[bananadude]

I've just moved into a new property. I'm previously a Virgin Media customer, and after several weeks of much frustration, angry phone calls and broken promises, I got nowhere with the installation of cable at my new property. Consequently I canceled my Virgin contract, with hints that it may be months before the issue could be resolved.

Anyway, that now leaves me requiring a solution. Sky seems attractive, as I've had experience with them before, and I know they offer a solution that will work - I can get TV, phone and broadband from them with little fuss.

But then I see this whole BT Vision thing. It looks good and seems very cheap to me (only £19/month for EVERYTHING if I'm reading their site correctly?!). Is it any good though? How does it compare to Sky? I want TV recording feature, so it would either be a Sky+ box, or whatever the BT Vision version is. Do they do HD programming? Anything else worth knowing?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks...

[urbanmiffed]

Personally if money is no object I'd go Sky. If however, you watch a few up to date films per month, can live with Freeview, want an acceptable PVR, and can deal with time shifted football ( I can, I've seen all but one of my chosen team's games this season ) go for BTVision.

Originally Posted by bananadude

I've just moved into a new property. I'm previously a Virgin Media customer, and after several weeks of much frustration, angry phone calls and broken promises, I got nowhere with the installation of cable at my new property. Consequently I canceled my Virgin contract, with hints that it may be months before the issue could be resolved.

Anyway, that now leaves me requiring a solution. Sky seems attractive, as I've had experience with them before, and I know they offer a solution that will work - I can get TV, phone and broadband from them with little fuss.

But then I see this whole BT Vision thing. It looks good and seems very cheap to me (only £19/month for EVERYTHING if I'm reading their site correctly?!). Is it any good though? How does it compare to Sky? I want TV recording feature, so it would either be a Sky+ box, or whatever the BT Vision version is. Do they do HD programming? Anything else worth knowing?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks...

The TV side really depends on your viewing needs. Sport, films SKY. General Vision.

Vision no HD yet, but if you have HDMI with an HD ready TV picture is better than Sky.

Broadband, you will here good and bad about both. In my West country area, My Sky man would not touch Sky. I use BT myself, have had problems, hopefully in the past.

Sorry to be vague, bit really the crunch is your program requirements.

The programming available isn't free by the way. There are packages available from £6 and a good sports package. Or you can "rent" programming on a one off basis. The picture via HDMI is superb, not HD of course, but it shows how good a DTT picture can be.

You could look at Top Up TV Anytime. That gives you limited extra choice for £9.99 a month. Programmes are "downloaded" to the Thomson box overnight, but be aware there are ongoing issues with the boxes reliability.

At the end of the day it depends on how and what you wish to view.

[bananadude]

I'm not overly fussed about TV, although it would be nice to get Sky1 back again. Few shows I miss. I'm not a MASSIVE TV watcher though, but I do need ability to record stuff, so either Sky+ or the BT Vision version will be required.

For reference, the package I've been offered on Sky is;
- Broadband Connect (8mb, 40GB monthly allowance)
- Phone Unlimited (free land line calls day and evening, and to 10 int'l destinations)
- TV (standard, no movies or sports)
- Sky+ box

All for £41/month, plus £11 BT line rental, plus £99 for the Sky+ box. Oh, and £30 installation.

I have a 37" Plasma with HDMI connection, so that is a factor to consider perhaps.

I'm in the south, near Portsmouth. Had Sky (just TV) in previous property about a year or so ago, and no problems. Not had any experience with their broadband or phone though. But I would imagine their isn't much between Sky and BT on this, it's the TV service where they differ.

[sirpipe]

bananadude,
That sounds very expensive for the Sky deal, particularly if you aren't overly fussed about TV. BT Vision is £30 one-off. There is nothing further to pay unless you choose one of their packages (e.g. £4 a month for football) or pay-to-view a film or TV programme from On Demand.

'Tis expensive just to get Sky 1 back.

Think long and hard about your purchase. If you do not watch a lot of tv, as i don't, Vision could be the way for you to go. Weigh up the pros and cons though.

[bananadude]

Originally Posted by sirpipe

bananadude,
That sounds very expensive for the Sky deal, particularly if you aren't overly fussed about TV. BT Vision is £30 one-off. There is nothing further to pay unless you choose one of their packages (e.g. £4 a month for football) or pay-to-view a film or TV programme from On Demand.

Is it though, as there's still line rental isn't there? And monthly charge for broadband? And what about phone calls? For the basic I guess you only get free weekend/evening calls? Although I've got a mobile for day use I guess. No point doubling up on free minutes on landline also if I'm not going to use them.

For a year, when you add it all up, (including BT Line rental, Sky+ box and installation) Sky works out at £62.75/month. S**t, that is alot when you look at it like that!!

[bananadude]

Originally Posted by Hunter2660

'Tis expensive just to get Sky 1 back.

Think long and hard about your purchase. If you do not watch a lot of tv, as i don't, Vision could be the way for you to go. Weigh up the pros and cons though.

What are the cons to BT Vision then, aside from maybe less channels? I only really watch the main Freeview channels to be honest, but may tune into other stuff now and again. I don't exactly miss hundreds of channels though!

Does the BT Vision recording box let you watch something else while recording something?

[Cajun_Moon]

Sounds to me as though you would better off w/BT Vision given you don't have any specific tv requirements.

As previously noted the picture quality over an HDMI connection from BTV is superb on my Bravia.

