I just signed up for Chorus Digital- should I be afraid?

ozpass

I'm fairly new to Ireland, living in Cork and have subscribed to a digital TV/'phone service from Chorus as it seemed to be pretty good value for money (incorporating the 'phone line rental as it did). It uses MMDS as a transmission medium. Weird stuff. Does anyone have any info regarding this service? From reading this and other boards, it seems that Chorus aren't terribly popular! I'm kind of wondering what I've let myself in for.....

mike65

Oh Boy,ohboy,ohboy,ohboy!

I'll let some battle-hardened Chorus subscriber fill you in, I'm
with NTL (the other shower of chancers!).

Start here for info on the system- http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MMDS.html




Mike.

yankinlk

be afraid be very afraid...

phone rox, tv sucks...much less channels than sky for same amount of money...no digital picture (yet, don't hold breath or u will die)

to be fair, the plus's are:

1. you get channel 4 and utv
2. u can watch it in more than 1 room

that is all

Leesider

If you get Chorus digital - you cannot watch a different channel in another room (unless you sign up for an additional analogue package).

The digital TV service is slowly improving, but it had so many teething problems (freezing picture etc) that people became disillusioned and ditched the service.

The phone system is fairly sporadic, at least where I live anyway, you had a digital TV service, but had to pay Eircom telephone line rental and Chorus telephone call charges - maybe it varies from area to area.

Finally - their customer service is legendary (for all the wrong reasons).

But you do get UTV/C4, I suppose.

Good luck anyway.:rolleyes:

pertinax

Well i have cable internet off them, a rare beast i supose. So far its good with no eircom mice eating my hard won cheese. Not of course that thats a reason to keep chorus.

Their customer service is indeed classic, take anger management classes before you call them.

icdg

Lots of info - dating from late 2000 and early 2001 at http://icdg.tvfromireland.com . Click on Cable & MMDS and Chorus - pics of the EPG etc.

To be fair to Chorus, the basic package is fairly big (although nowhere near as good value as NTL Digital). And to be fair to them, they did launch almost a year before NTL Digital.

I have heard (don't know if its true) that the UK terrestrial channels are sourced from analogue (And I certainly know this is the case with the Irish terrestrials - during the Nationwide opt-out experiment, every Chorus Digital viewer got the West opt, even if they lived in the east!) On NTL Digital, we get full digital widescreen (16:9) versions of the UK terrestrial channels (yes, this means we get a choice of programming on BBC TWO NI!) but I don't think this is the case on Chorus? Also, did they ever get the promised internet access through the STB working?

John R

Ntl digital use a less than perfect analogue source for the Irish channels, and the widescreen switching on several of the channels is incorrect.

It is just my opinion, but the "aah, it'll doo" attitude seems to be the policy of both these companies. They have the potential to provide good services, but aren't willing to put the effort in to sort them out properly. Customers are expected to put up with technical problems as a matter of course, and the usual response is "what more do you expect".

ozpass

Oh well - I guess I've been warned! This wouldn't be the first time I've backed a turkey of course, being a former subscriber of the mighty ITV Digital (or On Digital as it then was). To be fair my expectations aren't all that high- I just want a working 'phone line and a basic set of tv channels that don't look like I'm watching them through wobbly glass.

My only prior experience of NTL was in 1997, in Leeds England. They were Cable and Wireless then (I think I got that right), and their service was superb! They only had analogue TV, but a nice man from the company offered me a free 1 month trial of cable internet.........I moved out 18 months later and the kit was still there (and still working) for freebies! 512K downloads were big stuff back in '97. The only problem was there was very little on the internet worth looking at!

icdg

Originally posted by John R
Ntl digital use a less than perfect analogue source for the Irish channels, and the widescreen switching on several of the channels is incorrect.

Doesn't seem to show, but remember they have no way to source the Irish terrestrials from digital as they can (and do) the UK terrestrials. Widescreen switching faults on the UK terrestrials seem to be usually the fault of the broadcaster.

Cable and Wireless Communications - they were taken over by NTL in 2000. At the time you were in Leeds, NTL itself was called CableTel.

Originally posted by icdg


Doesn't seem to show, but remember they have no way to source the Irish terrestrials from digital as they can (and do) the UK terrestrials. Widescreen switching faults on the UK terrestrials seem to be usually the fault of the broadcaster.

Cable and Wireless Communications - they were taken over by NTL in 2000. At the time you were in Leeds, NTL itself was called CableTel.

Presumably,the Irish terrestrials are sent to Three Rock and the rest of the RTÉ tx system from donnybrook in digital format??
I know if you watch them closely on Mount Leinster, you can see the pixels! , especially on TV3.

Donnybrook could run a digital feed out to NTL Dublin, if the latter wanted it.
But that would cost NTL more money-Three Rocks analog reception would be so good via a mast aerial anyhow across Dublin,there would be no point in this.

With regard to ozpass....expect plenty of technical problems and if you don't ...feel lucky.
My experience of Chorus MMDS maintainence is a sad one :mad:
Theres no way I would pay them, the same money for a far inferior service to Sky-even if their phone service was cheaper than Eircom.
I'd be trying all othe CPS services first!!!
mm

mike65

One service ozpass and the rest of us might take advantage of is
ItsTV which has been the subject of a couple of threads - if it gets going it'll be the one to have as a value for money package.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45690

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56648

Mike.

ozpass

Chorus came and installed my digital TV service on Saturday (exactly a week and a day after I signed up- as promised) They only installed TV and not the 'phone service, 'a woman would come on monday' was the cryptic explanation the installation engineer gave me. They did a good job, even took into account all the little cosmetic foibles I requested and it worked first time, despite the use of a rather battered looking set top box.

It all works quite nicely, although the on screen displays are really naff compared to the Sky Digital equivalents. Maybe my expectations aren't as high as for other people but I've been pleased with it so far (I know....only 3 days!) I have noticed some on-screen pixellation, though, and I was wondering if this was a result of my set-top box or chorus's transmission.

Originally posted by ozpass
It all works quite nicely, although the on screen displays are really naff compared to the Sky Digital equivalents. Maybe my expectations aren't as high as for other people but I've been pleased with it so far (I know....only 3 days!) I have noticed some on-screen pixellation, though, and I was wondering if this was a result of my set-top box or chorus's transmission.

Would you if you have the time, let us know what channels you have,interactivity, if any, and the cost per month.
And if the phone service is sorted for you.
I still think it would be cheaper and less agro without chorus.
"it's TV" would be nice
mm

ozpass

Happy to let you know the nitty gritty......

The package I've got is 36 EURO per month for the TV and 'phone line rental. I have 34 channels available- all the usual suspects plus a few others. Perfect for me as I mainly watch Sky One (the simpsons, futurama), Sky News, Discovery and Discovery Home and Leisure. There's also LivingTV and other crap for my girlfriend to watch. There isn't any interactivity at all, which is a shame, although that might become active when they install my 'phone service as the Sagem ITD 4000 set-top-box it's based around has a modem built-in.

Chorus were supposed to be coming 'round today to fix up the 'phone but when I spoke to Dawn at around 12ish no-one had called......Perhaps the beginning of Chorus's famous crap service (they've been pretty cool thus far).

I agree that Sky Digital is a far better service but my landlord absolutely vetoed having a dish (christ knows why he thought an MMDS ariel looks any better). The Sky solution also required I have a separate 'phone line, which would end up costing me more (not much I know) and paying Chorus for both consolidates my bills. I'm a simple soul so one less bill on the doorstep makes me think I'm paying less out!

It's TV does indeed look good but I needed multi-channel TV now rather than later and for all its crapness, at least Chorus is an established company that owns its (shoddy) infrastructure.

One final note: I live on the third floor of a converted house on Wellington street and hence have a clear view of the transmitter on Airport hill with subsequent good signal.

Hope this is helpful.

Originally posted by ozpass
One final note: I live on the third floor of a converted house on Wellington street and hence have a clear view of the transmitter on Airport hill with subsequent good signal.

Whats the possibility of getting planning permission there?
Is there room for more houses?
Perfect chorus reception would be a big selling point:D
mm
I can see now why you have chorus over Sky.
Basically if your Landlord had not refused permission for a minidish, you wouldn't have got Chorus at all.
Hopefully that transmitter is being well maintained-not the norm with chorus-but enjoy untill the winter storms come.
Oh and keep your mobile:p

ozpass

I probably would still have considered Chorus as I have a niggling objection to a World run by Murdoch and NewsCorp. Hence my misguided backing of OnDigital/ITV Digital in the UK. I don't deny that Sky Digital is a better service overall.

It does seem like the Chrous curse is kicking in though- no-one came to install the 'phone line yesterday despite their promise....maybe this is the beginning of the end?

Being a novice where MMDS is concerned- why would winter storms affect reception of Chorus Digital and not Sky Digital? Both use microwaves right? Is it a signal strength thing?

I've also noticed some pretty bad pixellation/artefacts when viewing US sourced programming. Is this due to Chorus using turdy analogue feeds and bad encoding, weak signals or a duff set-top box? It aint the end of the world, but when you pay for digital TV, you expect MPEG2 quality, not MPEG1.......

