BT TV - any good?
Discussion
Hi
As I can finally get fibre I'm pondering making the switch from Sky to BT for fibre and TV, this would save approx. £30 a month and gains me BT Sport which I don't have now.
I have read some old reviews from 2015 which mentioned the HD picture was "soft" and my colleague at work had it for a while and mentioned that the audio would go out of synch sometimes and also that there was a lag when changing channels, so I was wondering if anyone else has experience of BT Vision and would like to share?
As I can finally get fibre I'm pondering making the switch from Sky to BT for fibre and TV, this would save approx. £30 a month and gains me BT Sport which I don't have now.
I have read some old reviews from 2015 which mentioned the HD picture was "soft" and my colleague at work had it for a while and mentioned that the audio would go out of synch sometimes and also that there was a lag when changing channels, so I was wondering if anyone else has experience of BT Vision and would like to share?
We've recently switched from sky to BT youview. The picture quality is actually better as I suspect sky have been purposefully lowering the bitrate on non-sky channels for a while now.
The youview/freeview signal does break up more often than it did on sky, and bizarrely mostly every time a tractor or lorry goes past the house.
One big gotcha is the significantly reduced number of channels compared to freesat from sky. There are only a couple of music channels for instance and those tend to shut off at teatime. It's so bad we've kept the sky box plugged in and use it for general viewing, then switch over to the BT box for recorded programmes and on demand.
I've just bought a one for all four remote as having remotes for four devices was just getting silly....
The youview/freeview signal does break up more often than it did on sky, and bizarrely mostly every time a tractor or lorry goes past the house.
One big gotcha is the significantly reduced number of channels compared to freesat from sky. There are only a couple of music channels for instance and those tend to shut off at teatime. It's so bad we've kept the sky box plugged in and use it for general viewing, then switch over to the BT box for recorded programmes and on demand.
I've just bought a one for all four remote as having remotes for four devices was just getting silly....
One more thing, you can significantly offset the cost if you:
1) sign up via quidco whilst they are offering 130 pounds cashback
2) use the line rental saver which pays for all your line rental up front for a year but at a reduced cost
3) sign up for a BT deal which offers a £100 MasterCard preloaded card
1) sign up via quidco whilst they are offering 130 pounds cashback
2) use the line rental saver which pays for all your line rental up front for a year but at a reduced cost
3) sign up for a BT deal which offers a £100 MasterCard preloaded card
Made the change a few weeks back. It's a lot cheaper, pic quality on non HD channels is not as good as sky. Iirc the old bt vision box did HD up scaling on non HD channels, don't think this one does.
There can be a second of lag when switching to channels which are provided by internet but nothing too long.
On some channels I get white dots swirling around the screen but haven't noticed any preparation.
There's a couple of channels I miss but my Android box fills in the blanks.
There can be a second of lag when switching to channels which are provided by internet but nothing too long.
On some channels I get white dots swirling around the screen but haven't noticed any preparation.
There's a couple of channels I miss but my Android box fills in the blanks.
I got the you view box so I can watch BT sport. It's okay for a cheap bit of kit but is slow and I'm not a fan of the interface/TV guide. Just be wary that although BT sport is advertised as free with fibre, the BT TV to watch it on isn't and they start to charge after month 12 - I was going to cancel but they just discounted it for another year.
Had it for a few years now after falling out with Sky.
It's largely Freeview, so you need a decent aerial. Extra content comes via the Internet - and you need the BT Home Hub or a multicast compatible router.
No complaints with the service, the box is smaller than a Sky unit and quieter too. Remote and app not quite as good to be honest. There is also a 4K box option though.
It's largely Freeview, so you need a decent aerial. Extra content comes via the Internet - and you need the BT Home Hub or a multicast compatible router.
No complaints with the service, the box is smaller than a Sky unit and quieter too. Remote and app not quite as good to be honest. There is also a 4K box option though.
Podie said:
Had it for a few years now after falling out with Sky.
It's largely Freeview, so you need a decent aerial. Extra content comes via the Internet - and you need the BT Home Hub or a multicast compatible router.
