[chrsa1981]

Hi,

I currently have sky but have been looking at BT vision as I like the idea of TV on demand. BT is no cheaper for me, however its the concept im attracted to. I have spoken to a couple of people on their live chat and someone on the phone, none of whom really can answer my questions as nobody available at BT actually has used the service meaning I get either contradictory answers or no answers. So I want to speak to someone who has actually used the service.
Could someone clarify:

1. The content listed on the website doesnt seem very in depth, is this literatlly it thats available on demand?? (for example it suggests up to 75 films but only lists about 12)

2. Is the full archive for 4od available or just the last 7 days catch up? (i.e can i sit down to a whole series of the inbetweeners or the IT crowd which are available on the 4od website)

3. Is the box enabled for internet tv? (i.e sports tonight live)

4. can Multiroom be arranged by buying a used box from ebay?

im sure theres more but if someone can help to start with that would be great
The service looks in principle quite good but there doesnt seem to be alot of sales support

[stewM]

BT Vision is BT's best kept secret. Their website doesn't give you the full picture.

For a start, BT Vision is not a like-for-like replacement for SKY. But rather a freeview, delivered via aeriel, PVR with on demand content that is delivered down your BT broadband line.

In answer to your questions

1. There are Box Office films with a library of 400+ - paid for individually not part of any package.
Then there is Film Club, with films from Picture Box, Warner, FILM 4 with a library of 100+ films
2. There is replay (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 & 5) with the last 7 days, then VOD per channel with the likes of IT series 1 - 4, Inbetweeners series 2 at the moment.
3. Not sure what you mean by this. There is ESPN, SKY Sports 1 & 2 available. There is replay for ESPN and VOD for TNA, Red Bull, rugby, motoracing etc. Live programmes are not yet broadcasted over the broadband - not yet anyway.
4. Multiroom is a no at the moment. As each box talks to the servers then it creates confusion and you will have problems connecting more than one box. I for one am waiting for this to be addressed.

Stew

[chrsa1981]

Thanks for the reply, yes it does seem quite a good package i dont know why they arent shouting about it more which is what concerned me, are they replacing this?

thanks for the info on the films, so when i see online there are about 12, thats nonsence really as there are loads more free ones available? (bt live help said that they only have the 12 that were on display but did admit to having never used a vision box!)

ok so on point 2 there are 2x 4od channels? 1 for catch up and one for on demand archive?

on the broadband tv, there are some new internet stations such as http://www.sportstonightlive.com/ which broadcast but you need an internet ready freeview box to pick them up?

I may need to wait for multiroom but isnt the end of the world without it.

are the other programmes available in the archive quite up to date? i.e are they programmes currently being shown on some of the sky channels such as Living or Watch etc?

[stewM]

There are some new channels but these won't be picked up by the existing boxes, we are waiting for new boxes incorporating freeview HD.

The On Demand is split into - TV, Replay, Film, Kids, Music & Sport.

TV = BBC hits, ITV Net Player, 4 On Demand, Sony Retro, Sony, Warner TV, MTV, Discovery, History, CBS, ABC TV, Comedy Central, National Geogrphic, GINX TV, HBO, E!, TV Box, TX, TNA Wrestling, Worl of Red Bull, Battlefield Channel, Sport, Chanimal.
Replay = BBC IPlayer, 4 On Demand, Demand 5, ESPN, Trailers and Previews
Film = Film Club, Box Office
Kids = eg The Adventures of Bottle top Bill, Ben 10
Music = Concerts, playlists
Sport = Football, Boxing, rugby, cricket, wrestling, motorsport, mixed martial arts, extreme sport, golf, gaming, snooker, sailing hockey, athletics.

Many of the programmes that have been on SKY are older series as SKY has exclusive rights.

[chrsa1981]

ok, so do we know if/when a new box is due? i dont want to sign up if the box is going to be upgraded soon as i made that mistake with sky and am lumbered with a non hd, non sky+ box as they came out just after i signed up in mid 2006.

I see from that there is a capacity for 4od replay (last 7 days) AND 4od on Vision TV which must be the archive? how much stuff is available in the archives?( bt vision help who dont seem to know just say theres 5,000 hours programmes) but how regular is this updated?

