***** LETTER TO NTL DIRECTOR ***** I HAVE PROVIDED LINKS TO INTERNET SITES AS FOOTERS IN THE LETTER, BUT THEY DO NOT APPEAR WHEN POSTED TO THIS DISCUSSION PAGE ***********************************
Mr. S. Carter Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer ntl House Bartley Wood Business Park Bartley Way Hook Hants RG27 9UP
Dear Mr. Carter,
I have been a ntl customer, receiving television and telephone services to my home ever since moving to Egham and I have been delighted with the range and quality of services I have received over the past few years.
I have recently come up against a problem with the service ntl currently provide, that none of your customer service representatives or technicians are able to assist with. Following many phone calls I feel that you may be the only person who can provide the solution.
I graduated with an IT related degree and work for one of the worlds largest IT consultancy firms. I actively embrace new technology and support the “focus on innovation, customer service and entrepreneurial spirit that keep you at the top”, as stated by ntl CEO and President Mr. Knapp on your ntl web site.
In my support for the latest technology I have amassed many ‘black boxes’ each with their own infrared remote control and I have recently sought a solution to the rack of remotes cluttering my sofa in the form of the Phillips Pronto .
I don’t know if you have heard of the Pronto, (which also trades under the name Marantz RC5000). It is currently the most advanced learning remote on the market allowing a user to amalgamate hundreds of remote controls and present them on a completely configurable touch-sensitive screen assigning multiple functions to single buttons.
So what’s the problem? The problem is that one of the only devices that will not accept Pronto commands is the ntl/Pace DiTV1000 Top Set Box [TSB], the one that I have been supplied as part of my communication contract.
I have spoken with a lot of people at both ntl and Pace and established that currently the ntl/Pace TSB cannot accept commands from my Pronto. The reason I have eventually been given, by Craig, one of the technicians at Pace, is described below : Pace produce lots of Top Set Boxes [TSBs} for different cable companies. These include the d1000t, d1010t, ditv1000 and ditv2000 [1000/2000 Series] that were supplied to Cable and Wireless Communications [CWC] and include the di4001n [4000 Series] supplied to Telewest.
Although the old CWC regions and old Telewest regions are now under the control of ntl, they still use different TSBs. Old CWC customers having 1000/2000 Series TSBs, old Telewest customers having 4000 Series TSBs.
The 1000/2000 Series TSBs use an advanced type of infrared similar to what is used by computer peripherals (IRDA) and that is why they do not accept commands from the Pronto. The 4000 Series TSBs use regular infrared so can accept Pronto commands.
Although similar, the TSBs are not interchangeable, as the TSB at the customer end has to be identical to the box at the ntl end. So, if in an old CWC area with a 1000/2000 Series TSB it is not possible to simply buy a 4000 Series TSB and plug it in.
At the back of the 1000/2000 Series TSBs are ports labelled ‘IR Blaster’ and ‘IR Sender’. These ports were originally designed to allow other devices to be controlled by the TSB (e.g. so you could forward emails to a computer or printer via the infrared signals). NTL have not utilised these ports – yet. If they were utilised the TSB could accept Pronto commands.
To utilise these ports would require small changes to software/hardware and although it is possible for Pace to do this, they cannot make changes without a request from their client. ntl have not requested this change.
In summary, if receiving digital TV from in an old CWC area with a 1000/2000 Series TSB, is not currently possible for the TSB to receive Pronto infrared commands. However, it is possible for Pace/ntl to make adjustments to software/hardware to allow this functionality.
The information about the different TSBs was confirmed by an announcement I read on the ‘diginews’ internet site. The announcement provided further disappointment by stating that although ntl are going forward with the 4000 Series, the infrared technology for future TSBs will be IRDA – which will not accept pronto commands.
After eventually finding out the reason why the Pronto cannot control the ntl/Pace TSB I sought a solution.
All Pace employees that I have spoken to tell me that they produce the TSB according to the specification requested by their client, ntl. Although they could make simple hardware or software adjustments to enable the TSB to be controlled by Pronto, these have not been requested by yourself. All the ntl employees I have spoken to, when eventually understanding the problem, simply tell me that senior management have made the decision and it is out of their hands.
This is why I am writing to you.
Three solutions that I have found are: purchase a TiVo PVR. There is a TiVo specific adapter which allows the TiVo to control DiTV1000 and DiTV2000 TSB. The Pronto can control the TiVo which in turn controls the TSB. purchase an inferior remote control manufactured by OneForAll that is no-where near as versatile or powerful as the Pronto but sends IRDA signals. the final, cheaper, solution is to receive digital television from OnDigital or Sky as their remotes use regular Infra Red devices.
If I were the only person with this concern then I would accept the compatibility problem and set off on one of the above three solutions, however this is by no means the case.
As the Pronto can accept advanced programming techniques, there is an internet knowledge sharing website running to help people configure their Pronto .
This popular site is dedicated to advanced Infra Red remote controls with by far the most popular forum being the “Philips Pronto & Marantz RC5000” forum
In this forum there have, for a number of months, been discussions on this Pace TSB/Pronto problem and attempts at possible workarounds, which have been to no avail. Pronto users, clearly, have resorted to changing digital service providers, buying TiVo’s or simply putting up with the Pronto and the ntl remote sitting side by side.
To demonstrate the magnitude of the problem, a search for the word ‘ntl’ finds 2319 threads containing what must be well over 10,000 messages from Pronto users wanting to talk about ntl, a significant number of these threads are queries from users with this very problem.
As far as I can understand the technology to allow the ntl/Pace TSB to be controlled by my Pronto already exists. Through simple modifications to TiVo attachments or the sockets on the back of the TSB, myself, and many others, could enjoy having a single infrared devise to control all of our entertainment boxes.
There is as I have explained a great demand for this facility, a demand that you may not be aware of due to the technical nature of the problem resulting in few people managing to get very far with enquiries.
I am writing to ask if you could fulfil this need by providing a solution. The resulting solution, software update or infrared accessory, you could, if required, sell for a small cost that I am sure Pronto users would be willing to pay given that the latest version of Pronto is set to retail at £700.
From the ntl web site Mr Knapp states that the ntl philosophy is that ntl “want people to be able to communicate wherever they are, whenever they want to - and we want to make it simple for them to do so. It's about utilising technical innovation to create the practical, everyday tools that people need to live their lives and run their businesses. We give you the business tools to work smarter and support innovative, competitive strategies.”
I feel that providing a solution to this problem fits into the above philosophy.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I look forward to your reply.
