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Tony_H wrote:

I have to say that having seen other systems and used them; BT Vision, Virgin and other cable packages like NTL, nothing is as user friendly or easy to operate as sky. I know they've pretty much got the monopoly and its Murdoch etc etc, but being able to use an app whilst 2500 miles from home to set sky plus to record ski sunday at home means a lot to me.

Well i am going to ignore BT Vision as it really is dire, it is basically a free view box (yes you still need and aerial) with a bit of on demand streaming thrown in.

However cable is now a VERY different ball game.
Cable has always had the capacity to wipe the floor with Sky but unfortunately there has never been the business backing to do it. Until now.
When i worked for Sky about 10 years ago it was 'the' product to have, NTL - the only competition - was wallowing in debt after laying cables and had focused all its attention on its broadband packages rather than TV. Its TV offering as you suggested was not great.

But since virgin have taken over things have changed massively.

The Tivo really is far and away better than Sky+HD, i have used them all. And what makes it better is not content but functionality.
Lets use Ski sunday as a quick example as you mentioned it. With Sky if you go out and forget to record it you can indeed set it from your phone. Virgin too have an app in the app store for this.
But what if you forget to even do this?
Well the Tivo tv guide lets you scroll backwards (up to 7 days) so you can see what has finished and then all you do is click on it and it plays as we have stored that content remotely. This is true tv on demand.
But it gets better.
Thats all well and good as long as you know ski sunday is on. So the Tivo goes one step further. Wishlists.
I have a wishlist called 'Skiing' set up and what this does is record any programme on any channel that has anything to do with skiing in it. It is even clever enough to pick up chemmy on dancing on ice.


Sky will always have the advantage because it can be received by anyone with a dish but cable with its two way communication really gives more functionality and having been a big fan of the Sky interface i can honestly say those days are over.

Snapzzz SAVES THE DAY.

Thanks Snapzzz, all back! TV , phone and internet. Thanks again cant say it enough.

Noddy

The big dowfall for me, as you point out is that you have to have special equipment that you have no control over - Cables

I used to love Virgin at my old property and would still have it should I have the choice. Unfortunately I dont, thats where Sky will always win.

When a new housing estate is built why dont Virgin simply lay cables too? Its not as if they have to dig up roads or annoy existing residents?

I live in a new build and have to have sky :twisted:

noddyh wrote:Snapzzz SAVES THE DAY.

Thanks Snapzzz, all back! TV , phone and internet. Thanks again cant say it enough.

Noddy

Def Super Snapzzz now!!!

Iceman wrote:The big dowfall for me, as you point out is that you have to have special equipment that you have no control over - Cables

I used to love Virgin at my old property and would still have it should I have the choice. Unfortunately I dont, thats where Sky will always win.

When a new housing estate is built why dont Virgin simply lay cables too? Its not as if they have to dig up roads or annoy existing residents?

I live in a new build and have to have sky :twisted:

The problem is £.

The cable industry in the UK nearly folded because of the MASSIVE debt (billions) that was created by digging up roads and laying the infrastructure. Which, again, was why the like of NTL could never invest in developing competing products to Sky.
Sky own nothing. Sky has a great business model, it rents the satellites, the customers own the equipment. It simply broadcasts. ANd thats why it makes a fortune.

We have started to put feeds into new builds in certain areas but again there is always a dispute over costs. Should we pay or the builder?

noddyh wrote:Snapzzz SAVES THE DAY.

Thanks Snapzzz, all back! TV , phone and internet. Thanks again cant say it enough.

Noddy

Your welcome, you owe me a Vin Chaud if our paths ever cross in resort.

No Probs, Vin Chaud it is.

I know you've got the cable blinkers on Snapzz, but I'm sorry you're talking out of your bottom. Nothing but nothing compares to the ease of use of sky and all its associated thingies, especially when you live in an area where they havent laid cables yet and dont plan to until about 2134.

However youre right about BT Vision. An ariel???? WTF?

Add into that the fact that youre tv relies on broadband bandwidth and when everyone is online on a sunday evening and you cant watch ski sunday because your screen looks like the webcam in St Anton.....ask Stewart Dowling. He binned BT for sky not so long ago. Had a right set to with BT as well if I recall.

So, lets summarise.

BT Vision, freeview without being free and fuzzy screens with ariels

Sky, fantastic interface and everything you want.

Cable, nothing but a hole in the end of my road which will never get finished.

:mrgreen: