BT Vision Help and Advice

What is BT Vision?

BT Vision is a new digital TV service available in the UK - here's what it offers:

• You're supplied with a BT Vision set-top box, called a V-Box
• The box is capable of receiving over 35 Freeview digital TV channels, plus 20 radio channels, all via your TV aerial
• Programmes, films and 'catch-up TV' can be downloaded via your BT Total Broadband connection. The downloadable on-demand content includes films, music, sports and kids programming, and BT has announced deals with a number of big name content providers.
• The standard BT Vision service is subscription-free - you only pay for content that you choose to download and watch
• The set-top box is a digital recorder that contains a hard-disk capable of storing up to 80 hours of TV programming. The box, from Philips, supports Live Pause and TV rewind. More on digital recorders
• The BT Vision box has a 14 day electronic programme guide (with series link), as well as an on-screen guide to allow selection of downloadable films and TV shows.

How BT Vision works

To get BT Vision, here's what you need:

• A BT Total Broadband account (How to Switch provider )
• A BT Vision set-top box - these are supplied free to BT Total Broadband customers
• A BT Home Hub - This is a Broadband router, supplied by BT
• A TV aerial capable of receiving Freeview

Here's how it works:

• The BT Vision set-top box plugs into your TV
• You plug a TV aerial into your BT Vision set-top box. The box is able to tune in to Freeview TV and radio channels, and uses these to let you watch and record live digital TV
• The BT Vision set-top box has a hard-disk built-in that lets you record live TV to be watched later. You can also pause and rewind live TV
• The BT Vision set-top box is connected to the Internet via a BT Home Hub, which is a Broadband router/modem. Once the box is connected to the Internet, you can use the remote control to access "on demand" films, TV shows, kid's telly, music videos and sporting events. You can pay per-view, or subscribe to content services.

The BT Vision "on demand" service makes use of the Internet and your BT Vision account to get programmes that aren't being broadcast live - think of it as a rental service, where you get shows and movies over the Internet delivered to your telly.

We featured BT Vision in Show 12 of our online radio show. Listen to the show online, or download it to your MP3 player. Listen to Show 12 | Latest Show | More Info

The BT Vision Set-top Box

Philips are manufacturing the BT Vision set-top box. It can receive Freeview, holds up to 80 hours of TV, is HD-ready, has a 14 day on-screen EPG (electronic programme guide), and support Ethernet and USB connectivity. There's more on our BT Vision STB page

How to get BT Vision

BT Vision launched in December 2006 and is available across the UK now.

• Cost: The V-Box set-top box is free to BT Total Broadband customers, and there's no subscription. A £30 one-off activation charge applies. They'll deliver the box for free if you're OK setting it up yourself, otherwise, BT will send an engineer needs to call to install BT Vision (for an extra £60 installation fee).
  
  
• Get Broadband: As BT Vision requires a BT Total Broadband connection, you can prepare for BT Vision by getting switched to BT Total Broadband, and getting a BT Home Hub broadband router. The BT Home Hub is supplied free with BT Total Broadband Options 2 and 3. More at www.bt.com/btbroadband
  
  
• Sign up to BT Vision: Once you have BT Total Broadband, if you decide to go for BT Vision, follow the order BT Vision link on the BT Vision site - you enter your details, and will then be contacted by BT Vision regarding installation.
  
  

We have a review of BT Vision, if you're interested in learning more about the service. We've also put together an audio review, that you can listen to online or on your MP3 player - You can find this on Show 12 of our Podcast.

We also have a newsletter for existing BT Vision users to be kept up-to-date.

BT Vision's Movies-on-Demand screen

The BT Vision Electronic Programme Guide

BT Vision: Searching for content - artists, producers, titles

FAQ

Please see our BT Vision FAQ for answers to frequently-asked questions. If you have a question, please get in touch.

Ordering a BT Vision Box	To use BT Vision, you need to be signed up BT Broadband - Prices start at £7.95 a month (for the first three months). BT Broadband Option 2 includes a BT wireless Home Hub, which you'll need to get the BT Vision service) Details of BT Broadband at www.bt.com/btbroadband. For details of the BT Vision Connection Pack, click here
Hints and Tips	The Shortcut key at the bottom of the remote opens up the 14 day EPG If you want to check the quality of the Video On Demand service before you order content, some of the On Demand movies have a free-to-view preview - At the time of writing, "Mummy Returns" had such a trailer
Contacting BT Vision	Here are the contact details we have for BT Vision: Customer Services: 0800 800 900 Technical Helpdesk: 0845 600 7030

More help:

• BT Vision Review - our take on BT Vision's service (also, try our audio review)
• Discuss BT Vision in our BT Vision forum
• BT Vision set-top box
• Join our BT Vision mailing list for updates on BT Vision
• More on the BT Home Hub
• More on the Digital TV options
• More on alternative IPTV solutions on our dedicated IPTV page.
• For more on Freeview and free-to-air set-top boxes, see our Freeview page.
• More on BT Total Broadband
• For details of hard-disk recording solutions, see our Personal Video Recorder PVR page
  

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