Also there seems to be little info. on the Sagem ITD 4000 box. Being a hardware tweaker at heart I'd like to know what's possible through the RS232 port and such. Do Chorus use the fabled Canal+ encryption on their smartcards?:rolleyes:

Hi ozpass,
In answer to some of your questions.
Winter storms often affect chorus analogue reception as their mast antenna could move and eventually with their legendary tardiness, they might fix it in a couple of days.
Obviously digital would be even more sensitive on windy days.-, bearing in mind how much windier, it is any way on hilltops.
The wind could also knock your rooftop antenna out of line and the wait for someone to line it up might be a long one.
You could do it your self, but speaking from experience,it's very difficult to lock back on that mmds signal.
The beam for mmds is so narrow that the slightest move does the damage-so thats why you should expect outages, and a good reason to keep your mobile topped up if you use their phone service

I agree with you regarding Murdocks empire-unfortunately, unless you live in NTL land ( ) , theres no real choice untill it's tv come along.

I can't comment on Chorus encoding-except if they attach the same dilligence to it as to their other efforts, you know what to expect:rolleyes:
mm

ShaneOC

Ah lovely. We have not had a bit of Chorus bashing in a while.

It's the little things like outages during the world cup final that we all love so much about chorus. Especially those of us with Sky.

ozpass

Thanks for the warnings everyone- I wish i'd had the foresight to post here before I 'signed on the dotted line'.

Chorus suck.

I mentioned earlier that I'd be receiving a 'phone service from Chorus. I was told by the installing engineer that someone would be round to install the service on Monday (22/7) but they never came. No biggie, I thought, I'll give them a call to find when the engineer will be coming. I just made that call.

Sweet christ. The comments you made about customer support were mild, and far from the dismal reality, trust me.

When I mentioned the 'phone service I was told "The service is yet to be rolled out in your area". Funny, thought I, as I'd paid for the installation and been signed up to a package that included a 'phone line. Funny as well as the engineer installing the television clearly informed me that there were other 'phone ariels erected on the roof of my building. I duly informed the 80 IQ knuckle-dragger in customer support of this fact and was told they'd call me back. Guess what?

An hour later no-one had called me back. I 'phoned again and eventually got an admission that one of my neighbours did indeed have a 'phone line from Chorus. In fact, they lived in the very same building! Despite this I was then told that there must be an 'obstruction' that prevented the service being available to me, personally. I wasn't having that as I live in the top flat, with a clear view of Airport hill, and all the ariels are erected on the roof anyway! After several minutes of arguing my cause the 'Supervisor' agreed to install the service on the proviso that it 'might not work'. It seemed that this was the best I was going to get, so I said "fine", only to be told it would cost me Euro 40 to install, with an additional Euro 12 a month line rental. "Oh no!" I said "I have a receipt that shows I paid an installation charge of Euro 50 for TV AND 'phone, on a package that costs me Euro 36 a month for both" They tried telling me I only paid Euro 40 for installation but that was clearly cr*p, so now I have to fax them a copy of the agreement, with what provision it included before they'll even schedule the installation!

Hilarious quote from the dork in customer support when I called to say I still hadn't got my 'phone line installed:

"Are you calling from your home 'phone now?"

God save us.:mad:

spongebob

.....when a previous reincarnation of Chorus with an office in Capel street fecked me around gloriously for 6 months or so.

I had my revenge when I 'lost' them a right of way to 24 paying customers in Athlone a few months later.....because they had no right of way as it happens.

Lovely people!

M

pertinax

could you elaborate on that muck, all my brain is wasted on stress and p0rn related products.

spongebob

Like.

To get to a long row of houses, Chorus crossed a back garden. They hung their cable off a gable end of a shed on a friends property. This house did not have a cable service.

They had no right of way. The friend never gave them permission to access her property (a 'wayleave' ) ...she was then quite old.

One day they showed up and fiddled with the cable on her shed gable with not a howya or thank you, dumping the van in her drive while they did so. She was sonmewhat put out about this.

I made a few phone calls to them for her, got the standard 'customer service' and then chopped the entire cable run down across her property. She referred the repair crew to me when they showed up a day or two later.

By the time I was finished with them she had a free cable service for life and they had their right of way in writing from her. She also had a written apology from them , acknowledging that they had accessed her property without prior permission and promising that they would never do it again.

M

ozpass

She also had a written apology from them , acknowledging that they had accessed her property without prior permission and promising that they would never do it again.

