Great way to get lots of TV on demand (BT Vision)

Member Name: carlz2001uk

Product:	BT Vision
Date:	15/08/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: You have to have BT Line Rental and Broadband

I decided to start using BT Vision about a year ago after receiving a call from BT offering me a great deal as I was already an existing customer through the broadband and phone line I have with them. The thing that I love most is the On Demand service that comes with BT Vision offering you 1000s of hours worth of popular TV shows such as Lost, 24 and CSI all available when ever you want them. On Demand offers films, TV, sport, music and kids shows and is uploaded weekly through your broadband service. You can also catch up with the last 7 days of TV from ITV, BBC, Channel 4 and 5 shows.

BT Vision offers all of the freeview channels as standard and then you choose your package on top of that. The packages they offer are Bronze which is £7.34 a month for the first three months and £14.68 a month after. This gives you any 2 packs from film, kids, music and sport. The silver package is £10.76 a month for the first three months and £17.61 after, which gives you any 3 packs from film, kids, music and sport. While Gold is £12.72 a month for the first three months and £19.57 a month after that. This gives you all four packs of film, kids, music and sport.

It is a similar concept to Sky+ which gives you the pause and rewind live telly service. I find this a very useful thing to have as you never know when the phone is going to ring, etc! We have the bronze package as we were don't really watch sports or music.

The only downside I would say about this cheaper alternative to Sky is that you have to pay for films in the same way you would the box office through Sky. This is added to your bill at the end of the month but it is handy if you want to watch a new DVD release as they are cheaper than a DVD rental shop (about £3). Occasionally, they also offer children's films for a penny.

As standard whichever pack you choose you can also record up to 2 programmes at a time through BT Vision, which is handy if your going out or something is on quite late, or even if your watching something on the other side. We always have at least 30 things recorded ready for us to watch.

To get BT Vision, you have to be with them for the broadband and line rental - a bit of a hassle for customers elsewhere but we were already with BT so it didn't matter. As you would with Sky, you have to pay for the box, however occasionally they run offers where these are free (we got ours free). At the moment there doesn't seem to be an offer on with them, but you can buy a value pack online for £15 which will give you a reconditioned box and 1 years warranty.

As the TV runs through your broadband, there are no unsightly dishes on your house, meaning you will always get coverage too (when we were with Sky, it always cut out if our dish got covered in snow!).

In summary, I would recommend BT Vision if you can get the box for free (or cheaply). Handy for recording and pausing live TV.

Summary: 4 stars