New Tiscali Box - worth a phone call?

[RobMcM]

I've been a homechoice / tiscali customer for nigh-on 3 years now and have been pretty happy with it all in all. Just got a 32" LCD telly and the pq is, as has been mentioned lots on here, not great.

I do still have one of the 'old', silver-style boxes hooked up via rgb scart. My girlfriend's parents also had the same box (after being recommended by me!) but it went wrong, and so over the last week or so they got a replacement 'new' black box.

I went round to have a play with it and noticed that the remote response is about ten times faster - much nicer - but most excitingly it had an HDMI output on the back. My question is: is it worth a phone call to Tiscali to ask, as a long-term customer, if I can have one of these new boxes? Will HDMI make any difference to my picture quality on the LCD? Will they even give me a new box if there's nothing really wrong with my old one??

What do you all think?

[mjcairney]

My question is: is it worth a phone call to Tiscali to ask, as a long-term customer, if I can have one of these new boxes? Will HDMI make any difference to my picture quality on the LCD? Will they even give me a new box if there's nothing really wrong with my old one??

What do you all think?

Simple - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Cheers,

Martin.

[MK_Brett]

is it worth a phone call to Tiscali to ask, as a long-term customer, if I can have one of these new boxes?
It is indded always worth a call, but, a) they wont replace the STB unless it doesn't work; and b) if you are on the old delivery platform (ATM) then the new style STB wont work. At some point in the near future you will be "invited" to migrate to the current Tiscali service and you will then be able to have the new STB or the PVR :)
Although the new STB has HDMI, Tiscali do not have any HD content yet.

[RobMcM]

Interesting about 'old' vs 'new' delivery methods. Also, shame about the HD content. I guess the new box is HD-compliant for as-and-when Tiscali do offer them. Though knowing Tiscali it may never happen - anyone still miss 'red button' functions when watching Tiscali TV??

Of course if they're likely to 'invite' me anyway, then a phone call might just hurry that along. As you guys said, nothing ventured nothing gained... Just annoying work getting in the way of me and my phone!

One more Q: Is the PQ on the new box any improvement on the old one?

Cheers all!

[SmokingMagnum]

The pq improves slightly with the new black Tiscali+ box connected via HDMI but it's nothing to write home about... Still the biggest failing of the service and I have been assured that it is their number 1 priority right now, as it has been for some time.