movistar Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Hi All.... Well i feel like iam in the dark ages when it comes to broadband speed and digital TV packages. Iam looking for the best package out there at the moment and i need some advice on who's the cheapest and who is the best or mix of both would be great:) my digital TV is through the aerial at the mo and its poo[sAD][/sAD], and bt do the phone and Internet. thanks in advance:d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 just moved house , before it was the old NTL cable into the house , now with virgin media but through a BT line , and tbh its crap i lose the internet at busy times like from 6 to 11 and they fleeced me on the bill as i was going to leave because i didnt think they had a connection here . so lots of porkies told to keep me , i was thinking of getting the lot with sky , but saying that i think the BB still uses a BT line so maybe just the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I am quite interested in this thread as I am in a similar boat to you, here is a bit of my finding: The best deals seem to be when you go for the packages (Which makes sense). BT Packages - Seem pretty good value and should be less hassle if you are already with them. BT WiFi Hot Spots - This really tickles my fancy as it is useful when I am working out of the office & on the move, perfect for while I am at the airport or need access quickly. On my travels I come across a lot of BT Hot Spots. =========================================================== Sky Bundle - Seems the best option if you like TV. Virgin Media Package - Well priced but seems no good if you don't live in a fibre optic area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian W Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I'm with Sky. Not too bad at all as came with a Sky+ HD box and I pay them my line rental into the bundle. The only drawback I've found is that they charge me extra to be on the 'unlimited broadband' package as I went over the download limit on the standard package. Okay, that may be my own fault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 A workmate has just had BT Infinity broadband installed (not sure of the logistics of it) and says he's getting 38 Megabytes per second download speed! Could be 380 kbps perhaps. My Virgin Media cable 20Mb broadband rarely exceeds 900kbps or just under 1 Megabyte per second, which is still quite fast. The majority of downloads are around 230kbps (1/4 MByte per second). All depends on the source and how busy it is. Youtube videos have become really slow to download in recent months for some reason (not just because of higher resolution, although this clobbers them proper sometimes) so it may not matter how fast it is above a certain threshold. I think they told me that they only do the one speed now. As an aside, and make of this what you will, the plan is to stop upgrading the 'Internet' and let it collapse under it's own weight and thereby invite everyone to register with 'Internet 2' which would have new terms, i.e. only 'approved' websites can use it. Censorship? This http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet2 article even admits that 'special interest groups' are actively engaged in it's development. Time will tell. Anyway, I have Virgin tv, broadband and phone for £35 per month but £25 of that is broadband. They should be charging for line rental but charge me only for calls. NTL included the phone and it carried over to Virgin when they took over but you might have to pay extra now. Might also get it cheaper as a new customer, if that is, you have cable in your area. Can't speak for any other service, sorry. This would be the best advice, if you subscribed. http://www.which.co.uk/technology/tv-and-dvd/reviews-ns/phone-internet-and-tv-packages/ Hopefully you'll get a good range of advice on here for free but I'm happy with Virgin Media's V+ Box. Incidentally, they charge £5 to enable pause live tv, FF and rewind on the remote unless you take their XL tv package. I downgraded as I hardly watch it and you get 65 channels for a tenner. Fortunately it includes the ones that I occasionally use, some in HD. iPlayer on the PS3 is more than enough for me and you can get it online among other tv sites so all you really need is a mobile phone and broadband. As far as I'm concerned, Youtube and Googlevideo etc. are the new tv! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movistar Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 cheers for the input chaps....i did have a long chat with a BT fella and nearly signed up to them until i panicked when i couldn't work out how to get the benefits in all my rooms with TVs as they are all linked through a box in the loft then that goes to the outside aerial, and all my wires are in the plaster hidden ect. The guy said it will only work in the one room where the TV is...but i could unplug the box and take it upstairs and plug it into another if i needed to watch something that we have saved....."its all wireless" he says..."hmmmm it's not really is it" i told him. The price seems to be ok, but i really want some sort of multi room feature without lugging a box about. Suppose a call to sky and virgin is on the cards:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Virgin are the best by an absolute country mile. The trouble is if you are not in a