BT Vision

[Hightower]

So we decided to ditch Sky after no end of troubles trying to upgrade to HD - they musn't have wanted our money....

 

As an alternative we have ordered BT Vision. It's cheap, allows you to watch what you want when you want, and so far has had much better customer service than Sky. Anyhow, our box arrives this week and I'm actually quite excited about getting it in.

 

Even the aerial guy said BT Vision would be a match for Sky in a year or two. The only thing we are going to miss is Sky Sports, as we watched football constantly. That said, we have ordered ESPN so we will still have some football coverage.

 

Anyhow, long story short, we chose BT Vision a bit blindly - I know it might seem a bit too late now, but can anybody tell us what it is like (quality, show available etc etc) - more in anticipation than anything else.

 

Thanks,

[Hightower]

No-one got it then?!

[matt40k]

Had it for 3 months, as it was free, with 1 month contract. Cancelled it when they wanted to start charging. Didn't seem that great. Movies were expensive and the limited time was annoying. It'll be alright if it was include in your expensive broadband package, like BT openzone.

[Hightower]

Had it for 3 months, as it was free, with 1 month contract. Cancelled it when they wanted to start charging. Didn't seem that great. Movies were expensive and the limited time was annoying. It'll be alright if it was include in your expensive broadband package, like BT openzone.

 

I know they do PPV, but we're paying £12 a month which apparently gets us all the TV, movies, music & kids, along with free ESPN.

 

Without that, it does seem very expensive for PPV.

[DaveMurphy]

I had BT Vision for 3 months, then got rid and went back to Sky+ HD - It just wasnt worth paying for.

[localzuk]

I've got BT Vision. Love it for the TV shows (i love comedy, so a constant supply of on demand shows is good). Movies are a little pricey, yes, but if you're super lazy like me, i'd rather get them than wander up the road to the dvd shop. And my movie watching habits don't call for me to rent as many as any of the postal service ones offer.

 

It wouldn't be for everyone though. It is still a relatively new service.

[matt40k]

Suppose to be able to get your BT vision's stuff on your XBOX soon.

[Hightower]

I've got BT Vision. Love it for the TV shows (i love comedy, so a constant supply of on demand shows is good). Movies are a little pricey, yes, but if you're super lazy like me, i'd rather get them than wander up the road to the dvd shop. And my movie watching habits don't call for me to rent as many as any of the postal service ones offer.

 

It wouldn't be for everyone though. It is still a relatively new service.

 

So you musn't subscribe to the movies pack - we've opted to subscribe (FULL HOUSE it's called) and we get them free. It's £12 a month but seems well worth it to me.

 

Is there any lag when watching the shows? How many of the movies are in HD? What's the general quality of TV shows (i.e. does it look like a normal tele with freeview or can you tell it's streamed online?).

 

Thanks,

[binky]

Suppose to be able to get your BT vision's stuff on your XBOX soon.

 

I doubt it. This was announced years ago (in the days of the old dashboard!) but never came to fruition.

[localzuk]

So you musn't subscribe to the movies pack - we've opted to subscribe (FULL HOUSE it's called) and we get them free. It's £12 a month but seems well worth it to me.

 

Is there any lag when watching the shows? How many of the movies are in HD? What's the general quality of TV shows (i.e. does it look like a normal tele with freeview or can you tell it's streamed online?).

 

Thanks,

 

Hmm... Might look into that actually, it would make sense!

 

I've only had lag once - and that was due to them actually having technical problems.

 

HD, I'd say all new movies going on are in HD now (as an option, they also have the same ones in SD). Older movies not so many. Quality is fine I'd say, better than freeview in most cases, although there can occasionally be a bit of motion blurring but this is very very rare...

[localzuk]

I doubt it. This was announced years ago (in the days of the old dashboard!) but never came to fruition.

 

No, it was announced last year that MS and BT were teaming up to make the Xbox 360 a BT Vision client also. The BT Vision boxes are running Windows anyway, so there is very little that needs doing to manage this.

[Hightower]

Thanks for your help localzuk - really looking forward to getting it in now!

[RabbieBurns]

How does BT Vision work? Do they install a 2nd ADSL line that is actually fast enough to stream video between 6 and midnight?