[stewM]

Not sure when new box will be out. I personally think it will be 2012.

there are 48 lines of content on 4 od so not going to type all, perhaps have a look at this, http://www.productsandservices.bt.co...?topicId=27465

[chrsa1981]

Is that the 'youview' i keep seeing people talk about? i dont fully understand what that is

[stewM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrsa1981

Is that the 'youview' i keep seeing people talk about? i dont fully understand what that is

Yes and no. Initially BT issued silver Vision + boxes, then replaced them with the current black version. In the meantime Freeview HD was released and as Freeview was the basis of BT Vision, these boxes very quickly became dated. They are good boxes, PVR works brilliantly, but they don't have the kit to receive Freeview HD. BT probably would have issued a further box but then Youview was being considered.

Youview is like an updated version of Freeview with an EPG which will allow you to go backwards so in effect incorporating live and on demand together. There will also be other providers so pooling a lot of content - so I think BT are waiting for this and developing a new box which will incorporate everything.

So, I personally think this is going to be great when its released but I just wish they would get on and do it.

just seen this http://www.iptv-news.com/iptv_news/s..._sell_to_tesco, which speculates Pace is working with Talk talk or BT.

Problem with BT it is all speculation as they don't say what's happening or what is going to happen.

[SimonBlackham]

BT doesn't promise things - it just rolls them out - so we can only tell you what we have now...

BTW I have an old silver box which works well - and it has the advantage of RF output which we use to 'transmit' recordings, VOD, ESPN and Sky Sports etc to other rooms.
The iPlayer is a better implementation than that on a Freesat/Freeview HD TV we have and it is on our old silver box - and they still retain BBC replay (renamed BBC Hits). TV channels on demand are...
BBC Hits
ITV Net Player
4 on Demand
Sony Retro
Sony Entertainment TV
Warner TV
MTV
Discovery on Demand
History
CBS
ABC TV on Demand
Comedy Central
National Geographic
Ginx TV
HBO
E!
TV Box
TX
TNA Wrestling
World of Red Bull
Mother & Baby TV
Battlefield Channel
Chanimal
... many of which I have never felt a need to watch as there is already too much to watch when you record everything of interest. It is easier to search alphabetically by programme.

I seem to remember a Five 'replay' channel but it's gone (??). Ginx is about video games.

We get Freeview HD out of region on the TV but would like a BT Vbox that handled Freeview HD (it will download HD and 3D VOD). Its upscaling is good and we don't find the need to watch HD films - HD requires downloading - SD streams.

[chrsa1981]

thanks, thats quite useful, its a shame that the bt site doesnt really tell you all this, talk abotu undersell something!
so does the 4OD availble pretty much mirror the websites content? and the five 'replay' is this not the 'demand 5' which should be on there?

[SimonBlackham]

Oddly there are Demand 5 programmes available (eg "The Batchelor") - but it is not in the channel list - it is however in the Replay (Catch Up) list !

4OD channel currently has 41 (TV) offerings each one being a series or more... eg series 1-3 of "The Inbetweeners"

[chrsa1981]

interesting you say that as thats one of the main pushes they have on the website
did you manage to compare 4od on vision to 4od online?

Another reason im interested in the service is sky sports 1+2, are these available pay monthly as i only really want them during the F1 season next year

[SimonBlackham]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrsa1981

interesting you say that as thats one of the main pushes they have on the website
did you manage to compare 4od on vision to 4od online?

Another reason im interested in the service is sky sports 1+2, are these available pay monthly as i only really want them during the F1 season next year

We have SkySports (1 & 2) - but you have to start with a 12 month contract to get a good deal - then you can cancel monthly - but I assume you need another 12 month contract to start again - so AFAICT you cannot win! It is still (relatively) cheap at £17.99 pm compared with the other ways of getting them.

I suspect I will lose interest in F1 if we have to play games of channel hopping and put up with adverts - it was bad enough with ITV. What's the betting it will 'magically' only be available on SS3 and/or 4 (rather than the more generally available SS1and 2).

Comparing 4OD on line and 4OD on BTV...
4OD channel give Inbetweeners s1-3
4OD replay gives Inbetweeners Top Ten moments (11/09 Sun)
...on line gives another episode s5 n1 which I cannot find on BTV.
It would take hours to compare them properly...

[chrsa1981]

nah thats good of you to compare for me, i get an idea from that so thanks for the info

[MostynDS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SimonBlackham

I suspect I will lose interest in F1 if we have to play games of channel hopping and put up with adverts - it was bad enough with ITV. What's the betting it will 'magically' only be available on SS3 and/or 4 (rather than the more generally available SS1and 2).

Pure speculation on my part but I don't think there will be advert breaks during the actual race, Sky Spors have no history of interrupting live sports events (that don't have natural breaks like cricket or tennis) with ad breaks. Though I'm sure there will be plenty before and after the action.

However, I suspect you're right about the SS3 & 4 thing. I would think that SS3 or 4 will be made the 'home' of F1. This is not just out of spite (though that's part of it). Think about last Sunday. Sky were showing Premier League Football on SS1, International One day Cricket on SS2 so the Italian GP would have to have been on SS3 or 4.

I think that BTs plans to stream rather than transmit Sky Sports some time in the future, are probably the best chance of seeing much live F1 on Vision.

That's just my opinion, before anyone jumps on me for being negative. I'm with VM so only get SS1 & 2 in HD myself, so I'd rather it be on them myself. But I suspect I'll only be able to see it in SD.

[chrsa1981]

good point about ss3 and ss4, i had thought that might be the problem with the football season is on!
i think ill probably wait until bt are offering youview and see what the service is like as there seems to be alot of bad feedback about the service and box on other sites. thanks for your help though

[MostynDS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrsa1981

good point about ss3 and ss4, i had thought that might be the problem with the football season is on!
i think ill probably wait until bt are offering youview and see what the service is like as there seems to be alot of bad feedback about the service and box on other sites. thanks for your help though

You're welcome.

[Pure Genius]

there is literally 'nothing' to get about BT Vision.

[chrsa1981]

well....i agree and disagree.
I think BT could potentially be a good service however at the moment its not for me, but im keeping an eye on the thread and section as I may be interested in the future. Its a real shame that there is minimal promotion from BT which suggests to me they are waiting for youview before they try and push the service again.

The disapointing thing is that nobody I have spoken to at BT uses or knows alot about the service, and there is nowhere you can see a list of everything available on demand, only highlights.(which to me look a bit like lowlights!!)

The BT service is also really, really expensive so I dont really understand who its being marketed to. Everyone says oh Sky are so much money etc, Im currently paying £42 for everything except movies and sport, unlimited broadband and evening/weekend calls inc line rental, to go
with BT Vision, I would have to downgrade my broadband (i.e i would have a 10gb cap) lose alot of channels I watch regularly and then that would cost me £43 by the time you tag on line rental, PLUS my connection charge of £30 PLUS my ESPN viewing card of £10!!

At the moment its basically freeview (free once you buy a box) access to iplayer, 4od etc (also free all be it online but the BT version doesnt have the full archive) with a handful of unknown films and programmes that some reviews say are not updated that regularly. Its a shame as on demand is clearly the future but this service needs to offer more more pull before I start paying that much money out.

[Vennegoor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pure Genius

there is literally 'nothing' to get about BT Vision.

Helpful as ever.

[Vennegoor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrsa1981

The disapointing thing is that nobody I have spoken to at BT uses or knows alot about the service, and there is nowhere you can see a list of everything available on demand, only highlights.(which to me look a bit like lowlights!!)

All here:

http://www.btvision.bt.com/listings/on-demand/tv

[MostynDS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrsa1981

well....i agree and disagree.
I think BT could potentially be a good service however at the moment its not for me, but im keeping an eye on the thread and section as I may be interested in the future. Its a real shame that there is minimal promotion from BT which suggests to me they are waiting for youview before they try and push the service again.

The disapointing thing is that nobody I have spoken to at BT uses or knows alot about the service, and there is nowhere you can see a list of everything available on demand, only highlights.(which to me look a bit like lowlights!!)

The BT service is also really, really expensive so I dont really understand who its being marketed to. Everyone says oh Sky are so much money etc, Im currently paying £42 for everything except movies and sport, unlimited broadband and evening/weekend calls inc line rental, to go
with BT Vision, I would have to downgrade my broadband (i.e i would have a 10gb cap) lose alot of channels I watch regularly and then that would cost me £43 by the time you tag on line rental, PLUS my connection charge of £30 PLUS my ESPN viewing card of £10!!

At the moment its basically freeview (free once you buy a box) access to iplayer, 4od etc (also free all be it online but the BT version doesnt have the full archive) with a handful of unknown films and programmes that some reviews say are not updated that regularly. Its a shame as on demand is clearly the future but this service needs to offer more more pull before I start paying that much money out.

You make some very good points. What advertising there seems to be from BT at the moment seems to be concentrating on their £4 TV + catchup service. But I would have thought that the sort of customer that this would appeal to will already have signed up for Talk Talk's £3 Calls and broadband or BT's own Plusnet deals.

But to me, their rush to add these 'low value' customers means two things. Firstly they've got a warehouse full of unsold or returned black boxes that they've written down to little or no value and secondly that they are very unlikely to provide free YouView boxes to these, if any existing customers.

As for BTs website, you're right. It makes a good job of hiding any 'in depth' information. That's why it's so important that both positive and negative views of the service are tolerated and allowed to be heard in forums like these.

[Pure Genius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MostynDS

You make some very good points. What advertising there seems to be from BT at the moment seems to be concentrating on their £4 TV + catchup service. But I would have thought that the sort of customer that this would appeal to will already have signed up for Talk Talk's £3 Calls and broadband or BT's own Plusnet deals.

But to me, their rush to add these 'low value' customers means two things. Firstly they've got a warehouse full of unsold or returned black boxes that they've written down to little or no value and secondly that they are very unlikely to provide free YouView boxes to these, if any existing customers.

As for BTs website, you're right. It makes a good job of hiding any 'in depth' information. That's why it's so important that both positive and negative views of the service are tolerated and allowed to be heard in forums like these.

Great post.

Very few companies in any business (that wants to be successful) actively pursues the bottom end of the market.

BT need to understand the concept of 'value' not price.

[Pure Genius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrsa1981

well....i agree and disagree.
I think BT could potentially be a good service however at the moment its not for me, but im keeping an eye on the thread and section as I may be interested in the future. Its a real shame that there is minimal promotion from BT which suggests to me they are waiting for youview before they try and push the service again.

The disapointing thing is that nobody I have spoken to at BT uses or knows alot about the service, and there is nowhere you can see a list of everything available on demand, only highlights.(which to me look a bit like lowlights!!)

The BT service is also really, really expensive so I dont really understand who its being marketed to. Everyone says oh Sky are so much money etc, Im currently paying £42 for everything except movies and sport, unlimited broadband and evening/weekend calls inc line rental, to go
with BT Vision, I would have to downgrade my broadband (i.e i would have a 10gb cap) lose alot of channels I watch regularly and then that would cost me £43 by the time you tag on line rental, PLUS my connection charge of £30 PLUS my ESPN viewing card of £10!!

At the moment its basically freeview (free once you buy a box) access to iplayer, 4od etc (also free all be it online but the BT version doesnt have the full archive) with a handful of unknown films and programmes that some reviews say are not updated that regularly. Its a shame as on demand is clearly the future but this service needs to offer more more pull before I start paying that much money out.

exactly, if you live in a Sky network area, to get a service that is even vaguely similar you end up having to pay much more!

[Daffodil67]

Much of the talk re BT staff not knowing much about Vision I can relate to, I worked for Bt for over 8 years and took a training course for a week last summer on Vision and although I knew the technicalities behind it, I had no idea what was on there.

Anyway.... My Sky HD contract ended in May of this year and after a month of missing the Sky Plus factor on Freeview, I subscribed to BT Vision as I also, like the idea of TV on Demand and didnt always feel like checking the listings to set the 'record' button.

I am really pleased with it (Please note, i no longer work for BT) always something to watch whether it be on the replay or any of the 'On Demand' content. While the films may not be Sky Movies new release type, there's always been something for me to watch once a week or so such as an old film that I want to watch again, or a film I always meant to watch but didnt... Such as 'Girl, interrupted' etc.