We are moving house soon and leaving behind our 24MB broadband with Be. So I started to have a look at the market and came up with this matrix of the 3 main options.
| Service | Sky | Virgin | FreeView and Bulldog |
|---|---|---|---|
| TV | £15 (best) | £11 (ok) | £0 (worst) |
| Telephone | £11 | £0 | £11 |
| Internet (unlimited) | £10 (16MB) | £25 (4MB) | £20 (16MB) |
| Monthly costs | £36 | £36 | £31 |
| Initial costs | £30 | £15 | £85 |
As you can see there isn't that much in it between Sky and Virgin. Sky has the advantage of better TV (SkyOne) and user interface everyone is used to. Virgin on the other hand has the advantage of easy instillation, and more solid internet, and no BT line meaning one instillation date.
FreeView on the other hand has the advantage of no monthly charge, and the choice of broadband even with Be offering up to 24MB speeds and no usage limits. However you end up getting two bills rather than the one from Virgin.
Sky+ is really cool, but Virgin have the same service (apparently slightly better but more expensive) but you can also get ones for free view!
TV recorders
- Sky+
- £100
- Virgin+
- £150 plus £5 a month
- Free view
- £173 (Sony SVR-S500)
At the end of the day FreeView may be the easiest option, Virgin seem like they tie you in a bit, and Sky needs a dish, which sounds like hassle if your renting the property. Plus I know we could upgrade the FreeView box at a later date, and also get a Airport Extrema for some 802.11n speed!!!
I haven't looked at BT vision, because of problems with them in the past, there may also be other options, so let me know if you have any...