UPC Vs SKY

nc19

wasnt sure where to put this thread - mods move as needed



Currently have UPC(not horizon) Not blow away by the service tbh. right this moment the UPC box wont start up!! (thats for another thread) constantly having broadband issues too. (west dublin)


Just looking for 1st hand opinions on which is better. did you move from one to the other?

the package we currently have is phone/tv/internet. have no need for the phone tbh it just was a cheaper package with it than without.


what would be the best choice for me? dont watch sports but like movies but have netflix. watch all the US shows but currently download them as my UPC package doesnt offer them. Do sky have broadband?

what would be the standard prices? are sky a lot more than upc?


I know I can look this up but I like real people feedback. I have looked at all the packages available and it confuses me tbh.

RoryMurphyJnr

We have Sky TV and the home phone and broadband with UPC.

Very happy with both.

Wouldn't go with UPC for the TV, don't like the layout, my folks changed over and changed back 24hrs later.

Can't fault UPC with the broadband and phone though.

kneemos

I find PVC to be excellent.

UPC's broadband is unmatched in my opinion.

However their TV compared to sky is like comparing the original Indiana Jones movies with that god awful remake that DIDN'T happen a few years ago. Sky is miles ahead there.

nc19

do you know if i can just use UPC for the BB(no phone) and SKY for TV?

Skylinehead

UPCs broadband is leagues ahead of Sky. It's telling that Sky won't mention their speeds on the website, I'm pretty sure they use Eircoms lines. Whereas UPC advertise 100MB and I actually appear to get 102.

anncoates

Sky because it sounds all shiny and futuristic and UPC sounds like a haemorrhoid cream.

Sky for TV and UPC for broadband. UPC's tv service is horrible shi*e, and horizon is no better from what I've been hearing lately.

listermint

UPC broadband is unmatched.

Skys TV is unmatched.

However Skys TV is expensive, very expensive if you want bells and whistles.

Question is what is bells and whistles worth to you.


Youd be loathe to move from UPC broadband however.

nc19

listermint wrote: »

UPC broadband is unmatched.

Skys TV is unmatched.

However Skys TV is expensive, very expensive if you want bells and whistles.

Question is what is bells and whistles worth to you.


Youd be loathe to move from UPC broadband however.

not really interested in many bells or whistles - no interest in sport and i can see any movie i want online


basic package cant be that much more than UPC surely?

listermint

nc19 wrote: »

not really interested in many bells or whistles - no interest in sport and i can see any movie i want online


basic package cant be that much more than UPC surely?

If youve no interest in bells and whistles and sport whats the point in changing?

I have had UPC and i have sky.

For basic TV watching UPC is pretty fine, Its not going to knock your socks off with its interface.

So id check out the price of a basic package and decide yourself. If its more, i wouldnt bother changing for your needs tbh.

BillyMitchel

UPC with everything but sky TV is much better.

Ill give you a day before the remote pisses you off.

peter1892

Have TV (not horizon)/Phone/Broadband with UPC - the broadband & phone are very good, the TV is ok, the UI is a bit clunky and the the recording part of it can be a bit flaky (sometimes it doesn't record things that you've scheduled).

I had SKY tv for about 3 weeks. The TV is good, much better picture quality (even in SD) and the UI for the guide is a lot nicer but its not perfect, the series link didn't seem to be able to work out when to pick up repeats for example.

Their customer service was appalling though and in the end UPC gave us a good deal to stay with them (we were going to drop their TV service).

If you do go with Sky then make sure that they are clear as to what you want and about any 'introductory offers' as the one we were supposed to get never materialised (another reason why we went back to UPC).

Also if you tell UPC that you're going to move to Sky then they'll probably have the loyalty team make you a good offer to stay with them.

Terry1985

Or dump both TV providers and get a satellite dish.

Paying €40 a month for TV channels that are broadcast for free is ridiculous.

awec

Is the UPC TV box still really rubbish, with a really rubbish remote? Like you tell it to change channel and it takes it a few seconds to register? Or you hold a button, nothing happens and then you hit it again and it has caught up and performs the action twice?

Me?

Not one post has funny.

