This topic

Considering BT

murphymoo — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 16:13:14 GMT

Considering BT as Sky package going through the roof

can I just ask a few questions please

picture quality is this on par with sky/uhd

i have a main box and 3mini boxes - is this possible with BT?

can you record of the main box ?

do I need an aerial ?

sorry for the questions just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing

Re: Considering BT

mikealanr — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 17:20:02 GMT

Hi @murphymoo

I’ve moved to BT TV after a painful year with Sky Glass. Answers based on my experience:

1) UHD picture on par for BT Sport Ultimate and Netflix, Amazon Prime. No UHD option for now TV content so Sky sports HD only (with HD add on).

2) No you can only have the main box and one mini box. Not a show stopper for me as the rest of my house has smart tv’s with BT Sport App and NowTV app giving me access to same content.

3) Yes you can record 2 channels at a time in IPTV mode or 4 if using an aerial.

4) No BT TV has IPTV mode but not as many channels as aerial mode.

https://www.bt.com/help/tv/guide/ip-freeview-guide

They do offer aerial installation for £30 when you sign up if there are free view channels you require.

Some apps missing compared to Sky, no Disney+, YouTube and currently no Discovery+, however this is due anytime soon due to the partnership between BT and WBD.

For me, most of the channels I watch are covered and use my AppleTV for the missing ones, Skys increase priced themselves out for me given Glass still needs work.

No real issues with BT all worked as expected and Pro box is very responsive. BT are moving all residential customers over to their EE brand and the service is due to be rebranded EETV. Hope to see some investment so it does rival Sky so people like me who can’t get virgin have another decent competitor.

MikeAlanR

Re: Considering BT

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 19:21:58 GMT

@murphymoowrote:
i have a main box and 3mini boxes - is this possible with BT?
can you record of the main box ?

Just to be absolutely clear, you can record on the main box but cannot access those recordings on a multiroom box the same way as you can with Sky Q.

This may or may not matter to you.

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 20:54:33 GMT

So basically if I record something on my main box I couldn’t watch it on the other box maybe in the bedroom ?

seems odd - can I still have catch up or on demand ?

Re: Considering BT

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 21:10:39 GMT

@murphymoowrote:
So basically if I record something on my main box I couldn’t watch it on the other box maybe in the bedroom ?

Correct.

@murphymoowrote:
seems odd - can I still have catch up or on demand ?

It seemed weird to many of us at the time who questioned it when the BT TV mini box was launched. The feedback was it wasn’t seen as needed with the range of catch up services available.

As you can watch Freeview, use catch up services, NOW, Discovery+ and BT Sport apps on such a wide range of devices, you have to question why you would bother with the BT multiroom offering?

Literally the only benefit I can see is live channels over WiFi if you don’t have an aerial and that is important to you.

Re: Considering BT

Brucemeister5 — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 07:21:08 GMT

It’s difficult to justify paying £10 for an extra box subscription for reasons detailed above. We’ve got 2 BT Pro tv boxes, one from BT and the other bought off eBay. We have the BT one set up in IP mode and the other one in aerial mode. We only have one subscription though. There are a few programmes in the NOW Entertainment package that aren’t available available on demand in catch up that would need to be watched live or recorded if you really want to watch them.

Re: Considering BT

Brucemeister5 — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 08:31:13 GMT

Just to clarify, as we only have one subscription we are only able to have one of our boxes set up in IP mode.

Re: Considering BT

ney — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 08:54:35 GMT

I agree with what at @Brucemeister5 is saying about it's now hard to justify paying extra to get a BT min box for another room. When 90% of the programmes that are on the now channels are also on catch up via the Now app.

Just buy a second hand Youview box and get an Amazon Firestick then you are saying on the xtra monthly cost of the BT mini box for another room.

I cancelled BT TV over a year ago and went with Now direct with discounts and just over2 weeks ago switched from BT FTTC to Sky on a similar package for FTTC.

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:06:20 GMT

Can you get the same channels on Now as Sky/BT such as sports etc ?

Re: Considering BT

ney — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:44:43 GMT

@murphymoo Mostly all the same channels. I say mostly as you cant get AMC or if you have sport you will lose the two Eurosport channels but apart from that its mostly all the same channels.

I dont have the sports package just entertainment, Sky Cinema and the Now HD boost.

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:44:35 GMT

great I will have a look

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:37:57 GMT

Is Roku an option for additional boxes around the house ?

Re: Considering BT

Brucemeister5 — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:46:48 GMT

Have you got BT Broadband @murphymoo ?

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:08:36 GMT

Im just waiting for the switch from Sky to BT

Re: Considering BT

Brucemeister5 — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:10:19 GMT

A Roku is certainly a popular option for multi-room access to apps. I’ve got a Fire tv 4K stick myself. As a BT Broadband customer I believe it’s possible to have the BT Sport app on a month-by-month basis for £18 per month. You would get Discovery+ at no extra cost with this.

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:44:39 GMT

I spoke with BT earlier and with the Roku they tell me I can access my whole package through the Now TV app preloaded onto Roku ?

I have to take the word of BT because I dont know lol

Re: Considering BT

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 17:43:58 GMT

@murphymoowrote:
I spoke with BT earlier and with the Roku they tell me I can access my whole package through the Now TV app preloaded onto Roku ?

Not entirely true, you can watch your NOW channels via the NOW app, but will need to use others to replicate the rest of your package.

Usually on a streaming device (there is some variance), you can access:

BBC live channels and on-demand via iPlayer
itv live channels and on-demand via itvX
Channel 4 live channels and on-demand via All4
Channel 5 live channels and on-demand via My5
NOW TV live channels and on-demand via NOW app
UKTV (Drama, W, Dave, Yesterday) live channels and on-demand via UKTV Play
BT Sport live channels and on-demand via BT Sport app
Eurosport, TLC, Discovery etc. live channels and on-demand via Discovery+
Netflix
Disney+
Paramount+
Prime Video

I could go on, there is loads more not listed here.

Once you realise how you can pretty much access everything in decent quality (usually HD as a minimum) via any decent streaming device, the only three questions you will need to figure out is:

What do we actually watch?
Do we watch it live or on demand usually?
Do we really need a 18 month to 2 year contract to access it via a TV provider?

You will likely find the answers to 1 and 3 are "less than you think" and "no".

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 17:58:07 GMT

Sky sports / by Sports all on sky platform at present

movies/entertainment etc

Re: Considering BT

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:17:24 GMT

Do you record TV a lot? Watch live? Watch on demand?

Are you comfortable using different apps and devices or would you prefer to use a single interface to organise your viewing? Do you really love a TV guide? Do you really watch in 4 different rooms and do you do it often?

Do you like apps or do you mainly watch broadcast TV?

The answer here, depending on your preferences may be you need to negotiate better with Sky.

You can replicate much of the experience with BT, but you would need to put some work in, that isn't for everyone.

Re: Considering BT

murphymoo — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:46:42 GMT

I watch live tv - we record things on our main box but not much on the other boxes mainly live sport in different rooms