The ineptitude of BT Vision is staggering at some times. The proposed introduction of linear t v channels is a good example of this. In addition to customers needing to have infinity and their exchange enabled for multi- cast they will also (if an existing customer) need the right type of vision + box. How BT’s famed customer services will cope with all of this when they eventually take orders - god only knows. Every order I have made for Vision in the past has resulted in confusion, errors etc (such as sending box to wrong address). Even Talk Talk a company not famed for its efficiency seems to be rolling out its new TV service without these sort of contortions.
Indeed they would... indeed they would. Comedic? Yes, they are. Indeed, this whole roll out has been comedic.
But do you have a crystal ball as to what will happen from now on? Because I most certainly don't.
And their not going to waste over £1billion on a joke.
No, do you? BT's past (and most importantly present) tell me enough about them to have an opinion thank you very much maso... VisionMan!. Can I see this being the fairy tale they were hoping for? Not really, no. The only thing I'm genuinely concerned over is whether or not the PL made the right decision awarding live rights to them... Not exactly filled with confidence.
Of course they're not going to 'waste' all that money... Whether they're competent enough to make it a success is another thing entirely.
If I was a major BT shareholder I think that I would be putting serious questions to the BT management about their decision to splash a billion pounds on the purchase of sporting rights and running sports channels. Particularly when these sports channels may not even be available to some of BT Vision‘s own customers. Things may change before August 2013 but I am not confident that BT have thought all of this through.
I'm still confused why there's the complexity in the roll out - why go for technical perfection?
I watch Netflix on a standard BT ADSL line (no infinity, nor any prospect in the near future). It offers me picture quality based on the line speed available - sometimes that's HD, other times the picture is a little softer, but there's no buffering. Similarly, iPlayer works in HD while on BT vision the picture is often unwatchable due to blur and blockiness. Sky Now gives me great quality live TV from the movie channels.
Given Sky, Netflix and Lovefilm seem capable of delivering average to very good video down the line, why can't BT use adaptive streaming? By all means add disclaimers saying picture quality will vary according to line speed and specify a minimum speed - but why tell me I can't get a live stream service at all?
Netflix has more UK subscribers than BT, so if there were to be any negative network impact surely they would be causing it, not BT.
I assume these will be recordable and so reduces the advantage of YouView over Vision. Good move.
They are recordable. 2 x HD channels at the same time. You need 25meg plus to get them. Also BT are not supporting the use of powerline adapters with linear channels so its hard wired only via a BT supplied 10 metre ethernet cable. Not saying the powerline adapters won't work but BT will not support the use of them.
They are recordable. 2 x HD channels at the same time. You need 25meg plus to get them. Also BT are not supporting the use of powerline adapters with linear channels so its hard wired only via a BT supplied 10 metre ethernet cable. Not saying the powerline adapters won't work but BT will not support the use of them.
So.....
The requirement of 12.7Meg per HD channel stories were true. Not that I doubted them. But I did not know for certain they would be recordable on the BT Vision platform. As the BT presentation I saw was in regard to YouView only.
The requirement of 12.7Meg per HD channel stories were true. Not that I doubted them. But I did not know for certain they would be recordable on the BT Vision platform. As the BT presentation I saw was in regard to YouView only.
Yes, all the above, and more.
Interesting times...
As far as i have been made aware Its actually 8 meg for each HD stream and 4 meg for each SD stream.
And that may only be down to CH5's exclusive Sky platform contract. So I wonder if the YouView platform will get it? Probably not.
I don't think there is an exclusive contract as the channel launched simultaneously on Virgin Media too.
I think it's been suggested that Sky and VM make a contribution to Channel 5's carriage costs which make it cost-effective for Channel 5 to operate the channel. Perhaps BT will negotiate a smilar arrangement or is betting on Channel 5 HD launching on Freeview.
As far as i have been made aware Its actually 8 meg for each HD stream and 4 meg for each SD stream.
Ah, thanks for that.
