Ubc/true Vision

[myfriendyou]

Out here in the sticks (Trat) I buy a bogus UBC DSat smartcard for 200 baht that provides the full Gold package for 4-6 weeks. When UBC finally figures out what's up and disables the card I buy another one. Sure beats paying 1,412.97 baht a month...

Amazing why would anyone admit to theft on a public forum,..

Probably because it's anonymous.

Unless you are using a VPN or anonymous proxy thats not the case.

Edited May 20, 2009 by myfriendyou

[grantbkk]

Out here in the sticks (Trat) I buy a bogus UBC DSat smartcard for 200 baht that provides the full Gold package for 4-6 weeks. When UBC finally figures out what's up and disables the card I buy another one. Sure beats paying 1,412.97 baht a month...

Amazing why would anyone admit to theft on a public forum, it's true crime doesn't pay as most criminals are stupid and tell everyone what they do.

Who's the amazing guy here. The guy who, rather than deal with a continuing criminal enterprise (monopoly), poor, overpriced programming and poor customer service pirates his True Visions signal? Or me, who has three receivers and the Platinum Package so I can get a few channels and pay exorbitant costs while enduring poor customer service? I have politely asked twice for my Premiere TV guide but have yet to receive it this month.

[VocalNeal]

There are hundreds of satellite/cable companies in Thailand, none, however, would offer you legal HBO/ESPN/Premier League football.

South African company subscription costs a lot more than UBC, and it's illegal, and there will be no Thai subtitles/dub, and there are less channels.

My office is next door to the South African service provider. Many bars have that service. I don't think it is more than UBC, if it is it is only marginally more and the service would be OK. Downside is that you need a big black dish that has to points directly at the satelite and not like UBC which is microvave and can be bounced off of buildings.

Should anyone need a contact number let me know and I will pop nextdoor and ask. Which reminds me to go and remind him that he was going to give me service at a discounted rate.

[Prudent_rabbit]

If you have a look at AXN beyond schedule for Singapore, you can get an idea what they will show over here, currently:

X-files series 7 - , from 1999 - 2000

Life on Mars (US Version),

Ripleys Believe it or not Series one (originally aired Jan 2000)

Dark Angel (another one from 2000)

Mysterious Ways - another one from 2000)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer series 3 - originally aired 1998

so quality programming there!

[lopburi3]

Downside is that you need a big black dish that has to points directly at the satelite and not like UBC which is microvave and can be bounced off of buildings.

True Visions (UBC) is Satellite DTH so must point at the satellite. But it has a high power aimed at Thailand so can be picked up with small dish. IBC used to be direct broadcast microwave but that was many years ago.

[VocalNeal]

Downside is that you need a big black dish that has to points directly at the satelite and not like UBC which is microvave and can be bounced off of buildings.

True Visions (UBC) is Satellite DTH so must point at the satellite. But it has a high power aimed at Thailand so can be picked up with small dish. IBC used to be direct broadcast microwave but that was many years ago.

I'm sure it is. That is why no two dishes seem to point in the same direction. I don't pretend to know anything just using powers of observation.

[Plus]

I've checked that South African company a while ago. It costs significantly more than UBC, and it's illegal, of course, so you won't get any service, and your family won't get any Thai subtitles, and they have a lot less channels there.

It makes sense for bars because big sport tournaments here often come without English commentary and money isn't a problem.

[apetley]

If you have a look at AXN beyond schedule for Singapore, you can get an idea what they will show over here, currently:

X-files series 7 - , from 1999 - 2000

Life on Mars (US Version),

Ripleys Believe it or not Series one (originally aired Jan 2000)

Dark Angel (another one from 2000)

Mysterious Ways - another one from 2000)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer series 3 - originally aired 1998

so quality programming there!

Yep gotta be worth 2000 bht of anyones money......or maybe not.

[cloghead]

Out here in the sticks (Trat) I buy a bogus UBC DSat smartcard for 200 baht that provides the full Gold package for 4-6 weeks. When UBC finally figures out what's up and disables the card I buy another one. Sure beats paying 1,412.97 baht a month...

