[Chris_1981]

Hi all,

I currently have Sky but with their ever increasing costs (currently paying around £75pm tv + broadband no movies + no sport) and there being less and less I really want to watch I am shopping around.

I am not in a Virgin area so thats out of the question and I am intrigued by bt vision or talktalk.

I have a couple of questions I havent been able to get answers to though (even from the help-chat who basically told me the service was "like freeview just with a different name") which are really going to help me make the decision.

It seems that BT's top package (18 channels, full vision options, bt sport) is only available with an older Vision+ box which I believed was meant to be inferior to the youview one? why is this as talktalk offer their extra channels through the youview platform. I dont want to sign up then find I have outdated equipment no longer supported or something.

Is there a proper list of whats available on vision? is it fairly recent stuff or just repeats that have been on hundreds of times?

Reading things on twitter etc, the service sounds very unreliable and fails to record or reboots (reminds me of my early days with the disasterous topuptv anytime!), can anyone confirm if there are paticular reasons or is the service fairly unreliable?

thanks chris

[VisionMan1]

Can you get fibre? And if you can't, whats your line speed, Chris?

[Chris_1981]

apparently im in a fibre area, (dont have it at the moment but would upgrade if wasn't too expensive)
talktalk apparently did a test on my line and it was 7mb

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

apparently im in a fibre area, (dont have it at the moment but would upgrade if wasn't too expensive)
talktalk apparently did a test on my line and it was 7mb

Ah, good. And heres the extra internet channels package -

http://www.productsandservices.bt.co...extra-channels

Plus BT Sport 1&2 HD, ESPN HD, BBC 1&2 HD, ITV HD and CH4 HD too. And my service has been rock solid.

[Chris_1981]

yeah I have seen the package I just dont understand why I would be given an older spec (inferior) box rather than Youview to get their top package? will this still be supported in 6 months time?

Are these channels currently live for people and can anyone speak for their reliablity?

Also I have seen loads of people claim its an unreliable box as skips recordings and locks up frequently. I had the same when topuptv anytime launched and junked it so I dont want to go through the same hassle again.

[Hup_73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

apparently im in a fibre area, (dont have it at the moment but would upgrade if wasn't too expensive)
talktalk apparently did a test on my line and it was 7mb

As VM1 has alluded to, if you upgrade to Infinity then you'll be able to receive the extra channels, BT sports & ESPN through a YouView box, once the next youview update happens (will be at some point over the next six weeks or so). You'll also get all the on demand films and stuff. The only thing you won't be able to get is sky sports.

So, if you're not interested in Sky Sports then I would recommend the youview route personally - you might have to wait a few weeks to get the next update but the box is better, HD tuners, fancy catch up service and it'll get more upgrades, added apps and features over the coming months.

Personally I'd love to move across to youview but I want sky sports still so I need to stick to the Vision box for now.

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hup_73

As VM1 has alluded to, if you upgrade to Infinity then you'll be able to receive the extra channels, BT sports & ESPN through a YouView box, once the next youview update happens (will be at some point over the next six weeks or so). You'll also get all the on demand films and stuff. The only thing you won't be able to get is sky sports.

So, if you're not interested in Sky Sports then I would recommend the youview route personally - you might have to wait a few weeks to get the next update but the box is better, HD tuners, fancy catch up service and it'll get more upgrades, added apps and features over the coming months.

Personally I'd love to move across to youview but I want sky sports still so I need to stick to the Vision box for now.

Yeah, me too. And I totally agree with the rest of what you said too.

[Chris_1981]

Thanks for the reply, so are you saying I can get these channels with the Youview box after this update? :-/ the BT website doesnt let me order that way so I guess I will have to wait,to see (I think im in contract with Sky till early September so that suits me ok) As I said though I know the promises of Jam tomorrow through the early tutv stuff so I might give it a few months to see what people are saying rather than rushing in.

im not too fussed on sky sports, the only sport i really follow closely is f1, which I know wont be on bt vision but paying nearly £900 a year to watch it isnt worth it (the saving is the ticket to the british go next year and then some!) but I would happily watch the odd Premier game and the Moto Gp

can either of you comment on the reliability of the service of both the streaming channels and the vision+ box?

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

Thanks for the reply, so are you saying I can get these channels with the Youview box after this update? :-/ the BT website doesnt let me order that way so I guess I will have to wait,to see (I think im in contract with Sky till early September so that suits me ok) As I said though I know the promises of Jam tomorrow through the early tutv stuff so I might give it a few months to see what people are saying rather than rushing in.

im not too fussed on sky sports, the only sport i really follow closely is f1, which I know wont be on bt vision but paying nearly £900 a year to watch it isnt worth it (the saving is the ticket to the british go next year and then some!) but I would happily watch the odd Premier game and the Moto Gp

can either of you comment on the reliability of the service of both the streaming channels and the vision+ box?

Rock solid. And the picture quality of the free channels I get are well above that of Freeview SD / HD. In fact the HD channels at least match my Sky HD box.

And to be honest, Chris, if one solely used social media to judge how good or bad a service provider was, you wouldn't touch any of them with a barge-pole.

[Chris_1981]

lol thats perfectly true I just wanted to get some views on it before going ahead haha. Especially when I was trying to understand the difference between the vision plus and the youview

I do need to get a new arial installed anyway before I go ahead but that shouldnt be too much problem

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

lol thats perfectly true I just wanted to get some views on it before going ahead haha. Especially when I was trying to understand the difference between the vision plus and the youview

I do need to get a new arial installed anyway before I go ahead but that shouldnt be too much problem

Well, If you want fibre, go for YouView from BT. But if you want copper BB, go with YouView from TalkTalk.

[Hup_73]

To echo VM1's comment, I've recently upgraded to the streaming channels and have been really impressed with the picture quality - obviously you get quite a few channels in HD with it, but even the SD channels are top quality.

[Chris_1981]

what are the films on vision-film like? are they fairly recent or straight to dvd things?

[victorslot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VisionMan1

Well, If you want fibre, go for YouView from BT. But if you want copper BB, go with YouView from TalkTalk.

All good advice but if you want BTSport there is no indication as yet that it will be available on TalkTalk.

[victorslot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

what are the films on vision-film like? are they fairly recent or straight to dvd things?

Personally I find them quite disappointing though am not a huge film fan anyway. The Free ones have mostly all been on the likes of Freeview some time ago and the paid for ones not the latest releases with a limited choice. Don't think you get the choice you did on Sky.

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by victorslot

All good advice but if you want BTSport there is no indication as yet that it will be available on TalkTalk.

Ta. But Chris has already stated he only really watches F1, not the footy.

I think they'll get it. But not at launch, though (and TT said that, not me ).

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

what are the films on vision-film like? are they fairly recent or straight to dvd things?

They are old. No up to date stuff. They're all pay for. And expensive too. £2.50 for SD or an eye-watering £3.50 for HD.

I've only ever ordered Prometheus on the HD PPV service. Wish I hadn't bothered.

[Chris_1981]

Ok thanks for all the information, certainly a lot to consider.

Just to clarify then that there are currently 2 boxes on offer, YouView and Vision+, however from what I gather the next update should mean the Youview box has all the functions of the Vision+ box, only no Sky Sports?
That in itself is no big deal as said I wont really be interested in Sky Sports aside from missing Sky F1 but the cost outweighs the benefit. (besides I understand BT have Moto GP and Indycar as well as stuff I know is on Eurosport)
Thats a shame to learn that the films are all pay for as they imply that "Vision Film" is free stuff, again im not big on films but my wife is.

Its a real shame that BT wont promote what their on demand content is which gives the impression its rubbish. The guy on the chat didnt seem to know anything about the service anyway which doesnt give great confidence.

Im kind of willing to believe that the stuff I read on twitter about faults and unreliability are not necessarily a true reflection of the userbase,

[VisionMan1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_1981

Ok thanks for all the information, certainly a lot to consider.

Just to clarify then that there are currently 2 boxes on offer, YouView and Vision+, however from what I gather the next update should mean the Youview box has all the functions of the Vision+ box, only no Sky Sports?
That in itself is no big deal as said I wont really be interested in Sky Sports aside from missing Sky F1 but the cost outweighs the benefit. (besides I understand BT have Moto GP and Indycar as well as stuff I know is on Eurosport)
Thats a shame to learn that the films are all pay for as they imply that "Vision Film" is free stuff, again im not big on films but my wife is.

Its a real shame that BT wont promote what their on demand content is which gives the impression its rubbish. The guy on the chat didnt seem to know anything about the service anyway which doesnt give great confidence.

Im kind of willing to believe that the stuff I read on twitter about faults and unreliability are not necessarily a true reflection of the userbase,

No no. Vision Film is free. Its just old content, thats all. And much available for download in HD, too. Like Kill Bill, From Dusk Till Dawn etc.

http://www.btvision.bt.com/recommendations/film/

It ain't no Sky Movies, but its decent for an included service.

[Hup_73]

You're right Chris, BT Sport have signed a five year deal to show MotoGP, plus they've also got the Indycar and NASCAR rights.

The free selection of films in Vision Film is poor, although you get the odd gem that's worth watching - the selection in Box Office is very good and bang up to date but will cost £2.50+ a movie (but I only watch one a month normally so it's perfect for me personally!).

If fact I so rarely watch the on demand selection that I got rid of it recently and went onto Essential Extra - so I upgraded to Infinity, upgraded to the 18 extra channels plus get the BT Sport channels in HD... and yet I'm actually am now paying less than I was before. I'm a very happy man with the BT service at the moment!!!

[Chris_1981]

Ok I think I have pretty much made my mind up to get BT (not sure why as Talk Talk has more of the channels streaming but something just tells me not to go with them). But I am going to wait until the full content is available on the Youview box and has been established so any bugs are ironed out.
ill keep an eye on the forums and see what develops