TalkTalk TV feedback thread NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

This feedback thread is for the 20 testers who received a TalkTalk TV, Kids Boost and a YouView box and are currently trying it out in their homes.

Here's what TalkTalk have to say, "As Britain's fastest growing TV service more families are joining TalkTalk TV than ever before, taking up our offer of a free YouView box for easy access to the shows they love. Our TalkTalk TV package includes a YouView box worth £299, providing seven day catch up TV, pause, rewind and record Freeview channels, plus the option to add premium content one month at a time with TalkTalk's flexible boosts. This includes 69 TV channels not available on BT including a variety of kids content. Our toddler's channel Scamp includes our two most popular shows Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly, and there are thousands more TV shows and box sets in our TalkTalk Player. Our Kids Boost, which is only £5 a month, provides an additional 14 great children's channels including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Cartoon Network. It's great to see how much our customers are enjoying all the benefits of YouView from TalkTalk and this summer we're hoping even more families, including yours, will join them!"

We'd like you to add feedback twice - we'd like your first impressions now and in a couple of weeks (or when you're ready) we would like you to answer the follow-up questions.

So, in terms of your first impressions. please....

~ Give your overall impression when it arrived.

~ Describe the set up: did you set up your YouView box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your YouView box? How easy are the instructions? Is it quite intuitive or do you have to read through the welcome pack first?

~ Share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with?

Follow-up questions:
~ What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Thanks,

MNHQ

[TwoMuchTwoYoung]

Just realised I don't actually have kids boost. I misunderstood what it was.
Is anyone from Talk Talk actually reading this thread?
I would like kids boost installed please and also would like to be able to delete my recorded programmes.

[Taffeta]

Used the pay to view box office last night. Paid £3.50 eventually. Took forever to work out what our TalkTalk pin was!

I thought it was the PIN I set up when we got the YouView box, but this is a different PIN. I checked online, spent aaaages trying to find a number to call, nada. So found it by Googling eventually. It said it was inside the box with the set up materials. Located guide in box, it told me to check online. Aaa argh! Found it eventually. But not easy, by a long chalk.

Great now it works. We watched Now You See Me, and paused it a few times for coffee etc. we noticed when we restarted it there was some pixelation for 10-20 secs after but otherwise v good. Really like being able to watch a one off film without any subscription.

Also found Kids Boost and DD is loving Cartoon Network. Again though, not clear or easy to find.

[DatsunCogs]

Trying and failing to watch an on demand programme this evening and it has frozen so many times we have given up...may actually have to have a conversation with DH instead Bit annoying though

[TheBreastmilksOnMe]

What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?

Both my children LOVE Peppa Pig and will watch it continuously if allowed so although we havnt added any of the kids boost programmes yet, we probably will add this one. There is an ok selection but would like to see more.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?

I love watching the One Born Every Minute series and my husband like a to catch up with the football.

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?

We have never had a tv package in the past so have nothing to compare with.

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes absolutely. I really like the functions and freedom it gives. I love being able to pause what I'm watching and being able to let the kids watch the programmes they love.

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes I would and I already have because of the freedom it gives, and the ease of use too.

[MichelleMumsnet]

Hi everyone, in response to the various queries about Kids Boost, TalkTalk say the following,
"Hi there,

Thank you all for your feedback. Sorry to hear that some of you are experiencing problems accessing the Kids Boost, we are currently investigating these problems and hope to have them resolved soon. Below is a short guide of how to access the boost:

1. Press the TalkTalk button on the remote control
2. Press ok to enter the TalkTalk player
3. Scroll across to kid
4. Press ok this will then give all the kids channels within the kids boots

If you are experiencing any further issues please contact [email protected] who will be able to advise.

Thanks,
TalkTalk"

[TwoShakesOfaWhiskersTail]

Thanks Michelle/talktalk
Can you tell me how to delete recorded programmes as pressing the blue button is not working.

[BiscuitsandBaileys]

~ Give your overall impression when it arrived.
Arrived fine, looks nice and neat.

~ Describe the set up: did you set up your YouView box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your YouView box? How easy are the instructions? Is it quite intuitive or do you have to read through the welcome pack first?
My dh set it up with no problems.

~ Share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with?
We found it a bit difficult to find our way around to begin with. We also didn't have the kids boost for the first three weeks, it just appeared one day!

Follow-up questions:
~ What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?
My dc like the programmes on there, particularly Jessie.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?
Just the channels we already had on our freesat box and dc have enjoyed Jessie.

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?
Never had a package.

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'm not sure. Probably not as we've never paid for a tv package and don't feel we've been missing out!

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Probably not as we've not been wowed by it.

[MichelleMumsnet]

TwoShakesOfaWhiskersTail, TalkTalk have responded with the following

"Hi there,

To delete recorded programmes:
Select the Y button
Scroll to myview
Select the recording you wish to delete
Press sub del (under button '7')

Thanks,
TalkTalk"

[TwoShakesOfaWhiskersTail]

Thanks will try that. I also have kids boost now thanks. It now says subscribed whereas before I'm sure it said not subscribed.

