BT TV - anyone got it?
Discussion
BT TV, BT vision or Youview.... whatever they're currently calling it - anyone got it?
Currently contemplating it as an alternative to Sky HD. We don't watch sport, so not bothered about that - we just want the obligatory "entertainment" type channels in HD.
We have BT infinity (70MB down) so shouldn't be much of an issue there - just curious if anyone has experiences (good or bad) and opinions against the Sky offering.
TIA
Currently contemplating it as an alternative to Sky HD. We don't watch sport, so not bothered about that - we just want the obligatory "entertainment" type channels in HD.
We have BT infinity (70MB down) so shouldn't be much of an issue there - just curious if anyone has experiences (good or bad) and opinions against the Sky offering.
TIA
Just got Youview from TalkTalk which is not too bad. It gives you lots of options and lets you access a number of streaming services. It isn't as intuitive and integrated as I hoped it might be. The box takes ages to load up to start but sure your box and interface might be a bit different.
I'm also very interested in this...
We're currently paying BT for phone&BB (infinity) and Sky for TV, which has got to be a worse deal than going all in with one or other other of them. I really dislike the huge amount I pay for Sky TV (even with no sports, no movies), so if the BT offering is getting to the stage where it's a viable alternative, that'd be very handy.
We're currently paying BT for phone&BB (infinity) and Sky for TV, which has got to be a worse deal than going all in with one or other other of them. I really dislike the huge amount I pay for Sky TV (even with no sports, no movies), so if the BT offering is getting to the stage where it's a viable alternative, that'd be very handy.
Yep I got it ~5 weeks ago.
Moved house, spoke to Sky who were only interested in charging me to move, so after 13 years with them said bye - plus the fact, somehow my Sky bill had crept upto ~£82 per month - MADNESS.
So I had infinity installed - full 76 down and 20 up, along with inclusive phone the TV piece.
First off there is a new box IF you do not request sky sports - which I do not require, and it's very small and quick.
All came bob on time from BT - numerous email telling me where it is, when it's arriving etc. On arrival plugged in aerial (for freeview)and homeplugs for the data connection and HDMI for the TV.
I upgraded the initial offer of £7 to £10 per month for the full HD offering. The quality of the signal / steaming is excellent, much better than sky - it gives all of the recording and timeshift functions, and logically to see 'catchup' tv just scroll back (upto 7 days) through the tv planner and hit select, and you have seamless catchup tv - The girlfriend understands it and can use so full approval.
You also get all of the iplayer / itv / 4od etc and now tv as apps. Also available is BT movies (a kinda poor netflix/sky movies) for £5 per month if required.
The final piece is remote record which is provided via the youview app on android or ios - there does not appear to a be a web app.
Would I recommend it - yes, does all the timeshift / tv stuff we need.
Currently as a bonus if you order through topcashback or quidco - you'll get £157 cash back AND a £100 gift card for Sainsburys - So free telly, if you don't like you lost nothing.
Moved house, spoke to Sky who were only interested in charging me to move, so after 13 years with them said bye - plus the fact, somehow my Sky bill had crept upto ~£82 per month - MADNESS.
So I had infinity installed - full 76 down and 20 up, along with inclusive phone the TV piece.
First off there is a new box IF you do not request sky sports - which I do not require, and it's very small and quick.
All came bob on time from BT - numerous email telling me where it is, when it's arriving etc. On arrival plugged in aerial (for freeview)and homeplugs for the data connection and HDMI for the TV.
I upgraded the initial offer of £7 to £10 per month for the full HD offering. The quality of the signal / steaming is excellent, much better than sky - it gives all of the recording and timeshift functions, and logically to see 'catchup' tv just scroll back (upto 7 days) through the tv planner and hit select, and you have seamless catchup tv - The girlfriend understands it and can use so full approval.
You also get all of the iplayer / itv / 4od etc and now tv as apps. Also available is BT movies (a kinda poor netflix/sky movies) for £5 per month if required.
The final piece is remote record which is provided via the youview app on android or ios - there does not appear to a be a web app.
Would I recommend it - yes, does all the timeshift / tv stuff we need.
Currently as a bonus if you order through topcashback or quidco - you'll get £157 cash back AND a £100 gift card for Sainsburys - So free telly, if you don't like you lost nothing.
Well, with zero Sky reception in the new place (blocked by TPO'd trees - that we don't want to get rid of either!) we cancelled Sky this morning.
Local aerial bod been and installed freeview aerial - and seems we are in a good signal area.
Already an Infinity customer, so added TV this morning - got a £4 month discount for signing up for another 12 months as well. Box arrives next week. Went for the £10 extra HD channels jobbie.
We realised we only watch the free (basic) channels on Sky, so what's the point?
If after a few months we find it's s
t, we'll have to consider other options...
Local aerial bod been and installed freeview aerial - and seems we are in a good signal area.
Already an Infinity customer, so added TV this morning - got a £4 month discount for signing up for another 12 months as well. Box arrives next week. Went for the £10 extra HD channels jobbie.
We realised we only watch the free (basic) channels on Sky, so what's the point?
If after a few months we find it's s
t, we'll have to consider other options...Bit of an update.
Free view aerial gives a really strong signal and high quality picture, and we can get all the available channels in HD, which is a good result.
The box itself is tiny - much smaller than Sky's offering - and is quieter too (no noisy HDD).
A neat touch is that if you are watching in SD, you can press a button and it'll flick to the HD version.
The Youview app (iOS and Android) allow you to look at what's on, and set it to record. Sadly, the features end there - quite a way behind Sky and the ability to look at recordings and use it as a replacement remote control.
