[Merged] VOD & PVR-*ALL* Telewest VOD/PVR Posts In Here Please

[Tristan]

Actually, it's more likely to be an area trial than an employee trial, thinking about it.

Not that it really matters. I just want it. Now!

[andrew_wallasey]

Originally Posted by eshaq786

Looks like a merger isnt too far away...

How do you reach that sweaping statement?

[Frank]

Originally Posted by andrew_wallasey

How do you reach that sweaping statement?

Hmm, perhaps something to do with a wide range of indicators, including industry analysts and both company's own shareholders?

Investors in Britain's two leading cable companies expect NTL and Telewest to start merger negotiations early in the new year. American shareholders in both companies told the Guardian that they expected talks to start as soon as Telewest completed its £1.7bn refinancing and NTL finalised the £1.2bn sale of its masts business during the first three months of next year.

One investor, who declined to be named, said: "It makes perfect business sense for them to merge. The only reason it wouldn't get done is ego."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/s...368697,00.html
http://networks.silicon.com/telecoms...9126643,00.htm
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...p?story=600048

[SMHarman]

However as quoted in the FT today

Originally Posted by FT 19-01-05

However, they insisted the move did not indicate the beginnings of joint operations. "This is not about Telewest and NTL getting closer together," said Simon Duffy, NTL's chief executive. "It's a logical and sensible progression of our TV services and a big move towards [video] on demand with our existing partners."

But the article also mentions

Originally Posted by FT 19-01-05

Yesterday's simultaneous launches underlined the two companies' shared priorities following their respective debt restructurings last year that left them both listed on Nasdaq and sharing the same trio of main stakeholders.

and also Tveter and Duffy highlight nicely

Originally Posted by FT 19-01-05

Eric Tveter, president and chief operating officer of Telewest, "For the first time in the history of cable we will be able to demonstrate a competitive advantage over BSkyB," he added.
Mr Duffy said: "This is one of the reasons why we built our network in the first place. It's one of the reasons why we spent the £9bn."

Note: unless you subscribe to FT.com this link is only good for today.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6d5f6b0e-69...00e2511c8.html

[rnb14]

Screenshots of Telewest VOD here: http://www.telewestinfo.co.uk/moviesondemand.shtml

[Bonzo]

Sorry to start another thread but the moderator seemed to misread my previous post when he kindly replied with an answer to whatever it was he thought I had asked then promptly closed the thread so I can't reply!

What I was asking is that although the trial has been announced, what evidence do we have that it isn't all simply made up? And I would like to know how Telewest's interface is different from the screenshots I've seen of NTL while you're actually watching the film.

I think he wanted you to post in the existing Telewest VOD thread - but it would have been better if he'd merged the threads! Like you, I haven't seen anything posted by actual Telewest VOD users.

[Tristan]

Actually, I think you're right with some of what you posted in the other thread. I think Telewest's hand was forced by NTL to some extent. Their "launch" actually looks like just a test. Only 2,100 users, and only for movies -- considerably less impressive than NTL's offering.

However, I think you're wrong about the screens being mock-ups. They look pretty much like the screens I use now, but with a couple of new options, obviously.

Don't want to start a Telewest vs NTL argument, but, out of interest, anyone know how many NTL users have VOD to date? I thought the Glasgow roll-out was partly a trial, though, from the sound of it, with more content than Telewest.

[Tristan]

Originally Posted by JohnHorb

Don't want to start a Telewest vs NTL argument, but, out of interest, anyone know how many NTL users have VOD to date? I thought the Glasgow roll-out was partly a trial, though, from the sound of it, with more content than Telewest.

There are 18,000 users in Glasgow.

And a NTL/TW war would be fun. I could be a double agent!

[Bonzo]

Originally Posted by Tristan

However, I think you're wrong about the screens being mock-ups. They look pretty much like the screens I use now, but with a couple of new options, obviously.

I agree they look like the design of the current Telewest UI. What I meant is that they could be just that - designs, straight out of photoshop. They're very clean images, not from a living room. And they don't show what you see while you're watching a film (unless there are some I've missed).

[Tristan]

Well they're supplied by Telewest, so you imagine the quality would be as good as they can make it. And if you have a look on the NTL VOD thread, there are some amazingly good screens captured by a user called Currie (do a quick search).

I agree it's a bit strange that Telewest haven't provided any "in use" pictures yet. Maybe they don't do an overlay like NTL do (and if they did, it would be different to NTL's, as Telewest's terrible remote has the VOD controls on the coloured buttons rather than the arrow keys).

[Bob]

Using a tuner card in your PC would give you clear screen grabs like the ones used on the VoD thread in the ntl: forums

[Bonzo]

Originally Posted by Bob

Using a tuner card in your PC would give you clear screen grabs like the ones used on the VoD thread in the ntl: forums

Are they this clear on the ntl forum? I thought I'd only seen digital camera photos of peoples TVs of the ntl service. Ok, sorry, I'll check again in a minute.

Indeed I agree with you Bob it would be very clear pictures through a tuner card. If you did that, though, you'd expect that the small TV picture would be different on every screen grab, since they'd be grabbed at different times, and TV pictures are mostly changing all the time. Mostly.

So in these pictures I'm talking about (are there others?) .... http://www.telewestinfo.co.uk/moviesondemand.shtml

Maybe the girl was just enjoying holding that pineapple so much she decided to stand motionless for several seconds while this Bristol triallist did 3 of the captures. Actually the time on all of them is 11:11 so they were all done within a minute, so that makes sense. And the date of Fri 1st December PROVES that Telewest had all this VOD stuff working back in 2000 (that's the last time 1st December fell on a friday). So it's actually strange of them to wait for 4 years for NTL to launch their trial, before launching their own on the very same day.

Yep, I got it wrong. Sorry everyone! My silly incredulity is based on nothing!



Or maybe those are mock-ups and we've yet to see screen grabs of the real thing. Seriously, I'm not suggesting they were intended to be taken as real screen shots, but I'm just dying to see the real thing in action, and these shots aren't doing it for me as I don't think they're taken from the trial.

[Tristan]

Ah, I'd only seen the two screenshots they've got on Digitalspy. You're quite right.

Also quite suspicious is the fact that 18,000 users in Glasgow have got VOD, and there are many people -- certainly more than nine -- people posting about it on boards like this. But I haven't seen a single post from a TW subscriber in Bristol saying "I've got it", even though you'd imagine that, statistically, it would happen. It's almost like people have been asked not to talk about it.

But then if it was a full roll out, wouldn't TW want every man and his dog discussing it?

What was that, Lassie? Employee Trial?