Lennyzip

Swapped from UPC to Sky after the ESPN fiasco . In my area we had MMDS with UPC , so when I looked at their packages online , in actuality I only received about half of the channels they were advertising . Let this go as was getting ESPN and Setanta as part of their package . Then in the space of 2 consecutive bills they there was an increase of about €6 . Then they changed the package and we lost ESPN . Now I know it wasn't their fault as BT had bought ESPN rights over here but I lost the one channel that was keeping me with them . They offered no alternative and saw fit to charge me €6 extra per month . I was at this stage paying €43 for a pathetic package which was missing about 50 channels which were available to people in cabled areas . So , just rang up , cancelled and instructed my bank to cancel the DD once I had paid my last bill .Ordered sky with no hitches whatsoever . Just got the no frills €27 package . Their tv EPG is far superior . I now have a selection of free HD channels , On Demand ( got the Wireless Connector ) and can order Box Office if I want . Could not be happier . If I lived in a cabled area and UPC broadband was available I might have stayed just for the broadband . So to summarise like most people have said . Sky TV is better and UPC broadband is better .

WoollyRedHat

UPC-Internet Good
Tv-Bad.

Banjo String

Terry1985 wrote: »

Or dump both TV providers and get a satellite dish.

Paying €40 a month for TV channels that are broadcast for free is ridiculous.

Sky Atlantic isn't broadcast for free is it

WoollyRedHat

nc19 wrote: »

do you know if i can just use UPC for the BB(no phone) and SKY for TV?

No don't think so, I have the same issue.

listermint

listermint wrote: »

UPC broadband is unmatched.

Skys TV is unmatched.

However Skys TV is expensive, very expensive if you want bells and whistles.

Question is what is bells and whistles worth to you.


Youd be loathe to move from UPC broadband however.

To be honest as I'm sharing the bill I don't mind the price difference between having sky and upc or having an all in one package. If I were paying it alone I think I'd get it all with sky to be honest.

8Mb broadband which is fairly standard with sky is plenty for the vast majority of people and the tv package is light years ahead.

Terry1985 wrote: »

Or dump both TV providers and get a satellite dish.

Paying €40 a month for TV channels that are broadcast for free is ridiculous.

Because most of the good channels are not free to air.

I only pay 35 euro per month anyway and I have the full entertainment pack and the full sky sports package. Its very easy to get sky packages at half price for 12 months if you put in a bit of effort.

Wossack

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

No don't think so, I have the same issue.

sure you can - its more expensive overall though, of course

upc do penalise you for not going for a package however (its actually cheaper to get tv and phone, then just tv last I looked).

CrazyRabbit

So long as you don't have that horrendous Horizon box, UPC are better for everything.

If you have the Horizon box, then be prepared for lots of calls to support, and taking a hammer to the remote control.

Don't know why they keep choosing to use sub-standard hardware, and what their obsession it with having everything in one box.
One box is a pain as you generally want the modem in the bedroom (near the PC) and the tv box in the living room, so you don't have Ethernet cables going through the house to the PC. Suppose it's fine if you put the PC in the living room though.

BetterThanThou

Like most people have said, UPC for internet, Sky for TV.
UPC internet is absolutely amazing, had it for years, never had a problem with it, could not recommend it enough, even their slowest speed dwarfs everything else, and then if you upgrade to 100mb, you have more than you'll ever need.
TV on the other hand, awful selection of HD channels, the guide is so bad to the point where when I had UPC I just resorted to flicking through all the channels rather than use the guide or put in the number, because it usually took 5 tries to get it right. Sky's box is very smooth, an excellent array of high definition channels and a great on demand system with a lot of good tv shows, most of them with full series, though, as this requires a broadband connection, if you go with both Sky broadband and TV you're going to have an issue streaming anything that's in high definition(though, SD is fine).
Overall, I'd say, if you need to pick either UPC or Sky for both, I'd personally go with UPC, as Sky's broadband is literally abysmal, HD streaming is nearly impossible through anything, YouTube, Netflix, not gonna happen. Whereas UPC's TV product is not THAT bad, Sky beats it in every way, but I'd still rather have UPC's bad tv than Sky's awful internet.
However, ideally you should go with UPC for internet and Sky for TV.

smallerthanyou

Upc horizon sucks bad. Don't do it.
Broadband is good. Do it.

Frank Black

nc19 wrote: »

not really interested in many bells or whistles - no interest in sport and i can see any movie i want online


basic package cant be that much more than UPC surely?

If you're not interested in bells and whistles then why not go for a Freesat/Saorview setup?
Paying €40 a month for channels you can watch for free in HD is just crazy.
Got rid of UPC about 3 years ago and have saved 100's of euro since.