The presentation I saw had different figures for the streaming of such. Particularly in regard to the SD content. But I didn't bother reading the bitrate required for the other future coming services, as they don't interest me. Because when I turn on my telly, all I really want to watch is telly.
Lets just hope they get this platform stabilised soon.
I don't think there is an exclusive contract as the channel launched simultaneously on Virgin Media too.
I think it's been suggested that Sky and VM make a contribution to Channel 5's carriage costs which make it cost-effective for Channel 5 to operate the channel. Perhaps BT will negotiate a smilar arrangement or is betting on Channel 5 HD launching on Freeview.
Thats what I was referring to. But thanks for confirming it's not an exclusive arrangement. So theres a chance it may yet appear on YouView.
The presentation I saw had different figures for the streaming of such. Particularly in regard to the SD content. But I didn't bother reading the bitrate required for the other future coming services, as they don't interest me. Because when I turn on my telly, all I really want to watch is telly.
Lets just hope they get this platform stabilised soon.
The linear channels have strict qos applied and take priority over internet bandwidth. In short the tv takes what it needs to be stable and fault free and whatevers left over you have for internet use hence the 25 meg minimum requirement.
BT has spent Close to £1 billion on this when you include the sports rights and the new channels so it has to work or it will be a very expensive mistake.
The linear channels have strict qos applied and take priority over internet bandwidth. In short the tv takes what it needs to be stable and fault free and whatevers left over you have for internet use hence the 25 meg minimum requirement.
BT has spent Close to £1 billion on this when you include the sports rights and the new channels so it has to work or it will be a very expensive mistake.
My area has just gone live for fibre this past week and BT, TalkTalk and Sky all tell me that they could give me around 30Mb on the line (but in reality it'd be slightly lower). If I paid BT for additional channels and for increased BB speed via Infinity, I wouldn't actually be benefitting that much (depending on what I was watching of course). If I was watching BBC One HD and recording ITV HD, there's 16Meg gone already... What about other people being online at the same time? What if somebody was watching iPlayer for example? I'd be paying for Infinity but at times I'd be receiving a broadband speed comparable to what I currently have.
This sounds like a decent offer for those lucky ones who can receive a good speed on BT's 'up to 76Mb' package if they want to truly benefit from what they're paying for but I'm not quite sure about everybody else...
The linear channels have strict qos applied and take priority over internet bandwidth. In short the tv takes what it needs to be stable and fault free and whatevers left over you have for internet use hence the 25 meg minimum requirement.
BT has spent Close to £1 billion on this when you include the sports rights and the new channels so it has to work or it will be a very expensive mistake.
Hmm... Yes, very expensive, but not terminal. Plus they will have the production costs of the new BT Sports channels, so that in total reaches £1billion alone. Plus the costs of the new channels acquisition. Plus the costs of fully switching to YouView.
Plus the costs of the £10billion upgrade to the 21CN BT fibre multi-node network.
However - Fibre has a yet untapped potential yet to be seen in the UK.
My area has just gone live for fibre this past week and BT, TalkTalk and Sky all tell me that they could give me around 30Mb on the line (but in reality it'd be slightly lower). If I paid BT for additional channels and for increased BB speed via Infinity, I wouldn't actually be benefitting that much (depending on what I was watching of course). If I was watching BBC One HD and recording ITV HD, there's 16Meg gone already... What about other people being online at the same time? What if somebody was watching iPlayer for example? I'd be paying for Infinity but at times I'd be receiving a broadband speed comparable to what I currently have.
This sounds like a decent offer for those lucky ones who can receive a good speed on BT's 'up to 76Mb' package if they want to truly benefit from what they're paying for but I'm not quite sure about everybody else...
The fibre speeds in my experience are quite conservative. i was quoted 56.6 meg but i get 74 meg. and thats on a wireless connection..
The whole package will depend on your bandwidth and whats available. it will be limited but im sure the speeds will be improved remember BT has spent £1 billion. Thats a lot of money and BT will not let this fail
Hmm... Yes, very expensive, but not terminal. Plus they will have the production costs of the new BT Sports channels, so that in total reaches £1billion alone. Plus the costs of the new channels acquisition. Plus the costs of fully switching to YouView.
