Sky vs. NTL!

[sraper]

Hello. I am currently a "reasonably" happy Sky customer. Soon I hope to be moving house to a cable area. However at the moment I have both ADSL (with PIPEX) and BTs evening and weekend free calls. So should I stick with this package when I move. Or should I get the equivalent package from NTL? One problem is that I only recently bought and ADSL router and I guess it ain't going to work with the cable modem


So how does the picture quality compare?

Do you get the "red dots" all over the place with NTL!

Can you get a router to allow more than one computer to share the cable modem?

[Starburst]

I've got NTL D and SKY D in my home.
SKY by choice and NTL because you have to have another service to get a cable modem.

SKY D is superior in every aspect.
Picture quality is better, service is more reliable, the interactive works and is far faster than the NTL STB can manage and the NTL remote is a bitch to use.
Also you get all the FTV channels on SKY D without having to pay anything to SKY.

No red dots on NTL D because their "interactive" is very very basic, none of this press red button and go to a channel mosiac like SKY D and DTT can manage with ease.
However IF NTL sort their software out then they will use revenue generating icons/dogs as well, only a matter of time.

I haven't networked my CM but it is possible, there is a NTL newsgroup dedicated to home networking.
Useful site for cable modem info....

Robin Walker

[Reepicheep]

I managed to get NTL broadband by just having an NTL phone - didn't need to subscibe to NTL Digital as well.

I chose Sky Digital over NTL Digital anyway - for much the same reasons as expressed by Starburst

Same as Reepicheep, NTL phone to get the Cable Modem then used Sky for Digital TV.

Girlfriend used to have NTL TV, poor picture, poor sound, poor customer service. They also charged her for two months viewing outside of the first 12 months even though she had a receipt from them for their box they'd taken back two months earlier.

When she protested and said she wouldn't pay, they simply threatened court and, like many others, for the sake of £60 or so she simply paid up to ge them off her back.

[Starburst]

They couldn't supply me with a NTL phone line !

So for £4.99 a month I have a digital STB in the bedroom with Eurosport and SKY1, if I had argued a liitle longer then perhaps I would have just got the CM but the thought of having Eurosport independent of the SKY digibox was very tempting
Just a shame SKY's cheapest package wwhich includes SKY1 is so pathetic.

I have NTL phone and Digital TV (CATV), my farther has SKY and BT.

My calls and rental are cheaper, my CATV reception is better than his SKY. I admit his interacitve is better but NTL are getting there and the CATV boxes are more "secure".
As for the remote, i have had no problems and find it easy to use.
NTL do not use a phone line for there Digital CATV like sky, so less wiring.

I have a 512K modem and will be trialing the 1GIG soon.

Nobody can touch the NTL Cable Modem, it beats BT hands down.

Plus, if your equipment breaks, NTL swop it for free

Me..................i'd choose NTL over Sky and BT.

jon

P.S. I'm an "Installs Team Manager" for NTL North East.

[MAW]

I'm NTL'd, whilst picture quality could be improved, couldn't any when it's 8 feet across.... Broadband is cheap and stunning, I have a home network, 4 pc's all connected, I have a router and a network hub. You can get a combined one. NTL will not offer tech support for this, but they're fine about you doing it. It was a piece of .... to set up, no problems since. PM me if you need to know more, I'd fill the forum with boring rubbish for most people.

I recieved a tele call from NTL to provide services which I refused as I have been with SKY from day one and the quality of digital signal looks great on my 46" rptv. I did mentioned that I would be intrested in cable broadband as BT ADSL will not be available in my area untill 400 sign-up. I was then informed that you do not need to have any other NTL services to get cable broadband and it only cost £25 to install 128k @ £14.99 per month or wait for it Free installation for 512k @ £24.99 per month, this sounds great to me as BT charge me £15.99 for max of only 10 in any 24hrs period and then be cut off every 2 hrs or less. As I have now been cut off 3 times already in less than the last 2 hrs NTL 512k here I come

PS: This deal ends before the end of Aug

[Starburst]

I got my NTL CM installed under a free offer last year, I can not fault the service or the isntallation crew that did the job.
Faultless is all I can say, including replacing tarmac on my drive that they had to dig up. Bloody shame they were losing their jobs a few weeks later due to NTL money saving cut backs

No other service needed for CM is a excellent, perhaps they have finalyl realised that CM can sell itself and is only held back by forcing potential subscribers into either giving up BT or SKY or carrying the extra subscription costs.

[MAW]

Get the 512k, you know you want to...

512K, its amazing.
Cant wait to see the 1GIG , hard to believe that you can get faster than 512K because it seems so fast.

Telco modems (56k) are so old and slow, even the 128k seems quick.

Currently in the Midlands you can order just 512k modem without having to have another ntl service

The £25 install is free at the moment, im sure it will be back.

ITV digital customers can get 1/2 price modem for 3 months if they move over to ntl.

So many offers.

jon

[zoolap]

Originally posted by jon1800
512K, its amazing.
Cant wait to see the 1GIG , hard to believe that you can get faster than 512K because it seems so fast....

I think you mean 1Mbit , 1 GIG is sadly a long way away for us home users. With 1Gbit you could do HDTV (dreaming ) and video on demand.

[MAW]

1 Mbit it is, but that's 1 megabyte every 8 seconds, surely enough in itself for film via Mpeg-4. Sadly, not this year or next though. It'd keep stopping, there's just not the constant bandwidth available, and won't be for some time, after all, NTL is just the consumer end of the pipeline.

[jubbleys]

you will own sky equipment, it breaks u pay (1 year limited warranty)

ntl - they own, you rent equipmet, modem or tv box, it breaks they pay

simple as