fitzscoob

Looking for input as to what everyone thinks of the above for tv services.

Basically I am trying to figure out if it is more cost effective staying with ntl, having their broadband, telephone line and tv instead of going the more expensive way of sky and then broadband through someone else.

Does anyone here have NTL and what do you think of it compared to sky. The NTL package I'm looking at would be the family package plus all sky movies (1-9 plus cinema 1-3) then the sports chanels.

In an ideal world if money wasnt a problem I would go with sky for the tv, then someone else for broadband and telephone, but it seems as always that the best price is had if you can get it all in one place.

wrx-ian

I have NTL. Got no choice as in rented house so not allowed to put a dish up.
The service from NTL in my opinion is rubbish. It will freeze on a channel most days, the guide often does not work. Both of these will require a re-boot(un plug and plug back in). Seem to do this most days. As for the interactive red button only works on bbc at the moment and that is very very slow.

As for customer service the is even worse. When my system went wrong last year took a month to fix it. Often not turning up when they said they would.
The best bit was when they said " As a gesture of goodwill we will give to a discount on your next bill for the trouble we have caused. We won`t charge you for the days you have been without service"

Still laugh about that one now.

This is all my opinion other people may have different opinions.

logiclee

I have NTL phone and broadband with Sky+ for the TV.

Worked out no more expensive than I was paying for the full NTL package and with Sky you can have Sky+, get more channels and a far better EPG.

Cheers
Lee

OllyK

For feature Sky+ plus kicks NTL's *** when it comes to TV. NTL broadband is comparable with that provided by others, but I wouldn'tsay it was outstanding. It's just the bundling of telephone with the others stuff makes it attractive price wise.

Can't get NTL where we are. Have to go BT (for now) on the telephone to get Broadband. £25 per quarter for line rental, calls are usually about £4 for the same period.

twybrow

"I have NTL. Got no choice as in rented house so not allowed to put a dish up.
The service from NTL in my opinion is rubbish. It will freeze on a channel most days, the guide often does not work. Both of these will require a re-boot(un plug and plug back in). Seem to do this most days. As for the interactive red button only works on bbc at the moment and that is very very slow." - I agree completely. Slow, crashes too much, no order to the channels, and no interactive 95% of the time.

The Rani

Everyone I've known who's had NTL has gone back to BT for phone and Sky for TV. They've all said NTL is rubbish and their promises about the services even worse.

davegtt

no probs with my NTL box, did have for the first month but it settled down and its brilliant now. my mates Sky box is always playing up now winter is here, losing channels completely all the time....

Although Id want sky just for Sky+ I think I'll stick with NTL....

3meg Broadband
Line rental on the phone each month
Family pack with SkySports channels (no movies)

£50 a month, not bad to be fair.

fitzscoob

This is similar to what they are offering me,

Telephone with no line rental for the first year.

All the tv chanels, inc family package, sky movies, and sky sports,

1 meg broadband going up to 10 meg next year at no extra charge.

£50 per month (well 51)

Im very tempted to just try that for a year as the house we are moving to already has the ntl connections, and if after a year we dont like it we can always cancel and start again.

Thanks for the info so far.

Mungo

I wouldn't take NTL for phone or TV, even if they paid me £30 a month. Utter rubbish. TV service breaks up and freezes, and no customer service whatsover with problems on the phone service. They still owe me £30 for their ****-up when I moved house, but I have given up chasing them for it as they were so incompetent.
In a moment of madness (we can't get Sky because of a HUGE tree in the line of sight to the satellite) I called NTL about getting their service, and they told me they didn't have cabling in my street. They couldn't explain the NTL box on the outside of the house that the previous owner had had installed... Confirmed my worst fears and I'm sticking with Freeview.

NotoriousREV

As someone else above I have NTL phone and broadband but moved my TV to Sky+

Picture quality on Sky is miles better, except when it rains hard then I can lose the signal (only happened twice in 4 months, though). Features are also better on Sky although I think the NTL program guide (the small version that pops up when you change channel) is much better as it allows you to view program info without going into the full screen guide (Sky's only shows info on the current program).

Customer Service is equally dire with both. NTL are incompetent, Sky are arrogant and don't care.

Ian_S

im already on 10meg broadband from ntl

Smiler

Did you say 3MB broadband? Yer Muppet!

Call them in the morning and tell them you want 10MB. Yep, thats right. If you order 3MB now you get the 10MB service. They are not advertising it but if you have the 3MB already and call them insisting they upgrade it to 10MB they will.

davegtt

yes I know all about it, although why am I a muppet? I canne be ar$ed sitting on the phone for 15 minutes to be able to load a forum web page 1/4 of a second quicker.... quick enough for me at the moment. Not doing much gaming or downloaded at the moment, will upgrade it when I start again though.

fitzscoob

Based on the above it does seem that NTL are not really rated well on the television side.

Having said that, Dave seems to be happy with his, and I have had good and bad experiences with both Sky and NTL, so I will probably give this a go for the first year. If it ends up being rubbish, I'll cancel it at the end of the year and go to Sky.

davegtt

Worth a shot, Never had a problem with my net connection or the telephone BUT like I say, the first month our NTL box was rubbish, wouldnt respond to the control, it'd lock up etc but it did settle down after a short while and now I dont have a problem with it and Ive had it a year already, great value too

Kyl3cook

I still have the NTL box from Uni about 4 years ago. Still waiting for them to pick it up. I have Sky+ now, and it's infinitely better than NTHELL