Sin City

Had sky tv and eircom bb and phone. Terrible and expensive. Moved over (reluctantly on herselfs advice/demand) UPC a few years ago and prefer it. Ok the tv wasnt as good but the bb is excellent. Recently got Horizon in over the summer and I thino its great. 200MB bb.

Another good thing about upc is their on demand selection which is free and automatic and dosnt require you to download episodes to watch them (as I hear you have to do now in sky)

stateofflux

my da has sky broadband...and it disconnects itself at least once a day...bag of shyte

Shane-KornSpace

RoryMurphyJnr wrote: »

We have Sky TV and the home phone and broadband with UPC.

Very happy with both.

Wouldn't go with UPC for the TV, don't like the layout, my folks changed over and changed back 24hrs later.

Can't fault UPC with the broadband and phone though.

Exactly what I have!
UPC's TV boxes are generally horrible quality. They're extremely laggy when you try to browse the menu or anything.

cena

Upc isn't in our area of galway. Always had sky.it is expensive for what it is. Just got it for 50% for the year.

cena

Sin City wrote: »

Had sky tv and eircom bb and phone. Terrible and expensive. Moved over (reluctantly on herselfs advice/demand) UPC a few years ago and prefer it. Ok the tv wasnt as good but the bb is excellent. Recently got Horizon in over the summer and I thino its great. 200MB bb.

Another good thing about upc is their on demand selection which is free and automatic and dosnt require you to download episodes to watch them (as I hear you have to do now in sky)

Ya you have to download the episodes from sky demand. Some of them can be 4gb. Probably because its in hd

Bepolite

kneemos wrote: »

I find PVC to be excellent.

I'm more into leather myself but I thought I'd highlight your subtle joke for the guy who said there were no funnys!

anncoates wrote: »

Sky because it sounds all shiny and futuristic and UPC sounds like a haemorrhoid cream.

No so subtle...

Terry1985 wrote: »

Or dump both TV providers and get a satellite dish.

Paying €40 a month for TV channels that are broadcast for free is ridiculous.

Sky TV is €27 per month. It's expensive compared to Netflix and Freeview. However Sky is designed to be a premium service. Burgers and chips suit some people, I prefer a ribeye - different strokes for different folks really rather than it being ridiculous. When you take into account the PVR you get it's Freeview is actually no cheaper in the first year, granted its cheaper every year after that.

Plus:

Sky Atlantic
On demand (if you have decent broadband)
Sky Go
Sky Store (If you rent movies)

Netflix if a pain in the bum if you don't have a smart TV or HTPC. Otherwise it's the dog bollix.

Skylinehead wrote: »

UPCs broadband is leagues ahead of Sky. It's telling that Sky won't mention their speeds on the website, I'm pretty sure they use Eircoms lines. Whereas UPC advertise 100MB and I actually appear to get 102.

It's not really telling to be fair. As they do use Eircom's lines its different for everyone and if you put in your phone number and UAN you'll get a speed. UPC's internet is great but it's redundant for most users. Absolutely no one uses a 200Mbit line especially if they have all their devices on wifi. A Family of 7 might use 100mbit capacity on a rainy cold night. What I simply don't understand with Sky is why they aren't on Eircom Fibre yet and why they don't have any info on when they will be.

UPC BB + Sky is the best solution and will continue to be but is pretty expensive. Sky + Sky BB on Fibre would be much cheaper and 95% as good for most users.

astrofool

Frank Black wrote: »

If you're not interested in bells and whistles then why not go for a Freesat/Saorview setup?
Paying €40 a month for channels you can watch for free in HD is just crazy.
Got rid of UPC about 3 years ago and have saved 100's of euro since.

To be fair, freesat is basically the Ireland and UK terrestrial channels (and all their +1's and kids channels) with a few other sh*te channels, UPC and Sky offer a far larger range of content, it's not really a fair comparison, or suggestion, for someone currently used to the Sky/UPC range.

Frank Black

astrofool wrote: »

To be fair, freesat is basically the Ireland and UK terrestrial channels (and all their +1's and kids channels) with a few other sh*te channels, UPC and Sky offer a far larger range of content, it's not really a fair comparison, or suggestion, for someone currently used to the Sky/UPC range.