[boobellina]

~ Give your overall impression when it arrived.
Was impressed by the delivery service texting and e-mailing to let us know when the box would be delivered. System was well packaged and easy to unpack. Looked impressive.

~ Describe the set up: did you set up your YouView box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your YouView box? How easy are the instructions? Is it quite intuitive or do you have to read through the welcome pack first?
I found the set up incredibly easy. I went out to work and when I came home it was all done as if by magic. DH set up everything because anything with a plug is automatically his domain. He found it very straightforward and said it was done in minutes. I haven't asked if he consulted the welcome pack, he would consider this a direct insult to his masculinity but from the look of the welcome pack he hasn't even thought about looking at it.

~ Share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with?
Like the look of the menu with the blue glow but found it slower to load and navigate than our previous freeview pvr. On trying to watch programmes on catch up we keep getting the loading wheel and even programmes being unable to be watched, despite the fact that out internet was working fine and not being used up by anything else. The feature that we really like is the mobile app which we have used to record things when we are out and about, this is brilliant.

Follow-up questions:
~ What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?
She hasn't engaged with Kids Boost at all. We've shown her how to get to kids boost but she isn't a fan and her comment was that she'll stick to netflicks or youtube. She explained that her reasoning behind this was that she knew where everything was on netflicks and there was no point learning anything new when she liked things the way they were.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?
I've liked being able to scroll back through the days and find the Coronation Street that I haven't seen and start from there. But I haven't liked that the menus are slow to load and that I seem to spend more time watching the three lights telling me that it's nearly ready than actually watching Corrie.

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?
I think that the premise behind talk talk is good. I wanted to like it just found that it was slower to use for watching live tv than with our existing pvr, and wasn't as fast for catch up as going to the internet and streaming to the tv through apple tv.

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?
No. I found that our existing combination of pvr, netflicks and apple tv suited us better. Switching between the systems isn't nearly as frustrating as waiting for Talk Talk to load and catch up.

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'd talk about it and for someone who didn't have a smart tv or apple tv I might mention that it was an option. But I would be honest and say that even with a good internet speed it is pretty slow and clunky.

[KnottedAnchorChief]

Just a little update from me, that is some suggestions on the remote. The buttons I seem to use most often are not placed together and so it's difficult to use one handed, as I have to move my hand up to get the channels and down to the guide, volume and ff/rewind. This is only a small thing, but I really notice it now after a few weeks usage as all my other remotes seem to have a central 'console' section that you can use one handed for all these functions. Might be worth looking at if you get a chance to redesign?

[LastOrdersAtTheBra]

Ooops, only just found this thread (had helpful message directing me to it). Sorry it's a bit late!

~ Give your overall impression when it arrived.
Loved the delivery, they gave a date and all you had to do was text 1,2 or 3 to change to different dates, all deliveries should do this as it saves so many wasted journeys. We were also sent a router, I'd mentioned on the phone that ours was playing up and had been told some people might require an upgrade to run the box, so we could have a new one anyway.

~ Describe the set up: did you set up your YouView box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your YouView box? How easy are the instructions? Is it quite intuitive or do you have to read through the welcome pack first?
I set it up, wiring was pretty self explanatory and the tuning etc was just a question of pressing the ok button. Very easy.

~ Share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with?
First time we turned it on to try out just managed to miss the beginning of Get Well Soon, children were unimpressed with being half way through, pressed a few buttons and was straight back at the start (although at the time I did this by guesswork, wasn't sure if I was rewinding, catching up or doing iplayer).

Follow-up questions:
~ What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?
We haven't got kids boost as far as I can tell, didn't know it was meant to be included in the trial but have tried the advice above and not succeeded in finding it.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?
I've used the box for catch-up players and recording but haven't watched anything on talktalk tv as not interested in paying extra.

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?
Never had one.

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?
Will continue to use the box as above but unlikely to pay for a TV package.

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?
I've enjoyed having the box and using the bits I've used, but I'm not sure I'd pay £299 for it, if it hadn't been free.

[LastOrdersAtTheBra]

Wanted to leave my feedback before reading the others, now I have, I have realised I'm not the only one who can't get the volume to work. This is sorted by having the TV volume set to 30 (around 10 was normal when we were just using the TV), so I'd forgotten we had a problem with it.

[whattodoo]

~ Give your overall impression when it arrived.

Arrived well packaged. Contents were good, ie everything needed was included such as cables.

~ Describe the set up: did you set up your YouView box yourself? If not, who did? How easy did you / your DH/DP etc find it to set up your YouView box? How easy are the instructions? Is it quite intuitive or do you have to read through the welcome pack first?

My DP set it up. He found it easy, intuitive and didn't need any instructions. The only problems we had were 'our' network and finding the right cable to connect them.

~ Share what you/ your family think the first couple of times you used it - what was the best feature and what, if anything, have you struggled with?

Very quick to navigate programme guide. Range of channels is comparable with freesat.

easy to use features such as BBC iPlayer.

Follow-up questions:
~ What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?

She hasn't shown any interest at all (a CBeebies addict)

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?

The usual programmes we would ordinarily enjoyed using freesat.

