BT YouView+ TV review

BT YOUVIEW BT TV LIBRARY

BT’s own service remains as it did in the previous version, available as an app on the main menu. The ‘Vision’ name has been dropped, and now it’s just called the BT TV Library.

The big difference this time around is that BT has put a custom button on the remote control, so you can jump to Vision. This may be a little change, but it makes the system feel that much more integrated and customised.

BT has changed its pricing plans around a little, with different bolt-on channels and content available, depending on the type of broadband and TV package you have. One of the biggest changes is that BT is now offering lots of channels, streamed live over the internet.

For BT Infinity customers that sign up for TV Entertainment (£7 a month), you get a decent selection of extra channels including Discovery, Fox, Gold and Comedy Central. HD versions of the channels can be bought for £3 extra a month.

Sky Sports 1 and 2 can’t currently be added to YouView, and the offer on the site is just for people with the older Vision+ box. Sky Movies (11 live channels, and the newest content on-demand) costs £16 a month. On top of that, you get BT Sport 1 and 2, and ESPN for free, with the HD versions available by buying the HD add-on pack as above. Nine channels of children’s programmes are available for £3, too.

All of these channels are delivered via IP over the internet, but they integrate into the EPG as a live channel and, indeed, you can even set to record from them. It’s another great way that YouView manages to merge traditional broadcast and internet-based TV in one.

Those on regular ADSL BT broadband have the option of TV Essential, which costs £5 a month. This comes with no streaming channels, BT Sport is only available through an app, and you only get Sky Movies on demand for £16 a month. BT Infinity certainly gives you a lot more.

Both packages can get BT Film and BT Box Sets, which contains a pretty decent selection of on-demand films and TV, costs £5 a month. BT Music, which has its excellent video playlist creator, costs £3 a month.

Finally, BT BoxOffice lets you rent the latest movies from £3.50 with HD versions available. The selection is pretty good, and competes well with similar paid-for services from Sky and Virgin Media.

BT YOUVIEW PRICE AND CONCLUSION

The new BT YouView box is a vast improvement over the old one: smaller, faster and quieter. With BT TV evolving there’s now a greater range of content available, particularly if you go for BT Infinity.

Picking the exact package you want is a little trickier, but you can add and remove additional channel packages to the base as you need them. Pricing is a little tricky, as the activation fee is either £35 (ADSL) or £49 (Infinity), with various broadband deals available, too. Taking the maximum cost of activation (£49) and the maximum monthly price with no extras (£7 a month), with an 18-month contract, and the BT YouView+ box (free) costs you £133. Given you’d have to spend at least £200 to get any other YouView box, that’s really a massive bargain.

The beauty of YouView is that after the contract period, if you decide to cancel BT Vision or change broadband provider, the box is yours and will continue to work; only the BT Vision will just disappear from the menus. Given all that, BT Vision really is a bargain. See all of the best BT TV package deals deals on uSwitch