Picture quality on ntl: go digital

Alun

Hi,

I'm moving from a Chorus area (Greystones) to an ntl: area (Bray) soon, and am wondering about the advantages of getting the go digital pack.

I'm not too bothered about most of the extra channels on offer, but after the abysmal picture quality I've been submitted to here in Chorus-land for the past 18 months, I'd like to think I'd be at least getting a far superior picture quality on the main channels (RTE,TV3,BBC,UTV,CH4).

So I guess what i'm asking is what feeds ntl: uses for these channels, digital or re-encoded analogue. Also what about the bitrates for the various channels, and do you get a lot of dropouts ?

Also, what about aspect switching (WSS) ? I've got a Philips widescreen TV and I'm fed-up with the BBC feed from Chorus being stubbornly 4:3 regardless fo what is being transmitted.

Any advice gratefully received,
Alun

icdg

Picture quality is generally IMO excellent, although some people seem to disagree...

The sources for the UK terrestrials are a digital platform, AFAIK DTT, though someone from NTL may be able to correct me from that. The Irish terrestrials seem to be from analogue terrestrial though, even though there is a digital source (DSat) available.

Widescreen switching: the UK terrestrials are broadcast in full 16:9 and using the settings menu on your digibox, you can choose between full widescreen 16:9, 16:9 letterbox (ie, 16:9 in a 4:3 picture), or 4:3 Pan and Scan. Other channels will be in 4:3 though.

Dropouts: yes sometimes. More often a problem with NTL Digital is the EPG, EPG data can sometimes disappear for no apparent reason, or worse still, appear twice in the programme list view.

Alun

Thanks for that info.

Am I also correct in thinking that if you go for the digital option that the standard basic analogue package remains active, so that you can a) record "normally" via the timer on the VCR, and b) have analogue as a backup in case the digital system goes haywire ?

Also, on the subject of recording, does the decoder box have the ability to schedule recordings and to control a VCR via the SCART connector ? My Philips VCR has this feature apparently.

Alun

icdg

Yes, you keep analogue too, for your basic 15 channels.

The digibox has a personal planner "My Diary" so you can schedule recordings (using the "Auto Tune" option). If doing this you will also have to programme in the recording into your VCR though. The digibox cannot control the VCR. (It does have the ability to switch your TV channel to the EXT-1 / AV channel automatically, but that's about it).

Alun

My Philips VCR (a VR765) has a so-called Satellite Control feature, which I have been reliably told works with Pace satellite boxes, so I would assume it would work with the Pace cable boxes too, although maybe that's me being interminably optimistic.

It has to be activated in the setup of the VCR, and you have to tell it which of the two SCART sockets on the VCR you've connected the satellite receiver to. I don't know whether it reacts to just any old video signal on the SCART to activate recording, or whether it's a dedicated SCART pin.

However, since the manual of the VCR doesn't specify whether the two SCART sockets offer RGB passthrough this may not be a brilliant idea anyway. Trying to figure out an optimal way of connecting up a VCR, DVD and decoder to my TV (with 4, yes 4, SCARTs all with slightly different capabilities) is going to be a nightmare anyway ...