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?
have only had freeview and freesat in the past. Have never paid for any tv package.

If we had the money to spare, we might well subscribe to talktalk TV, the box office package looks very good, current and full of popular titles.

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?
Probably not. The cost is more than we are happy to pay.

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?

Yes, if they were looking for a tv package. The price seems very competitive and easy to select the titles you particularly want, rather than paying a monthly fee for titles you're not necessarily interested in.

[MichelleMumsnet]

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments so far. TalkTalk would like to post the following,

"Hi MNs,

Thanks for all your feedback so far. With regards to the volume, your YouView box plays content as supplied by the broadcaster or provider and sometimes volume levels will change between programmes and adverts. Unfortunately there is no single audio level across the YouView platform and every player will have a subtle difference in audio balance.

Thanks,
TalkTalk"

[LastOrdersAtTheBra]

I don't know about anyone else but the problem I have isn't audio balance but simple lack of audio, it's not intermittently too loud/ too quiet, but perpetually too quiet. The vol +/- buttons on the remote don't do anything.

[MichelleMumsnet]

LastOrderAtTheBra, TalkTalk would like to respond with the following regarding your problems with volume.

If you find that your volume is lower than normal when you are watching programmes on your YouView box, you may need to increase the volume on the YouView Box itself. It's easy to increase, simply follow the below steps.

Set your remote to control the YouView volume by holding OK and Vol- until the TalkTalk button flashes.
You can now use the volume controls on the remote to increase the volume to the required level.
To set your remote to control your TV hold OK and Vol+ until the TalkTalk button flashes

[LastOrdersAtTheBra]

Brilliant, that worked!

[ILoveWoollyStuff]

I said I'd feedback on kid's boost. TBH we've not used it. DD watched the four available Sophia The First's but hasn't been bothered about it since. I think it's because she can't find it herself and by the time I've come through to do it for her and I've remembered whereabouts to find the stuff and we've waited for the guide to load, she's decided it's not really worth the hassle and has settled with CBeebies instead (Her and DD2's natural habitat). I will counter that with the comment that we've never had Sky or other package, so DD's haven't grown up with Disney etc so as far as they're concerned there's nothing they're missing IYKWIM.

I'll admit we've used the on demand players on occasion, but I really wouldn't be bothered if that feature wasn't available (I'd either set to record if it were that important, do without or watch on laptop). I've found that in the majority of cases, what I've missed is available an hour later so I'll just set to record the instead and cut out the ads whilst I'm watching.

I will be honest and say that my TV viewing habits have changed lately because of personal circumstances but, really, the only extra we'd be getting by signing up is the On Demand availability as we can do the rest with our freeview pvr so for us it's not worth it and I don't think we'll miss it when it's gone.

Just as a total aside, has anyone worked out how to connect DVD player at the same time? We used to have it and the pvr connected (together with PVR direct to TV - neither pvr or DVD player have HDMI) but now don't have a functioning DVD player either.

[DatsunCogs]

Just revisiting this to add the answers to the follow up questions:
Follow-up questions:
What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?
DD 4 loves Dora the explorer and Angelina...wish there were some free films though

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far? See above

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages? I used to have something called Homeserve which doesnt exist anymore and is much missed...

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not? I wont as I havent been desperate to watch the programmes on offer...I have loved the on demand /iplayer stuff though, apart from when it didnt work which was soo frustrating

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not? Probably not...it wasn't reliable enough, I think

[Mumtochops12]

I have been using my talktalk box for a couple of months now, and here is the second part of my feedback.....

~ What do your children think of the programmes offered on Kids Boost?
Unfortunately we don't have the kids boost as apparently my internet speed is not fast enough......it was fast enough when it was through sky, never had any problems with receiving channels with them.... Anyway we have been offered a films package which I can honestly say I haven't heard of hardly any of the films on there, I certainly wouldn't pay to subscribe to this package, sorry talktalk.

~ Which programmes have you most enjoyed watching on TalkTalk TV so far?
The usual soaps etc, not really watched. Nothing new that I wouldn't watch before trialling the box.

~ If you've had a TV package in the past, how do you think it compared to other TV packages?
I feel like I'm being really negative here, and ungrateful, however it just isn't as good as sky. I have noticed that quite a few people are commenting on how slow it is, I am experiencing this too. You press a channel number and because it doesn't change you press it again, only to go to some random channel eg 333!! It's also slow to start up, and I have noticed that It turns itself off randomly throughout the day, at first I though it was DS but it's not! Plus I'm still a bit annoyed that my internet speed is too slow to has the kids boost, I never experienced this with any other internet provider.

~ Will you continue to use TalkTalk TV in the future? If so, why? If not, why not?
Sadly not, the recording feature is great and it is easy to use, but I unfortunately don't see any benefits over and above a recordable free view box

~ If it came up in conversation would you recommend TalkTalk TV to your friends and family? If so, why? If not, why not?
Again sadly not, for the reasons above really

[Taffeta]

I have PMd you, TalkTalk have charged us for the YouView box, despite many phone calls. Please could someone contact them and get the charge removed. We have spent hours trying to sort this.