Chorus

[amnesiac]

Hi, this might seem like a silly query in an inappropriate place, but I would really appreciate any feedback.

As somebody who wasn't born into the Socialist Utopia that is PROC, I'm living in a rented house in Glasheen. I'm purchasing a TV and DVD player (AT LAST!) and seeing as the indoor antenna reception here isn't great I've decided to spalsh out for multichannel television.

Sky Digital is too expensive and I don't want to commit to a 12 month contract in rented accomodation. I have no experience of Chorus however. What would the cheapest package form Chorus cost? How invasive is the installation procedure, i.e. is it something I should inform my landlord about? I don't even know if Chorus is cable or aeriel based in Cork!!!

[bo_selecta]

from my experience - avoid Chorus like the plague. When I moved to Cork first I signed up to Chorus and had nothing but problems. With dropped signals, being billed for channels I did not have, taking 2 direct debits instead of one, being on hold for customer care for hours, etc, etc. the list is endless.
As soon as I could, i moved from Chorus to Sky Digital and the product and service provided is far, far superior.
As far as I can remeber, the basic Sky package is not that much more expensive than the Chorus one. Sky only gets expensive when you add the sport or movie package.

Depending on where you are in cork, you could either be hooked up to the MMDS (aeriel) or cable system...you should refer to your landlord as well before you install anything...as the installer may need to drill a few holes in walls and things to run cables, etc...better to be safe than sorry...plus you may find out that the place is already pre-wired for a cable system and it just needs to be turned on at the cable exchange.

But all in all, I would recomend Sky above and beyond Chorus...the only thing that Sky has going against it the lack of ITV (but most of the programmes are on TV3) and no Channel 4 - which I do miss but you do get E4 and the option to subscribe to Film 4.

http//www.chorus.ie/index.php
http//www.sky.com/skycom/home/

or for an independent view go to
http//www.come.to/icdg
click on >features then on >Chorus Vs Sky Digital

Hope this helps your decision!

[redbulljunkie]

posted reply to this on boards.ie

PS anyone know what the story is with channel 4 and utv on sky digital. Heard there were plans for introducing them but nothing seems to have materialized.

[amnesiac]

We have Sky Digital at home, but it's really not suitable for rented accomodation. Plus it's Irish and British terrestrial channels I'm interested in.

Re. ITV and Cahnnel 4 ever reappearign on Sky digital... I doubt we will ever see them on the ROI EPG but if they can get out of their expensive conditional access deal with Sky like the Beeb did we should be able to access them via Other Channels in the future (all BBC Digital TV channels and radio stations available to Irish boxes, with or without Sky card via Other Channels now).

[redbulljunkie]

hmmm, it turns out this site has the story http//myhome.iolfree.ie/~icdg/dsat_campaign.htm

[bo_selecta]

The main problem with ITV going on Sky in Ireland is the rights issue...as I've said already, a lot of the stuff shown on ITV is on TV3 here and they've paid to have it on. There were rumours at one stage that UTV were going to launch a channel on Sky called "UTV South", which would be ITV with the exception of what RTE and TV3 had the viewing rights for. I don't know what the story is with C4.

If you are lucky enough to live within their area another option could be
http//homepage.eircom.net/~sctv/index.htm

[bioguycork]

the chorus package in my house is about 30 euros a week. the cable runs through two rooms so it's a bit messy, but I guess it depends on the house. we've never had any problems with customer care from chorus, but then nothing has gone wrong yet.

apart from that, i think chorus is a better package than sky. when i had sky digital, i never watched any of the extra channels except mtv and e4 - most of them are rubbish. imo, itv and channel 4 are worth all of them put together, although i do miss mtv.

[admin]

I have no choice but get chorus digital (cable). My parents have sky digital.

The actual chorus box is sub standard and channels are very slow to come up, when you change them. (sky / ntl are far better)

Sky digital may have more channels, but then do we actually watch them? I rather like CH4, which is NOT on sky.

If i had a choive I would go for the dublin's ntl digital as it offers the best in box and channels! But alas, i'm stuck with chorus

Also to be notedOver the last few years the chorus prices have gone up about €2 each (a month) year.

[amnesiac]

Yeah the cheapest option Chorus quoted was eur24.99 a month whcih is almost the cost of a Family Pack subscription on Sky Digital (all channels minus sports, movies and PPV). Still, I think Chorus is the best option for me. I can cancel at any time and will keep RTE1, NET2, tvthreee and TG4. Plus it is the Briitsh Terrestrial Channels I miss most. Cheapest place to buy TV/DVD? Argos really cheap but dodgy brand names!

(Guess what the first DVD to grace my player is going to be Admin? You MUST call 'round for it!!)

[bo_selecta]

are you sure Chorus does not require a 12month sub?
Also, the 4 irish stations are on sky too...and now you can access all the bbc channels like BBC 3, BBC4, CBBC, etc plus the radio stations.