ITV FTA from Nov 1st

parasite

rte 1 + 2 :rolleyes:

Tony

Freddie59 wrote:

It's a pity that some people are wishing on the demise of NTL/Chorus. Can you only imagine what it would be like if the field was wide open for Sky?

Be careful what you wish for - you might just get it.:rolleyes:

I would not wish for the demise of NTL as I think the more players in the market the better it is for customers, it would be a disaster if Sky became the major Tv player. Having said that NTl and the other cable co's have had it cosy for way too long, good to see nerw operators like magnet making some inroads.

bigpaddy2004

Agreed, the more operators the better. Can you just imagine what would happen if sky were the only provider in Ireland? I can just bet that the subscription rate would rocket.

Tony

bk wrote:

However they will have to fight to keep their position with the emergence of new platforms such as DTT, Freesat and IPTV. In particular the Chorus network is in a pretty week.
NTL will need to offer many value added services, such as PVR, VoD, cheaper digital prices, BB and phone, in order to keep its position.

I agree I use NTL broadband myself and with setanta I think this is a major selling point for them. Having said that over half the calls I get relate to people wanting to cancel NTL, not because of their offering but because of poor customer service. They also like the idea of no monthly fee which is what FTA delivers.

watty

FTA satellite is a threat to Sky's base too.

Though Germany and Turkey with Large FTA selection Pay TV exists too.

watty

Freddie59 wrote:

Depends on your age and house occupation Watty! I have four teens, am quite partial myself to channels beyond BBC/ITV (which I also like) such as Sky One, Discovery, E4, etc. I have base NTL analogue/Digital pack for €30 and 3 Meg BB for €45. I couldn't even consider a FTA system. If I did I'd then have to subscribe to Sky and would be back to square one! I'm very happy with what I have.:)

It isn't either / or

I currently have Knowledge Pick for my youngest and 3 other FTA systems.

I can turn Sky off at 1mth notice and get connected within 5min again. Done so various times since Sept 2000.

But we get FTA from 20 satellites and choice of 4 receivers for FTA channels from 28.2E / Sky.

Freddie59

watty wrote:

It isn't either / or

I currently have Knowledge Pick for my youngest and 3 other FTA systems.

I can turn Sky off at 1mth notice and get connected within 5min again. Done so various times since Sept 2000.

But we get FTA from 20 satellites and choice of 4 receivers for FTA channels from 28.2E / Sky.

Yep - I see where you're coming from, but I would class myself as a fairly average consumer and don't want that kind of hassle over €6 a week.:)

Dr. Nick

i ALMOST went with chorus when i moved away from the East coast two years ago, but two calls to their sales team left me in a state of shock. Made me wonder was I REALLY a potential customer.
So for ITV (especially) and C4 that my wife craves for, I got a UK receiver and card from ebay, never looked back
Now it'll be even easier, for those rare moments that I want to see C4 and wifey wants ITV (last Wed. 10pm, Lost vs. some ITV drama), we have a solution.

Freddie59

Tony wrote:

I would not wish for the demise of NTL as I think the more players in the market the better it is for customers, it would be a disaster if Sky became the major Tv player. Having said that NTl and the other cable co's have had it cosy for way too long, good to see nerw operators like magnet making some inroads.

Agreed - but I wouldn't exactly call it cosy. Both NTL and Chorus nearly went to the wall in recent years (NTL seemed to come out OK but not too sure about Chorus) and a crucial thing to remember here is that BOTH of these cablecos only have one wholesale supplier - Sky.

And there's the rub. One can only hazard a guess at the rates charged there. It's not like they can go elsewhere! Yep - Sky is the premier platform, but it's expensive (especially out of warranty!) but I personally think that, while NTL and Chorus don't have the interactive thingy, they still represent good value (I can only comment on NTL really) for the money charged - I can get 15 analogue channels and some 100 digital channels for roughly the price of 20 fags a week.:)

I suppose it's down to personal taste and there are some interesting times ahead.

Tony

Freddie59 wrote:

Agreed - but I wouldn't exactly call it cosy.

are u kidding? exclusive franchise areas ?

bigpaddy2004

Freddie59 are yo joking? Chorus will never go to ground...the goverment will always sub them out if they are in trouble.

Our man in Havana

bigpaddy2004 wrote:

Freddie59 are yo joking? Chorus will never go to ground...the goverment will always sub them out if they are in trouble.

Chorus is in private hands so the Govt will never bail them out. With Itv becoming FTV there is now no reason for ppl to keep them.

L1011

bigpaddy2004 wrote:

Freddie59 are yo joking? Chorus will never go to ground...the goverment will always sub them out if they are in trouble.

Chorus, the ultimately un-socialist (remember, we have a pretendo-socialist government right now, thank you Che Bertie....) conglomerate of never-state owned firms?

The state wouldn't give a bollox if Liberty's Irish operations hit the wall. Not a chance in hell they'd help them, ever. NTL:Ireland, however....

Freddie59

bigpaddy2004 wrote:

Freddie59 are yo joking? Chorus will never go to ground...the goverment will always sub them out if they are in trouble.

Paddy - I think you're confusing them with someone else:) . AFAIK they were NEVER bailed out by the Government - they are a private company and have to stand or fall on their own income (unlike RTE who have been bailed out countless times - courtesy of me and you).

Freddie59

Tony wrote:

are u kidding? exclusive franchise areas ?

