Truevisons (UBC) To Cancel BBC Entertainment From 1st June

[namoo]

Yes their service is diabolical, but the alternatives are no better.

Depends what you think is no better: Currently watching last nights Have I got news for you FULL screen on my laptop FREE on iplayer (Remember u can also download dont need to stream if u dont want to). And before that I watched the office US on hulu.com full screen for free.

Seems better than paying UBC a lot of money for <deleted>.

And tonight have rented The Wrestler for US$2.99 from itunes store........

Yeh your right UBC is better...

Huddled over a lap-top, full screen or not, is not my idea of a great way of watching TV.

As for True Visions being better, i'm not saying that it always is. Just it strikes me as being a lot easier. For me the hassle of having to search for stuff and then give credit card details, and then dealing with connection issues - it's all a pain i could do without. Maybe you are doing it often enough to have a good system going that's reliable and easy. I don't. When i have tried, like a few weeks back trying to watch the FA Cup, i wasted so much time and gave up in the end.

At the end of a hard day all i want to do is sit in my sofa and hit the remote. I spend enough time faffing about with computers at work thanks.

oh dear.....Check out previous posts ref Apple TV google it (or even a media centre pc or even a laptop with hdmi out)- you can have your remote and sofa.....and watching it on 52" sony bravia in HD with 5.1 surround. I am watching it on a laptop because I am at work stuck in a hotel - when at home see ABOVE setup

There are several set top boxes for Hulu that u can use just do a bit of research. heres a quote from a random site:

"Video streaming to TV is here to stay with a slew of recent news about the ability to stream directly to TV via a set top box (i.e. Apple TV, Netflix, Roku, Vudu, etc). Hulu is on a blazing trail to become one of the fastest video online sites and has continued to add full length feature and special programs to its library."

Enjoy UBC. if its for you great but there are other options and better ones for a foreigner wanting quality programs in Thailand at a better definition and a time you want and at a cheaper price..

Edited May 2, 2009 by namoo

[LivinLOS]

Huddled over a lap-top, full screen or not, is not my idea of a great way of watching TV.

This is why I have a dedicated media PC, that boots direct into media center, with a handheld remote, wired to my flat screen and projector.

[khastan]

On the subject of the BBC anybody using this service http://www.lamnia.co.uk/index.html to watch the BBC iplayer here. Please pm me if yes.

Thanks

[Old Man River]

Huddled over a lap-top, full screen or not, is not my idea of a great way of watching TV.

This is why I have a dedicated media PC, that boots direct into media center, with a handheld remote, wired to my flat screen and projector.

And the reason why I never did go the computer route for the missing NFL playoff games is because I have no clue what you just said.

[jfchandler]

Whatever True/UBC does, I just hope they add some more soccer (football) games to their channel lineup... Just can't get enough....

[thaimate]

Huddled over a lap-top, full screen or not, is not my idea of a great way of watching TV.

This is why I have a dedicated media PC, that boots direct into media center, with a handheld remote, wired to my flat screen and projector.

And the reason why I never did go the computer route for the missing NFL playoff games is because I have no clue what you just said.

i second that ,havnt a clue also when you have a familly ,they want to watch tv ,not faf around with computers.

[LivinLOS]

Huddled over a lap-top, full screen or not, is not my idea of a great way of watching TV.

This is why I have a dedicated media PC, that boots direct into media center, with a handheld remote, wired to my flat screen and projector.

And the reason why I never did go the computer route for the missing NFL playoff games is because I have no clue what you just said.

i second that ,havnt a clue also when you have a familly ,they want to watch tv ,not faf around with computers.

If presented with my media PC, they would even know it was a PC.. Just the smartest looking HighDef / DVD / Video / Music player / TV / Video recorder etc with all media browse-able by cover art and thumbnails, no disks, just remote with up down left right and pictures etc..

But it is work on my part to make it transparent.. They just get the surface.

[dhrobertson]

Dreadful decision by True Visions. Everyone knows that the BBC produces the best drama and comedy. To replace this with more low brow American rubbish is a complete sell out. For anyone wanting learn English, something like an episode of Judge John Deed with sub-titles is a great learning aid.

Ironically, BBC Entertainment has been becoming more and more Americanised, with more and more trailers in the middle of programs just like Discovery, History and Natgeo channels.

I spoke with True Visions staff and they had the common decency to confirm that they have been deluged with complaints. If they don't change their mind I shall certainly cancel.

More info on alernative satellite solutions please!

[wileycoyote]

Crap..another dent in my culture !

[LivinLOS]

Was just the thing to make me get off my butt and downgrade.. Already told them if BBC E goes so does my plat sub.

Seriously thinking of just getting the thai channels for the missus and using a combo of DL's, hacks, cardshare, etc for my TV.. Hardly watch the dam_n thing anyway.

