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NOW vs Cable tv

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    May 2010
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    NOW vs Cable tv

    Hey everybody, I am moving from NYC to HK in a few weeks and I have a lot of questions re: TV and Cable services...

    1- It looks like TVs are generally very expensive compare to NYC prices. Have you guys had any issues in using Voltage converters? I am really thinking about upgrading mine before moving.
    2- My NTSC TV won't work in HK unless the cable box can be plugged through HDMI i.e. HD cable box
    3- Are any of the cable providers offering HD boxes?
    4- Which one is the best for the money? we are mostly interested in movies and sports.
    5- Are their any bundle options for cable + broadband internet that we should consider.

    I know I am asking a lot but there are a lot of contradictions in the various blogs I visited so far...

    Thx a lot


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    1- I dont think there is a huge price difference. Where are you getting your prices from? I would buy in HK. Surely to buy in NYC + SHIPPING will be more expensive. A voltage converter will work, but it is big. ugly and probably not very energy efficient.

    3- NowTV offers an 'all in one set top box' which has HDMI output

    4- NowTV has the biggest channel lineup and allows you to pick and choose. They have HBO, Star Movies, Now Sports

    5- Yes. NowTV is bundled with PCCW broadband internet.


  3. #3

    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    4- NowTV has the biggest channel lineup and allows you to pick and choose. They have HBO, Star Movies, Now Sports

    5- Yes. NowTV is bundled with PCCW broadband internet.
    However do bear in mind that 'biggest lineup' does not mean they are actually any good. You won't get anything recent - most shows are lagging by 2 or 3 years - movies likewise and the endless repeats are AWFUL. I have given up my Now subscription after the required 2 year contract - it's just not worth having. Sports may be fine, but Now does not have all sports so you may need both anyway to find 'your' sport.
    Julien1 likes this.

  4. #4

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    Be aware also that all of the movie and entertainment channels here are heavily censored to meet Singaporean levels of prudishness (for some reason that I have never really understood we apparently have to share their programme feeds). That plus the factors Movingin07 mentioned mean that I have cancelled nearly all my NOWTV channel subscriptions - I just take the free stuff plus BBC World.


  5. #5

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    I bought a TV in HK and took it to the US. A couple of notes from my experience that might be helpful.

    * TV was 110/220 capable, which was nice
    * TV supported PAL and NTSC
    * TV did NOT have a coaxial cable connector (they used SCART here)
    * TV warranty did not cover the US
    * TV did not support US 'closed captions' which are a nice feature when you have the volume off.

    As for which provider to pick, it kind of depends on your TV habits. I got icable simply because PCCW had limited broadband in my building. I do most of my TV watching via the net now so I really don't watch that many channels. Basically it's the news channels and a couple of sports channels. There is one movie channel on icable that is in English, usually, with Chinese captions but older movies and then also TCM classic films.

    But hey, it's Hong Kong--what are you doing watching TV? Go out and live a bit :-)


  6. #6

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    Any chance of setting up a Slingbox set up with a friend in the states?

    The content set up would be A LOT better than the cable offerings here.


  7. #7

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    i did the same as you. nyc- hkg.

    before i start- let me just say that the TV here (even cable/now) is SHIT compared to the states. i assume you have Timewarner- where you get about 30-40hd channels along with a bunch of others for a relatively good price? not so here.

    if you want HD- now offers a pkg, but it's very pricey compared to the states, and you only get a handful of shit channels.

    with that said.

    1. most TV's in the states are dual voltage- so you won't need a converter- might want to check with manufacturer for different cord.

    2. i'm not a techie- but when it comes to PAL/NTSC- this does NOT apply when talking about cable boxes etc....from what i understand PAL/NTSC only applies for analog signals- i.e. if you take the antenna from the building and plug in- you'd do that to get the free OTA channels (very very shit here). if you go with now- you'll probably order the HD box- which would give you the OTA HD channels- and would hook up via component or HDMI cables.

    basically i don't think PAL/NTSC is a concern.

    3. I hate nowTV. but pricing wise it's not bad (relatively speaking). i've no experience with icable but one would assume it's better due to bandwidth issues. nowtw (at least in my building feeds data over the telephone lines- the internet i have is dsl and shares the line with how the tv data is fed through.

    ....

    in summary- i think NOWtv sucks. but it is the lessor of all evils....

    tvs here are relatively expensive. my old panasonics were 1k for the 42 inch and 3k for the 50 (plasmas)...my 42 lcd cost be close to 1500 USD (and this was the negotiated price since i bought three at the same time). keep in mind the panasonics were bought over 6 yrs ago. if you want to do some comparison shopping- check out fortress.com.hk- prices won't really budge that much from the prices stated on the site, and even if you shop around, the deals aren't that great.

    if you are getting relo'd here, i assuem they're including shipping- the only issue you might want to consider is the warranty and that's where paying the premium here is worthwhile.

    Julien1 likes this.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by pin:
    Any chance of setting up a Slingbox set up with a friend in the states?

    The content set up would be A LOT better than the cable offerings here.
    Pin- i have a slingbox set up in the states- the problem is transmitting data over such long distances will slow down the feed/give buffering issues. the image quality is good for laptop screen, but if i were to hook it up to my TV, it would look like absolute shit.

  9. #9

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    Have you looked at setting up an EyeTV to a computer in the US. That way you could record the data on the HD and transfer over to HK when you want. You could script it to download in the middle of the night and watch at your pleasure.


  10. #10

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    Jul 2004
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    Most shows are easily available for download anyway.

    141,000 threads on this site alone....

    TV Shows

    Most popular shows are uploaded within a couple of hours of being broadcast.

    Julien1 likes this.

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