NTL PVR - How much???
 

Does anyone have any idea how much is it going to cost to rent NTLââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s PVR box?

As I understand it, both Sky and Telewest charge customers up to £10 per month, depending on what channel package the customer has.

Any ideas what NTL are planning on charging?

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

From what I hear from enquiring to CS the PVR idea is merely being investigated at the moment and no dates and thus charges are avaialble. This is, however, a typically vague response which contradicts other reports that the type of box has already been decided and that it will be introduced some time in 2006.
How long can NTL continue to fob off customers who merely want a system which will compete with the (in my humble opinion) far superior Sky Plus. I have no problem with phone or broadband services but the TV does seem to be way behind.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I would go on a rule of thumb with, what telewest do, as ntl and TW will be 1 soon!

It should be later this year and by all accounts on this site the ntl box will put the sky box to shame, I think its like the tortoise and hare story, sky rushed and got there box out ntl tested, tested and more tested and sounds like will gain from this.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

NTL's annual report made no mention of investigation. It stated they would be offering a PVR..

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I must admit, as good as the NTL PVR sounds, I dunno if I’m willing to play £10 extra. I’ve already purchased a DVR / HDD recorder which does an excellent job for me.

I was going to wait for NTL to push out their PVR, but a) I didn’t know exactly when it was going to be available, and b) I suspected I would need to pay extra for it. I wanted to enjoy the advantages of digital recording now and so far, I don’t regret my decision, especially with the World Cup coming up.

While my DVR doesn’t have triple digital tuners or MPEG 4/HDTV capability like NTL’s offering, that’s offset by the vast amounts of repeats on various digital channels throughout the week, along with me waiting for the prices of HDTV sets to come down and the arrival of NTL VOD sometime this century.

Who knows? When NTL get the sodding thing out I might be so impressed I'd be willing to pay the extra £££ per month, but right now, I doubt if I'll be getting it.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Same here I went out and purchased a DVD recorder that pauses the tv channel your currently watching, as well as records it etc. ok It's a little more hassle when it comes to recording a channel/prog that is on later or the next day as you have to program it where as sky+ it's a case of pushing a button or two. However my dvd can record or pause the current program at a push of a button as sky+ does!

Best thing is it's free, regardless of what package your on!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Interesting......

Assuming the same ease of use as Sky+> What the ntl box offer?

Built in DVD burner
Editing features
Massive Hard Drive
Ablity to to transfer at a touch to other devices
HD performance

There are million plus boxes out there, the ntl box will have to be amazing.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

:tu:

Plus, itâ₠¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s only a matter of time before a Freeview PVR with triple tuners and HDTV capability comes out. Again, it will cost £0.00 per month.

Looking in various forums online, it appears that a lot of Sky+ users are moving to Freeview PVRs, just to avoid paying extra money for the †˜privilegeâ ۉâ₠¬Ã…¾Ã‚¢ of watching TV while recording. For NTL customers without DVRs, that (or any of the existing Freeview PVRs) may look like a very attractive option compared to NTL's PVR.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

But how much do these cost to buy from a shop and when they break down how much does it cost? NOTHING in this life is £0.00.

Let us not speculate on IF ntl are going to charge or how much lets just wait till it comes out, also I thought sky+ was free as part of a deal they where doing but I may be wrong as I never keep up with what sky are doing after what sky did to me about 4 years ago I will NEVER go back to them.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Ditto for me too :)

Since moving back to NTL a few weeks ago I went out and bought my own DVD recorder.

The hassle of recording is minimal and it was worth paying for the DVD recorder as I figured by the time I'd got through too Sky CS on 0870 number it'd end up costing the same . When I called Sky CS and had to wait at least 63 minutes at 1am that was when I snapped and moved to NTL.

