Change from Sky to UPC?

Gravale

I'm presently using Sky Satellite TV which I'm very happy with. No problems whatsoever. However, UPC are actively promoting their sevice in my area since they installed fibre-optic cables in the neighbourhood. The financial deal is excellent, much better than what I'm paying Sky at the moment. The offer of a 3-times faster broadband is tempting too, as is the telephone deal.

Can anyone offer any reason as to why I shouldn't change to UPC? I seem to have heard various people at different times complain about one thing or another when UPC was mentioned.

Thanks.:)

Ranicand

If your in an upgraded area the UPC service is rock solid.

The TV has a slower guide no interactive and less channels.
Here is the UPC channel line up.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_on_UPC_Ireland


The broadband and phone are great.

TV multiroom is much cheaper any problems UPC replace the box at no cost to you.
ESPN HD and Satanta HD part of the basic pack.

UPC offer all 3 services on one bill that is why I stick with them.
I left Sky 3 years ago and since then I have never had a TV outage with UPC.

surf board

Ranicand wrote: »

If your in an upgraded area the UPC service is rock solid.

The TV has a slower guide no interactive and less channels.
Here is the UPC channel line up.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_on_UPC_Ireland


The broadband and phone are great.

TV multiroom is much cheaper any problems UPC replace the box at no cost to you.
ESPN HD and Satanta HD part of the basic pack.

UPC offer all 3 services on one bill that is why I stick with them.
I left Sky 3 years ago and since then I have never had a TV outage with UPC.

ESPN hd is on select extra, not value pack unfortunately

Sunny!!

you have to ask yourself do you want value or quality?

value - upc, great broadband, atrocious tv, no interactive, less channels

quality - sky,great tv, great interactive services

Gravale

Thanks, folks. I'll weigh up the pro's and con's you've described and see how I feel about things. As I said, Sky Satellite has been a flawless experience, so I'd need to ask myself if I'd be willing to take a chance on UPC even for a better price.:)

Pat Gleeson

Bear in mind Sky are packaging ESPN to be part of the Sky Sports pack saving €12 pm from September.

Sunny!!

sky seem to be constantly improving, free espn now aswell with the sports packs, id say run a mile from upc if you can for tv, i remember reading somewhere they believe there tv is on par with sky, if they think that nothing will improve


get upc broadband do doubt, but seriously consider staying with sky for tv:)

Gravale

So what is it about tv on UPC that's not great? The fewer channels, no interactive, slow....?

jack presley

Gravale wrote: »

So what is it about tv on UPC that's not great? The fewer channels, no interactive, slow....?

Lack of decent HD channels.

Sunny!!

- slow epg on upc v fast on sky
- slow guide on upc v fast on sky
- all the itvs (manual tuned but its not that difficult)
- you keep the box with sky and can use it for freesat, upc take the box back
- no downgrade fees with sky, upc does 10euro i think
- customer service with sky is 24/7 if you have any problems with your viewing, upc i think 9-6 Monday- Friday
-47v10 hd
- sky will always be the first for new channels usually, upc will be miles behind
- and the channel diferrence
- itv's
- sky atlantic
- music channels
- eden
- sky go(on the pc free)
- lots more

there just way better:) but it depends on the person:)

Gravale

Thanks very much for that, everyone. You've been very helpful indeed.

I think that the only reason I'm considering UPC is the financial one. It definitely offers an attractive incentive with its pricing, phone and broadband. However, getting a good price with a lesser tv experience is something I'd have to consider carefully. As I said, Sky through my satellite dish is a flawless experience for me and I'll have to take that into account.

Thanks again.:)

Sunny!!

Gravale wrote: »

Thanks very much for that, everyone. You've been very helpful indeed.

I think that the only reason I'm considering UPC is the financial one. It definitely offers an attractive incentive with its pricing, phone and broadband. However, getting a good price with a lesser tv experience is something I'd have to consider carefully. As I said, Sky through my satellite dish is a flawless experience for me and I'll have to take that into account.

Thanks again.:)

broadband is also something to be carefully considered difficult situation to be in, hope you make the right choice, i was in the same situation, went with the bundle with upc tv broadband phone, but after 3 months had to get rid of the tv. The broadband and phone are excellent though:)

Gravale

So when you got rid of the UPC tv subscription what did you get to replace it?

Sunny!!

Gravale wrote: »

So when you got rid of the UPC tv subscription what did you get to replace it?

sky. and i must say happy customer:D the difference is unbelieveable!