Amazing why would anyone admit to theft on a public forum,..

Probably because it's anonymous.

Unless you are using a VPN or anonymous proxy thats not the case.

Nothing as fancy as that. I simply posted from an internet cafe

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Why does everyone complain about "the repeats ON UBC"..? It's not UBC that repeats the same old crap... it's the channels, i.e. HBO, AXN and whatnot. UBC doesn't make the programming on those channels...... UBC just broadcasts them.

I am another SATISFIED customer with the "gold" package. I've had one single technical problem (broken receiver) just a couple of days after it was installed and the thing was swapped the next morning. Never needed to phone them except for that one time so don't know how their phone service is these days. The picture quality in my case is good but i have only a regular television, no huge wide-screen one, however my boss has a 42" LCD and UBC and his picture quality is superb, too.

Yeah, it does go out when there is heavy rain but usually only for minutes at a time. But it's digital, so it's either "superb" or "gone", unlike the analogue satellite system i used in Germany - where the picture would get more and more "snowy" the harder it rained, right up to "completely unwatchable" for hours. I guess a bigger dish would solve that problem as it did in Germany - but there my landlord wouldn't permit a 2 meters dish and here i simply have never seen them anywhere.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[citizen33]

"Amazing why would anyone admit to theft on a public forum,.."

This might not be strictly pukka but I don't think it is theft in the form of a hack. These are probably the cheap official cards that give access to the Thai channels and - as a promotion - a short trial of the gold package. Mind you the price seems so low that they may have fallen off the back of a lorry. The encryption system of UBC - Irdeto 2 - hasn't yet been publicly hacked for this package, so it would be hot news (not on any of the satellite forums) if there were pirate cards. Yes, before anybody mentions it, I know about the Gamma card - Nova, MCA etc, but this does not extend to UBC.

I wondered about the cluster of Irdeto encoded channels that are on Thaicom 2/5 but not part of UBC/Truevisions. Are they just for cable operators or does anybody sell a legal card for them? Some of these were free-to-air for a time a year or two back.

Regarding the previous point about bigger dishes: they are available and would help, but you wouldn't need 2m for UBC. UBC is KU band, which only requires the smaller dish, so 90cm or a meter would give you quite an improvement in signal.

Edited May 21, 2009 by citizen33

[Plus]

My UBC setup is not exactly kosher but we use original card we keep paying for, not pirate or hacked. I don't think it's worth 2,000 baht but I can't imagine NOT having it at all or downgrading to some silver package or free to satellite. None of the cables/satellites I've seen in hotels in Thailand comes even close to UBC either, so I'm very sceptical about "alternatives".

[bottleymike]

[quote

If you live in Pattaya there is one big poster on the traffic lights Pattaya thai and 3´rd road and you cant miss it when you come to the traffic lights from Sukhumvit Rd. I´ve seen they offer satellite tv and simular price to the UBC crap. I´m gonna give it a look better myself, could be it.

I called in to check this out.You pay a one time only price for the kit - box, dish cables etc, and a one time only price to fit it.

The channels are similar to Sophon cable, but very little sport.All of the free thai channels, and a load of channels I had never heard of, but almost no football for example, and few English speaking channels.But check it out ,it might suit your needs, although I doubt it.

If you are in Pattaya,and you don't want to pay for UBC, Sophon cable at about 4,500 Baht a year might suit you.

Their shop is near Carrefoure supermarket. If you drive up central Klang from the beach, straight over the third road. Then turn right outside Carrefour at the traffic lights into Soi Arunothai. Then after thirty meters turn right into a soi. The sophon shop is about 100 meters on the right. Sophon has about 60 channels with 3 English speaking movie channels, ABC from Aus and various other channels, including all the free thai channels.

[drappthailand]

I pay more here than in the states for cable and get terrible service and less channels. 1500 a month true I missed a payment by one day and they shut me off. I spoke to a woman on the phone who was rude and said send someone down to pick up the cable box. So now I've waited over a month to get my 2000 back for their cable box. I'm going crazy watching Thai soaps all day. Help me!!!! All I have is PS2.

