Sky v's NTL Digital

freeasabird

Ok Guys,

Opinions.

I have Sky Digital with top package. Have a English FTV Card.

But was thinking of going to NTL. Don't ask me why, but just wanna get multiroom viewing. The Wife is sick of watching Footie. If I got Sky Multi Room it wacks the monthly bill up to nearly 80euro.

Whats the NTL Digital service like, picture etc...

Do ya think I'm mad or what??

I know Sky Plus is an option, but Jaysus Sky know how to hit you hard with the cost.

Let me know your ideas.

Round Cable

freeasabird wrote:

Whats the NTL Digital service like, picture etc...

People say they have trouble with NTL's CS, but I've never had any trouble, the picture is good for the most part, although the Irish channels particulary TG4 is overcompressed.

In terms of cost it's E30 a month for analouge and digital, a new thread started by ICDG says that an extra digibox, for another room, will cost just E5 a month better than Sky's 15.

watty

freeasabird wrote:

Ok Guys,

Opinions.

I have Sky Digital with top package. Have a English FTV Card.

But was thinking of going to NTL. Don't ask me why, but just wanna get multiroom viewing. The Wife is sick of watching Footie. If I got Sky Multi Room it wacks the monthly bill up to nearly 80euro.

Whats the NTL Digital service like, picture etc...

Do ya think I'm mad or what??

I know Sky Plus is an option, but Jaysus Sky know how to hit you hard with the cost.

Let me know your ideas.

Get a Quad LNB and add either a second Digibox or a a FTA receiver.

IF using FTA / FTV then no more charges.


I don't have ANY sky sub, so can buy DVDs instead.

I have a PC Sat card (the kind with built in TV out and DSP, not thye CPU intensive €59 type), a FTA Digital Receiver and a Skybox, and an analog receiver.

All four Sat receivers and S-VHS drive the Sky -eye compatible 4 way distribution amp for 4 other rooms.

All TVs have RTE1,2, TV3, TG4, PC Sat(via old VHS as modulator), FTA Sat, Digibox, S-VHS and Analog. So every TV has 9 or 10 channels on RF, and some have various SCART.



One of the four outputs feeds a splitter to feed two places instead of one.

The TV downlead has a splitter in reverse to add in the PC's VHS modulator as it is not in living room where all the other boxes are.

The main TV has the FTA sat and DVD feeding two scarts and a 4 way SCART switch box to the Third TV in socket, for Security camera, FM radio, S-VHS and Digibox.

The DVD digital optical out feeds 5.1 amp.
The FTA Sat Coaxial Digital feeds 5.1 amp.
The 4 way SACRT swtich feeds 5.1 amp via L&R "phono/RCA"

The 5.1 amp has a choice of Optical, Coax Digital or Analog in.

Tenshot

NTL Digital picture quality is generally great. If you're in an area with patchy analogue NTL reception though, the digital picture may suffer drop-outs (occasional freezes).

For multi-room viewing, a basic NTL Digital sub with a single set-top box will probably do what you want - you can watch the football on digital, while your wife watches the soaps on analogue in the bedroom (the main 15 channels are delivered in both analogue and digital).

A second digital settop box will cost you a fair bit extra, and unless you both want to watch digital channels at the same time, is not really worth it.

If you have the top sky package , you will get sky plus rent free.
If you can afford the once off cost,I'd suggest getting a sky plus box from a store (and another digibox off ebay or summat) and get another ftv card via a friend in the UK.
Then you have 3 sky boxes in 3 rooms if you want and you could use a digisender to transmit your subscription box channel(the one being watched) throughout the house.
Once off cost of that circa €500, you get to keep all the sky channels too instead of having the reduced NTL choice.
(unless you want free setanta)

hshortt

Hi guys,

I'm posting as I've a similar situation. I've a NTL subscription (basic) and Sky subscription - family pack + disney. The sky charges work out at 34.50 per month.

NTL is 17 euro per month. So I'm paying for both services!

NTL's current offer means that for an extra 12 euro per month, plus 8 euro per month for disney, I'll get the same channels and I'd be saving myself 14.50 euro a month by cancelling the Sky Subscription. I've been with Sky for three years so there'd be no cancellation charges.

What's the catch here? Do NTL offer the program guide like Sky's interface?

Thanks for any help.
Cheerio

watty

The only catches with NTL are:

1) A headbanger with wirecutters.

2) If you cancel you have NOTHING. With Satellite you still have 100 TV and 60 Radio.

If the wife is not wanting sport Free staellite channels may be fine.

Analog is poor. Different channels in multiroom on cable is always analog. I have found it unwatchable anytime in Dublin or Belfast on NTKL (Thought the Digital is OK), and unwatchable on Chorus analog cable in Limerick.

Loss of program (Digital or Analog) is much more common on Cable, and only once in 6 years on satellite while I watched. (Rain so hard that flooding was in 15 mins and it was dark at mid day).

hshortt

Thanks for that, but surely if I ordered NTL Digital and then after my minimum contract term cancelled it, I still have analogue right? I mean they are charging seperately so I expect it's a seperate service.

Anyway, I rang NTL and they told me that I could not have their digital service as I'm in Bray. Apparantly someone will call me tomorrow to discuss it but I won't hold my breath.

It would be great if I can get the NTL as it saves 14.50 a month that's better off in my pocket than Sky's.

Cheers and thanks
Howard

hshortt

Well Mark from NTL did call me back and I can have the decoder box. I'm assuming this is a good thing? It will be installed January 15th.

I rang Sky to cancel the service and they really do try to talk you out of it, saying that NTL won't offer the same channels etc etc, I know that but the channels my family watches are all included, and the price is better My account will be cancelled on the 15th January! - Good timing. Save myself 194.00 euro in a year with this switch.

I hope the service / quality is as good as Sky. I've have excellent service with Sky so NTL have a lot to stand up to. In the end, if it doesn't work I can re-activate the sky at no extra cost.

Cheers and thanks
Howard