This topic

HD channels

MrTrav15 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 11:51:31 GMT

Hello,

thinking of ditching my sky q box and going with the BT TV box Pro. However, I can’t seem to find details about HD channels. Do most of the channels have the HD options? For example BBC 1,2 itv, 4 etc and other channels like Comedy Central and gold. Also do the sky channels included also have HD options? No HD is a deal breaker for me so any info would be greatly appreciated.

Re: HD channels

terry821 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 12:26:54 GMT

Sure. You’ll get all the freeview HD channels.

The sky channels are in HD if you take the HD option as part of your package.

Some HD channels you receive on Sky aren’t available on freeview, for example DAVE and Film 4.

Re: HD channels

NigelB72 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 12:28:43 GMT

1-5 have HD variants along with a few other Freeview channels but all of the Sky channels in the NowTV package are HD but you'll need the HD Boost which included in the VIP packs. The Boosted channels are also 1080p and BT Sport has selected programming in 4K HDR.

Please check the channel line up though to make sure the channels you want are available.

All NowTV content is also available on demand through the app and you'll have a selection of other apps available too.

Disney+, Discovery+ etc aren't available on Youview/BT TV as of yet so if you want to watch these you'll need a sticky thing.

Re: HD channels

MrTrav15 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 12:33:50 GMT

I’ve checked the channel line up. They are sufficient for what we need. We just want a box that can record a few channels we watch (mainly free view) and we’ve got a fire stick for any thing else.

The deal that BT are currently offering with the entertainment package including Netflix and nowTV, does that bake NowTV channels into the TV guide or does it just provide access to the NowTV app similar to Netflix?

Re: HD channels

StewM — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 13:05:36 GMT

@MrTrav15wrote:
I’ve checked the channel line up. They are sufficient for what we need. We just want a box that can record a few channels we watch (mainly free view) and we’ve got a fire stick for any thing else.

The deal that BT are currently offering with the entertainment package including Netflix and nowTV, does that bake NowTV channels into the TV guide or does it just provide access to the NowTV app similar to Netflix?

Hi @MrTrav15 . It provides both. The Now TV channels appear in the TV guide (depending on your package). You will also get access to the Now TV app.

Stew

Re: HD channels

NigelB72 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 14:17:45 GMT

It includes NowTV and Netflix plus the Freeview channels available in your area. These are delivered by your aerial and not all channels are available nationwide. You can check what's available in your area on the Freeview website.

https://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview-channel-checker

For HD NowTV channels, you will need the HD Boost add on. Netflix is in HD as part of the package but you can upgrade that to 4K via the account/subscription section of your Netflix account if you wish.

Re: HD channels

MrTrav15 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 14:33:38 GMT

Oh so to access free view you still need the aerial connection? I know BT TV use to require this but they make it seem on their website that everything is now delivered via Wi-Fi/Ethernet. Thanks for that info.

Re: HD channels

MrTrav15 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 14:35:12 GMT

Also, out of curiosity, how is the recording nowadays? I had BT TV about 6-7 years ago and had a lot of issues with recordings ending too soon or starting too late , has that been improved?

Re: HD channels

NigelB72 — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 16:13:40 GMT

@MrTrav15 I still believe that is a bone of contention 😆.. for us, it's fine on the Freeview channels but can be a bit flakey on the Sky ones according to some posts on here.

The issue appears to be with the recording data and who actually controls it.

Re: HD channels

Seany10hats — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 08:13:52 GMT

Annoyingly I bought a top end big Samsung and it doesn’t have freeview . I didn’t realise because I’ve always had sky. It wasn’t until I decided to ditch sky that I realised. I decided to get a btpro and can tell you that annoyingly it only has channels 1-5 hd. The rest (including all +1 channels, 3,4&5 od and bbc news24) are watchable but a little grainy. I can’t believe in 2023 when they’re trying to flog 8k tvs that you can’t get hd on everything. I’m now spending the next month figuring out if I can live with it because the whole reason I got rid of sky/virgin was because I mostly stream now.

Re: HD channels

mikealanr — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 09:44:20 GMT

Hi @Seany10hats

If you use the IP mode instead of Aerial mode you won’t get as many channels, but you will get BBC News in HD as well as a lot of the ITV channels and the quality of all channels is better according to reports on the forum (I’ve only ever used IP mode as don’t have an aerial).

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

MikeAlanR

Re: HD channels

brookheather — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 10:39:21 GMT

If you have a Sky dish then why not get a Freesat receiver or PVR instead (or does your Samsung come with a Freesat tuner?) - you will get more HD channels including BBC News, ITV 2/3/4 and Quest.

Re: HD channels

gosforth — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 11:35:43 GMT

Perhaps, BT TV Box Pro (4k) has IP channels support...

Mine has no connection via an old terrestrial antenna, and all Freeview provided channels are via the internet,... There is still some confusion over regional channels from time to time (almost after every FW update), which is usually cleared over a few hours...

Re: HD channels

Seany10hats — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 16:34:17 GMT

I don’t have a sky dish and I’ve just bought a btpro so I’m not going to go and buy another type of receiver on top. I’ve got a Samsung qn95a and it doesn’t have freeview or freesat or freeview app availability. Just some rubbish called Samsung tv which appears to be 45 channels you’ve never heard of all showing americas next top model. It’s crp

Re: HD channels

Seany10hats — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 16:37:11 GMT

I’m not a bt customer. I just bought the box so I can watch channels for free. I think you can only watch IP if you have a subscription. If I’m wrong I’d love to know how to change from aerial to ip on the pro box 🙂

Re: HD channels

Hunter2660 — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 18:53:56 GMT

Yes you do need BT Broadband and a BTTV sub to get the IP channels. If it's any consolation if your TV did have a Freeview tuner built in, you'd still be left with the bog standard pictures you're receiving now. If you want extra HD channels it's either Freesat, BTTV or Sky Stream.

Re: HD channels

Seany10hats — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 19:17:58 GMT

I’m really in limbo 😂 because I bought a £2k tv (for the best image) which I can’t believe hasn’t got freeview then I ditched virgin because I don’t watch that much terrestrial ( mostly streaming) bought a btPro 2023 and it doesn’t even have basic HD across the board. But then I don’t watch terrestrial much anyway 😂 seems like such a waste of a good spec tv 👍🏻

Re: HD channels

NigelB72 — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 19:29:28 GMT

The BT Pro Box isn't officially available as a retail product. It's loaned to BT TV customers while they have an active BT TV subscription. They're supposed to be returned on cancellation but some people choose to pay the fee and then sell the box. It works really well with a BT TV subscription and the IP Freeview HD channels are 1080p and even the SD channels are far superior to standard Freeview...

Re: HD channels

Seany10hats — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 19:40:08 GMT

I bought it brand new from Amazon 3 days ago

Re: HD channels

NigelB72 — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 06:33:47 GMT

@Seany10hats it wouldn't have been bought from BT or supplied to the retailer by BT so you might want to speak with the retailer about returning it for a refund.