NTL V SKY

Sounds like you dont have all the packs on Sky. All the non-premium packs add up to around €32 per month, making it just a tad more expensive than NTL. Basic multi room is a lot cheaper and simpler with NTL. If this is required, keep it into consideration when choosing.

and how does the picture quality compare?
some claim sky has superior picture quality...

UPC might be cheaper, but if sky has "significant" better picture quality for SD channels (which are the majority of channels), it still might be better value.

My experience with the two:

1. Picture quailty - Sky wins hands down. The "low bitrate" channels are generally ones like TruMovies etc, and I've found this actually affects sound more than picture.
2. Channel selection - Sky has many more channels, but UPC have a few channels more conveniently available (e.g. BBC3/4, BBC News), whereas Sky only has them hidden away under 'Other Channels'
3. User Experience - When UPC had the Purple interface, I found it fairly easy to use (if a little clumsy at times); then they switched to the 'Blue' interface (I'm sure there's a better term for it!), and I found it buggy as hell, and really awkward...random crashes, pausing while entering channel numbers would make it pick some other channel that it thinks you mean; etc. In fact that was what prompted us to get rid of the UPC box and replace it with Sky. The only thing I miss on Sky's user interface is the ability to get program information on a program you aren't actually watching without going to the TV guide. Sky Anytime is also pretty good, especially if you have the movie channels. Have they added the ability to watch one/record one or watch pre-recorded+record two to UPC yet?
4. Cost - Sky costs between €21.50 and €31.50 a month excluding premium channels depending on what packs you want. UPC these days only seems to have one €27.50 package available (at least for new customers). We have the €23.50/mth option, which has pretty much any channel I'd want.
5. Warranty - this is the only +1 on UPC for me - with UPC they own the hardware, with Sky you own the hardware. If something goes wrong with the box, with UPC they'll replace it, with Sky you have to buy a new box.

There's no clear winner really, it's really down to what you prefer. We used to have Sky TV and UPC BB, but we've since moved to an area that UPC only has very basic coverage, so we're down to Sky TV and no BB until I figure out who to go with.

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. Anyway I have a few questions about multiroom viewing, it's €8.50 per month extra, is that per room? Is there a limit to how many rooms? Most importantly if I have a Digital + HD box in my same room could I get another Digital + HD box in another room or would it have to be the basic box?

I imagine that it would be difficult to go much higher. Firstly once you go past 4 you'd need more than an Octo-LNB on your dish (can you even get more than that?), unless of course you use the old non-plus boxes. Secondly with Multi-Room Sky have this very irritating requirement that all boxes are hooked up to the same land-line. If you had more than 4 boxes + a regular phone, your REN on the line might go too high.

What we've done in-house is we just have one box, and then use a wireless video-sender to send it over to a different TV. It does mean we can only watch one channel at a time, but we can live with that.

Max Power1 wrote: »

and many channels not available on NTL - ITV1-4, Channel 5, Living TV2 etc. COmpetent customer service, and a much better EPG system.

ITV1-5 = the bill....endlessly... oh and dancing with stars lol
Channel 5 = The dregs of daytime tv but with the added bonus of being carried through the night!
Living +2 = Great! If I menstrated and had breasts ...... +1 hour.


But it doesnt end there... Live roulet TV 24/7!!! cant live without that!
Infomercial tv.... excellent! Classicial music tv... if I dont have some Bethoven before I head out on the booze Iit aint a REAL night out!

Anything on NTL is channels you ACTUALLY watch as opposed to 400 channels of utter cack clogging up that excellent epg.

I would trade all of those channels for a proper one like channel 4.

Sky may appear to have far more channels than UPC but many are god, porn, hd, shopping and quite a variety of obscure ones. Remove these and the gap narrows considerably.
Sky installation and multiroom are far more expensive.
Sky insist on you having an active phone line connected to each box at all times. This creates a major problem if you need 4 or more boxes in your home as domestic phone lines carry a max of 4 REN so nothing left for phone, broadband etc.
Sky customer services people are unhelpfull, rude and arrogant. Just try and speak to anyone in their Milton Keynes centre. They will never return your calls and when you call them again quoting the name you were given they will deny all knowledge of that person. I actually have signed by persons whom they deny exist. So the question is are they lying or are the names ficticious inventions.
Sky picture quality is no better than UPC though I am on a Fibre Optic Cable.
I switched to UPC, TV, Broadband and Phone a year ago.
There installers were, pleasant, polite, professional and did a good job.
They are much cheaper than others including Sky.
Their customer services people are excellent ( I acknowledge it sometimes takes a while to get through to them but when you do they are not rude or impolite like Sky's people).
Sky have a great range of channels but so do UPC.
Sky picture quality is excellent but no better than UPC's.
Don't know about Sky's but UPC Broadband and Phone are great and cheap.
But when it comes to the people you have to speak to on helplines UPC staff simply blow Sky out of the water.

Hitbit

BostonB wrote: »

Funny because was told by sky you had to pay extra if you didn't have a phone line. I've also read of lots of people disconecting their sky box from the phone line with no problems. Perhaps that's no longer possible and the sky person was telling me porkies.

And as a UPC customer for many years my experience of them is certainly not as dream like as yours.

You only need a phone line if you have Sky Multiroom. If you have a single box you won't need it.