Plus the costs of the £10billion upgrade to the 21CN BT fibre multi-node network.
However - Fibre has a yet untapped potential yet to be seen in the UK.
And fibre is the future.
The 21cn and network upgrade is openreach/btwholesale so the costs are up to them to absorb.. BT retail will adopt these upgrades but the costs are at a retail level so much less than you think
They are recordable. 2 x HD channels at the same time. You need 25meg plus to get them. Also BT are not supporting the use of powerline adapters with linear channels so its hard wired only via a BT supplied 10 metre ethernet cable. Not saying the powerline adapters won't work but BT will not support the use of them.
Thats good but you're gonna run out of space pretty quickly on the BTVision boxes that have only 160gig.
Good move though. Those who want HD channels wont need new hardware so should save BT a few bob.
They are recordable. 2 x HD channels at the same time. You need 25meg plus to get them. Also BT are not supporting the use of powerline adapters with linear channels so its hard wired only via a BT supplied 10 metre ethernet cable. Not saying the powerline adapters won't work but BT will not support the use of them.
I note that BT will not be supporting the use of powerline adapters. Will this be for both HD and SD linear channels? If it is I will be off elsewhere. I aint trailing a 30 metre cable round my house in order to get these channels . I only really use Vision for the sports channels at the moment so for me BT Vision would become redundant.
I note that BT will not be supporting the use of powerline adapters. Will this be for both HD and SD linear channels? If it is I will be off elsewhere. I aint trailing a 30 metre cable round my house in order to get these channels . I only really use Vision for the sports channels at the moment so for me BT Vision would become redundant.
The sky is not falling you can use them if you want, just dont expect bt to supply them or provide any support if you're using them.
The sky is not falling you can use them if you want, just dont expect bt to supply them or provide any support if you're using them.
Agreed. Just like using Multiroom with a BT Vision and a YouView box together. You can do it (and it works) it's just not a configuration that BT supports.
I've got powerlines too, but am not anticipating any problems.
Well BT Vision currently supply them with their vision+boxes as most people have their routers in a separate room from their tv. also Talk Talk I believe install them (if needed) with their TV system.
So to get these linear channels (when they eventually arrive) one must be in an infinity enabled area, an exchange which is enabled for multicast, have the correct type of vision box and either be hard wired to the router or hope that the powerline adapters work. Absolutely fantastic.
Comments
No, do you? BT's past (and most importantly present) tell me enough about them to have an opinion thank you very much maso... VisionMan!. Can I see this being the fairy tale they were hoping for? Not really, no. The only thing I'm genuinely concerned over is whether or not the PL made the right decision awarding live rights to them... Not exactly filled with confidence.
Of course they're not going to 'waste' all that money... Whether they're competent enough to make it a success is another thing entirely.
I watch Netflix on a standard BT ADSL line (no infinity, nor any prospect in the near future). It offers me picture quality based on the line speed available - sometimes that's HD, other times the picture is a little softer, but there's no buffering. Similarly, iPlayer works in HD while on BT vision the picture is often unwatchable due to blur and blockiness. Sky Now gives me great quality live TV from the movie channels.
Given Sky, Netflix and Lovefilm seem capable of delivering average to very good video down the line, why can't BT use adaptive streaming? By all means add disclaimers saying picture quality will vary according to line speed and specify a minimum speed - but why tell me I can't get a live stream service at all?
Netflix has more UK subscribers than BT, so if there were to be any negative network impact surely they would be causing it, not BT.
And that may only be down to CH5's exclusive Sky platform contract. So I wonder if the YouView platform will get it? Probably not.
What exclusive Sky platform contract?
They are recordable. 2 x HD channels at the same time. You need 25meg plus to get them. Also BT are not supporting the use of powerline adapters with linear channels so its hard wired only via a BT supplied 10 metre ethernet cable. Not saying the powerline adapters won't work but BT will not support the use of them.