[bravingbangkok]

I have just downgraded as well to Gold. I am getting near the point in which I have had enough of the crap picture you get, what is up with Star Moves and AXN ???? I have such an expensive TV but for what ?????? Such a rip off and is yet another reason why Thailand survives the way it does, charge a lot for sh7it quality !

[astral]

I do sympathise with the views expressed here,

but as a moderator I have to remind you not to discuss illegal viewing of TV channels.

Unfortunately UBC/TRUE has a monopoly in satellite TV in Thailand.

[Plus]

I am getting near the point in which I have had enough of the crap picture you get, what is up with Star Moves and AXN ????

On a plasma TV changing picture mode from standard to movies made a HUGE difference for me. I don't remember it being so effective on LCD, but worth a try. Also try getting better cables.

[JetsetBkk]

Hi

Why does everyone complain about "the repeats ON UBC"..? It's not UBC that repeats the same old crap... it's the channels, i.e. HBO, AXN and whatnot. UBC doesn't make the programming on those channels...... UBC just broadcasts them....

Very true (no pun intended ).

If you look at the BBC Entertainment web site there are complaints about repeats in their forum. But the forum is clearly heavily moderated and they don't publish all the complaints (I know because they didn't publish mine ).

They gave the usual crap explanation that people like to watch TV at different times so they show the same programme at different times of the day so that everyone can watch it. So that explains why the show one episode 4 or 5 times in a single 24 period.

But it doesn't explain why they show the whole series again again again every 6 months. I can now watch "The Weakest Link" and get every answer right.

And whatever happened to Anne Robinson? One week she's a spirited, intimidating woman, and the next she's a scrawny, old, smiling pussy cat! Then I noticed the series number had jumped from series 2 to series 8 - so something must have happened to her in the intervening 6 years. Poor old dear.

[kudroz]

ChiangMaiThai, a ThaiVisa poster, suggested a Slingbox solution on this thread: "Goodbye UBC Forever".

I subscribed to it and ditched UBC. I now have live US television on both my computer and on my TV (computer connected to TV). The service comes with a DVR, so you can set the Slingbox in the US to automatically record your shows. You can search your shows by title, actor, etc, and then you click on "Record once" or "Record serie", and the box will automatically record all of your shows and will archive them up to 100 hours. You can then watch them at your convenience -- whenever you like.

Not only can I record shows, but I can watch over 200 live channels. BBC America, HBO, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Sports, Starz, etc.

The quality is very good. I was comparing today CNBC on UBC vs Slingbox, and the quality on the Slingbox is better. Other things to consider is the flexibility to have the TV when you're on the computer, you can also have it on your TV in the living room and it also works on the iPhone and Blackberry (over wifi).

UBC expires at the end of the month and I look forward to go remove that ugly red dish off my house.

[rohitsuk]

I have just been told by True (liars) that I cannot downgrade my package back to Free View which at baht 300 a month is hardly free anyway, because they are dropping BBC. I can only cancel and they will NOT return my deposit despite having the "service" for three years. Done, the loss of Baht 2k will be cheap to be rid of the ars*holes.

True is the best argument I know of against monopolies of any kind as their appalling arrogance towards their customers proves. Dump the crap and pray the go bankrupt.

There is, however, an infinitely better and cheaper alternative which, if you have a reasonable speed broadband will give you access to ALL the BBC and TV content from the UK. Hook up via a UK based proxy server and it is all yours and you can even record the BBC content and view off line at your leisure for up to a month after broadcast.

Aunty Beeb has been fumbling about with digit rights nonsense for nearly two years to try and make it available, for a subscription, outside the UK but we are still waiting. But, never mind because although I would be happy to pay a reasonable charge, I will just be forced to access it for free till Aunty manages to untwist her knickers.

[rohitsuk]

ChiangMaiThai, a ThaiVisa poster, suggested a Slingbox solution on this thread: "Goodbye UBC Forever".

