Page 1 of Virgin vs. Sky. What`s your thoughts?

My father in law recently replaced Sky with Virgin, and I have to say that I am impressed. The Virgin HD (cable) box offers supremely better image quality in SD than Sky+ did. This might partly be because of the switch to HDMI from Scart too, but it really brings the image quality up to almost the best CRT standard I`ve seen. Is their a big image quality improvement when upgrading fromt the SCART Sky+ box to the Sky HD box too?

Virgin doesn`t offer much in the way of HD content at the moment though, with only BBC HD being available (though it does look ace). I was also keen on the Anytime content, which offered not only most recent programmes but masses of other content, like entire TV series through the free on-demand channels.

One question though: Does Virgin still restrict download speeds and hate downloaders in general? Is their fair usage policy ridiculous? I`ve never had issues with this on Sky, and they have been the best Internet providers I`ve ever had.

For me, the larger amount of HD channels outweighs all the negative aspects of Virgin, though I have to say I`m still tempted. What do you think?

The top level Virgin service is good, but pricey. The 20M/bit service shouldn`t cause problems for the vast majority of people, as you have to go some to regularly exceed its limits, but the other services are restrictive (for my needs). They don`t actually limit how much you can download, but how much you can download at full speed. The have different `STM` periods, which on 20M/bit allow you to download anywhere between 3GB and 6GB without being penalised (depending on the time of day). Uploads are also monitored and the levels are much lower, so it`s really file sharers that are hit the hardest.

O2 are probably the best ISP if you can get their service at full speed.

I`m on the "Large" (10mb) broadband tier, and I only find I`m hit by the download capping, is if I get in from work 4:30ish, and immediately start downloading several large files at full speed, so that by 7 I`ve downloaded a gig or so, then my web browsing speed etc can suffer for a few hours.

but if I stagger it, so I download 1 file, when I get in, then the next when that is finished it`s fine.

I`ve been with NTL/virgin for years, and when it works it works great, but when you have problems and have to deal with customer services etc, like a lot of companies it`s a right pain in the arse, as it`s a lottery if you speak to some-one who can help :(

As you say, the On Demand stuff is great, especially as you can record some of the stuff off it to watch later :)

They r both tossers with zero customer service skills between them :)

i`d have to disagree with you mbilko.....I`ve have sky + downsatairs and Virgin Sd upstairs and everytime i`ve called either with an isse they`ve picked the phone up quick enough and dealt with my issues quick enough too :-)

I have the odd blip with my Virgin Broadband but nothing to make me want to leave them for example.

As much of a pain in the arse the STM is with Virgin, on the 20Mb, example, they restrict you down to 5Mb download - which is more than many people get anyway with ADSL.

Ste

Aye, it`s just the upload restriction which is s***. The levels are also disproportionate, as the other services get halved and 20M/bit gets quartered.

I`m with mbilko on this. I was with Sky years ago, and I was never impressed with their service. I`d heard so much guff about how much better Cable was for bandwidth and services I signed with Telewest as soon as their rep arrived on our street. The service never lives up to the hype.

At the moment I think I`m paying around £10 over the odds for my 10Mbps broadband service, but if I make malcontented noises, they`ll probably discount that while hiking my phone line rental to recover it.

If I go back to Sky, it means a) all the hassle of cancelling with Virgin and rejoining Sky, b) removal of an old Astra dish from the front of the house and possibly no chance of Freesat as a backup service at a later date. c) having to get BT to rewire as our old phone line had to be physically cut when we had the windows put in. d) new email addresses and all that pharting around. I`m sticking with Virgin for the moment, but frankly I don`t think either company has the business nous to run a whelk stall.

J Mark Oates

Thing is you`re not with Telewest Mark, you`re with NTL and they suck. As soon as they took over Telewest areas the quality took a nosedive. As for deals, you can get them. They`re not as good as they used to be, but they are available. I currently pay around £50/month for all three XL services, which isn`t bad. I have a relative who claims to be paying £60 something for the VIP package with a V+ box. I will be investigating that and asking if we can have the same deal if it is true (citing a reference is always a good way to get a similar package).

If Virgin were the last ISP, I would go without. In my 8/9 years with broadband, virgin were not only the worst, but the worst + some. They said I had downloaded too much on one day & that day I had NOT been on the internet. When they slowed me down (at the time I had no idea what had happened) it was slower than dial up for the rest of the night. So slow that even msn was impossible. When I phoned to find out what had happened, it was to an Indian call center who claimed it was a fault, but on further investigation it was the throttling. This in less than a weeks use, & I`m not a big downloader. Thankfully there was the 28 day get out clause & get out I did, way before the 28 days. I don`t like Sky & would never put another penny their way but given the choice in the title then Sky with genuine unlimited downloads would be my choice. I`m with what is at the moment the best & cheapest ISP I`ve ever been with & that is `02`.

This item was edited on Sunday, 14th June 2009, 09:05