I think that went by the wall when Sky Digital started in 1998 Tony.:)

Tony

Freddie59 wrote:

I think that went by the wall when Sky Digital started in 1998 Tony.:)

Not true they kept (and still have) exclusive rights for cable in franchise areas. When sky digital started it did not have BBC or RTE so there was not a level playing field. Its only recently that new cable network operators have entered the market. NTL and Chorus had no real competition for years, to say otherwise is to ignore the facts accepted by everyone I know in the industry.

bk

Tony wrote:

Having said that over half the calls I get relate to people wanting to cancel NTL, not because of their offering but because of poor customer service.

Really? I'm not being argumentitive, I'm just curios, I've had NTL the last three years, but I've only had to call them in the last 9 months when getting BB from them. When I have called them, I have found them to be the best customer support staff I've ever had to deal with (compared to Chorus, Eircom, etc.).

No really, when I call I get straight through, no waiting, the cs staff seem to be knowledgeable, friendly and very professional. A nice touch I really liked was they sent an automated SMS to me the day before my BB was to be installed, to remind me, very cool.

I've heard many friends and colleagues complain about NTL CS, however when I ask, they all say it was over a year or two ago since they dealt with them. I wonder has NTL CS been greatly improved in the last year?

Unfortunately there are rumours that NTL's support centre will be closed when they merge with Chorus, shudder :mad: Chorus are the worst shower I've ever had the misfortune to deal with.

Tony wrote:

They also like the idea of no monthly fee which is what FTA delivers.

But it seems like an awful lot of effort to save just €20 - €30 per month. I mean you have both a satelitte and an aerial and switch between them, not a very comfortable viewing experience, my friend has this sort of setup and it is very annoying.

I suppose everybody has different needs.

bk

Tony wrote:

Not true they kept (and still have) exclusive rights for cable in franchise areas.

I believe there are no longer any exclusive franchise areas. However there is no overlap as it would be simply too expensive to lay cable in an area where a competitior is already present.

Capt'n Midnight

bk wrote:

I mean you have both a satelitte and an aerial and switch between them, not a very comfortable viewing experience, my friend has this sort of setup and it is very annoying.

I suppose everybody has different needs.

There is a code you can enter in the sky remote so when you press the SKY button the TV changes channel to the DigiBox.

Any one know it ?

When it's setup you press TV and 1-5 for the channels on the aerial and the SKY button and then press three more digits to choose the SKY channel.

Freddie59

bk wrote:

I believe there are no longer any exclusive franchise areas. However there is no overlap as it would be simply too expensive to lay cable in an area where a competitior is already present.

Correct.:)

watty

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

There is a code you can enter in the sky remote so when you press the SKY button the TV changes channel to the DigiBox.

Any one know it ?

When it's setup you press TV and 1-5 for the channels on the aerial and the SKY button and then press three more digits to choose the SKY channel.

If using SCART (preferred) then it is automatic if SCART on enabled in Setup.

Possible method for Digibox via RF only:
Otherwise press TV, hold select and green till two LED flashes on remote, and press channel number for RF channel. Or if "help" in TV mode slects SCART/AV in (does most TVs), press help instead of channel. Some TVs the SCART is selected with channel "0"

I don't know if this works for a channel number more than 9.

Again if SCART is used and this is best, then you should not need this.

It is in every Sky manual I have seen from last 5 years to last week model.

Tony

bk wrote:

I believe there are no longer any exclusive franchise areas. However there is no overlap as it would be simply too expensive to lay cable in an area where a competitior is already present.

wrong, even if it were financially feasible another cable operator cannot go into a franchise area already awarded.

Tom Dunne

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

There is a code you can enter in the sky remote so when you press the SKY button the TV changes channel to the DigiBox.

Any one know it ?

Feck it, I only did this a week or two ago, can't find the link. Google for Sky + remote + codes. That is how I got them for my Philips TV.

mjsmyth

From the NTL FAQ:

Can I transfer my account to a new address?
Yes, we can connect your new home, as long as it is located within either our cable or MMDS franchise area. You may be able to keep your existing account number, depending on the network and location you are moving to. If you are moving outside our franchise area and have pre-paid your bill past your moving date, we will be happy to arrange a cheque refund to your new address.

http://www.ntl.com/locales/ie/en/athome/analogue_cable_tv.html

So it would seem that there are indeed franchise areas still in operation in Ireland.

MJ

byte

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

There is a code you can enter in the sky remote so when you press the SKY button the TV changes channel to the DigiBox.

Any one know it ?

Press TV
Then Select+Green (hold until LED blinks twice)
Press the number of the channel that Sky is on
Then press Select to save settings.

Now anytime you press Sky button, the TV will automatically go to the designated channel.

HTH

watty

Thats what I said too.. so it must be right

Our man in Havana

byte wrote:

Press TV
Then Select+Green (hold until LED blinks twice)
Press the number of the channel that Sky is on
Then press Select to save settings.

Now anytime you press Sky button, the TV will automatically go to the designated channel.

HTH

What a handy thing!

Tony

Guys bear in mind you will not get the same picture quality using RF rather than a scart socket.

Capt'n Midnight

byte wrote:

Press TV
Then Select+Green (hold until LED blinks twice)
Press the number of the channel that Sky is on
Then press Select to save settings.

Now anytime you press Sky button, the TV will automatically go to the designated channel.

HTH

Thanks

Only thing to remember is to cover the front of the remote when you don't want the channel to change !

byte

The technique is handy for sets that didn't have auto scart switchover, so usually the process means pressign HELP instead of a number (Help, or sometimes Select) is usually the AV button on the Sky remote (this tip is only handy if you've only one AV channel, otherwise, everytime you press Sky button, you'll get moved to AV2, etc).

As Tony rightfully says, Scart is far superior, though for RF2 connection to TV2, it's handy!

EDIT: Oops, didn't realise Watty had already said how to do it! Ah well