[theoldgit]

BBC Entertainment are currently advertising the new series of Spooks (6), I am hooked on that series. Unfortunately it seems I will only be able to watch three episodes before the big switch off.

I am not surprised they have had a number of complaints, but I suspect it will not make any difference as it would be too late to reverse the decision - even if they wanted to.

[namoo]

GREAT IDEA JUST PAID FOR AND DOWNLOADED THERE SOFTWARE BUT NOW HAVE A PROBLEM!

maybe someone can help?

It connects up Ok but with it switched off my download speed is 2607kps/upload speed 401kps as soon as I switch it on upload speed goes down to 238 upload to 88 which is to slow to use. I am using TOT

Any ideas?

Just tried the LA gateway config using witopia...seems to work well on tot at the moment using hulu.com on 2mb goldcyber.

[Beachbunny]

try TVU and TVPC

both have live and recorded programming. TVU has shows in several different languages besides english. I've been viewing CBS live from the

U.S. on TOT and it's had just a few stalls, mainly because of the weather.

Beachbunny

[Kaojai]

Yes, Truevisons (UBC) are to cancel BBC Entertainment from 1st June, according to the ticker at the top of the BBC Entertainment channel's screen.

Nice of them to give one months notice.

Time to look at cable alternatives since BBC Entertainment was the best channel they had.

Some of the stuff I watch used to watch:

Spooks

Judge John Deed

Silent Witness

Waking The Dead

Dr Who

Life On Mars

etc.

Bye-bye True. Hello P2P.

There certainly are some good shows on BBCE even for those of us who are not British. I've really liked

Waking the Dead

Gil Mayo Mysteries

Inspector Lynley Mysteries

Lead Balloon

and others.

The problem is that most of these programs seem to have no more than a few episodes extant and those have been repeated ad nauseum.

Some things like the Vicar of Dibley and Absolutely Fabulous must be at least 15 years old and are still being recycled over and over again.

I was sorry to see the notice that BBCE would be dropped, but looking through their current program guide, about the only thing that I might want to watch that hasn't been repeated endlessly would be the new (???) episodes of Waking the Dead.

I may go back to a Gold membership since the BBCE was about the only thing that made the Platinum worthwhile but on reflection, with or without BBCE, Platinum probably isn't worth the extra charge.

[driffter]

I wonder just how many people will cancel or at least reduce their subscription, I will be doing so next week. The people that have implemented this will not care less, the staff at the call centre will take all the stick.

There was a letter to The Bangkok Post on this subject today.

I'm going to cancel too. It's not worth the price anymore and anyway my remote has decided not to function any more...a sign from the gods maybe? I can't get onto their website at all. I don't want to speak to someone on the phone as it never seems to get the right answers anyway.

[R123]

I concur big error getting rid of BBC E as I like Darren Brown's show and Strictly Come Dancing, plus The worst day of my life series etc.

I have recently complained to TRUE re their new web site which is a nonsence, ridiculously complicated and all over the place.

The only reason I will not cancel is the live English football and live boxing.

Plus the BBC world service radio.

Reckon if many of us do complain we might get the 'stupids' at TRUE to change their mind?

Or is that just wishful thinking?

By the way people who have subscribed to TRUE believing they would get BBC E have good reason if they cancel to avoid any penalty for cancellation as they subscribed on the basis of having BBC E which is now denied them.

Right?

Edited May 3, 2009 by R123

[Camelot]

Pressure on UBC/Truevisions CAN work, although letters to the Editor or Postbag in newspapers have more effect than complaints to the call centre. In fact they seem to be very sensitive to letters published in the Bangkok Post. This is because they are seen to affect the corporate image and the corporate communications director herself has to respond. Some years ago they decided to drop the Hallmark channel which, at that time, carried some excellent mini-series. UBC responded to viewer complaints by keeping the channel.

The same thing happened with TV5 (French).

It is not too late to save BBC Entertainment because there is plenty of transponder capacity available. Many Thais studied in the UK and enjoy British humour but they are being neglected. Much of the present hierarchy at True graduated from American colleges and this might influence their thinking. I know their communications director graduated from a college in Chicago with a Ph.D but she has retained an open mind and isn't obsessed with "face" when it comes to reversing an unpopular decision.

I'm not saying anything is wrong with American TV shows. Just that it is a good thing to keep a balance.

[Old Man River]

I'm not saying anything is wrong with American TV shows. Just that it is a good thing to keep a balance.

Thank you. You are one of the few here that did not take a shot at American TV shows.

True's primary market is Thai's and these days of those that are educated abroad, more are going to the US than any other country, so I am sure that True is focusing on its primary market in its program selections. However, at the end of the day, I agree that if enough people make a fuss over losing BBC Entertainment, they will find a way to retain it.

