NTL:home - TV, Telephone & Broadband Internet Review

Overall Rating

Works.
IP address rarely changes ("virutally" static).
Currently on 3MBits.

Various incoming ports are blocked.
There is a problem with the proxy trying to resolve entries in the hosts file.
Upstream Transmit Power Level sitting at dangerous ly high 61dBmv.

I have been using NTL broadband, phone, and TV since April 2002. It hasn't been without it's problems, but all in all, I have been satisfied (although not overly impressed) with the service.

My main gripes are listed in the 'bad points'. It does annoy me that certain incoming ports are blocked, although this seems less of an issue now as I recently discovered (after not trying for over a year) that most of the ports I require have now been openned (ie. TCP 3306 for MySQL (clients must use SSL and can only come from selected IP's), TCP 5432 for PostgreSQL (again, SSL clients only and predefined IP's), TCP 22 (SSH), TCP 3389 (RDP)).

The 'proxy problem' is very annoying for me. For example, if I have an entry in my hosts file like: "62.xxx.xx.xx SomeServer" and then I try doing a http://SomeServer within a browser, I do not arrive at 62.xxx.xx.xx. Instead, the proxy (I think it's the proxy) tries to do some mod-rewrite or something, sending me to unexpected sites. I do have a work around for this, and that is to use https://SomeServer instead - it just means I have to use OpenSSL alot.

My Upstream Transmit Power Level has always been unacceptably high (this should never exceed 55dBmv) and quite frankly I'm surprised that I have any service at all, let alone a service that has been ticking away for years (with the odd minor problem(s) in the beginning).

Personally, I'm satisfied with the service provided by NTL. I do a lot of work from home, and I find it more than adequate for this. I'm also very happy about the recent free upgrade to 3Mb! Although my usage is quite low, every now and then (on average around once every quarter to six months) I am required to download a 5GB+ database, so the extra speed is appreciated :)

Although I have said in this review that I would not recommend NTL to a friend, if the friend in question was 'technically savvy', didn't mind coax cable being laid in their home and a hole being bashed in their front wall, and wanted 3-in-1 (TV, phone, broadband), then I probably would.

Members' Comments onsyddel's Review

• syddel on 22nd Jul 2005

  UPDATE: I am changing my review from a 'No' recommendation to a 'Yes' - the reason being NTL have now added true Video On Demand :). You can now select a movie, purchase it, play it when you want (within a 24 hour period), stop, pause, rewind, and fast forward! They also have a 'pick of the week' section where you can play a small selection of TV programmes on demand (although for some reason picks from channel 5 are not yet available).
  
  The set-top-box (STB) interface still leaves much to be desired, but I'm impressed at the 'transparent' upgrade and the way NTL have managed to add Video on Demand without the need to upgrade the STB.
  
  Although the interface and on-demand/slip-streamed content doesn't match that of Video Networks (HomeChoice), I have no doubt that one day it will. Also, the picture quality from NTL is much better than that of HomeChoice (HomeChoice gets really blocky at times, and can be jerky - I know they were planning on upgrading from MPEG2 to MPEG4 - I don't know if this is complete or if the quality of the picture has improved).
  
  What I can't understand is why NTL didn't advertise this new service - I didn't even know about it until I decided to look at what moviews were avaible (after not doing so for 6 months). I then noticed there was no "About to Start" option. I was well pleased when I found out why!!
  
  I hope that a future upgrade of the service will include: a) slip-streaming of all channels and b) a better (more responsive) interface.