So now I have NTL DSTB with NTL VoD and am able to record ...etc - it's great! Well worth it :D

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

:Yikes:

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

:tu:

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

At the end of the day you may be supplied the PVR box for free (If your lucky but I reckon they will charge at least £50 for installation.) with NTL but you are going to have to pay a monthly fee if not on a high package! (As sky do!) as I can't see NTL doing all this and end up giving it all away for free, So if you buy a DVD recorder that has the same capabilities as PVR and you can get these now for £120 and under. (Better brands cost more!) I have never had a video or dvd player brake down on me that has been less than 6 years or so old so you do the math! Either way it's going to cost you.

But I guarantee my way is cheaper!

Let's not forget I reckon at least 2007 before NTL get their PVR out on the market, by then there will be better DVD recorders on the market that cost less than there is now!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

At least as a Sky customer there was someone there to answer the phone should you need to call at that time.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

That's true and I reckon people extend the truth a little because I made a call to sky CS last night at 2.30 (ish) and they answered the phone straight away!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Yes in India :english:

I rang several times from early morning to late at night and the time waiting was always near or over an hour :Yikes:

I know one thing I ain't paying for that and on 0870 too - no thanks :D

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I agree the person who answered the phone to me last night was indian, I would rather have someone on the end of the line 24 hours a day than what NTL provide!

If you work weekends then you cannot change packages as by the time you come in from work on a saturday they are closed! They are closed on sundays so that leaves 5.30 - 8.00 on weekdays. Not much if you think about it!

I remember when I was with sky there was a good movie I wanted to watch once on one of the movie channels, this was about 2is in the morn. A quick call and they were on, you can't do that with NTL!

I will call sky CS dept again later on tonight about midnight just to see how long it takes for them to answer the phone!

I'll post back and let you know!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

With all due respect but, just because you get through straight away it must mean all others do also :rolleyes:

Sky are having very serious problems at the moment due to a new system of organising the queue - this will take 6 months - according to employee sources on DS.

Nobody is informed when they ring however - you just get excessive call waiting times - lack of customer information is another serious problem of Sky's !!!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I know sky's tech support always used to take ages before you could speak to anyone, when my box developed a fault it took about 20 mins before I got through, but if I was calling CS about upgrading or downgrading my package or even a billing enquiry I got through within 5 mins.

I have not been with sky for nearly a year and a lot can happen in that time!

However if sky are as bad as you say they are during peak hours I would wait and call them in the early hours!

If your trying to tell me you have to wait over an hour 24hours a day before you can speak to anyone then I would disagree!

People would soon leave and sky would resolve that issue promptly!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Of course you do PVR for less than Sky+

I pay a premium for the ease, my choice.

ntl is more expensive than Sky now.

Adding an additional 10-15 pounds would make it uncompetitive

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Let's not forget, NTL are not a charity as so many people keep telling me!

NTL don't want to be competitive, well until they nearly go bankrupt again. Then things will change!

Their telephone service is more expensive than BT!

Their broadband is more expensive than ADSL!

BT line rental: £10.50 & 2MB broadband £15.99 (Unlimited & no fair use policy)

and their family pack costs £19.50 compaired to sky at £21.00

so NTL's broadband will save you £1.50 however for the extra £1.50 with adsl you get a telephone line that is cheaper than NTL's!

You also save £1.50 on their family pack tv package but get less channels and your very likely to get an old crappy box that hardly works! Ohhh yea and you have to have NTL's phone service for as long as you have their TV package where as with sky it's only for 12 months unless you want to pay for the equiptment!

The only down side to ADSL is not many people get speeds of above 1Mb due to the distance from the exchange!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Hence why I called several times a-day and yes I'd say 1am is the early hours!

I'm not trying to tell you this I am telling you this.
Hard to believe but, true. To cap it all Sky couldn't even be bothered to tell customers at the beginning of the call that they knew call times were going to be excessive waiting times. Such an easy thing but, not for Sky.

In theory yes, in practice no.

I should know I experienced it and judging by the hundreds of posts building on DS and confirmation from a few of Skys employees yes it is true.