So.....
The requirement of 12.7Meg per HD channel stories were true. Not that I doubted them. But I did not know for certain they would be recordable on the BT Vision platform. As the BT presentation I saw was in regard to YouView only.
Yes, all the above, and more.
Interesting times...
As far as i have been made aware Its actually 8 meg for each HD stream and 4 meg for each SD stream.
I think it's been suggested that Sky and VM make a contribution to Channel 5's carriage costs which make it cost-effective for Channel 5 to operate the channel. Perhaps BT will negotiate a smilar arrangement or is betting on Channel 5 HD launching on Freeview.
Ah, thanks for that.
The presentation I saw had different figures for the streaming of such. Particularly in regard to the SD content. But I didn't bother reading the bitrate required for the other future coming services, as they don't interest me. Because when I turn on my telly, all I really want to watch is telly.
Lets just hope they get this platform stabilised soon.
Thats what I was referring to. But thanks for confirming it's not an exclusive arrangement. So theres a chance it may yet appear on YouView.
The linear channels have strict qos applied and take priority over internet bandwidth. In short the tv takes what it needs to be stable and fault free and whatevers left over you have for internet use hence the 25 meg minimum requirement.
BT has spent Close to £1 billion on this when you include the sports rights and the new channels so it has to work or it will be a very expensive mistake.
My area has just gone live for fibre this past week and BT, TalkTalk and Sky all tell me that they could give me around 30Mb on the line (but in reality it'd be slightly lower). If I paid BT for additional channels and for increased BB speed via Infinity, I wouldn't actually be benefitting that much (depending on what I was watching of course). If I was watching BBC One HD and recording ITV HD, there's 16Meg gone already... What about other people being online at the same time? What if somebody was watching iPlayer for example? I'd be paying for Infinity but at times I'd be receiving a broadband speed comparable to what I currently have.
This sounds like a decent offer for those lucky ones who can receive a good speed on BT's 'up to 76Mb' package if they want to truly benefit from what they're paying for but I'm not quite sure about everybody else...
Hmm... Yes, very expensive, but not terminal. Plus they will have the production costs of the new BT Sports channels, so that in total reaches £1billion alone. Plus the costs of the new channels acquisition. Plus the costs of fully switching to YouView.
Plus the costs of the £10billion upgrade to the 21CN BT fibre multi-node network.
However - Fibre has a yet untapped potential yet to be seen in the UK.
And fibre is the future.
The fibre speeds in my experience are quite conservative. i was quoted 56.6 meg but i get 74 meg. and thats on a wireless connection..
The whole package will depend on your bandwidth and whats available. it will be limited but im sure the speeds will be improved remember BT has spent £1 billion. Thats a lot of money and BT will not let this fail
The 21cn and network upgrade is openreach/btwholesale so the costs are up to them to absorb.. BT retail will adopt these upgrades but the costs are at a retail level so much less than you think
Thats good but you're gonna run out of space pretty quickly on the BTVision boxes that have only 160gig.
Good move though. Those who want HD channels wont need new hardware so should save BT a few bob.
I note that BT will not be supporting the use of powerline adapters. Will this be for both HD and SD linear channels? If it is I will be off elsewhere. I aint trailing a 30 metre cable round my house in order to get these channels . I only really use Vision for the sports channels at the moment so for me BT Vision would become redundant.
The sky is not falling
Agreed. Just like using Multiroom with a BT Vision and a YouView box together. You can do it (and it works) it's just not a configuration that BT supports.
I've got powerlines too, but am not anticipating any problems.
Well BT Vision currently supply them with their vision+boxes as most people have their routers in a separate room from their tv. also Talk Talk I believe install them (if needed) with their TV system.
So to get these linear channels (when they eventually arrive) one must be in an infinity enabled area, an exchange which is enabled for multicast, have the correct type of vision box and either be hard wired to the router or hope that the powerline adapters work. Absolutely fantastic.