Actually I was answering the OP's comment where he specifically said he was not interested in any bells and whistles - if this is what you're after, it's a very fair comparison indeed.
Sure, some 'Sky-Atlantic Fanboys' won't get what they're after, but paying €27 a month (plus VAT) for a couple of channels that have the very occasional decent programme strikes me as very poor value.

Bepolite

Frank Black wrote: »

Actually I was answering the OP's comment where he specifically said he was not interested in any bells and whistles - if this is what you're after, it's a very fair comparison indeed.
Sure, some 'Sky-Atlantic Fanboys' won't get what they're after, but paying €27 a month (plus VAT) for a couple of channels that have the very occasional decent programme strikes me as very poor value.

Inc VAT - All Irish consumer prices have to include VAT.

Some points of balance to my above post.

Although the picture quality is better on Sky HD is €15 a month and a twelve month contract :eek:

Extra rooms are €15 a month but to be fair installed Free. The annoying thing is you have to have this box hooked up to a phone line so thats another cable!

Frank Black

Frank Black wrote: »

Actually I was answering the OP's comment where he specifically said he was not interested in any bells and whistles - if this is what you're after, it's a very fair comparison indeed.
Sure, some 'Sky-Atlantic Fanboys' won't get what they're after, but paying €27 a month (plus VAT) for a couple of channels that have the very occasional decent programme strikes me as very poor value.

Its not plus vat, the basic pack is 27 euro all in. For 35 euro you have the full entertainment pack with all the documentry channels, loads of extra entertainment channels, music channels etc etc and an excellent PVR system along with the ondemand services.

Also as I said a small bit of effort and you will have a half price deal. For 35 euro a month I have the full entertainment pack and the sky sports pack for 35 euro a month (incl vat) for the next 12 months.

Frank Black

Rylan Happy Tequila wrote: »

Its not plus vat, the basic pack is 27 euro all in. For 35 euro you have the full entertainment pack with all the documentry channels, loads of extra entertainment channels, music channels etc etc and an excellent PVR system along with the ondemand services.

Also as I said a small bit of effort and you will have a half price deal. For 35 euro a month I have the full entertainment pack and the sky sports pack for 35 euro a month (incl vat) for the next 12 months.

Well the OP isn't looking for an 'entertainment pack', with all the documentry channels, loads of extra entertainment channels, music channels (that you never actually watch).
There's plenty of 'music/entertainment channels on Freesat too btw (I don't bother with these much).

Either way, I'm not sure how your €35 pack suggestion is helpful, considering this is not what the OP wants.

BTW, your pack over the next 5 years will cost you €3,780.
Mine will cost €0

That's a lot to pay - but sure maybe cost isn't an issue for you.

Frank Black

Frank Black wrote: »

Well the OP isn't looking for an 'entertainment pack', with all the documentry channels, loads of extra entertainment channels, music channels (that you never actually watch).
There's plenty of 'music/entertainment channels on Freesat too btw (I don't bother with these much).

Either way, I'm not sure how your €35 pack suggestion is helpful, considering this is not what the OP wants.

BTW, your pack over the next 5 years will cost you €3,780.
Mine will cost €0

That's a lot to pay - but sure maybe cost isn't an issue for you.

35 euro a month certainly isn't an issue. Its 8.75 a week, less than two pints.

Your's costs 0 euro but you also have a much worse service, no sports channels (which as a massive sports fan I can't be without), poor selection of entertainment channels and no documentary channels.

Bepolite

Rylan Happy Tequila wrote: »

35 euro a month certainly isn't an issue. Its 8.75 a week, less than two pints.

Your's costs 0 euro but you also have a much worse service, no sports channels (which as a massive sports fan I can't be without), poor selection of entertainment channels and no documentary channels.

Ah now to be fair, you can do all sorts of dodgeys to get the football. The documentary channels show the same old sh!te week after week and the music channels have been superseded by Youtube and Spotify these days.

That said I personally can't argue with what you get for €27, but as I say each to their own.

On the Sky v UPC thing I did forget to mention: UPC have a habit of locking you into a 12 month contract every time you make a change to your service, Sky don't - just another thing to throw into the mix.