Overall I think BT offer a much more rounded service;
- free homehub and dect phone
- inclusive unlimited off peak calls
- second phone line [voip]
- Norton security package
- Digital Vault [although I have never got it to work reliably]

Price wise, my BT bill is normally about £35 all in. Any OnDemand use/subscriptions are extra.

Personally, the broadband service I get from BT is the best I've ever had. I don't want to open up a whole debate around this as I know different people have different experiences but for me, I've never had any problems at all in the past year since I moved to my current property and judging by other forums on here, this is more than can be said for thousands of others!

[sirpipe]

Originally Posted by bananadude

Does the BT Vision recording box let you watch something else while recording something?

Yes, it has two tuners. You can watch one channel and record another, or you can record two separate channels (if you are not watching TV).

[dragon2611]

Originally Posted by sirpipe

Yes, it has two tuners. You can watch one channel and record another, or you can record two separate channels (if you are not watching TV).

Can you watch recorded content whilst recording from both tuners? or can the HDD in the box not keep up with that?

Mines in the bedroom, i've recorded quite a bit of stuff but not actually gotten around to watching any of it yet

Originally Posted by bananadude

What are the cons to BT Vision then, aside from maybe less channels? I only really watch the main Freeview channels to be honest, but may tune into other stuff now and again. I don't exactly miss hundreds of channels though!

Does the BT Vision recording box let you watch something else while recording something?

For me there are no cons at all. I've only had the service two weeks, but i find it suits me perfectly.

[wildmind]

Originally Posted by dragon2611

Can you watch recorded content whilst recording from both tuners? or can the HDD in the box not keep up with that?

I do exactly that quite regularly so you most certainly can!

One thing I intend on doing ('cos mine is in the bedroom as well) is look at putting some rubber grommits on the screws to reduce noise as the HD is noisy to my ear (worse when in standby )

Should be possible to increase the soundproofing without increasing the heat so I plan on having a play at some point

[bananadude]

I've just spoken with BT and the only issue seems to be that they have to do a speed test on your line to determine if you can actually get BT Vision. Apparently, if it's 2mbs or less, you can't have it, as you need 2mb atleast all the time, and if it dips below that, it won't work properly. Apparently. Anyone else encountered this?

All seems a bit odd, as they said they'd have to put the order in before they could see if the line was fast enough!!

All in all, seems a good deal though. Phone + broadband for about £35/month, and £30 for the setup of BT Vision and that's it. Cheaper than Sky for sure, and I won't miss much from them.

[urbanmiffed]

If you can survive without SKy content you have probably made the right choice. What you should think about doing though is taking one of the subscription packages. For example, take the basic TV subscription, hammer it for a month to see how you get along with it, and if you find you don't really need it ditch it at the end of the month.

There is no minimum contract time on the packages

[villas123]

If you want hundreds of channels then go with sky
Please do not compair BT vision with Sky they are two entirley different packages.

You only get the channels free view offers the the option of Pay on demand for some additional content. you are not purchasing additional channels

If you are happy with freeview channels and your broad band from BT who will give you a Twin tuner PVR for the trouble then its a winner.

[dragon2611]

Originally Posted by wildmind

I do exactly that quite regularly so you most certainly can!

One thing I intend on doing ('cos mine is in the bedroom as well) is look at putting some rubber grommits on the screws to reduce noise as the HD is noisy to my ear (worse when in standby )

Should be possible to increase the soundproofing without increasing the heat so I plan on having a play at some point

I just turn mine off at the wall when I goto bed, that shuts it up

[wildmind]

Originally Posted by dragon2611

I just turn mine off at the wall when I goto bed, that shuts it up

That means getting out of bed though - and also missing some of the recordings we make.

I'm determined to get it silenced without resorting to anything major as I'm sure a few little tweaks here and there will do the trick

[dragon2611]

Originally Posted by wildmind

That means getting out of bed though - and also missing some of the recordings we make.

I'm determined to get it silenced without resorting to anything major as I'm sure a few little tweaks here and there will do the trick

Some people I believe have disconnected the fan with no ill effects.

[wildmind]

Already disconnected the fan - that isn't too bad... it's the HD whirring up all the time that makes the most noise.

[dragon2611]

Originally Posted by wildmind

Already disconnected the fan - that isn't too bad... it's the HD whirring up all the time that makes the most noise.

no idea why it doesn't spin it down when its in standby tbh.

My thompson used to.
And you could turn off the fan from the engineers menu

[wwwebber]

Originally Posted by wildmind

One thing I intend on doing ('cos mine is in the bedroom as well) is look at putting some rubber grommits on the screws to reduce noise as the HD is noisy to my ear (worse when in standby )

The HD is already cushioned by grommets - well mine is anyway.

Originally Posted by dragon2611

no idea why it doesn't spin it down when its in standby tbh.

My thompson used to.
And you could turn off the fan from the engineers menu

The vbox doesn't have a low power / standby mode - it just cuts off the signal to the TV & does not build a live TV buffer.

I know - Not very clever or eco friendly

[simon69c]

My v-box sometimes sounds like it is going into a defrag cycle when it goes into standby. When it does and I find it's disturbing me I just turn the V-box back to on and it normally shuts it up (stops the manic disk drive activity anyway).

[bananadude]

What kind of fan is it? If it's like a computer fan, you could buy a silent one and replace it. Easily done I imagine, if it's a standard size fan.

Could the HD even be replaced if that's the main noise culprit? You can do this on Sky+ boxes I believe.