The Temptation of BT Vision's V-box

By Lorrie Kelly Staff Writer Thursday, 13 December 2007

V-Box specs at a glance Integrated HDD: 160GB Composite Video: Yes S-Video: Yes Scart: 2 Digital Tuner: Yes Digital Audio: Yes The V-Box also features: VOD Service Ethernet USB Slots (inactive) CI card slot TV2 Client Requirements for V-Box: BT Broadband subscribers with a minimum of 2MB download speed BT Total Broadband Packages Reviews of BT Total Broadband Packages: BT Total Option 1 BT Total Option 1 (with BT Vision) BT Total Option 2 BT Total Option 2 (with BT Vision) BT Total Option 3 BT Total Option 3 (with BT Vision) Compare all BT Total Broadband packages: Compare BT Broadband Related Items See our other recent news about digital TV from broadband providers: How Does Tiscali Shape Up To Sky and Virgin Media? Tiscali, the champions of low-cost broadband, has finally launched its new digital TV service, and with prices starting at a mere £19.99, it’s set to take on Virgin Media and Sky head to head! Anna Konig looks at what Tiscali's TV service is bringing to the table. I want to... read an impartial review of Tiscali's TV bundle I want to... compare Sky's broadband and TV bundles I want to... compare Virgin Media's broadband and TV bundles

BT has caused a stir within the digital TV market by offering a combination of Freeview, on-demand IPTV and a PVR (personal video recorder) called the V-box to existing broadband subscribers who sign up for the BT Vision service.

On inspection, the BT V-Box is an innovative piece of hardware, though not quite as polished as other PVR machines available on the market.

It comes with a digital tuner, S-video output, two scart connections, remote and a 160GB hard drive - capable of recording 80 hours of content.

V-Box wins on price
But the most enticing part of the BT Vision offer is its price. BT’s V-Box costs a cool £30 for a self-install kit and has no strings attached in the way of contracts or obligation to keep BT Vision service. The only caveat is you must be a BT Broadband subscriber.

And the BT V-Box is fairly future proof as well, offering VC1 decoding, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AAC and dolby digital sound. The system is driven by a 300MHz processor with 128Mb of ram and sports one USB port, Ethernet port and telephone jack.

Though BT claims you can only use the V-Box with a BT Home Hub, users have had little problems attaching the V-Box to their third-party routers.

And for the technophobe, installation can be carried out by a BT technician. But beware - the service will cost an additional £60 (taking your total to £90) and BT will not connect your V-Box to anything other than the BT Home Hub.

The standard remote is adequate, although clumsy due to its large size. Otherwise it performs expected functions such as split screen for looking at the guide whilst still watching your TV show and a well designed search function which allows you to find your entertainment either through alphabetical listing or content.

V-Box problems ironed out
Reports from BT Vision subscribers state that the first V-boxes suffered from random system freeze problems.

But it should be noted that users could not ascertain whether this was related to the V-Box or their Home Hub, which frequently has connection problems.

The Home Hub connection issue has caused many BT customers to revert to their previous or third-party routers.

But despite a few glitches on its initial run, the V-box has become more stable since its launch and BT promises firmware upgrades to resolve any remaining issues going into the future.

BT Vision content
The only real downfall for BT Vision is available content.

Though many are optimistic about the future - believing that as the number of subscribers continues to rise, so too will available content - BT Vision is currently a bit lacklustre compared to its competition.

Our verdict on the V-Box
Our verdict? BT Vision is probably not worth changing ISP providers for, but the V-box may prove far too tempting for existing BT Broadband customers to resist.

I want to... compare broadband phone tv and mobile services

Compare broadband and bundle services
Back to broadband guide