Of those I have talked to, none of us really care about having AXN Beyond anyway, but many do care about ASN and Nickelodeon.

[drink75]

On the subject of the BBC anybody using this service http://www.lamnia.co.uk/index.html to watch the BBC iplayer here. Please pm me if yes.

Thanks

Yep, been using the Lamnia Service my self from Phuket for over a year. Very easy to use (easier on a PC than a Mac) and very reliable.

Ideal setup would be from a 2-4mb+ Broadband connection from TTNT. (In Phuket at least, the ToT offerings are pretty sucky).

[Wiggy]

It was my letter in the Bangkok Post on Saturday.

I suggest you all contact Khun Pawadee at: [email protected]

Here is my correspondence with them so far:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please give me a reasonable explanation why you are removing the best channel on True Visions (BBC Entertainment) and replacing it with rubbish (AXN Beyond). I have been a customer for more than 9 years and will now have to think about canceling my subscription. This is because you continue to downgrade the service and offer more and more cheap programmes at the same expensive price (my brother pays LESS than me for 171 channels in the UK - and some of them are HD).

Please answer the following questions:

1. Why are you not renewing the contract with BBC Entertainment?

2. How much will my Platinum fee go down because you are offering lower quality programmes?

3. Why do you never listen your customers?

4. When will you have HD (High Definition) TV programmes which are already available in the region?

5. Why don't you change your business strategy? For example, let the customer choose the channels and bill them individually for each channel. Or, have more packages on offer so that the customer can have more choice of what to watch. You could have:

1. Premier League Package at 1,000 baht/month (only EPL games)

2. Drama Package at 200 baht/month (Star World, BBC Entertainment etc.)

3. Documentary Package at 400 baht/month (Discovery, Nat Geo, Animal Planet etc.)

4. Movie Package at 500 baht/month (HBO, TCM, Star Movies etc.)

5. Sports Package at 400 baht/month (ESPN, Star, All Sports Network etc.)

(The prices above are just examples)

Then the customer can mix packages and choose what they want to watch.

Regards,

Mike White

*******************************

Dear Khun Mike,

We are truly sorry for any inconvenience caused. However, please be informed that the main reasons that we have to replace our 3 channels are as follows:

1. The contract with these 3 channels: BBC Entertainment, Animax

and STC are terminated.

2. The conditions for continuance contract of these 3 channels are

not agreed between mutual parties.

3. Our policy is to seek for the new and quality programs in order

to make the subscriber more happily with our new channels.

Therefore, with these 3 main reasons above, we have considered to launch the following plans:

- BBC Entertainment will be changed to be AXN Beyond on Channel D 38

- Animax will be changed to be All Sports Network (ASN) on Channel D 40

- STC will be changed to be Nichelodeon on Channel D 42

However, we would like to say thank you for your constructive suggestion and comment and we will forward it to the relevant department for their information and consideration.

We are so grateful for your trust in our service and support us all time. Write us again whenever we can be of further help to you. Please contact us at 02-7252525 or [email protected]

*********************

Dear K. Pawadee,

I have received many standard, corporate answers over the years but

yours is, I must say, truly pathetic.

You have made absolutely no attempt to answer most of my questions (the

answers to questions 1 and 5 are unsatisfactory). As I reminder here

they are again:

1. Why are you not renewing the contract with BBC Entertainment?

2. How much will my Platinum fee go down because you are offering lower

quality programmes?

3. Why do you never listen your customers?

4. When will you have HD (High Definition) TV programmes which are

already available in the region?

5. Why don't you change your business strategy? For example, let the

customer choose the channels and bill them individually for each

channel. Or, have more packages on offer so that the customer can have

more choice of what to watch.

You say in your email that, "Our policy is to seek for the new and

quality programs in order to make the subscriber more happily with our

new channels". Well let me inform you that you are going against that

policy, because you are making your subscribers unhappy. I can't believe

you said that. Why does True think we are not happy with the current

programs? You *_never_* ask us!! Your policy should be, "to seek new and

quality programs *in addition to our current programs* in order to make

the subscriber happier with our new channels". But rather, you just do

whatever you want and inconvenience the people who pay your salary - the

customer. You also mention that you are grateful for my trust in your

service and support you all the time. Never did I say I trusted you or

supported you. In fact it's the opposite. I have _*never*_ trusted

UBC/True and I have *_never_* supported your company, and I never will.

I only subscribe because I have no choice, but that is about to change

(see below).

I intend to take this issue further and higher. I have already written

to the Bangkok Post (see first link below - 2nd letter down after you

open the link) and there is a reply to my letter in the newspaper today

(see second link below - 5th letter down after you open the link) from

someone supporting me. In addition they have suggested alternatives to

True Visions. Thousands of people will read these letters, so I suggest

your company thinks again before canceling channels as it could mean

lots of canceled subscriptions when people find out they can choose

another service.