cable area, in that case you can only get the .net service which is through the BT lines and no better than the service BT themselves can provide..... with terrible customer service if what I have heard is true. If you live in a cable area then Virgin should most definitely be your choice. The speed they say regarding your internet is the speed you will see, you cannot check this speed using torrents etc as they depend on swarm speeds and node speeds. Newsgroups are the place the test your full speed capabilities, which I ALWAYS max out on. If you don't live in a cable area then I would suggest the latest bundle offerings from Sky would definitely be your best bet. All these services through your phoneline will be very similar as they all use the same exchanges as far as I know. The only comparison is on price and customer service, which I don't think you will beat sky on when talking packages. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 I recently moved to Virgin and I am a lot happier than I was with Plusnet. That said, I only really use the internet for browsing here and Xbox 360 games. We have the phone and a basic tv package. H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 A workmate has just had BT Infinity broadband installed (not sure of the logistics of it) and says he's getting 38 Megabytes per second download speed! Could be 380 kbps perhaps. Yep, his not pulling your leg! I had a quick look at this and they advised I'll have it in the new year! You get 38 MBPS Download Speeds and 9 MBPS Upload! Here is some more information: BT Infinity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Yep, his not pulling your leg! I had a quick look at this and they advised I'll have it in the new year! You get 38 MBPS Download Speeds and 9 MBPS Upload! Here is some more information: BT Infinity *cough* Mb *cough* Virgin STILL smokes it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 *cough* Mb *cough* Virgin STILL smokes it Oops got a tad excited with the CAPS LOCK! I wouldn't be surprised but Virgin are scared of coming into my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Oops got a tad excited with the CAPS LOCK! I wouldn't be surprised but Virgin are scared of coming into my area. They are barstewards for that. When they were rolling out as Telewest and NTL they were putting it everywhere they could to get the customers in. Now that they have a fairly large customer base they just aim at people in the areas that already have it. Takes a HUGE ask to get it into new areas. One of the things I looked for when buying a house was that it was in a cable area Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MySupra Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Dont go for virgin, their internet is soooo shit, its slow, i havent had a good smooth game on call of duty for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Gotta say Virgin as we've been on it for the last 13 years.. or Sky if you really want the funky TV stuff I have no issues at all playing games online... ^^^^ you need to complain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Gotta say Virgin as we've been on it for the last 13 years.. or Sky if you really want the funky TV stuff I have no issues at all playing games online... ^^^^ you need to complain! He will be using the crappy .net version I mentioned. Non-Cable areas. With cable it either works or it doesn't. I've never had a slowdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 They are barstewards for that. When they were rolling out as Telewest and NTL they were putting it everywhere they could to get the customers in. Now that they have a fairly large customer base they just aim at people in the areas that already have it. Takes a HUGE ask to get it into new areas. One of the things I looked for when buying a house was that it was in a cable area I hope the missus doesn't know that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MySupra Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Gotta say Virgin as we've been on it for the last 13 years.. or Sky if you really want the funky TV stuff I have no issues at all playing games online... ^^^^ you need to complain! Ive been complaining, still the same old crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movistar Posted November 19, 2010 Author Share Posted November 19, 2010 Yay iam in the virgin cable area...now do i take the plunge and buy a new TV Too as the box in the corner is the size of a small conservatory:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Yay iam in the virgin cable area...now do i take the plunge and buy a new TV Too as the box in the corner is the size of a small conservatory:-) If you have the money spare to do it then I would say yes. Just make sure you buy once, if you want the 3DTV with all the bells and whistles then make sure you get it Nothing worse than pining for better months after a purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movistar Posted November 19, 2010 Author Share Posted November 19, 2010 If you have the money spare to do it then I would say yes. Just make sure you buy once, if you want the 3DTV with all the bells and whistles then make sure you get it Nothing worse than pining for better months after a purchase. Good advice scott...cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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