[localzuk]

How does BT Vision work? Do they install a 2nd ADSL line that is actually fast enough to stream video between 6 and midnight?

 

No. It is on your single ADSL line, BT Vision traffic is QoS'd to ensure it gets priority over everything else on their network.

[Hightower]

No. It is on your single ADSL line, BT Vision traffic is QoS'd to ensure it gets priority over everything else on their network.

 

I think he was being sarcastic! But never-the-less you answered his question hehe.

[RabbieBurns]

I was having a dig at BT but didnt know the answer, so cheers.

 

I cant imagine what quality the "HD" content would be, streamed over an (up to)8meg line. When I stream a 1080p movie locally from my media center it runs generally at about 15mbit/s, and thats a x264 compressed mkv file..

[localzuk]

I think he was being sarcastic! But never-the-less you answered his question hehe.

 

Indeed. But I'm not in the mood for such frivolity. *Wanders off grumbling at his software for not working*

[localzuk]

I was having a dig at BT but didnt know the answer, so cheers.

 

I cant imagine what quality the "HD" content would be, streamed over an (up to)8meg line. When I stream a 1080p movie locally from my media center it runs generally at about 15mbit/s, and thats a x264 compressed mkv file..

 

I don't know about this, as I've never used their HD content (I don't own a HD tv, and won't be doing for some time, my 100Hz Panasonic 'GIANT BOX' TV does the job perfectly well )

[Hightower]

I set up the new BT Vision box last night, and guess what?! I love it! So much too choose from, all there to watch when I want, with no annoying adverts! I think tonight I may be catching up on Lost! Or maybe even watching The Wire - people have been saying I should watch it. Or maybe I'll even watch last weeks Come Dine With Me that I missed! The world, is now my oyster friends!

 

Maybe I'll read the Lost Symbol though..... Only been waiting for it for about 2/3 months!

 

I cant imagine what quality the "HD" content would be, streamed over an (up to)8meg line. When I stream a 1080p movie locally from my media center it runs generally at about 15mbit/s, and thats a x264 compressed mkv file..

 

HD Content is not streamed on BT Vision (as of this moment at least) - it must be fully downloaded to the HDD before it can be viewed. Might seem a bit of a pain, and probably is, but at least this way they can guarantee it is HD quality.

[StewartKnight]

We had BT Vision for a while. Hated it! Went back to SkyHD.

 

The QoS is nonsense, it just didn't work in the evenings, or stuttered when it would finally agree to letting you watch a programme you'd paid for.

 

Plus you're tied to BT broadband to get it to work!

[webman]

So how long do you have to wait between telling the box "I want to watch this programme" and actually starting to watch it?

[Hightower]

Granted, it was 10 o'clock last night when we were testing it so I suppose the true test will come tonight when I get in. But last night I was pressing 'play', and waiting no more than 3 or 4 seconds before the video started.

[localzuk]

We had BT Vision for a while. Hated it! Went back to SkyHD.

 

The QoS is nonsense, it just didn't work in the evenings, or stuttered when it would finally agree to letting you watch a programme you'd paid for.

 

Plus you're tied to BT broadband to get it to work!

 

Never had that stuttering problem. What speeds are you getting with your broadband?

 

So how long do you have to wait between telling the box "I want to watch this programme" and actually starting to watch it?

 

A couple of seconds with SD content. As I said, never tried the HD stuff though.

[Hightower]

We had BT Vision for a while. Hated it! Went back to SkyHD.

 

The QoS is nonsense, it just didn't work in the evenings, or stuttered when it would finally agree to letting you watch a programme you'd paid for.

 

Plus you're tied to BT broadband to get it to work!

 

We already had BT Broadband, and have been with them for 2 years - more than happy with the service and speeds.

 

As for lagging, I can't comment as our box was only installed last night - but the way I see it is surely they can't sell something that simply doesn't work. If it does lag at peak times then it will be going straight back to BT, but I honestly can't see it happening.

[dirtydog]

hi mate,

Weve had it for about a year now and we really like it. Dont use the movies much but the on demand content is great, TV replay is sweet too as there are no ads! Ocassionaly the stream drops out which is a bit annoying but overall its a great package!