By the way, as a customer I have the right to an answer to my questions

and I shall expect an answer to *_all_* of my questions in your next email.

Finally, take a look at the following link also. You'll find out what people are saying about your organization - it's not nice.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Truevisons-U...rt-t261710.html

Regards,

Michael White

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion...8/forever-lying

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion...-learning-vital

[brewsterbudgen]

I too have written to the Bangkok Post although I expect they've now received loads of emails so will probably not publish it.

Thanks Michael for Khun Pawadee's name, I've sent an email today (below), although I've used a more concilatory approach. I expect I'll receive the same standard reply though!

Dear Khun Pawadee

I have been a contented customer of Truevisions since I moved to Bangkok and last year I upgraded my subscription from Gold to Platinum. The reason I did this was because of the excellent BBC Entertainment channel which shows many of my favourite shows and series from the UK.

I am therefore extremely upset to find out that Truevisions will be replacing BBC Entertainment from 1 June. The new channels can in no way be considered replacements for the high quality programming on BBC Entertainment and I can only assume I mistake has been made by your programming or contracts department.

I am sure you will have received many emails and calls about this decision and I trust that you will be able to reach an agreement with BBC Entertainment so that you can continue to serve your British, and other customers who appreciate high quality programming.

Yours

[LivinLOS]

Well I confirmed the loss of my plat sub to them yesterday..

500 baht a month to put into some other way to get the same channels

[idevelop]

I remember the days we used to get Top Gear as well, until they stopped that also.. Its time to make other arrangements as they are just getting greedier and greedier.

[Beachbunny]

GREAT IDEA JUST PAID FOR AND DOWNLOADED THERE SOFTWARE BUT NOW HAVE A PROBLEM!

maybe someone can help?

It connects up Ok but with it switched off my download speed is 2607kps/upload speed 401kps as soon as I switch it on upload speed goes down to 238 upload to 88 which is to slow to use. I am using TOT

Any ideas?

Just tried the LA gateway config using witopia...seems to work well on tot at the moment using hulu.com on 2mb goldcyber.

please tell this non-techie how you are using hulu. When I try to use it there is a pop-up saying you have to be in the U.S. to get streaming video.

Beachbunny

[LivinLOS]

I remember the days we used to get Top Gear as well, until they stopped that also.. Its time to make other arrangements as they are just getting greedier and greedier.

And shifting anything automotive worth watching off of discovery onto discovery turbo.

[theoldgit]

Well I confirmed the loss of my plat sub to them yesterday..

500 baht a month to put into some other way to get the same channels

What was their response, if any?

[LivinLOS]

Well I confirmed the loss of my plat sub to them yesterday..

500 baht a month to put into some other way to get the same channels

What was their response, if any?

good bye.

In other words none.. I made it clear IF they took BBC-E then cancel me.. they replied they were stopping it.. I said fine, I have told you clearly and will refuse to pay any bills that come with a plat price after BBC-E has gone.. They then quickly double checked my sub number to cancel.

They dont care about single users complaints.. But someone 'might' notice if it happens on mass.. to be honest I felt that plat was a poor deal anyway, only channel I like in that lot is the Nat geo adventure one.. So this was just the final straw to kick me over the edge. When I return from my summer vacation I will put a moving dish in and sort the cardshare out then probably cancel everything except the thai channels (in case cardshare is down sometimes, missus needs her soaps).. Their coverage of rugby (or most non football which I hate) is insulting, their broadcast quality is crap, they have no high def, its just a piss poor price / service balance.

[brewsterbudgen]

Has anyone heard BBC Entertainment's take on this? I've posted a thread on their forum but it's been two days now and it still hasn't received Moderator's approval! Is it possible that for some reason they've withdrawn their channel from Truevisions or unacceptably increased their fees?

http://asia.bbcentertainment.com/community...a?categoryID=15

[Wiggy]

It's entirely possible that BBCE have raised their fees, but then that's what happens in the world of cable/satellite TV. As we all know prices rarely go down in this day and age. If this is the case then it's down to TrueVisions to re-negotiate. However, their track record with this kind of thing is not exactly good. How many other times have we seen them messing around with what they offer (FA Cup, BBC Prime, Hallmark etc.)?

[jamesjdaly]

[email protected]

Ok Here's our chance to try and keep BBC Entertainment.

PLEASE PETITION TO KEEP BBCE, AND E-MAIL YOUR COMPLAINT TO UBC NOW

They may take heed of a mass compliant. Probably not, though!!

[email protected]

Edited May 4, 2009 by jamesjdaly