Apps and mobile devices
This is an area that’s relatively new for
YouView. In fact, at the moment, there’s just a single remote record app, for
iOS only. You have to set up your phone, following instructions and generating
a code on your set-top box in order to pair the two together. Once done, you
can set recordings from anywhere in the world. It's handy, but basic.
YouView’s
apps on mobile
How to get it
If you have Freeview, you can get YouView.
All you need to do is buy a compatible set-top box or sign up for a service
such as BT Vision or TalkTalk TV. The box needs to be connected to your
internet connection, too. The models we’ve seen don't support wireless, but
HomePlug will do the job if your router isn’t positioned close to your box.
There’s no cost for the basic service, but
you’ll have to pay from $7.5 a month if you sign up to BT’s or TalkTalk’s
services. This fee usually includes a YouView box, so you can get a good deal
and save money on the cost of a PVR by signing up for such a service.
Verdict
YouView’s premium live content is not as
good as Sky’s or Virgin Media’s, but once you’ve got the box there’s no
additional cost. Freeview HD has plenty of good content, and YouView’s
on-demand services are brilliantly integrated into the box, plus there’s more
and more premium internet content coming online. With BT and TalkTalk you can
add some premium on-demand content, too, further expanding what’s available. If
you don’t want or need an expensive monthly TV subscription, YouView is a
bargain.
YouView
Humax box
Pack’em in: YouView providers
BT
BT offers two YouView packages: Essential
and Unlimited. With both you get a YouView set-top box when you sign up for a
12-month contract. On the Essential deal that’s $166 in total costs over 12
months ($74.5 activation fee and $7.5 per month) for a box that retails for
around $381. After that initial period you’re free to cancel the TV contract
and keep the box, although the broadband contract runs for 18 months.
With the Essential package, that’s not a
bad plan, as you don’t really get anything for your $7.5 a month subscription.
You do get access to BT’s library of on-demand content, but you still have to
pay 50p for every show you watch. The Unlimited package, however, costs $19 a
month but allows unlimited access to the content. The on-demand content is
divided into Vision TV, Film, Kids, Sport and Music. There’s a decent range of
content, although only films are available in HD. If you want to browse the
content yourself
TalkTalk
TalkTalk is the other current YouView
partner, providing a single triple-play package of TV, broadband and calls. For
$24 a month, plus line rental, you get a YouView box (manufactured by Huawei
rather Humax, but essentially identical in function) when you sign up to an
18-month contract. Install the kit yourself, which is simple, and the total
cost is $425. However, if you remove the cost of the broadband and calls in the
package, which is $9.9 a month, then the box is really costing you $247. That’s
more than BT, though TalkTalk’s broadband prices are slightly cheaper going
forward from there.
TalkTalk
is the other current YouView partner
TalkTalk has its own premium content,
comprising both streamed TV channels and on-demand shows. The on-demand shows
didn’t impress us that much, as with BT’s offerings. The streamed TV channels
are more impressive, and can be paused or rewound within the buffer you've been
watching, but you can't record content from them: a pretty serious limitation.
For $7.5 you can get a range of streamed
channel-booster packs. The TV starter includes the basic Sky channels (Sky1 and
2, Sky Ans1 and Sky Living), and there are $23 boosts for kids’ and music
channels, which include the major channels you’d expect. For $23 you can get
all these, plus lots more, in a package that rivals mid-range offerings from
Sky or Virgin Media.
On top of these packages you can also sign
up for additional premium content. Overall, it's a pretty impressive offering,
and something BT can’t match at present, though it’s worth remembering that you
can’t record these channels, which may not be a huge problem for sports fans
but could be very annoying for movie buffs.