I just had some experience of this end of Chorus. It seems they're not 'untouchable' after all. Despite their reticence in installing my 'phone line, when I faxed them copies of receipts and promotional materials and quoted Section 'M' (Our Commitment to You) from the contract, I received 3 'phone calls from Chorus inside of an hour. All were apologies for the inconvenience caused to me, all from increasingly senior people (a 'manager' spoke to me- I'm honoured). They're going to install my 'phone line, at the quoted price.

The jury's still out though, as they've yet to confirm an installation date.......
:rolleyes:

yankinlk

ozpass, yer a gas man, hang in there...

i can beat yer story tho. I got Chorus Powernet installed, big anttena on the roof for 24hour/always-on fast internet. Grand, worked great.

Then I ordered the TV/Phone package you went for. Guy calls out to the house while im at work....takes one look at the "wierd" antenna pointing at the wrong mountain and decides its not being used (it was 5 days old). He proceeds to throw it from the roof of my two story down "pointy bit" into the front yard.

When I arrive, he's delighted with himself...he's all finished with the TV phone jobby, now where would he like me to stick the "old" antenna?

Genghis

This has been the funniest thread I've read in ages (Sorry, Ozz!!).

Honestly, you could not have scripted it to work better. Guy signs up, senses the initial jitters, wants to believe they were folklore. People offer advice, give an outline of their experience, and hope it is not repeated - 'surely it won't happen everytime'. Guys experience deteriorates - just as expected, just as predicted - down to the legendary customer service and brain-dead technical service.

Look at it this way - you are almost one month down on the 12 month contract!

ShaneOC

Originally posted by yankinlk
ozpass, yer a gas man, hang in there...

i can beat yer story tho. I got Chorus Powernet installed, big anttena on the roof for 24hour/always-on fast internet. Grand, worked great.

Then I ordered the TV/Phone package you went for. Guy calls out to the house while im at work....takes one look at the "wierd" antenna pointing at the wrong mountain and decides its not being used (it was 5 days old). He proceeds to throw it from the roof of my two story down "pointy bit" into the front yard.

When I arrive, he's delighted with himself...he's all finished with the TV phone jobby, now where would he like me to stick the "old" antenna?

Don't stop there. Go on, tell us what happened next. I would love to have seen the look on his face as you calmly (no doubt) told him where to stick the old antenna.

ozpass

Guess what guys? It's a week later and I still don't have my 'phone line installed. I've been a Chorus customer for 2 and a half weeks now, and in that time I've made 10 calls and sent 2 faxes to Chorus! I've been promised 6 times they would call me back and actually been called back once (excepting the times they apologised before forgetting I existed again!)

I'm really stuck about what to do. I'm starting to dream at night about catapulting flaming set-top boxes at Chorus HQ.

[STOP PRESS] Yegads! I've just this second received a 'phone call from a Chorus sales rep.! Aparently my case is 'sufficiently serious' for disciplinary action to be taken against people handling my account. Watch this space! All I want is a 'phone tho.......:(

In my view Chorus are 'sufficiently lame' that I'll never knowingly deal with them or their subsidiaries as long as I live.

freetoair

Its not always a nightmare with Chorus. I applied to sign up to Chorus digital in the Drogheda area when it was initially rolled out in November 2000. I was an existing analog customer with a whopping 10 channels including Sky Premier.

I waited, waited......watched several of my neighbours get it installed, asked the technicians was my name not on the list, was referred to customer services by them who confirmed that I was on the list and would be installed in due course and now its August 2002 and er, ahem, I could still be waiting if I hadn't ditched the lot and gone for Sky Digital.

But to take out my anger I asked them to remove my premium channels i.e. Sky Premier 1. They told me they couldn't remove it. I said I didn't want it any more, but they said it couldn't be removed for technical reasons. I gave them a request in writing to have it removed and lo and behold my monthly invoice was reduced by £12 per month and I still had the channel free of charge.
This went on for a few months until I thought I'd be smart and unsubscribe from their service. Sure enough, no more invoices and free TV for a week, until the "lads" called round and physically removed the crappus set-top boxes, so it appears they cannot cripple analog services remotely.


Anyway Ozpass, you've really made my day. I'm ashamed to say I'm enjoying your misery in much the same way as you get secret pleasure from watching someone just miss a train....only in your case the next train is in 11 months time when your contract expires. Best of luck and keep us entertained with your experiences.

mike65

Hi ozpass I thought I'd include this link
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33277
to show its not just Chorus who **** with your head!

Mike.

DMC

Originally posted by mike65
Hi ozpass I thought I'd include this link
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33277
to show its not just Chorus who **** with your head!

Mike.

Oh God! I remember all that! And not one bit funny at the time either.

corkey

have to say the service is getting better no flashing more force on the lines maybe net next