UPC and RTE trying some PR stunts here. The normal (Digital) UPC set top box only comes with a scart connection. Doesn’t matter how good your TV is, it will never receive a HD signal. But good ol UPC charge 5euro per month extra to have HD. HD isn’t an upgrade is just a better quality signal and I think it’s a bit of a rip off to be charging for it. So they can release and upgrade as many HD channels as they want but you’ll have to pay for the privilege.

Any one want to watch ear to the ground back to back??

UPC need to get the finger out and negotiate a deal to show the SKY HD channels………..

Is RTE1 +1 not just RTE2???

Only Six months late. RTE is paid for by everyone so should be platform neutral like the BBC. It’s a disgrace they have been spending money broadcasting HD for months to two men and a dog on the white elephant that is Saorview. Now they have given in (at least in Dublin) trying to bribe people to buy a box they don’t want (as it doesn’t have the UK channels on it).

I’m no fan of Sky, but people who pay a license fee should at least expect to receive these channels through their chosen supplier. I’ve lost count of the amount of people saying they are watching the Six Nations on BBC1HD as RTE don’t do HD on Sky. As for RTE+1 – It was bad enough the first time round.

At least i can catch the Angelus if i missed it first time.:)

Hope Sky gets RTÉ TWO HD on its listings too. Can’t say I care about RTÉ ONE+1 or RTÉ Jr.

I wonder if UPC will move CITY from 107?

Coming through your letterbox soon, an increased licence fee. Someone’s gotta pay for this!

Instead of being different than UK, the Irish channels should join the UK Freeview and Freesat system. They could get a part of the license fee in UK also or request donation from UK viewers. More channels for us and more market for them, no need to buy dishes and decoders, just get any compatible TV, plug an antenna and tune in.

Why everything here have to be difficult? For a small market like Ireland choosing their own system is completely stupid…

Yeah but the satellite is at a different position from 28deg East where you get the BBC/sky packages and you will need a special dish/lnb to pick up soarview via satellite and it’s going to be expensive,so rather then make it easy for the license holders by adapting the same systems as the UK uses it works out a hell of a lot more expensive!

Great. Crap television in HD and I get to watch it again if I want one hour later.

Sky have a price freeze in 2013. I bet you’ll get all the rte HD etc in January coupled with a price increase. Or am I been cynical???

Now I can see what my hard earned €160 looks like in HD via a private company who pipes in my TV and Internet connection at €45 euro a month.

Just in time for the 6 nations showdown!

Look forward to watching Ireland trash England on my 42″ HD tv via RTE 2 HD :)

Cancelled my upc digital subscription a month ago because its a waste of money, nothing much of interest on it.
I watch stuff on my ipad & ps3, download movies & have netflix – tv subscriptions are going to become less popular in the next while i think.
I subscribe to liveonlinefooty for €30 a year and watch perfect sky sports & espn streams of games, the equivilant with upc is €30 a month on top of basic.
No thanks.

Marvellous now I get to pay a bigger L.Fee probably from next year for more of the same crap

for anyone that had/have sky tv…. at the end of your 12mth contract…the dish and box are yours…. so if you cancel your sub you get to use the sky box as a freesat box.. bbc..itv’s…ch4,ch5 etc all free!… as someone stated earlier a simple box..costing approx 80euro and you can have the soarview channels worked through it using an ordinary aerial…in turn getting all rte’s..tv3 etc and the uk channels…..no more needless sub to either sky or upc….
of course rte tried to make live difficult for people by using mpeg4 signal to broadcast soarview instead of mpeg2 which is used in UK….. so people would have to pay more for saorviev approved products!! to my horror i found that my 42″ tv which i brought back with me from uk when i moved home here wouldn’t work cause it was mpeg2 not mpeg4… so instead of paying over inflated price for saorview box that even though could hold some 3000 channels but only receive the 8 that rte offer i went with the digital box that gives me all rte and uk channels together….

Here’s a question,..

If I cannot receive RTE by other means, & I need to subscribe to sky in order to receive the channel, which I pay €48 per month, should I have to pay a tv licence?

upc provide a rubbish selection of channels for a high price. freeview provide more of a selection for free obviously!

And coming through your door in a brown envelope soon..
A license fee hike….enjoy…

Does anyone have time to watch television anymore, or show any interest in it?

I can’t remember the last time I watch something descent.