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YouView brings The Most Extraordinary Way To Watch TV (Part 2)

10/4/2013 6:18:02 PM

Apps and mobile devices

This is an area that’s relatively new for YouView. In fact, at the moment, there’s just a single remote record app, for iOS only. You have to set up your phone, following instructions and generating a code on your set-top box in order to pair the two together. Once done, you can set recordings from anywhere in the world. It's handy, but basic.

YouView’s apps on mobile

YouView’s apps on mobile

How to get it

If you have Freeview, you can get YouView. All you need to do is buy a compatible set-top box or sign up for a service such as BT Vision or TalkTalk TV. The box needs to be connected to your internet connection, too. The models we’ve seen don't support wireless, but HomePlug will do the job if your router isn’t positioned close to your box.

There’s no cost for the basic service, but you’ll have to pay from $7.5  a month if you sign up to BT’s or TalkTalk’s services. This fee usually includes a YouView box, so you can get a good deal and save money on the cost of a PVR by signing up for such a service.

Verdict

YouView’s premium live content is not as good as Sky’s or Virgin Media’s, but once you’ve got the box there’s no additional cost. Freeview HD has plenty of good content, and YouView’s on-demand services are brilliantly integrated into the box, plus there’s more and more premium internet content coming online. With BT and TalkTalk you can add some premium on-demand content, too, further expanding what’s available. If you don’t want or need an expensive monthly TV subscription, YouView is a bargain.

YouView  Humax box

YouView  Humax box

Pack’em in: YouView providers

BT

BT offers two YouView packages: Essential and Unlimited. With both you get a YouView set-top box when you sign up for a 12-month contract. On the Essential deal that’s $166 in total costs over 12 months ($74.5 activation fee and $7.5 per month) for a box that retails for around $381. After that initial period you’re free to cancel the TV contract and keep the box, although the broadband contract runs for 18 months.

With the Essential package, that’s not a bad plan, as you don’t really get anything for your $7.5 a month subscription. You do get access to BT’s library of on-demand content, but you still have to pay 50p for every show you watch. The Unlimited package, however, costs $19 a month but allows unlimited access to the content. The on-demand content is divided into Vision TV, Film, Kids, Sport and Music. There’s a decent range of content, although only films are available in HD. If you want to browse the content yourself

TalkTalk

TalkTalk is the other current YouView partner, providing a single triple-play package of TV, broadband and calls. For $24 a month, plus line rental, you get a YouView box (manufactured by Huawei rather Humax, but essentially identical in function) when you sign up to an 18-month contract. Install the kit yourself, which is simple, and the total cost is $425. However, if you remove the cost of the broadband and calls in the package, which is $9.9 a month, then the box is really costing you $247. That’s more than BT, though TalkTalk’s broadband prices are slightly cheaper going forward from there.

TalkTalk is the other current YouView partner

TalkTalk is the other current YouView partner

TalkTalk has its own premium content, comprising both streamed TV channels and on-demand shows. The on-demand shows didn’t impress us that much, as with BT’s offerings. The streamed TV channels are more impressive, and can be paused or rewound within the buffer you've been watching, but you can't record content from them: a pretty serious limitation.

For $7.5 you can get a range of streamed channel-booster packs. The TV starter includes the basic Sky channels (Sky1 and 2, Sky Ans1 and Sky Living), and there are $23 boosts for kids’ and music channels, which include the major channels you’d expect. For $23 you can get all these, plus lots more, in a package that rivals mid-range offerings from Sky or Virgin Media.

On top of these packages you can also sign up for additional premium content. Overall, it's a pretty impressive offering, and something BT can’t match at present, though it’s worth remembering that you can’t record these channels, which may not be a huge problem for sports fans but could be very annoying for movie buffs.

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