I subscribed to it and ditched UBC. I now have live US television on both my computer and on my TV (computer connected to TV). The service comes with a DVR, so you can set the Slingbox in the US to automatically record your shows. You can search your shows by title, actor, etc, and then you click on "Record once" or "Record serie", and the box will automatically record all of your shows and will archive them up to 100 hours. You can then watch them at your convenience -- whenever you like.

Not only can I record shows, but I can watch over 200 live channels. BBC America, HBO, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Sports, Starz, etc.

The quality is very good. I was comparing today CNBC on UBC vs Slingbox, and the quality on the Slingbox is better. Other things to consider is the flexibility to have the TV when you're on the computer, you can also have it on your TV in the living room and it also works on the iPhone and Blackberry (over wifi).

UBC expires at the end of the month and I look forward to go remove that ugly red dish off my house.

Well done that man. Let's all dump True and let them rot in hel_l.

[patklang]

No technical problems with true and i have subscribed for 4 years now,and have Platinum.

Of course the channels are repeated too much,but look at Sky in the UK,loads of crap programmes too.I can watch all the sports/football,and if i went to watch in a bar i would spend at least 600-800 baht on drink,so multiply that to 1 month and i would spend at least 6,000 baht a month to watch sat/sunday football.

the rest is free to me

[nyyankee]

I bought an HD TV with RGB connection and hooked it up to a PC I watch anything I want when I want on demand live streaming video or download the video. The good news is it is all free. I can currently get all the shows from England, USA and Canada including shows like Real Time, The Daily Show, Letterman, Leno, etc. The only draw back is there is not really a decent server to provide CNN and BBC news because the streaming video is to slow.

[hhiser]

True, what a misleading name, sort of like the Democratic Republic of Congo! LIARS is a more apt name. When we first subscribed to True, I asked them if their programming included the Bundesliga. Their immediate reply was yes it does. When the season started I desperately searched for channels airing the matches to no avail. We had signed up for the basic package, I had planned to upgrade as soon as the season started. But my struggles to watch football were just minor incontinences. Later True conveniently (for them) forgot we paid the bill. Thus on the next billing they tried to charge us again for the previous month. Of course we save all the bills we pay so it was not a huge problem getting them to adjust the bill. Until... we misplaced a paid bill, of course that month they billed us for the previous month too (Oh joy). My wife called them and they suggested that if we bought the dish outright we would get all the channels we had been receiving for free! So the day before the bill was due we went to True and talked to the representative she confirmed what had been said on the phone. But she said we had to pay for a half month of service 354 baht. It turned out that we do not get the same channels as before. We get all the DLTV channels and Thai TV channels. I hate True, but Samart and DLTV are worthless. I had cable when I lived in town, Lampang, and it was great and only 350 baht, but they will not provide service where I live now. What can I do!!! Start a revolution, let’s start a satellite service for ourselves and put Lies out of business!!

Edited June 3, 2009 by hhiser

[Thanh-BKK]

Hehehe.....

That is easy with that revolution. Just have your own communication satellite built (cost only a few million Dollars) and launched into space (for another few million Dollars). Then you just need a ground control station (for a few million Dollars) and get the stations to transmit over your satellite and you're all set.

Oh, while you're at it - please get it to do fast internet as well, free for all of us Farangs here... ok? Once the bird is up let me know, i'll get a dish and when i meet you i'll pay you a beer

Best regards......

Thanh

[hammered]

I have everything you possibly can get on True (2400 odd baht) plus the local cable channel (300 baht). I have always found the service fine on both. My wife and daughter enjoy the mix. Of course programming could be better for my personal tastes but I think the reality is that True as with local cable provide for their market and even with True it is a predominantly Thai market and will cater for their tastes. They have from memory even done surveys in the past.

Basically as a native English speaker I am lucky that I have a big variety of English language stations to watch. If you are say Russsian, German or Italian you dont have that luxury.

[grantbkk]

True Visions customer base is primarily the surfs who will take what they can get for free. They have no money hence they do not contribute to the bottom line of True Visions or CP Group. The True Visions monopoly in urban Thailand does make money from the Platinum, Gold, Silver and lead packages using 90's marketing schemes and silly add-on packages to their substandard content packages.