WannaGetFit

I have never had SKY, only UPC. Have no problems whatsoever.
Have 25MB Broadband and a **** load of TV channels. Cannot imagine needing more.........dont have time to view the ones I have.

Maybe if I had SKY and then UPC I would see the difference but honestly I think UPC is great.

I have heard friends say SKY is better alright but since I never had it I dont miss it.

:-)

Sunny!!

all depends on the person......
if your really into your tv, sky
and theres no alternative in regards to broadband, you wont get better than upc:)

Gravale

Good to hear that you're happy with UPC, Wanagetfit. Yes, not everybody has difficulty with UPC, but I read so much on some forums about issues regarding their service and sometimes hardware that it makes me cautious about moving away from something good like Sky. It's just that UPC has a good price package which includes phone and fibre-optic broadband.

Sunny, I didn't realize that you could get the phone and broadband from UPC without getting their TV service?

Sunny!!

yeap you can

i've 50mb and phone for 50 euro a month, then you add on whatever calls or you can add on a pack

heres a link to broadband and phone bundles
http://www.upc.ie/deals/broadbandandphone/

note that new cutomers get half price for two months:)

Gravale

I checked my Eircom bill this evening and found that I'm paying €30 per month for 8mb broadband and €27 for the phone line (before call charges). Phone and fibre-optic broadband from UPC is the way I'll go as soon as my year's contract with Eircom expires in four weeks.

Thanks for the information.:)

Sunny!!

thats good. i wont even comment on eircom, they've no shame, got rid of them too:D

Ranicand

Gravale wrote: »

I checked my Eircom bill this evening and found that I'm paying €30 per month for 8mb broadband and €27 for the phone line (before call charges). Phone and fibre-optic broadband from UPC is the way I'll go as soon as my year's contract with Eircom expires in four weeks.

Thanks for the information.:)

Your 8Mb from Eircom has a 30 gig monthly usage limit.

UPC 12Mb for €25 a month has a 500 gig usage limit from September.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

Your 8Mb from Eircom has a 30 gig monthly usage limit.

UPC 12Mb for €25 a month has a 500 gig usage limit from September.

do you know what date in september?

Ranicand

Sunny!! wrote: »

do you know what date in september?

The 5th.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

The 5th.

doesnt the 12mb go up to 20mb and 500gb usage or am i wrong?
then 1mb go to 12mb?

Ranicand

Sunny!! wrote: »

doesnt the 12mb go up to 20mb and 500gb usage or am i wrong?
then 1mb go to 12mb?

Yes the 12 does go up to 20 on that date.

The usage is the best part however.

I could never use 500GB in a month but at least I know I can relax and not worry about going over the limit.

The Eircom 30GB limit is a joke.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

Yes the 12 does go up to 20 on that date.

The usage is the best part however.

I could never use 500GB in a month but at least I know I can relax and not worry about going over the limit.

The Eircom 30GB limit is a joke.

im on 50, but was on 12 before, that i download a lot so 120 wasnt enough, ive 2 weeks left of the 50mb and ill go back down to 12 again, because i dont see a difference in the speed just download limit, its super fast anyway, it shouldnt be a problem downgrading in 2 weeks should it, id still get the 12 going to 20mb 500gb on 5 september?

And yes eircom are a joke, suprised there still in existence

Ranicand

Sunny!! wrote: »

im on 50, but was on 12 before, that i download a lot so 120 wasnt enough, ive 2 weeks left of the 50mb and ill go back down to 12 again, because i dont see a difference in the speed just download limit, its super fast anyway, it shouldnt be a problem downgrading in 2 weeks should it, id still get the 12 going to 20mb 500gb on 5 september?

And yes eircom are a joke, suprised there still in existence

Yes but you will have to pay the downgrade charge.

Not sure if it's 10 or 20 Euro.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

Yes but you will have to pay the downgrade charge.

Not sure if it's 10 or 20 Euro.

ok thats no prob, i thought you might have to be on the 12 over a month or something

but happy days!!:)

WannaGetFit

Gravale wrote: »

I checked my Eircom bill this evening and found that I'm paying €30 per month for 8mb broadband and €27 for the phone line (before call charges). Phone and fibre-optic broadband from UPC is the way I'll go as soon as my year's contract with Eircom expires in four weeks.

