BT Ultra HD YouView box review: UK 4K TV service set for UI revamp and Dolby Atmos sound

TV and catch-up

As well as the Ultra HD package, you get everything that you normally get with one of BT’s TV packages. I won’t go into the full details again here, as that’s covered in detail in the BT YouView+ review. In short, YouView is a top set-top box platform. I still love its intelligent EPG, which lets you step back in time and watch on-demand shows that you’ve missed via players for all of the main terrestrial channels. There are also additional apps to expand your content, including Sky Now TV and BT’s own app. There’s still no Blinkbox, which is a little strange considering that TalkTalk owns it and its own TV package uses YouView.  Additionally, you can add additional channels delivered via IP (for a fee), including an HD channel package (Fox, MTV, SyFy, TLC and others) and Sky Sports 1 and 2, which aren’t available in HD.

You get the same remote control as with other BT YouView boxes, which I think’s a little large, but everything’s clearly labeled and the buttons are responsive.

Netflix

Netflix is a surprising omission from the DTR-T4000, as it’s been a standard app with every other YouView box. The issue is that Netflix has yet to certify the new box, although it should be coming later in the year, including Ultra HD streams. We have to say that the lack of Netflix shouldn’t be a big problem for most people, as the majority of 4K TVs that the BT YouView box will work with already have 4K Netflix clients built in.

Cost

Getting BT Ultra HD costs £15 a month, with a potential one-off £44 engineer installation fee for those people that might not be confident in setting up the box. Existing customers also have to pay a £49 fee for the YouView Ultra HD box, although new customers get this box for free. You also have to have a BT Infinity Option 1 or Option 2 broadband account.

Conclusion

BT has ushered in a new era of TV, doing something that you might not have thought was possible a few weeks ago: making HD channels look bad. It’s a shame that there isn’t more Ultra HD content available, but for sports junkies (primarily football fans) you won’t get better quality anywhere else. Given the number of matches that you’ll get this year, the £15 a month fee is very competitive.

We’d love BT to add more Ultra HD channels into the mix, especially as it’s getting the exclusive AMC channel in the UK and its The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead. Of course, this is just the early days of Ultra HD, with Sky already deep in the planning stages of its own rival platform; knowing Sky, its launch is bound to be bigger and with more content.

Still, all that aside, BT has managed to do something that no other broadcaster has managed and it’s done it in high quality. Finally, we can say that Ultra HD has arrived. See all of the best BT TV package deals deals on uSwitch