For our first online edition of Matrix, I thought it would be appropriate to look into something called IPTV, sometimes called broadband TV. Simply put, IPTV means watching TV across your internet connection (IP = Internet Protocol). This does not mean watching TV on your computer, although this is an option. It generally requires a set-top box of some description which connects to the internet and then either streams or downloads content to watch directly on your TV.

In other words, IPTV allows customers to watch TV shows and films as they want, when they want. It’s a great concept. But where it breaks down is at the level of the IPTV suppliers and the fact that, for the consumer, the UK offers very little in the way of choice. A key factor is geographical location. Virgin Media generally only caters for highly populated areas while BSKYB only provide satellite TV (one way signal).

Over the past couple of years, an alternative has been touted. BT Vision is a hybrid of IPTV and Freeview, providing an IPTV service alongside a free Digital Video Recorder with two Digital receivers built in. These were enough to attract me to the service. But what is the reality of Freeview, and isn’t it a case of David versus Goliath in terms of the huge number of channels that Satellite and Cable offer?


The Digital Divide

I am not in a Cable served area, but I did have a BT phone line and broadband service. In January 2007, I paid a £90 installation fee in exchange for what BT call a V-Box - actually a re-branded Phillips DVR with a 160gb hard drive and a BT Home Hub (wireless) router. At the time, a BT engineer installed the service. These days, if you want to save on the pennies, there is the option of a self-install service for only £30.

So what did I get? Well, one of the attractive elements of the BT Vision deal is the ‘free’ DVR called the V-Box. This is just a DVR or Digital Video Recorder that enables you to watch and record TV programs onto a hard disk instead of regular video tape or DVD. Because there are two inbuilt Digital receivers, you can either watch one TV channel while recording another, or record two TV channels while either watching On Demand TV or a previously recorded TV show.

The obvious downside to this approach is that if you are not within a Freeview serviced area then you will be out of luck. You will still be able to access the On Demand service, but the DVR is pretty restricted without Live TV. Cable TV provides Live TV through your internet connection, but, with BT, your Broadband network would grind to a halt if everyone watched Live TV across the internet connection. It is a quandary that BT are keen to resolve. According to a spokesperson for BT, “We are rolling out ADSL 2+ in the spring, which will provide broadband speeds of up to 24mbps.” Theoretically this will alleviate these teething problems, although I have a sneaking suspicion that they will use this extra bandwidth to provide High Definition content.

More about the V-Box then. It has a 160gb hard disk, providing up to 80 hours of recorded TV. The ability to pause live TV and then play it back at your leisure is immensely useful - although I only found it useful after I had it, one of those ‘can’t live without’ things now. The V-Box also comes with an EPG (electronic programme guide) which provides the next 14 days worth of TV scheduling. This is useful for setting up the shows you want to record at the touch of a button. With the Record Series function, you can record every episode of an entire series with one button, which is, again, very valuable for those of us who don’t work to a routine.
Like most EPG’s, BT Vision’s is very useful, but there are inherent problems. The EPG is provided by the broadcasters and then your V-Box connects to the BT service and downloads the latest EPG in the background. As we all know, shows over-run, adverts are slightly longer or shorter, so to stick to the minute in broadcasting terms is near on impossible. When you set-up a recording for a set-time and channel, you assume that it will record when the show starts, and end when the show finishes, but no. The EPG does not actually change, even if show times do, which means you just end up missing the start and end of shows. There is a function that enables you to set the recording to ‘end 5’ (or 10, 15, 20, etc) minutes after the scheduled time. In my experience, this solves the problem 9 times out of 10.


I am Demanding!

BT Vision comes into its own when you look at the On Demand service, providing over 400 films, over 1500 TV episodes, 100’s of music videos, kids TV shows and sport courtesy of Setana Sports.

Finding films and TV shows on demand is actually a pleasure, a bit like browsing through a friend’s DVD shelf and finding those old gems you had forgotten about, or catching a TV show you may have missed first time around. You can browse by genre, channel (TV and Kids shows), A-Z, or a free flow text search. The search facility has been well thought out, providing listings for all areas, be it EPG, recorded or On Demand. You can also search by actors and directors as well, which is a nice touch.

As an SFF fan, I’m pretty much in seventh heaven, from TV shows including the entire first two series of Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Blade: The Series (a guilty pleasure), Lost, Life On Mars and even V. Films include the likes of Starship Troopers, Robocop, Existenz, The Matrix, Contact, and many more. Films are priced between £1.99 and £2.99 depending on the release date, TV shows 79p each, Music videos from 29p each and sport from 99p.

When watching On Demand you are actually streaming the film, TV show, etc, live across your internet connection. This is one of the reasons BT insist on you having their BT Broadband service and using their BT Home Hub. The Home Hub manages the QoS (Quality of Service) which is a way of prioritising internet traffic. For On Demand to work, BT states you have to have at least 2mb connection speed. As you are watching On Demand, the Home Hub will reserve 2mb for the service; once you stop watching, the Home Hub releases the reservation, giving back the 2mb to your network.

I have never found a problem with broadband speed or QoS with my BT Vision service. That said, I would imagine that if you have heavy internet usage and download large files, then this could be an issue. In addition, when I first started using the Home Hub, I was not keen on the stability. As with a lot of free hardware, providers can scrimp on quality. My solution? I swapped the Home Hub with my D-Link router which works very well – so while BT do insist you use their Hub, you can use a better one if you so choose. Yes, in theory, this could potentially create an issue with QoS, but I have yet to see this.


Future Proof

When BV Vision was first on the market, one of its major downfalls was the need to have your BT Home Hub next to your TV, or at least next to the V-Box. You now get a free power-line adaptor, which, in effect, makes your electric cable into a data network, meaning that you can have your V-Box in any room - a huge improvement as not many peoples’ phone sockets are in their living room or close to the TV.

The V-Box runs on the Microsoft Mediaroom platform. Whatever your feelings for Microsoft, this is a very effective platform – quick, easy to use, and with many features. But there is a hidden benefit. It shares the same platform as the Xbox 360, meaning that for all you 360 owners out there, soon you will be able to watch BT Vision’s On Demand movies through your Xbox 360.

Admittedly, Freeview and the On Demand service are not in Hi-Def, but the V-Box does support this, and, using the HDMI cable, you can view higher quality films and TV. Once the roll out of ADSL 2+ begins, BT Vision is planning on streaming more Hi-Def releases.

BT Vision does not offer the volume of channels that regular Cable and Sky offer, and does not have the clout to get the big names early, and sometimes at all (Star Wars for example). This is a real restriction for a lot of TV watchers. BT Vision is more suited then to the occasional TV watcher who does not want a subscriptions service, but wants a wider variety of programmes than regular terrestrial TV.
So, overall, I won’t be changing my TV provider in the near future, particularly since, to my mind, as BT perfect the system and get more and more deals on movies and TV shows, the only way is up. Clearly, BT Vision is a marketing strategy to get your subscription and tie-in to their broadband service, but for a free DVR, non-subscription Video on Demand, and fast broadband, it’s an option well worth considering. I, for one, am hooked.