really worth it. The problem is that without the Sky HD channels it isn't a very attractive service. Really outside documentaries, there is only the two BBC HD channels, ESPN HD and Setanta HD.

jack presley

icdg wrote: »

Unless you are a documentaries fan it isn't really worth it. The problem is that without the Sky HD channels it isn't a very attractive service. Really outside documentaries, there is only the two BBC HD channels, ESPN HD and Setanta HD.

....and Setanta is rubbish!

Spook80

not many hd channels but personally i think its worth it purely for the fact that the box seems to be more reliable and faster, might of been just mine tho.
And also i find all the channels are gonna be better picture while connecting through hd cable.

Bassboxxx

I don't find the UPC/cable HD up to the same quality as the satellite Sky/freeview HD that I've seen.

califano

As not to open a new thread im wondering why my first bill for my UPC bundle lists VAT charged at €15.30 when the conditions say prices include VAT?
Am i missing something?

patrickmooney

Yeah I would believe digital + HD is €8.75 a month (3.75 for + and 5 for HD). Might be wrong. I'm sure they would get more subscribers if (a) it was only €1.25 extra or (b) free, ie standard, just pay the installation.

forzacalcio

No sports?

ESPN HD?
EUROSPORT HD?
SETANTA HD?

Calling it rubbish is a matter of opinion, Plenty of Formula One, NHL, NBA and Football on to cover Sports HD. The reason I am with UPC is cheaper sports!

califano

Two eurosport channels actually, not to forget ESPN America!.
Its 'Setanta Ireland' though not Setanta.
Ive dumped sky/eircom for UPC recently and im loving it. Great saving on the bundle especially. The picture quality from my HD box even on non HD channels leaves sky sd quality way behind(but my sky sd quality was never as good as others ive seen).
Also you have to pay €100 for a sky engineer call out if your sky box dies or whatever where its free with upc.

macman2010

patrickmooney wrote: »

Yeah I would believe digital + HD is €8.75 a month (3.75 for + and 5 for HD). Might be wrong. I'm sure they would get more subscribers if (a) it was only €1.25 extra or (b) free, ie standard, just pay the installation.

According to the website its 3.75 for + stand alone.
the digital + HD is an extra €5 PM. total.

califano

macman2010 wrote: »

According to the website its 3.75 for + stand alone.
the digital + HD is an extra €5 PM. total.

Yeah thats right but im confused because im wondering why these prices(incl telephony and broadband) have VAT prices added onto them and then sub-totaled and added to the bundle price.

jame5_b

In my opinion the UPC HD service is toxic. I had it for two months then cancelled it. no way is it worth a fiver a month. maybe when they get some more channels as I rearly used any of the channels they have.
I used the ESPN channel for the odd match and BBC HD for top gear but other than that it was a waste of time.

ted1

does the box upscale the standard channels?

Ranicand

ted1 wrote: »

does the box upscale the standard channels?

Yes.

dots104

anyone know if setanta or the BBC channel will be showing the rugby world cup in hd might be an incentive to pick it up. i assume Wimbledon will be in hd this year.

macman2010

dots104 wrote: »

anyone know if setanta or the BBC channel will be showing the rugby world cup in hd might be an incentive to pick it up. i assume Wimbledon will be in hd this year.

ITV nicked the RWC 2011 from BBC this year, although setanta will be showing all the matches live.

http://www.setanta.com/ie/Our-Sports/Rugby/Rugby-World-Cup-2011/

smurf22

dots104 wrote: »

anyone know if setanta or the BBC channel will be showing the rugby world cup in hd might be an incentive to pick it up. i assume Wimbledon will be in hd this year.

Setanta have the rights for every game in the rugby world cup here, plus it will be on their HD channel

gertechhaha

macman2010 wrote: »

Can anybody advise if the UPC HD box is worth the money.
Currently i have the basic box, which is sh*te.
Is the EPG any better.

you would be better off getting another basic box for another room rather than getting hd

wilford

I've just upgraded to hd,moved the other box into the bedroom and it costs the €5 extra a month I'm impressed with it as I like watching history,nat geo etc not as good as sky but upc never will be sound on the hd channels is better too.