No complaints with the service, the box is smaller than a Sky unit and quieter too. Remote and app not quite as good to be honest. There is also a 4K box option though.
There's nothing we watch currently which we'd loose making the switch in fact we gain BT Sports which is a bonus, main thing is the Fibre, allows us to watch Netflix properly rather than waiting for things to buffer.It's largely Freeview, so you need a decent aerial. Extra content comes via the Internet - and you need the BT Home Hub or a multicast compatible router.
No complaints with the service, the box is smaller than a Sky unit and quieter too. Remote and app not quite as good to be honest. There is also a 4K box option though.
I think e I'll take a chance and try it.
Martyn76 said:
Podie said:
Had it for a few years now after falling out with Sky.
It's largely Freeview, so you need a decent aerial. Extra content comes via the Internet - and you need the BT Home Hub or a multicast compatible router.
No complaints with the service, the box is smaller than a Sky unit and quieter too. Remote and app not quite as good to be honest. There is also a 4K box option though.
There's nothing we watch currently which we'd loose making the switch in fact we gain BT Sports which is a bonus, main thing is the Fibre, allows us to watch Netflix properly rather than waiting for things to buffer.It's largely Freeview, so you need a decent aerial. Extra content comes via the Internet - and you need the BT Home Hub or a multicast compatible router.
No complaints with the service, the box is smaller than a Sky unit and quieter too. Remote and app not quite as good to be honest. There is also a 4K box option though.
I think e I'll take a chance and try it.
To clarify the broadband bit - We have a BT Homehub that then feeds to a network of Apple kit. The HH does the internet, but passes off wireless duties to the Apple kit.
The other novelty against Sky is that every year I phone up and say I'm happy with the service but paying too much.
Last year I dropped the monthly cost by £4. This year I managed another £4 and 3 months free HD pack (£15).
We've even direct O2 mobile and moved to BT. Service is better and a third of what we were paying.
Last year I dropped the monthly cost by £4. This year I managed another £4 and 3 months free HD pack (£15).
We've even direct O2 mobile and moved to BT. Service is better and a third of what we were paying.
Bit of a resurrection, but does anyone have any up to date opinions on BT TV, preferably with at least 2 boxes and HD ? Virgin's impending price rise is making me look at alternatives again, and it looks like BT might work out slightly cheaper... So wondering how well it works in practice.
outnumbered said:
Bit of a resurrection, but does anyone have any up to date opinions on BT TV, preferably with at least 2 boxes and HD ? Virgin's impending price rise is making me look at alternatives again, and it looks like BT might work out slightly cheaper... So wondering how well it works in practice.
I have the 4k box but the HD box before it was good and quick, the 4K is the same HD box (sort of) but handles 4k (obviously). I find the you view menu quite good and quick and easy. To Get 4k though I have to buy a Max TV package and the buggers have just upped that cost. No idea what the basic cost is for sport.I have the unlimited and get 62mb/s and it is pretty much constant. No issues there.
Recording is OK. It records. Never seems to miss a recording and you can pair mobile devices and use the app to set up recordings away from home.
BT TV has Apple TV apps you can use (not sure about other platforms). Now I use the Apple BT apps more for the streamed catchup stuff. You can also get sport through the Apple BT app and a 4k HDR test match sort of worked. I expect gremlins to be worked out before the season starts. HD sport through the Apple BT app is not as slick as the BT box I fancy. Not bad though.
Customers service. Well, faulty box got a man coming out to change it, only on the 4k apparently but told HD box they would stick a new one in the post. Other issues with customer handling is hit and miss. I am hoping that Virgin cable my street so I can give them a go due to my experiences and cost increase unexpected.
The hub I had (5?) was useless (2ghz congestion and inability to deal with it). No idea what the new hub is like. Bought a Netgear router.
No issues with aerial reception but I am in a good area and off a main transmitter not a fill in transmitter.
G/F has BT TV.