Kind regards

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

It's only more expensive if you don't ask for any of their deals. I have 3 deals atm and Sky can't get anywhere near my price at all, in fact i pay less than i would pay for Sky and my telephone is included too. £10 less with telehone included and i get a free box and free repairs and free installations on everything i have ever had.

Don't ask and thou shalt not receive.

It was quite funny watching my colleagues phone Sky to ask for deals. They wouldn't give them any.

---------- Post added at 23:10 ---------- Previous post was at 23:04 ----------

Incidentally, tell me how 2mb for £16 compares to 10mg for £35? It depends what packs you are talking about and who you are talking about and in addition, lets see if the ADSL customers ALL get upgraded to 10mb later in the year. And lets see how many customers get their 8mb if BT do this (not many).

I don't pay £19.50 for my family pack, with the deals a fair bit less, so now Sky is more expensive for me, quite a bit more expensive.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

WRONG WRONG WRONG

BT £11
NTL £10.50

maybe but you need to add at least £5.50 as you need a bt line to any adsl isp

see above re line rentals

no you do not any more, only if you are getting a deal

and then pay for faults call outs if anything goes pete tong £75 I think

So I thing I have summed most things up there, how ever there are bad points with ntl but what company doesn't.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Total nonsense! You do have to take a phone line with NTL's TV service!

I just switched a BT line on and I pay £10.50 per month via direct debit and I get free caller display! (had my first bill yest to prove it!)

And why pay sky to do any repairs?

There is ebay! LNB £6.00 brand new dishes complete with lnb and fittings £19.99 includes delivery! Ohhh and sky digiboxes cost next to nothing second hand! Brand new ones from £70

I just called sky on this number 08702 404040 and i got through to CS rep in approx 2 mins....
Don't belive me call it now and choose option four then option 1!

I would rather have to pay for my equiptment or/and it's repairs than have the crappy boxes NTL supply, that don't even do the job they are ment too!

Although NTL's broadband is more expensive I would have to say it is worth it (I'll give credit where credit is due!), I have had their 1Mb & 2Mb teirs and found both to be very reliable! I can't get more than 1Mb through adsl so I have to go with cable if I want anything higher. (Well don't have to but you know what I mean.) their 10Mb is a load of rubish full stop but with time I have no doubt it will get better!

Ohhh and by the way I would compare a 2Mb service for £15.99 with another 2MB service for £24.99. Not everyone wants 10Mb especially one that don't work! not to mention the cap! Some people can't afford £34.99 a month for a BB connection! However cable BB is better than ADSL I won't argue with you on that score!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I am not trying to put you right on sky but, do not try and put me right as far as ntl goes, as of about 8 months ago ntl now have to offer packages unbundled (single) you have to have phone with tv or bb if its part of a deal eg 1/2 price bb for 12 months.

As for the bt line rental look on there home page its in black and white £11 for line rental. I am not saying what you pay is incorrect, I am stating facts that a new customer would have to pay.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Total nonsense I have no deal, I pay £10.50 per month for phone, £11.00 per month for TV, and £24.99 for 2Mb Broadband and I used to have family pack at £8.50 per month!

I have never had any deal!

I called NTL about Two months ago to ask if I can get rid of my phone and keep my TV & BB and I was told NO!

I was told "I have to have the phone service with my TV package" I can remove it but they will continue to charge me for it even though I don't have it!

That is fact!

I will call them monday and I bet I am told the same thing!

EDIT: taken from NTL's website! ( *Price excludes £10.50 phone line rental which you must take with your TV Pack )

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

The only thing I can ask you then are you still in your 12 month contract?

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Yes I am for another three months, However I know I have to have it till the end of my contract, but when I called I asked "when the end of my contract is up can I remove my phoneline and keep my TV & broadband?" I was told NO!

I was instructed "I can remove my phoneline but I will continue to be charged for it even though I no longer have it as it is part of the TV service" I must pay for a phoneline if I have cable TV!

If I don't want to pay for a phoneline I have to remove my TV service too, I can have BB on it's own!

That is what I was told.

I called back and spoke to a second person as I though he was giving me bull but she too confirmed I cannot have a tv service without a phoneline!

I will call monday and find out if this is still the case! I will post back and let you know!

(Infact I had a second STB & I had the movies and sports as well as family pack, but as I was told by CS that I have to pay for a phoneline as long as I have cable TV I cancelled my second STB and the movies/sports & family pack and in three months time I will cancel my telco service and my main TV service too! Reducing my bill from nearly £90 a month to £24.99)

Ohhhh and just to add to this thread one last time I just called sky again this time I chose option four then option two which is to downgrade your packages and I got through straight away and both times tonight the call was answered by british people! So for those who say your waiting for anything up to an hour 24 hours a day to speak to anyone this is total bull! (Don't belive me then call 08702 40 40 40 and choose option 4 then option 1 or option 2 now.) I have not tried this in the day so I can't comment on that!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Getting back onto topic...

Quote:

Originally Posted by acoolwelshbloke Let's not forget I reckon at least 2007 before NTL get their PVR out on the market, by then there will be better DVD recorders on the market that cost less than there is now!

You're probably right. :(

I would guess that NTL have to write two versions of their PVR software, one for Bromley, one for Langley. That software would have to include all the standard digital recording options (Chase play, time shifting, multiple recordings etc), along with a new EPG which would have to allow at least eight days worth of program info.

Plus †“ they would have to carry out any necessary work on upgrading the network to support HDTV (I think MPEG 4 requires around 10 Meg per second for HDTV). Not to mention all the software testing to making sure that existing apps (BBCi, NTL VOD) work on the new box †“ and securing enough of the new PVR boxes for the customers.

That's a lot of work to done between now and the end of December.

I would be surprised if by the end of this year, every NTL customer would be able to ring up customer services and order a PVR installation. Of course, Iâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢m speculating based on the available info we have from NTL about PVR availability, which is †œComing soon in 2006.ââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ� We have no idea how far along NTL are in terms of writing the software; upgrading the network; or even securing HD content.

One thingââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s for sure: Before the end of this year, the Sky+ HDTV box will be out (alongside with various Sky HD channels), alongside with BTââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s Freeview Hard-Drive PVR which also offers VOD via broadband (dunno if you have to download the content or if it streams it).

Add all the NTL customers like myself, who have already got a DVR - and by the time NTL release their PVR, there might not be a such of a market for it.

Why on earth have they taken so long to release a PVR???? Then again, I could say the same for VOD in my area, or even BBCi News Multiscreens.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Why? There's a lot less difference between the areas these days.

This is broadly true - there's a hell of a lot of work involved in any new box, let alone one with more stringent requirements for monitoring and reliability. Hence why I'm not going to put a date on it.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

At the time you posted that i am sure you will get in touch with them at that speed. However i just tried that now and its a different story. I have sky and am now wishing i never signed up with them. I have on average taken 30 to 50 mins to get trough to the dept i need. I have been lied to, i have had to say i would leave to get them to sort out the horrendous install they did on the first install. I have now had a reinstall which has fixed the problem with the service, However i am not willing to stay after 12 months not matter what they offer. As far as i am concerned they lost me when they completed the crap install they did and then lied.

---------- Post added at 12:32 ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 ----------

So to get them quickly i have to phone after midnight, You are having me on. :)

Try it now and see where you get. And what country as well.

As i have said i am a Sky subscriber and i am now stuck with them for 12 months. And i do not work for NTL any more so its not a I love NTL thing.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Well, they still needed to write two different versions of the CR3 software, didn't they? Bromley only got upgraded a few months ago to the 'blue screens' software.

I can't say I blame you.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I was responding to what a poster had said, and he said it takes up to an hour to get through to anybody at sky 24 hours a day! This is not true!