Thanks for the information.:)

Just check with UPC if they have phone in your area. They do not in mine, otherwise i would have got phone with them also.

forzacalcio

Best thing to do is tell us what package and what you pay at the moment and we compare it to UPC, been with UPC for 7 months now. The only reason Im with them is that HD is cheap and the channels I want (EPSN, ESPN America, Sky SPorts News, Eurosport, Setanta) are all on the middle package €32 a month! I was with SKy before and I really do miss it! If I were you Id stick with Sky, if you are paying €10/15 extra a month I would stick, if its a case of you paying €20/25 extra a month then yes maybe its worth moving!

Cantona's Collars

This is another reason to stick with Sky. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056330548

No interactive service on UPC is a pain especially for match choice during Champions League.

You can also get Sky free on your laptop,Xbox and iPad/iPhone.Get UPC broadband on it's own and keep Sky for tv-best of both worlds.

icdg

My positives and negatives with regards both:

Sky

---

Pros:
- Much greater range of channels than UPC.
- Most new channels will be available on Sky from launch date.
- Better EPG software.
- Red button services, including BBC Red Button and Sky Active.
- Red button Sky Sports and BBC content is only available to Irish viewers on Sky.

Cons

---

- More expensive
- EPG layout less logical - UK terrestrials are scattered around the EPG.
- ITV not on the EPG in Ireland. Nor BBC News Channel.
- Some programmes are blocked on ESPN and on Channel 4 version on EPG that are not blocked on cable.

UPC (note - this refers to cable in Dublin and may not necessarily apply in MMDS areas)

Pros

---

- Cheaper than Sky
- Setanta Ireland included with all subscriptions. ESPN included with all but analogue-only and the Digital Value packs.
- More logical EPG layout. All Irish and UK terrestrial channels are at top of the EPG.
- UTV on the EPG. BBC News Channel and BBC World (the latter channel will never, ever, be available on Sky).
- Broadband from UPC is one of the fastest domestic services

Cons

---

- No red button except on Euronews.
- EPG software - all three different EPGs - all worse than Sky Guide.
- Smaller range of channels than Sky. There may be a wait sometimes before new channels launch.

Sunny!!

you can manual tune the channel 4 in other channels to view restricted content.

Ranicand

Sunny!! wrote: »

you can manual tune the channel 4 in other channels to view restricted content.

But you can not record it.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

But you can not record it.

even at that, imo sky tv and upc cant really be compared

Ranicand

Sunny!! wrote: »

even at that, imo sky tv and upc cant really be compared

I am not trying to compare the two.

UPC TV has a few little things I like above Sky but I will admit Sky has the better TV service.

UPC offer TV phone and broadband on the one bill and cheaper mutiroom .


UPC in my opinion offer better value Sky have a better TV service but in my opinion it is overpriced.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

I am not trying to compare the two.

UPC TV has a few little things I like above Sky but I will admit Sky has the better TV service.

UPC offer TV phone and broadband on the one bill and cheaper mutiroom .


UPC in my opinion offer better value Sky have a better TV service but in my opinion it is overpriced.

i would agree to an extent, broadband and phone are excellent:)
and i admit the multiroom was one of upcs strong points in regards tv

it depends on the person, upc would suit alot of people

but if your really into tv then its sky.

but the bundles are tempting for people

i do agree sky is overpriced alright:)

Ranicand

Sunny!! wrote: »

i would agree to an extent, broadband and phone are excellent:)
and i admit the multiroom was one of upcs strong points in regards tv

it depends on the person, upc would suit alot of people

but if your really into tv then its sky.

but the bundles are tempting for people

i do agree sky is overpriced alright:)

You summed it up nicely that is the choice.

Sunny!!

Ranicand wrote: »

You summed it up nicely that is the choice.

i really hope that upc improve in tv, there broadband is up to date my miles, maybe its tv next, and bring some real competition with sky which will benefit all

Worztron

My father switched to UPC today. Engineers should arrive in about 5 days. What does UPC stand for? He mentioned the TV package but he is with Sky. I presume he'd be best to just stay with the UPC Fibre Power Starter (phone & broadband only)?

forzacalcio

This is what he should do.
Call up UPC and say it was a mistake and his son called up pretending to be him and he wishes to cancel his UPC TV package! Trust me on this!

Worztron

forzacalcio wrote: »

This is what he should do.
Call up UPC and say it was a mistake and his son called up pretending to be him and he wishes to cancel his UPC TV package! Trust me on this!

He did not sign up for UPC TV. Just phone & bb.