My thoughts
The Btvision box has served us well, apart from the early days. It was never allowed to be called Freeview+ mainly because it was not a standalone system because it had to rely on the ip network for its EPG, it will probably be with us for some time but is unlikely to be developed because it can never be called a Youview box because it cannot receive Freeview HD. If all you want is a reliable Freeview recorder with video on demand, some of the previous weeks main TV, films and some sport, this maybe still the one for you.
The, soon to be released BT Humax Youview box, will give you all that the BTVision box does with the addition of HD freeview, a program guide that allows viewing of the previous weeks programs, it might also give access to other web based applications for films, social networking, video over ip etc.
It will also associate BT with a brand name - Youview, so that hopefully people will know what they are buying.
Unlike the Btvision Box it will rely heavily on the ip network and hence as BT are a main provider of network capacity, it is easy to see why they are keen to introduce this technology. This will satisfy most peoples viewing requirements and should do well(at the right price).
This article videoworld suggests that a faster, more modern youview box is being developed by Pace, this should iron out the clunckiness involved when using a remote control to navigate web based applications( try using the keyboard to play solitaire on your PC- very difficult, much better with a mouse).
I think an alternative input system will be used such as micro keyboard and pressure pad. This would make it possible to write emails & browse the web.
If you want this additional flexibility then it may pay you to wait for this box.
when this technology is moving so fast and IPTV has so much potential there really is no point in bt rushing out a box that will be outdated within a year in its capacity and performance, agree with the article be it speculation or official information.
i wonder where amstrad is in all of this ?
"The, soon to be released BT Humax Youview box, will give you all that the BTVision box does with the addition of HD freeview," Well thats not true for a start mate!You can't watch sky sports on You view,but you can on your BT vision box.
You are quite right, no Sky sports on Youview at the moment, sorry about that but I was trying to get my head around what is on offer and as a non sports person I did not give the viewing card omission any thought, though presumably when the Freview Sky channels are ditched in favour of linear channels, this will not be a problem.
One thing I also missed was the Humax box should be portable between ISPs and also work as a standalone PVR(without the ability to watch the previous weeks TV.
Is this new Pace bpx going to have wireless?
I can't believe they would release a non-wireless IPTV box in this day and age. How can giving everyone homeplugs be considered more desirable than simply putting wireless in the box?
The trouble is that most wireless connections just aren't fast enough for IPTV. It's much better to use Ethernet or Homeplugs. It stops that spinning circle appearing quite as often.
More than that, WiFi just isn't reliable. You could be watching iPlayer fine one moment, then your neighbours turn on their wireless baby monitor, and the replay starts stuttering and breaking up.
And you'd then blame BT because your speed isn't good enough.
@Ectophile wrote:More than that, WiFi just isn't reliable. You could be watching iPlayer fine one moment, then your neighbours turn on their wireless baby monitor, and the replay starts stuttering and breaking up.
And you'd then blame BT because your speed isn't good enough.
Spot on.
And so whilst it's not yet been announced, WiFi is not expected to be included in the Pace box.
Nor does any box supplying BT Vision, Sky, Virgin or TalkTalk. So theres nothing new or controversial in this. It's the norm.
Wireless works fine for most people. I watch netfilx and lovefilm using wireless on a ps3.
If it doesn't work for some then homeplugs could be used for them, otherwise wireless is the standard.