The remote is nicer than the Sky one (IMO) and works well with the TV (including AV inputs - which the Sky one didn't do).
The On Demand stuff works well, as you'd expect - but - unlike Sky you can't record to the box, which is a shame.
The extra IP channels are a bonus, but you have to use a HomeHub router, or (as we have done) use the HomeHub for broadband and the Apple Airport Extremes for wireless. Some routers to offer multicast support, but BT don't support them, so it's a bit hit and miss.
Overall, some features ahead of Sky, others a bit behind. For us though, it works well and we're not missing anything from our previous Sky package.
Free view aerial gives a really strong signal and high quality picture, and we can get all the available channels in HD, which is a good result.
The box itself is tiny - much smaller than Sky's offering - and is quieter too (no noisy HDD).
A neat touch is that if you are watching in SD, you can press a button and it'll flick to the HD version.
The Youview app (iOS and Android) allow you to look at what's on, and set it to record. Sadly, the features end there - quite a way behind Sky and the ability to look at recordings and use it as a replacement remote control.
The remote is nicer than the Sky one (IMO) and works well with the TV (including AV inputs - which the Sky one didn't do).
The On Demand stuff works well, as you'd expect - but - unlike Sky you can't record to the box, which is a shame.
The extra IP channels are a bonus, but you have to use a HomeHub router, or (as we have done) use the HomeHub for broadband and the Apple Airport Extremes for wireless. Some routers to offer multicast support, but BT don't support them, so it's a bit hit and miss.
Overall, some features ahead of Sky, others a bit behind. For us though, it works well and we're not missing anything from our previous Sky package.
outnumbered said:
Can you record the IP-only channels in the same way as you can the Freeview ones?
Another thing about the IP channels is you do want a decent connection. I think they say 6.5MB for HD. We're at 70 so it's not an issue. I'm currently running a pair of old Solwise 200AV jobbies from one of the 10/100 ports on the HomeHub and not had any issues.
That said, it won't work over wireless, so you need a hard wired connection or power lines.
Good to hear it's decent. We're moving back to the UK and to be honest the TV options are mind-boggling. I just went for Infinity2 and TV/Phone to keep it all in one place for now until we get settled in. Just wondering, can you add another BT TV Box in the bedroom from the same connection ?
juice said:
Good to hear it's decent. We're moving back to the UK and to be honest the TV options are mind-boggling. I just went for Infinity2 and TV/Phone to keep it all in one place for now until we get settled in. Just wondering, can you add another BT TV Box in the bedroom from the same connection ?
Not sure on that - don't recall seeing it as an option either. Useful feature - like Virgin I believe - head back up to a week on the planner, select the program and it uses the appropriate on demand service to play it
I saw that people have bought a second box and used powerline adapters to connect to the home hub with varying amounts of success...not a big deal if it's not possible, may well just go with a Smart TV/Freeview for the bedroom if it doesn't work. There are boxes on ebay for about 40 quid, so may well be worth trying at that sort of money....
Been advised of a few things about BT TV.
- There is a plan for multi room TV
- BT want to add more channels and third party content
- BT Sport includes the WRC and Moto GP (I'd missed this!)
- BT Sport app available on Google's Chromecast (I'd missed that too!)
- BT Sport will remain free for BT BB customers for the 2014/15 football season
- European Rugby Champions cup to be added (August)
- Exclusive rights to UEFA competitions from 2015 (Champions league & Europa league)
Just under 4 years later and the box has died. Got itself into a perpetual look of waking up / loading.
Got into BT’s chat and a new one on the way without too much effort. Frustratingly it’ll be next week when it arrives... and it has to be signed for... and we’ll be at work.
So... bought a new PVR HDD from Amazon and 10 screws later it’s in and running. Went for a 1TB so doubled recording space and it seems to be pretty happy. 7200rpm drive (was 5400) as well so does seem a little livelier.
Got into BT’s chat and a new one on the way without too much effort. Frustratingly it’ll be next week when it arrives... and it has to be signed for... and we’ll be at work.
So... bought a new PVR HDD from Amazon and 10 screws later it’s in and running. Went for a 1TB so doubled recording space and it seems to be pretty happy. 7200rpm drive (was 5400) as well so does seem a little livelier.
jmorgan said:
No issues? Interesting to know. I thought there might have been some form of locked must use so so HDD or something.
Nope, all pretty easy to be honest. - 2.5 inch SATA drive (I went for a PVR type).
- Undo 4 screws on the bottom and 1 above the SCART connector. Remove lid.
- unclip connector to buttons on the top of the case
- remove 2 screws holding the board to the base
- lift board out. Undo 4 screws holding drive. Slide out. Replace drive.
- Put it all back together....
- Plug in all wires - connect via Ethernet
- Hold “down” button, switch on power
- Wait for option for mainenance mode, press power button
- Select bottom option which is something like downloading software without keeping programmes
I quite like BT tv as has already been said the box and software is very slick and quicker than the sky alternative. I do find it lacking entertainment content though so I subscribe to Netflix when subscribed to BT tv. The 4k sport is very good. The sky sports is very expensive through BT though.
I find it best to subscribe to BT for the 12/18 months with Netflix at the same time and then once out of offer subscribe to sky as a new customer normally getting 50% off making the full package without 4k £40pcm. Doing it this way I find that by the time I resubcribe to the other service there has been loads of box sets added and I have plenty to watch.
I find it best to subscribe to BT for the 12/18 months with Netflix at the same time and then once out of offer subscribe to sky as a new customer normally getting 50% off making the full package without 4k £40pcm. Doing it this way I find that by the time I resubcribe to the other service there has been loads of box sets added and I have plenty to watch.
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff