[kingdave]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a second hand or nearly new TT YouView box on eBay so I can get my pause and rewind back I lost when I dumped Sky, but I have some questions about the abilities of the box:

- Can I reorder the channels? I want to move BBC1, 2, ITV and C4 HD variants to channels 1-4

- Some of the listings on eBay say that it'll get rid of the ads for you on recordings. Is that true, and if so, how?

- My router is someway from the TV. Apart from laying a LAN cable around the back of the sofa, and without using homeplugs, what is the easiest and cheapest way to connect it to the internet?

- With the iPlayer capability, does it have the same functionality as the iPlayer website where you can start the programme that is already playing from the beginning if you join mid way through?

- Any word on when the Android app will be released?

- What is the picture quality like on the ITV and C4 on demand services? Is it as poor quality as the web and smart TV apps versions?

- Are there any other cool or special features I should know about, other than the ability to go backwards on the EPG to watch a programme?

Thanks!

[simola]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingdave

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a second hand or nearly new TT YouView box on eBay so I can get my pause and rewind back I lost when I dumped Sky, but I have some questions about the abilities of the box:

- Can I reorder the channels? I want to move BBC1, 2, ITV and C4 HD variants to channels 1-4

- Some of the listings on eBay say that it'll get rid of the ads for you on recordings. Is that true, and if so, how?

- My router is someway from the TV. Apart from laying a LAN cable around the back of the sofa, and without using homeplugs, what is the easiest and cheapest way to connect it to the internet?

- With the iPlayer capability, does it have the same functionality as the iPlayer website where you can start the programme that is already playing from the beginning if you join mid way through?

- Any word on when the Android app will be released?

- What is the picture quality like on the ITV and C4 on demand services? Is it as poor quality as the web and smart TV apps versions?

- Are there any other cool or special features I should know about, other than the ability to go backwards on the EPG to watch a programme?

Thanks!

The ones I can help with;
1. No, you can only hide channels. I believe this functionality is in the pipeline but not sure whether you'll receive the update if you're not a TT customer or signed up for YV with TT.
2. This isn't true. I assume it means you can skip the adds in 1 minute chunks.
3. I use homeplugs so can't comment. Worth mentioning that the devolo plugs I had wouldnt work so I purchased TT's own brand.
4. Not sure.
5. A quick Google suggests this could be due any time.
6. I've used ITV Player and I'll say it's average at best.
7. I like the search function as it search's the EPG and on demand services which is great.

[David Waine]

1. Agreed. Channels can be hidden, if desired.
2. There is an advert skip function that lets you jump through the commercial breaks in recordings by predetermined steps.
3. So what is wrong with home plugs? I use them without problems.
4. Don't know.
5. ITV Player never looks that good on anything, but it doesn't look any worse on YV.
6. If you are a TalkTalk subscriber, you get the TalkTalk Player, with loads of free stuff thrown in and optional pay channels.

[kingdave]

Thanks for your responses guys.

I don't really want to use homeplugs as my TV isn't actually that close to the power socket anyway so I'd still have to have a LAN cable along the floor to plug into the homeplug then another one along the floor to where my router is plugged in.

Was looking for more of a wireless option to minimise the number of cables lying around.

Shame you can't move the channels around really. I would much prefer to have BBC1 HD on 1 like I have on my Freeview TV.

[simola]

Re point 3, it was discussed in the TT forum here;
http://talktalkmembers.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=87898

and they suggest this device will work;
http://www.maplin.co.uk/netgear-univ...adaptor-475112

[David Waine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingdave

Thanks for your responses guys.

Shame you can't move the channels around really. I would much prefer to have BBC1 HD on 1 like I have on my Freeview TV.

I think this will happen eventually anyway as everybody gradually switches to HD - although when is another question. I am not happy about the current location of the HD channels either - right next to the adult channels, which is a good reason to hide them, of course, if you have young kids.

You could always use an extension cable to move your power socket closer to the TV, which would make homeplugs a viable option.

[Adrian.Baggott]

I have hidden all the adult channels and radio, this means the 4 HD channels are right above BBC1 on the EPG, so it goes - 101-104 HD then 1,2,3,4,5 etc,

[mac2708]

Interesting thread here http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1792624 in particular post 3 which says

"This person that's selling it does realise that they don't actually own a Talk Talk provided Youview recorder until the end of the contract term, usually 18 months?. And given that it only launched a couple of months ago, they are likely to receive a hefty bill from TT if they cancel their broadband/Youview service in the meantime as TT will bill them for the cost of the box itself plus a cancellation fee"

Not your concern though

[kingdave]

Well, I went and bought a 320GB TT YV box from eBay and it arrived this morning. Been playing around with it for a couple of hours, and so far I'm pretty impressed.

The SD picture on BBC1 shows are marked improvement from the tuner in my TV and the HD picture is pretty good too.

I've done a quick temporary router with "the longest LAN cable I could find so its lying across the living room floor" job to test the on demand features and I like it. Pretty seamless loading of past programmes from the guide. Using the actual players themselves directly I find them pretty quick and intuitive.

Got some shows set up to record later today so we'll see what they are like, but I like the pause/rewind feature.

My only criticism, and its the same one I was asking about originally, is the inability to move the channels around so I'm having to remember 101 for HD instead of just 1 - no biggie though but I hope they let us swap around in a future software release.

I seem to be pressing OK a lot though to confirm a channel choice. Is that normal? Can it not just change if I type the number in? Also, it looks as though I have to be really quick at typing the channel numbers in when in the guide. For example if I don't type the 0 in quickly after the 1 (and I mean a fraction of a second!) it thinks I'm looking for a channel beginning with a 0.

Would be nice to have all the other OD stuff or the option to buy streams like Sky1 but I'm not with TT so that's not going to happen! And would like some more OD apps, namely Netflix and LoveFilm.

Question: How do I fast forward 1 min at a time on a prerecorded show to skip the ads?

[David Waine]

Press the chapter jump button (like the fast forward, but with a little vertical line against the two triangles). Most of the time it works perfectly well, but there is a bug in the software that makes it get stuck in this mode if you try to do it too quickly, so you have to turn the box off and on again to clear it. This bug is a known issue and is scheduled to be sorted out in a forthcoming software update.

[gomezz]

This was fixed in *last* month's update (new update being rolled out today which amongst other things fixes the problem with some people not getting the last update even now). And you did not have to be anywhere near as drastic as turning the box off and on again. Press the >| key again and it will stop.

[kingdave]

Hmmm.... doesn't seem fixed on mine and I did a forced update as soon as I connected it to the net.

Just been trying it out and if I press >| it'll skip a minute, if I wait a few seconds then do it again it starts jumping 1 minute or so a time until I press something else.

[David Waine]

The Huawei boxes tend to be updated later than the Humaxes for some reason, so I don't think the TalkTalk versions have received the update yet.. It isn't a great problem, though. Just leave a slight pause between presses to avoid triggering it.

[kingdave]

So, do the updates come direct from YouView or the manufacturers or the TV service that provided the box?

If we think of it in Android terms, are YouView boxes the equivalent of Nexus devices that get an update straight from Google, or are they an HTC and a Samsung device that gets updates from HTC or Samsung (and then only when Voda, O2 etc say so)?

I presume that once you've plugged it into a non BT or TT broadband line (depending on the branding) and it becomes a vanilla box it has exactly the same interface? There's no manufacturer overlay to the look and feel?

[David Waine]

The boxes are updated separately, so I suppose the manufacturers do it, although presumably YouView oversees it all because the updates appear to be the same in each case. You can set the box to update automatically, as I am sure you know.

[DRHOWELLS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Waine

The boxes are updated separately, so I suppose the manufacturers do it, although presumably YouView oversees it all because the updates appear to be the same in each case. You can set the box to update automatically, as I am sure you know.

No, Youview sends out the YouView updates. Although, the ISPs and manufacturers can send out specific updates to their boxes if need be. BT and Talk often send out updates. BT boxes are the same as the retail Humax boxes, so it is easier for them to send out updates than Talk Talk who have their own box, made by Huawei

[kingdave]

Another question for you all...

Flicking through the high numbered channels on Freeview you get stuff like Sports channel and Connect etc. There is sod all on them at the minute and they work fine on my Samsung TV but why not with YV?

It just says I do not have a compatible Freeview HD box. Would've thought the YV box was one of the most up to date boxes on the market. If it can stream stuff over the web from iPlayer or (if you pay for it) Sky etc why can't it stream this guff?

No great loss, but intrigued as to why.

Thanks

[DRHOWELLS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingdave

Another question for you all...

Flicking through the high numbered channels on Freeview you get stuff like Sports channel and Connect etc. There is sod all on them at the minute and they work fine on my Samsung TV but why not with YV?

It just says I do not have a compatible Freeview HD box. Would've thought the YV box was one of the most up to date boxes on the market. If it can stream stuff over the web from iPlayer or (if you pay for it) Sky etc why can't it stream this guff?

No great loss, but intrigued as to why.

Thanks

The simple answer is that they haven't developed the box to do this yet. With all of the changes they are making for the BT streaming channels, ready for the summer, I wouldn't be surprised if they came then or soon after, because the work is probably quite related.

[kingdave]

Got another question about my new YouView box!

When you series link something to record, does it remember from series to series?

Lets say I was recording The Fall on BBC1 HD, if they commission series 2, would my box auto record this when it is shown?

Also got a slight niggle with the search and scan banner - it seems to operate in the opposite way to all the other guide functions and it is taking some getting used to. If you are in the guide and press the up/down/left/right buttons in the centre down will take you to the next channel (i.e. 1 > 2 > 3 etc) and up will take you to the previous channel (i.e. 3 > 2 > 1) where as in the scan banner up is down and down is up! Maybe I'm mistaken, but it seems to work the opposite way to say the Sky remote.

[DRHOWELLS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingdave

Got another question about my new YouView box!

When you series link something to record, does it remember from series to series?

Lets say I was recording The Fall on BBC1 HD, if they commission series 2, would my box auto record this when it is shown?

No, it doesn't. I requested this feature myself. BT used to do this because they kept information about viewing habbits on their servers and could track from series to series.

Most series have a different numerical code (which is used for series linking) for each season, so on a standard YouView box, this cannot currently work.

[muppetman11]

Anybody having issues with remote record on Youview ? My requests from the iPhone app don't appear to be reaching my box.

[iiyama17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Anybody having issues with remote record on Youview ? My requests from the iPhone app don't appear to be reaching my box.

I found my requests took around 20 minutes to arrive on my Youview box so, if you haven't already, give it a little time.

[muppetman11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iiyama17

I found my requests took around 20 minutes to arrive on my Youview box so, if you haven't already, give it a little time.

Thanks for the reply , I've managed to get to the bottom of it. It would appear that for some bizarre reason my device wasn't registered in the device management section of the settings however it had previously been so I'm not quite sure why it was missing anyway all appears to be working again.

[kingdave]

The red button on an HD channel now appears to be working on my box!

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingdave

The red button on an HD channel now appears to be working on my box!

Its for Wimbledon and Glastonbury, kingdave.

Up to three streams will be available through the Red Button for viewers on cable and satellite (Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media) and Digital Terrestrial TV (BT Vision, Freeview or YouView).


http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/med...-coverage.html