Free YouView box through TalkTalk - what's the catch?

[TheEarlOfDoncaster1963]

Have got an engineer coming on Weds to fit a Youview box as we are Talktalk customers and supposedly get one free, plus free engineer's visit to install. Just worrying that there will be a catch and it'll end up costing us something, which will be annoying. Apparently they may have to put a lead from our wireless router (in hall) to the box (living room) which will probably look crap - I'm trying to decide whether this really matters. Also they reserve the right to charge for 'power cables' - £35 for single or £50 for double... I couldnt' really get into a conversation about this on the phone with the woman as she was the most repetitive robot I've ever spoken to and I just wanted to get off the phone!!!

Anybody out there a TalkTalk customer and has had the engineer come to do Youview? I might rearrange the appointment for later in the month so I can do a bit of research online. We already have a Humax recorder but my plan is to move that upstairs into our bedroom.

[nannynick]

I do not have the talktalk youview box but did have the humax one.
Not sure with talktalk that there is a catch other than contract length. Probable best to look on the Talktalk forum as that will be where users of the talktalk box post about issues, software updates etc.

Youview was good when it worked. However there are some issues with it that are being ironed out, such as not recording complete programmes due to timesignal errors from broadcasters.

[NetworkGuy]

If you later decide the cable is an eyesore, then on the assumption it's an ethernet connection, you might consider using data over mains adaptors.

Alternatively, if you have a phone extension in the lounge, near the TV, then it might be worth moving the router from the hall to the lounge, and then there'd be a short cable from the router to the YouView box, which itself will be connected to the TV and may fit into a storage/display unit you may have (for a games system, perhaps, if no satellite or VCR or Freeview boxes these days)

[TheEarlOfDoncaster1963]

No, we don't have a phone point in the lounge - only one in the whole house unfortunately...
I've rearranged the engineer visit for the end of the month to give me a chance to think it over. I often rush into these things thinking it's a great deal but then realise it's more hassle than it's worth!
Didn't realise there was a Talktalk forum... will try to find it. Thanks!

[NetworkGuy]

Out of interest, do you use cordless phones only (phone in a chilly hall rarely ideal) ?

Only ask because an older style corded phone is always worth using as it will work in a power cut and recommended for use in emergencies.

If you don't have one, I'd suggest a 2 or 3 way adaptor to plug one in, in parallel with a cordless unit.

[NetworkGuy]

link

might be worth a look.. one for hall, one for lounge

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

we have you view through talktalk. we pay 15.50 for broadband, phone package and you view.

in my research the best way to get you view is through talktalk. there are two different brands of the box. huawei and another one. the huawei one is the best and talktalk are the only people that provide that one. BT use the other brand (the name escapes me now) and their monthly cost is slightly more. and the one you buy outright is another brand and is about 200£.

i don't think there are any catches. in hindsight i think it might be just as well to get freeview+. we did have sky+hd but ended up paying sky about 60£ a month and it was getting ridiculous as we mostly watched free channels anyway. sky messed us about terribly with a line fault they refused to fix so i flipped my lid and cancelled and got youview.

as we were new customers we had to pay 50£ upfront but got 30 refunded so only paid 20.

we have had three line faults in the last month and talktalk have been very accommodating and all is fixed now and we have been reimbursed/compensated accordingly.

where it says you can go back 7days to watch 'anything you choose' on demand isn't strictly true. this can only be done on channels that have on demand features. so bbc, itv, c4, and ch5. this is the reason why i say it might be best to get freeview+ if it is the pause/record/rewind features that you want as you can access the on demand services on a pc anyway. depends on your own needs really.

the user interface is nice, the remote is nice and there are good boosts available if you wanted different packages.

all in all i don't regret getting it. :-)

[OneLittleToddlingTerror]

I thought youview is simply on demand tv that is already on the web + fee view. Complete waste of money IMHO. I mean the money for the cable and the eyesore factor.

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

it is normal freeview channels with the ability to pause record rewind like sky+hd plus the on demand features built in.

[OneLittleToddlingTerror]

Sky+HD on demand and virgin ones also include a large library of tv shows that is more than 7 days old. For example I can get all 4 series of geordie shore atm.

The on demand on youview is simply 4od, iplayer etc isn't it? It's the same stuff as on any computer or xbox, PS3, as far as I know.

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

yes but its half the price and not lining skys pockets. i hate sky. anything is better than sky.

there is also talktalk player but i haven't used that yet.