Sky Digital= Quality Entertainment for a Quality Price (BskyB)

Member Name: GLT1

Product:	BskyB
Date:	13/12/01 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Value For Money, Huge Channel Line-Up

Disadvantages: None

I have been a subscriber to Sky for a long while now (almost ten years, I think) and switched to Sky Digital within a month of it's launch, and I have to say, I think that Sky Digital really is the best digital platform out there, in terms of choice and value for money.
I can honestly say that I have never had any major problems with the service or the actual reception. In fact, the only problem that I did have was that the picture froze towards the end of of the opening bout on the pay-per-view Mike Tyson vs Brian Neilsen boxing event recently, and after contacting Sky, they told me what needed to be done to remedy the problem and added that I wouldn't be charged for the event (which I thought was rather generous considering I'd missed only 5 minutes of action).
I contrast this with a similar problem I had with ITV Digital, which I also own (I can't be without my Champions League football).
Towards the end of the Deportivo La Coruna vs Manchester United match on the (£6.99 a month) ITV Sport Channel, a month or so back, on about the 85 minutes mark, I suddenly lost my picture, then it came back, only it kept losing sound and flashing on and off repeatedly before being over-run ith pink squares.
I immediately contacted ITV Digital who didn't seem to know what the problem was, and just kept on requesting that I pull my scart lead out of the digi-box and then plug it back in. After three failed attempts at doing this, I explained to the guy on the end of the phone that this obviously isn't working and to my amazement, he then abandoned any techniques to remedy the problem, by saying that if I wanted a clear picture I should have put it onto the ITV Sport Channel three or four hours earlier. I then suggested that I may have wanted to watch something on another channel on that time, before he went suddenly silent for a moment, before suggesting that I switch the box off for an hour or so. This actually happened to remedy the
problem, but I was told that I couldn't receive any compensation for my troubles, despite the fact that I'd been forced to miss the vital final five minutes in which the game changed from a 1-0 United win to a 2-1 La Coruna victory.
I did eventually receive the huge sum of £2 off of my next bill (at least it's something), but only after numerous phone calls complaining of the poor service and treatment I received from their helpdesk.
The other obvious comparison that can be made between those two didital platforms (and between Sky and many cable operators) is that for £29.99 with Sky I get a lot more channels than I do with ITV Digital, and that now includes ITV and ITV2, which makes it an even more attractive prospect in my eyes, to people who have no outdoor ariel.
The only thing missing now from Sky Digital (from a purely football point of view) is the ITV Sport Channel, which they are apparently negotiating now, with ITV.
Once they have that I would say that Sky is undoubtedly the ultimate choice for the football fan like myself, but with sports channels aside, Sky still offers much, much more choice than any other platform out there for the best price.

Summary: