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What's the picture quality like? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Manchester
Posts: 1,314
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What's the picture quality like?
Hi,
I already have a BT branded YouView box (although my BB is from Sky) so I'm looking at moving over to BT as they are offering Infinity 1 fibre for £12.50 per month whereas Sky want £20 per month from me unless I am a new customer. I've been through the package selection process on the BT site to get an idea of the costs and they are offering a free "YouView Lite" type box, free access to BT TV including BT Sport and AMC and if I pay an extra £3 per month I get 20 so called premium channels. Since I may make use of the free Sport and AMC channels I'm interested to hear what the picture quality is like. I'm not too interested in paying the extra cash for the HD versions but if the standard ones come free with the package I may as well watch from time to time. So is the picture quality on these SD channels any good? Is it as poor as some of the OTA channels on Freeview?! (I appreciate these channels are delivered via the net, just looking to see how they compare to existing channels) Do BT hide the channels I don't subscribe to, or would my EPG be full of a load of channels that when I click on them I am asked to upgrade? Thanks |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Dumbarton,Scotland
Posts: 229
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They also do most of their extra channels in HD for £4 extra. Also youview let's you hide any channels from the EPG using the yellow button.
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,774
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Quote:
So is the picture quality on these SD channels any good? Is it as poor as some of the OTA channels on Freeview?! (I appreciate these channels are delivered via the net, just looking to see how they compare to existing channels)
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Annandale Dumfriesshire
Posts: 145
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As good as standard tv pictures if not better. Also catch players are very good. Had BT youview just over a year, no complaints though I would say you need BT infinity or a good broadband speed down. (ADSL i was lucky to get 2 meg down, now with Infinity 1 I get 49 meg down)
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 794
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Quote:
I can't comment specifically on YouView, but generally IPTV channels like this are lower quality than broadcast ones - but there's not much in it.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Scotland, Dunfermline Area
Posts: 10,698
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I find the BT IPTV channels to be as good as some of the Freeview channels.
The IPTV HD channels are as good as BBC1 HD if not better. I try and watch HD versions of channels and programmes whenever I can. 70% of my TV viewing is now HD. Darren |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 69
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Picture Quality
Quote:
I can't comment specifically on YouView, but generally IPTV channels like this are lower quality than broadcast ones - but there's not much in it.
The picture quality is not lower than broadcast ones at all. TBH i've seen HD on Sky, Virgin & on BT TV (which i have) and the BT picture seems more vibrant and sharper than the others. Plus you have the added benefit of the picture not breaking up or freezing in bad weather... |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Redditch Worcs
Posts: 17,287
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Quote:
The picture quality is not lower than broadcast ones at all. TBH i've seen HD on Sky, Virgin & on BT TV (which i have) and the BT picture seems more vibrant and sharper than the others. Plus you have the added benefit of the picture not breaking up or freezing in bad weather...
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,774
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Quote:
The picture quality is not lower than broadcast ones at all. TBH i've seen HD on Sky, Virgin & on BT TV (which i have) and the BT picture seems more vibrant and sharper than the others. Plus you have the added benefit of the picture not breaking up or freezing in bad weather...
- even the mini-dishes are sized so you shouldn't have problems unless the weather is particularly extreme, and no more than once or twice in a bad year.Like Graham, I also make sure my dish is within 'brush reach', in case the dish gets deeply covered in exceptional snow
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: East Anglia
Posts: 1,942
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Quote:
The picture quality is not lower than broadcast ones at all. TBH i've seen HD on Sky, Virgin & on BT TV (which i have) and the BT picture seems more vibrant and sharper than the others. Plus you have the added benefit of the picture not breaking up or freezing in bad weather...
I am on the lower speed Infinity package ( quite a long way from the cabinet ) and when it works properly BT TV is fine but the sudden drops in speed are really cheesing me off now. Phoning BT customer support is a highly frustrating experience and any improvement to the stability of my line that the phone calls achieve is only temporary. My line will not support BT TV in 4K and if the problems with the dropouts don't improve soon then I will have to reluctantly go back to Sky. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: S6 1SW WTID UTO FTB
Posts: 6,326
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Quote:
On the contrary, BT's standard definition IPTV channels are higher quality than their equivalents via aerial and satellite.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 112
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I recently took the plunge after one too many price increases at Sky. I'd been a subscriber since subs first began and have never really been given any decent offers over that period. I was nervous about how BTTV would look and how easy to record etc.
So, to answer the question, yes the SD picture quality in my opinion is better than elsewhere, HD picture quality is on a par with other offerings and Sports Ultra is fantastic, just wish there was more of it. The recordings so far have been fine, although it missed a minute at the start of one the other day, not sure if you can add padding? The only bit that has been a let down is Sky Sports 1 and 2 in SD, these don't appear to be as good as the other SD channels, probably to make you pay extra for HD. My router (HH4 Infinity 2) has always been a pain though, even before I had the TV services and needs a regular reboot, have signed up for HH6 so hopefully that will improve things. Sorry for the waffle!! |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Oxfordshire
Posts: 2,942
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Quote:
Yup i was going to say this as well, the BT SD channels are miles better than Freeview.
Plusnet Youview here with the HD channels. On the occasions I watch the SD channels they are much better than Freeview I'd say, and the HD channels are pretty much on a par with what I had with Sky and probably a little better than Freeview HD. |
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- even the mini-dishes are sized so you shouldn't have problems unless the weather is particularly extreme, and no more than once or twice in a bad year.