Router / Broadband seems pretty hit and miss. She's had problems with the router before, although they always seem happy to send out a new one. She has those disc things to extend the range (even though I told her she doesn't need them) - and I noticed the one in her bedroom has stopped working now - showing a red light as if it's not connected to the router, and a reboot didn't help. No idea why - I'm sure I'll be told to work it out at some point.
TV hasn't seemed all that reliable either. A few weeks ago she lost a lot of the extra channels (her subscription is more than just the freeview stuff) - had to reboot the router and the TV box to get them back. She's also had problems with the tv channels before - again, like the router they seem happy to just send her a new box.
I guess it's mostly OK - and I have no idea what it costs her - but I can't say I've ever been tempted to get it.
Router / Broadband seems pretty hit and miss. She's had problems with the router before, although they always seem happy to send out a new one. She has those disc things to extend the range (even though I told her she doesn't need them) - and I noticed the one in her bedroom has stopped working now - showing a red light as if it's not connected to the router, and a reboot didn't help. No idea why - I'm sure I'll be told to work it out at some point.
TV hasn't seemed all that reliable either. A few weeks ago she lost a lot of the extra channels (her subscription is more than just the freeview stuff) - had to reboot the router and the TV box to get them back. She's also had problems with the tv channels before - again, like the router they seem happy to just send her a new box.
I guess it's mostly OK - and I have no idea what it costs her - but I can't say I've ever been tempted to get it.
g price rise? It's literally two price rises a year now.I've had BT TV since buying our house 4 years ago and I've had no complaints. The YouView box has apps for Netflix and the On Demand channels. I pay £10 extra for the entertainment channels, and continually threatening to leave means I get BT Sport for free. Which was great until they lost the rights to Indycar, but they have the baseball on so it's alright.
I've never used the Smarthub, I bought a Billion router from the start as I don't trust routers provided by the ISP. I can't recall a day where the internet (Infinity) has gone down in those 4 years, so I'm pretty happy. And it works out cheaper than Sky anyway so it's a winner in my eyes.
I've never used the Smarthub, I bought a Billion router from the start as I don't trust routers provided by the ISP. I can't recall a day where the internet (Infinity) has gone down in those 4 years, so I'm pretty happy. And it works out cheaper than Sky anyway so it's a winner in my eyes.
I've had BT, changed from Sky, for four/five years now. I do the full package: landline, TV, mobile and broadband.
The TV seemed better quality than Sky, and sharper changing channels. It was considerably cheaper for what I wanted.
For mobile, my wife and I have 6gig data limits, enough free calls to ensure we never go over the limits, all for £15 per month.
I have their new fastest domestic broadband at a lower price than before the upgrade, although I had to sign for 18mnths. Their rooter comes with a booster that was a little improvement in the office.
The BT sports package is no longer cheap, but is reasonable. I watch a lot of rugby.
I miss F1, but watch the occasional race on NOW! for £10 per week. It is still a massive saving over what I way paying Sky.
I have Netflix, the price reduced slighly for reasons that excape me at the moment.
Like a previous poster, I have no complaints. I had a couple of minor issues with Sky, which were resolved, but, oddly, seemingly reluctantly on their behalf.
I'm pleased I changed, and not only because of the reduction in price.
The TV seemed better quality than Sky, and sharper changing channels. It was considerably cheaper for what I wanted.
For mobile, my wife and I have 6gig data limits, enough free calls to ensure we never go over the limits, all for £15 per month.
I have their new fastest domestic broadband at a lower price than before the upgrade, although I had to sign for 18mnths. Their rooter comes with a booster that was a little improvement in the office.
The BT sports package is no longer cheap, but is reasonable. I watch a lot of rugby.
I miss F1, but watch the occasional race on NOW! for £10 per week. It is still a massive saving over what I way paying Sky.
I have Netflix, the price reduced slighly for reasons that excape me at the moment.
Like a previous poster, I have no complaints. I had a couple of minor issues with Sky, which were resolved, but, oddly, seemingly reluctantly on their behalf.
I'm pleased I changed, and not only because of the reduction in price.
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