I believe that there was something called BBC Prime when I first signed up for the Platinum package. The shows were only about a year old and topical. Then at some point the BBC changed to Entertainment and BAM every show got older by five years. Now the BBC Entertainment has been replaced by AXN Beyond which are shows from America from mainly created in the early 90's. The actors can hardly lift their giant mobile telephones and their computers look funny. Buffy and the Dark Angel look like teenagers.

Make no mistake. The continuing criminal enterprise called True Visions would be indicted, dismantled and the board of directors would be jailed in a civilized country. The movie channels we pay for run movies that were free on TV in the USA and are passed off as theatrical releases to customers of this monopoly. They do not show much if it costs them money to buy content. True Visions is so full of themselves that they show coming attractions of what is available in nearby countries and ask us to call our satellite service provider if we want to subscribe. I call, where I'm told those on-screen messages are not for us.

To effect change everyone should complain about something everyday. We do have access to Fox News if you want it you just have to subscribe to True's IPTV service which will give you on-demand karaoke too. This failed internet experiment just will not die! So let me get this straight. I get a box to hook up to my internet modem to hook up to my TV which already has your box (I have three actually) and I can get more channels? Why not let me buy what I want using my subscription and my 3 existing boxes?

Someday competition will closeout True Visions. Once another company is allowed to compete using a rational business model True Visions will no longer exist.

[bonobo]

I was checking the schedule of what was coming up Sunday night, and I saw that a movie would be on Cinemax.  This movie Intrusion Cambodia, was billed as a movie about the atrociteis in Cambodia.

Well, this movie was about the worst thing I ahve ever seen.  But like a car accident, I couldn't help but to watch it.  I kept thinking that it could not get any worse.  I was wrong. It followed a supposed American Special Forces team into Cambodia to get some sort of document (what that was was never explained.)

The film was made in 1991 in the Philippines.  And even by Filipino standards, it was very, very bad.  I looked it up on the iternet, and most web entries noted that it had no information in the movie.

I wonder why we are subjected to this. I am paying to watch movies which have thankfully faded from the viewing public until it pops up here?  I know True Visions does not control Cinemax, but really, I get rather disappointed as a general rule on what is available for me to view.

[myfriendyou]

But it doesn't explain why they show the whole series again again again every 6 months. I can now watch "The Weakest Link" and get every answer right.

Thats funny!!

My wife thinks I am a mastermind, I get everyones question right everytime mostly before the question has been completed, she keeps asking me why I don't apply for the show!!!

[grantbkk]

I was checking the schedule of what was coming up Sunday night, and I saw that a movie would be on Cinemax.  This movie Intrusion Cambodia, was billed as a movie about the atrociteis in Cambodia.

Well, this movie was about the worst thing I ahve ever seen.  But like a car accident, I couldn't help but to watch it.  I kept thinking that it could not get any worse.  I was wrong. It followed a supposed American Special Forces team into Cambodia to get some sort of document (what that was was never explained.)

The film was made in 1991 in the Philippines.  And even by Filipino standards, it was very, very bad.  I looked it up on the iternet, and most web entries noted that it had no information in the movie.

I wonder why we are subjected to this. I am paying to watch movies which have thankfully faded from the viewing public until it pops up here?  I know True Visions does not control Cinemax, but really, I get rather disappointed as a general rule on what is available for me to view.

Couldn't agree more about the tripe that is foisted upon us because we have no choice.

A couple of times a year we will endure Steven Segal retrospectives and then it shifts to VanDamm. Every "woman in peril" movie in the 80's and 90's would not have been possible if they would have given the star a mobile phone to call for help. Instead we are subjusted to big hair and bad music several times a week.

In developed countries when you order HBO and Cinemax you get 12 choices. Here you get two bad ones, passing off straight to video movies as premiers and free TV movies as our pay TV choices. The Wire, The Sopranos, etc. are so badly cut up you can easily lose the plot. I had to buy these shows from MBK to view them as the producers intended.

CP Group and True Visions have billions of Baht in cash and assets. So why did we lose the real MTV and VH-1 to Thai folk music channels.