Sky tv versus virgin packages

kilmaccumsey

Well-Known Forumite
What are your experiences I moved to Virgin and find it rubbish ( stupidly now in 18 month contract ) should of stayed with sky :(
 

Jade-clothing

Well-Known Forumite
What are your experiences I moved to Virgin and find it rubbish ( stupidly now in 18 month contract ) should of stayed with sky :(

We've had both and find the internet better with Virgin but the TV services way better with Sky so we are now sticking with Sky and putting up with the slow internet which will hopefully improve (eventually)
 

Jade-clothing

Well-Known Forumite
Hi did you cancel your contract
We wait until the end of the contract and then check out which of the two are offering the better deal. Last time it was Sky so we went with them but as I say we're really pleased with it as the TV is easier to use and the On demand and catch up is better.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
Virgin for me...............cable is massively better in inclement weather conditions. And they come and fix it all for free, although mine has never broken :) I have to ask, what is that about, that thing where the equipment that you rent from Sky breaks yet you have to pay for them to come and fix it? Bizarre in the extreme.

I'm also anti-Murdoch and all he stands for !!
 

kilmaccumsey

Well-Known Forumite
Ok , very bizzare sky just phoned me offering me half price for 12 months and 2 months free , but I think we got rid of the box ... Any one got a spare sky box ??
 

Jade-clothing

Well-Known Forumite
Ok , very bizzare sky just phoned me offering me half price for 12 months and 2 months free , but I think we got rid of the box ... Any one got a spare sky box ??

I'm selling two sky+ HD boxes 250GB, £25 each. although I thought you got them for free?
Also Kyoto, it's free to fix Sky within the first year. It's just after that you have to pay.
 

number9

Well-Known Forumite
that thing where the equipment that you rent from Sky breaks yet you have to pay for them to come and fix it? Bizarre in the extreme.

I'm also anti-Murdoch and all he stands for !!

never paid for any sky repair when I had it. just say you are cancelling and they'll fix for free.
usually when leaving sky, they'll offer good deals to stay with them. they'll keep mailing you thru the next year asking you to come back.

how far into your 18 month contract are you Sandonia, early enough to cancel? get it done, if you aren't happy.
if you take the sky offer, see how long the contract is, a lot are 18 months now, and if they'll provide a new box and a new dish, lnb, if the old ones looking rough, or you took them down when they got damaged ;)
 

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
I have had cable TV since 1998. Rarely get any downtime, bad weather very rarely affects it, and the Samsung HD V+ box I have is far more reliable than the old Pace boxes VM used to supply.

Broadband is brilliant, speed via ethernet are always at 55-60Mb (with a 60Mb connection), wifi speeds are generally 'slower' at about 30-40Mb. Sky can only offer 2-8Mb download where I live so there is absolutely zero chance that I would move to their broadband service.
 

biccies

Well-Known Forumite
I really miss my Samsung V+ Box. Virgin are giving out TiVo boxes now, unfortunately, we've ended up with one. I'm not sure whether it's just me but I find it awfully slow in the menus. Also the user interface is not consistent. A button that works as "back" in one screen will do something else or nothing at all on another screen. The "clever" bit (with it guessing what you would want to watch and records it for you) isn't at all great. It decided to start recording every news program which was particularly useless.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
I have had cable TV since 1998. Rarely get any downtime, bad weather very rarely affects it, and the Samsung HD V+ box I have is far more reliable than the old Pace boxes VM used to supply.

Broadband is brilliant, speed via ethernet are always at 55-60Mb (with a 60Mb connection), wifi speeds are generally 'slower' at about 30-40Mb. Sky can only offer 2-8Mb download where I live so there is absolutely zero chance that I would move to their broadband service.

Thats what we have, and I LOVE IT, never have I been so passionate about a piece of technology )

I really miss my Samsung V+ Box. Virgin are giving out TiVo boxes now, unfortunately, we've ended up with one. I'm not sure whether it's just me but I find it awfully slow in the menus. Also the user interface is not consistent. A button that works as "back" in one screen will do something else or nothing at all on another screen. The "clever" bit (with it guessing what you would want to watch and records it for you) isn't at all great. It decided to start recording every news program which was particularly useless.

Thanks for the heads up, i'll try and avoid having to have one of those!!!
 

number9

Well-Known Forumite
Hi I'm 6 months into the 18 month contract , sky are offering me no fixed contract , but I must have the. Box :(

you are tied into virgin for another 12 months then. you can get a box from ebay cheap enough, or even freecycle.

I use virgin for broadband only, tv is an alternative source ;)
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
I can never understand people PAYING for a TV service when Freeview exists with over 100 channels. All we pay for is broadband from Virgin... no phone line, no TV package. If you ask alot of people how many minutes they get on their mobile phone, they tell you unlimited calls or at least 500 or more minutes - so why on earth pay companies like Sky for TV and phone when neither are essential these days.

If you're a sports buff or something then I kind of get it, but I find there's too much on Freeview channels already.

2c over
 

Jonah

Spouting nonsense since the day I learned to talk
When I have previously investigated Freeview, the channels I want to watch weren't available.

Also with regards to having a landline. If you don't take a landline then the price of TV and broadband increases. The companies make it so it's cheaper to take a landline with your TV and BB packages than not.
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
When I have previously investigated Freeview, the channels I want to watch weren't available.

Also with regards to having a landline. If you don't take a landline then the price of TV and broadband increases. The companies make it so it's cheaper to take a landline with your TV and BB packages than not.

Yes and no. That would apply if we wanted all 3 services from VM no doubt, but for just the broadband alone we're substantially better off. I also understand what you're saying about certain channels not being there but in our case it's impossible to miss what you've never had. To have Sky would cost us AT LEAST £20 more a month than what we pay to VM now as we'd be forced into having the landline and TV - and all for what? A few TV channels that we don't get now? That doesn't warrant another £240 minimum spend per year to me.

Everyone's requirements vary of course and this is just how it sits with us.
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
Also just another side note, we use a YouView set top box for Freeview, so we also get all the benefits of catch up TV, series recording etc. at no extra cost too.

@bigbluewolf I couldn't agree more with what you have said. Even in my line of work I rarely see Sky customers that get the speeds they pay for. With Virgin Media if you pay for 60Mb you get 60Mb (actually usually a fraction over this) pretty much most of the time.

If Sky wanted to give me free services for 12 months as a local computer technician in order to convince me otherwise and in hope of me recommending them to people then I'd maybe accept - but even then I couldn't see me recommending them at the end of it. I've recommended VM since day dot and I'm likely to continue to do so - certainly when it comes to internet reliability and constant speeds. The TV fair enough may be something else from Sky, but at a hefty price tag once all of your introductory offers have ended.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
I can never understand people PAYING for a TV service when Freeview exists with over 100 channels. All we pay for is broadband from Virgin... no phone line, no TV package. If you ask alot of people how many minutes they get on their mobile phone, they tell you unlimited calls or at least 500 or more minutes - so why on earth pay companies like Sky for TV and phone when neither are essential these days.

If you're a sports buff or something then I kind of get it, but I find there's too much on Freeview channels already.

2c over

It's not the number of channels that makes me pay for Virgin, it's the range of Channels. My Mum has freeview and I'm constantly missing the channels I have on Virgin. And there's also the ability to pause live TV. I fu*kin love it :). It's not expensive, not really, including everything I pay £15 a week. Most people spend more than that on fags/alcohol/petrol/clothes/the cinema/chocolates :) whatever. I get as much football as I can consume in HD, film channels, Nat Geo channels, Virgin is the bomb :D
 
Top