he certainly does sound like a charming man, though with me not being Irish I can't say for sure if he is. I did visit his lovely web page.

But no, sorry, I won't be paying money to that evil Murdoch man. Sorry.

Nooo nooo, you don't have to do anything silly like that. Just buy a second-hand box (you can get them for 20 quid from the local rag)...

20 quid for a digital box for 28.8E?

Surely you mean 20 quid for a receiver for 19.2E analogue, which ITV would have to be idiots to want to join at this stage..

erm.

[OnDigital viewer who wishes he had something more exciting than the Exclusivity of ITV]

Yeah well they give them away free don't they? So many of em are being sold for 20 quid. Have a look in your local Loot. And yes, I do mean Sky Digital boxes...

>Yeah well they give them away free don't they? So many of em are being sold for 20 quid. Have a look in your local Loot. And yes, I do mean Sky Digital boxes...

It's something that might even tempt me to take to the Sky....

That and the opportunity to watch UK GOLD 2 :)

>he certainly does sound like a charming man, though with me not being Irish I can't say for sure if he is. I did visit his lovely web page.

I think his intro to Coronation Street is worth getting UTV in itself.

Thoush not much else is!

Anyway, how easy is it really to get pirate cards? I'm going to be ditching NTL digital at the first available opportunity, and I'm keen to get as much out of Sky Digital as possible!

>I'm going to be ditching NTL digital at the first available opportunity

Why - I heard it was pretty good - don't forget theat they have signed a five year carriage deal with Sky so their rates are unlikely to rise as fast as Sky's.

I was actually going to recommend NTL Digital to my friend in Leeds as their OnDigital reception is mediocre due to the fact they have a shared aerial.

I have had nothing but trouble with Cowboy and Witless (now NTL) in the last year. And I'm certainly not the only one. Can't speak for elsewhere but they have not provided a great service to Leeds. Plus I don't think that the digital system works as smoothly as Sky's.

And, of course, you only get BBC Choice England!

Pirate cards are not available for Sky Digital *at all* at the moment (although On-Digital cards are widely sold), but the Free-to-View hack is just round the corner. And as the Videoguard system has been hacked in Italy and the US it's only a matter of time....

NTL is crud, but it's immaterial to me cos I live out in the sticks and can't get it!!

I'm with Damian - C&W/NTL are utter, utter shite. They're great at signing you up, but after that they don't give a toss. After almost a year of missed appointments, poor service, being left on hold and ignored on the rare occasions their help lines weren't engaged, and finally getting about £150 compensation out of the bastards, I went to Sky Digital and haven't looked back.

And don't just take my word for it - the Grauniad's consumer pages are full of stories about C&W/NTL.

Yup, since my last post, I've just been promised £70 compensation for what is my third major complaint in the last year. Back in the days of Cable and Wireless, the forum on their site was bombarded with emails from unhappy customers, and there's been no improvement of service since NTL took over.

When ITV's sadly defunct (!) We Can Work it Out programme investigated digital, the unofficial findings (which caused problems considering who owned the production co.) was to stay away from OnD, and go for Sky every time.

I can give you my wisdom on mobile phones as well (!)

> ... and there's been no improvement of service since NTL took over.

And the way things are being run at ntl, it isn't likely to get better in the short term, either.

I've worked in the cable industry for seven years and digital has taken us back to the dark ages reliabilitywise. With the eventual merger of ntl and Telewest, this can only get worse.

Sky Digital is leagues ahead.

>When ITV's sadly defunct (!) We Can Work it Out programme investigated digital, the unofficial findings (which caused problems considering who owned the production co.) was to stay away from OnD, and go for Sky every time.

I have little problem with OnDigital. I'm running one of their boxes off one of the crap aerials you get with portable TVs and the picture is very good - although the BBC multiplex is far more stable that the OnD ones.

I phoned them up the other day, they were quick and helpful - the only thing I'd say is that when they sign you up, their computer screens which provide the questions they ask you aren't in a very logical order at all.

Anyway, Paramount is coming soon to C39. I can't wait.

>I can give you my wisdom on mobile phones as well (!)

Despite the fact that I work for Ericsson, My Siemens C35 is great nad so is BT Cellnet as a provider.

So what is your wisdom, Damien.

Hmmm...

Perhaps BT Cellnet have got their act together in recent months. They weren't highly regarded by WCWIO viewers, their own staff (off the cuff, of course) and OFTEL...