BT Vision
BT Vision is a revolutionary new High Definition service that combines both terrestrial digital television and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), which is a system of transmitting programming over your domestic broadband line. As part of the BT Vision package you will received a BT V-Box which acts as a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) Freeview receiver with built in 160GB hard drive with dual tuner and through your BT broadband line you will be able to download selected TV programmes or films directly onto your V-Box for viewing on your television.
How does BT Vision work?
BT Vision is a hybrid of standard Freeview technology and IPTV that incorporates High Definition programming. In order to use BT Vision you will require a V-Box, which BT will supply, you will need to subscribe to BT broadband (if you don't already) and finally a BT Home Hub will be needed so that the IPTV broadcasts can be routed to the V-Box.
This may sound very technical and the protocol behind the IPTV system is very complicated, but you will not need to be at all technical to take advantage of a service which is essentially a Freeview PVR integrated with a broadband line. If you choose to purchase BT Vision a BT engineer will install the system for you in its entirety.
Click here for more information or to sign up for BT Vision
BT Vision costs and benefits
When you choose to purchase BT Vision you will receive the V-Box (integrated IPTV and dual tuner Freeview receiver with a 160GB hard drive worth £199) free of charge. If you don't already have BT broadband you will need to get this along with a BT Home Hub (the BT Home Hub is offered free of charge with many BT broadband packages!). Once your BT Vision has been ordered you can subscribe to whichever packages you require or alternatively choose to subscribe to nothing if you don't want to pay for any programming - there are no mandatory subscription packages on BT Vision.
A great advantage to this service is the flexibility it affords and as it is being run by BT you can be assured that new channels and features will be added to the service. Basically you can choose to pay for whatever programming you want. There is no mandatory subscription periods so you can choose what options you want to pay for and watch them whenever you want to.
The V-Box is also HD capable so you will receive an HD capable digital receiver with hard drive free of charge! If you are an existing BT broadband subscriber, the benefits of this service both in terms of cost and functionality are excellent and well worth considering.
Click here for more information or to sign up for BT Vision
What channels can I receive on BT Vision?
You will receive all the standard Freeview television and radio channels on offer free of charge (over 70 different channels) and you can optionally choose to subscribe to additional packages through the IPTV function if and when you want to view them.
Additional subscription options include -
The programming below can be subscribed to per genre or alternatively per football match, film or TV programme.
Picture Box film channel (£5 extra per month) - You can choose from 28 blockbusters and cinema classics each month, with seven new films added every Friday.
Sport (Setanta Sports 1 FREE*) - BT Vision are offering the Setanta Sports 1 channel totally free of charge! Additional sports can be ordered at £5 per month extra which includes 242 Barclays Premier League and 28 Clydesdale Bank Premier League same-day games per season, plus a huge range of classic sport.
TV (£6 extra per month) - Numerous award wining TV shows from terrestrial television both new and old, which can be categorised in the comedy, drama, documentary and lifestyle genres. All of your favourite shows are available 24/7 such as Lost, Pushing Daisies, Peep Show, Desperate Housewives and many more.
Kids (£6 extra per month) - A selection of pre-school and cartoon programming such as Power Rangers, Dora The Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and many more.
Music (£6 extra per month) - This includes a selection of live concerts, music videos and music documentaries and even karaoke!
Replay (£3 extra per month - Catch up on a hand picked selection of TV shows broadcast via BT Vision over the past week.
BT Vision packages
Alternatively you can order a value pack, which will encompass all or some of the selections above.
Currently BT Vision offers three main packages. These are the bronze pack, silver pack and gold pack.
Click here for more information or to sign up for BT Vision
* Bronze = £14 after the first 3 months
* Silver = £11 after the first 3 months
* Gold = after the first 3 months
**Free SETANTA Sports 1: Available to new and existing BT Vision customers whilst subscribing to a Value Pack, from £14 a month with one month minimum
BT Vision summary
- Free V-Box HD capable hard drive receiver and recorder giving up to 80 hours or recording time
- Free Setanta Sports offer
- Free connection for BT Vision
- No requirement for a satellite dish, drilling or rewiring as BT Vision will only require a TV aerial, BT phone line & BT broadband connection
- The ability to pause, rewind and record live TV as well as record an entire TV series automatically at the touch of a button
- No compulsory subscription. You can subscribe to a package or choose "on demand" entertainment
- All Freeview channels are included free of charge
BT Vision sign-up
To get the BT Vision service you will need –
BT broadband (more info here)
BT Home Hub (free with BT broadband)
Click here for more information or to sign up for BT Vision
Also in this section:
The Digital Switchover - What you need to know about the analogue switch-off.