Wellyd

I had the same problem. I couldn't decide what companies to get tv and bb from. I've since had my sky installed on the €27 basic package. Now we're waiting for Eircom to come set up our bb. €35 a month for 6 months then €50 after that which includes unlimited off peak calls that we'll probably never use anyway. We couldn't get UPC in our area so Eircom had to do but at least its fibre bb so that's not too bad. In total it'll work out at €77 a month which seems a bit expensive but at least there's a less likely chance of me murdering my OH over what crap programme we could watch on RTE/TV3!

Bepolite

Bepolite wrote: »

Ah now to be fair, you can do all sorts of dodgeys to get the football. The documentary channels show the same old sh!te week after week

Streams are absolute rubbish to be fair, I'm happy to pay the few quid a month to reduce the number of times I have to use streams to watch my team play or watch matches in general. Then there is golf, darts, NFL etc all of which I watch.

As for the documentary channels, there are a number of programs across the different channels that I follow and even though stuff is repeated there is so much on that there is enough to easily make it worth while having them for me anyway.

Frank Black

Rylan Happy Tequila wrote: »

35 euro a month certainly isn't an issue. Its 8.75 a week, less than two pints.

Your's costs 0 euro but you also have a much worse service, no sports channels (which as a massive sports fan I can't be without), poor selection of entertainment channels and no documentary channels.

I don't have a much worse service. My folks have $ky and I personally find my Humax box far superior in both picture quality and ease of operation - I can survive easily without the documentay channels I think, and I never miss a match I'm interested in watching - even the 3pm kick-offs. The internet is a wonderful thing and £5 for 2 months HQ streaming of all the sports channels knocks the socks off your €35 package. Of course you have to be entirely comfortable with the quasi-illegality of it all, but there's plenty of discussion in the soccer forum of these sites.

Rylan Happy Tequila wrote: »

Streams are absolute rubbish to be fair,

Nope, mine are as good if not better than SD tv broadcasts

The Pheasant2

Sky tv is vastly superior to UPC

astrofool

Frank Black wrote: »

Actually I was answering the OP's comment where he specifically said he was not interested in any bells and whistles - if this is what you're after, it's a very fair comparison indeed.
Sure, some 'Sky-Atlantic Fanboys' won't get what they're after, but paying €27 a month (plus VAT) for a couple of channels that have the very occasional decent programme strikes me as very poor value.

Sorry to be a bit facetious, just "get freesat" is becoming the new "use Linux/openoffice/firefox instead" stock answer that doesn't really solve the issue at hand, as if freesat was something that know one had ever heard of, and isn't plastered everywhere by installers of it.

Frank Black

astrofool wrote: »

Sorry to be a bit facetious, just "get freesat" is becoming the new "use Linux/openoffice/firefox instead" stock answer that doesn't really solve the issue at hand,

What are the OP's 'issues at hand' which Freesat doesn't solve as a matter of interest?

Penny Dreadful

nc19 wrote: »

do you know if i can just use UPC for the BB(no phone) and SKY for TV?

Thats what I have in my house. Works a treat. UPC all the way for broad band but had their tv in the past and its pants. I love Sky tv.
Actually today I upgraded my old white sky plus box to their HD box package. Wanted it for on demand. Get all HD chanels for an extra €7.50 per month. Don't really care for HD too much but it is free to do it that way rather than €109 for the box only. Works out a bit cheaper over the year. Can canel the HD after the 12 months if I wish and the box remains with me.
Really helpful nice guy to deal with on the phone too, call answered quickly.
Love Sky and not just for Sky Atlantic (although that is the main reason).

Fighting Irish

Sky for TV
UPC for broadband

Simple

Terry1985

I don't have a landline for sky.

Just wondering could I use Upc broadband and free phone, and will sky TV work with upcs 'phone line' which I imagine is over the net... ?

IvySlayer

Have Sky Broadband and TV

Both are excellent tbh.

Penny Dreadful

Terry1985 wrote: »

I don't have a landline for sky.

Just wondering could I use Upc broadband and free phone, and will sky TV work with upcs 'phone line' which I imagine is over the net... ?

you don't need one. I have no house phone other than my mobile and have Sky.

Ilyana 2.0

We have Sky broadband and TV. TV is great, although we need a new Skybox at this stage. But we record loads so it's worth paying for Sky. We had UPC in college last year and it's just not as user-friendly.

The broadband is woeful though. It disconnects itself all the time and the connection drops in different spots around the house (which isn't huge to begin with). And we're not in the back arse of nowhere either, just outside a main town. The sooner we get UPC broadband the better.