I have not tried them in the day so as I said I can't comment on sky on that score, however I will try in a bit and let you know how I get on.

My point being though is if sky are that bad in the day I would simply wait until late at night or the early hours before calling so I get through almost straight away!

I also said that the tech support dept are slow to answer the phone, the ones who deal with repairs and exchanges, I accept that but as I have had sky before I am responsible for my own equiptment and that is where ebay will come in!

---------- Post added at 13:51 ---------- Previous post was at 13:46 ----------

Just to add I called them again and they answered in under a min!

I picked option 4 then option 1, What dept are you calling?

Ohhhh and I had a UK call center.

And just to add, When I do cancel my NTL TV & Telco I am not going to have sky just freeview so I have nothing to gain by telling porkies! I just tried sky's tech support by picking option 2 but gave up after five mins.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

For some reason you deliberarely fail to accept what someone says is true!

I should know, I've been a customer of Sky for 7 years and still am for the next 2 weeks!. I (and thousands of other SkY customers) was/are on hold several times over numberous days for over 67 minutes.

Employees of Sky on other forums have said yes it's true and the reason being is due to a move of software at Sky CS which will take around 6 months to complete hence why customers are experiencing excessive call waiting times! Customers aren't told this when they call however.

So for you to say we're lying is rubbish!

As I have pointed out twice in this thread calling at 1am is early hours - what's the point of 24 hour customer service!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I can say the same thing though!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Nothing would surprise me! :rolleyes:

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

What you can give people your opinion but you can't accept anyone elses?

Let me guess what you say's goes!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I have been calling technical support trying to get this sorry excuse of a system to work . I have had no reason to phone the other dept's yet. I might do next week, The dept will be called disconnections. :mad:


Problem is that every time i call them they tell me to do a full reset which then fixes the fault for about 6 hours, Then when i try to rewind tv or stop it it lock's the box up again. It has been twice as bad since the new software they put on the box the other week.

I honestly wish i had stuck with boring old NTL. At least it did not lock up for me every few hours. My honest opinion of SKY+ at this moment in time. IT SUCKS BIG TIME

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

I had my ex-gf on the phone a few days ago (Friday Night) asking what was wrong with the Sky guide!

I said why does it say always 'searching for listing' she said no but it did for about 2 solid weeks solid but since last week it's come back but, her gripe was the listings now have big gaps in them and she hates it!

She tried calling Sky also but gave up after been told she'd be in the queue for 48 minutes!

She said she's going to cancel and move to NTL so I gave her the Sky 0800 number to call :rofl:

If it's any consolation I understand from other Sky specific forums that this new Sky software upgrade is causing no end of problems for them too!

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

Just to add consistancy - I just called Sky CS via the 0800 number to get my final bill amount & they answered instantly (no waiting). I did get India however.

This is a large improvement on my (and the thousands of other effected Sky customers) several previous calls to Sky CS (over the past few months) as they were certainly stated (over an hour waiting).

Hope this isn't just a 'good luck' chance of getting through to Sky CS so quick, as according to the other Sky customers posts, they are leaving Sky over the lack of information from Sky about this, if it isn't sorted soonner rather thanl ater.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

The gaps in the listings should vanish when the next software update covering renumbering channels takes place next week. I would imagine that call waiting times will increase horrendously when the renumbering has taken place and customers can't find their channels.

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

And getting back on topic to the subject of ntl's PVR & it's pricing......

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

bet its about £100


and as has been pointed out, will be to little to late as it will be about 2 years behind everything else and we will all be here complaining that everyone else has bigger and more flashy STB's

Re: NTL PVR - How much???
 

If it's no where near as big and flashy then NTL won't do it at £100. It would be priced in line with the lower end of Sky which would be £50ish l believe (not being a Sky customers but having friends who are). Which i would then be happy with, can't see what more i would need than what they have talked about. More space to hold more TV? No thanks, i think i will delete some stuff when it gets very full.