Irish Kev

wilford wrote: »

I've just upgraded to hd,moved the other box into the bedroom and it costs the €5 extra a month I'm impressed with it as I like watching history,nat geo etc not as good as sky but upc never will be sound on the hd channels is better too.

Did they charge you €50 for the box?

I enquired yesterday and was told this, there was no mention of installation/activation fee. They were to call back but with CS being so bad this did not happen

wilford

No I wasn't charged €50 because I kept the original box and moved it upstairs.

Minstrel27

macman2010 wrote: »

ITV nicked the RWC 2011 from BBC this year

ITV have always shown the Rugby World Cup. No doubt it will be spread out across ITV1 and ITV4

icdg

Minstrel27 wrote: »

ITV have always shown the Rugby World Cup. No doubt it will be spread out across ITV1 and ITV4

Certainly been on ITV as long as I can remember. Slight issue with this one in that a lot of the matches will be very early in the morning, and ITV get all the revenue for adverts between 06:00-9:25am even in the UTV, STV, and Channel regions. That might mean trouble for the nations which have typically opted out to show their own country's matches on ITV1 when ITV plc have scheduled coverage on ITV4 instead. The regions aren't allowed opt out during this period (the old GMTV slot) except with the agreement of ITV plc. GMTV notoriously barred UTV from doing so after they once did so of their own accord (back in 1994) without telling them.

Anyway, RTÉ will have all of Ireland's matches too, as they're on the Crown Jewels list, along with one match from each of the knockout stages. TG4 have tape delayed rights too.

macman2010

I got the HD box and moved my existing box up to one of the bedrooms.
The HD channels are good but i dont get the hype surrounding them.
Im glad i upgraded though as i can now record the other RWC2011 matches off setanta and watch them at a reasonable time.

hawkelady

sorry for asking again but i just want to be clear. if I call upc and ask for an up grade to a hd box and move my existing digital box to another room will i be only charged an extra fiver per month for this?? if so, it sounds like a winner.
ps, does the hd box have the ability to record programmes to watch later and can it pause live tv??
thanks

Ranicand

hawkelady wrote: »

sorry for asking again but i just want to be clear. if I call upc and ask for an up grade to a hd box and move my existing digital box to another room will i be only charged an extra fiver per month for this?? if so, it sounds like a winner.
ps, does the hd box have the ability to record programmes to watch later and can it pause live tv??
thanks

€10

The HD box is €5 extra and it's €5 to add on multiroom.

As regards the HD box yes it's a full recording Digital Plus box.

200motels

I was thinking of moving from Sky to save a few quid but I've heard their TV is not great, and they don't have Sky Atlantic HD.

Shades799

200motels wrote: »

I was thinking of moving from Sky to save a few quid but I've heard their TV is not great, and they don't have Sky Atlantic HD.

Personally wouldn't, I only moved to UPC because I couldn't get Sky in my apartment. You will rip your hair out and scream to yourself why it just can't be as good as Sky. I can't emphasise how much better the Sky performance and usability is, and that's before you talk about signal quality.

Unless you're circumstances have changed and your budget is the same I would HIGHLY recommend to stay with Sky

200motels

Shades799 wrote: »

Personally wouldn't, I only moved to UPC because I couldn't get Sky in my apartment. You will rip your hair out and scream to yourself why it just can't be as good as Sky. I can't emphasise how much better the Sky performance and usability is, and that's before you talk about signal quality.

Unless you're circumstances have changed and your budget is the same I would HIGHLY recommend to stay with Sky

I'll be staying with Sky I'm with them over 10 years, but is UPC that bad? I have broadband and phone with them which I have to say is excellent.

dMaN24

It might be me, it might be my telly but i've noticed that the sound on the HD channels are way lower than on the standard channels. Anyone else noticed this?

And sorry for bumping an old thread.

Minstrel27

That is the same on satellite too.