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Apple May Strike Pay-TV Partnership With UK's British Telecom, Pre-Loading Apple TVs With BT Apps
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For me it depends on whether I can get rid of the applications they pre load and if it’s only preloaded into boxes BT sell with their TV service. If it’s on all UK ATVs then to me it’s bloat, just like Windows PCs bundling stuff.
This is how AppleTV grows out of its niche market. Steve Jobs once said that it’s impossible to compete directly with cable providers because when you sign up for cable, they give you a free box so most people aren’t going to go out and buy another box.
The solution there is to make AppleTV the box cable companies give you. Apple should be partnering with more cable companies.
The solution there is to make AppleTV the box cable companies give you. Apple should be partnering with more cable companies.
So on a Media consumption device you wouldn’t want to consume media? Hmmm I don’t think this is the same at all. But hey you can just buy your Apple TV from the Apple Store. To me this makes sense, there is so much overlap and why create your own devices. The one question remain and I would find very interesting; how to integrate Youview.
Never had an issue with their 4K box (Humax under the lid?). They control the live 4K feeds glass to glass and 4k service (for me) has been superlative. But it does seem to be a one trick pony, this could keep them afloat in the TV distribution world.
I would not see it as bloat, as long as it works and is part of the deal. But I am in the boat with one BT UHD box and one 4k ATV. Wonder how that is consolidated.
Their box, Humax indeed, is actually pretty good. The non-UHD versions are very bad though, the UI seems to be in SD and looks rubbish, but the UHD box is ok. My challenge, which isn't really BT's fault, is the unreliability with scheduling and recording programmes using YouView. You wouldn't have thought this is that hard considering Sky can get that under control with their platform, but I still get the wrong programmes recorded, duplicates recorded (which do not appear under Schedule). So who ever is maintaining the meta data really needs to do a better job. Also the app for a mobile device is not good enough, you can't make it default to HD versions. And then there is catchup TV, catchup TV through the you view platform is bad, seriously bad quality. BBC is ok, but the rest is like being back in the 90s....
I did have one of the early ones and that was dire. Humax again but BT software. I complain most successfully and got an upgrade to the newer non UHD and it was chalk and cheese. It was superb. Then of course UHD box but agree on the recording. I did end up with 90 or episodes of South Park because I forgot to stop it and many were re records. Gave up in the ned and deleted the lot.
The ATV app just been made free, set it up, it was a joke charging for it and the HD through the app is dire. Seen better feeds on a 9mhz sat channel. Deleted.
BT have struggled with the TV service I think. Any films are all HD. Sport is a two edged sword for them but a saviour I think, I fancy the service is on borrowed time unless they change.
Really? Didn't know that either! Does explain alot though! It was around that time that EE's customer service started to suck! EE has a decent 3G service when I'm in the UK, but they have packages that are supposed to work overseas. I live in Greece, and it's one of the many countries their global packages are supposed to work in, but despite having charged a fortune for a contract to it, it never once got any signal out here. So now I'm stuck tied to a 2 year contract to a phone I cannot even use.
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Why would it? You would have to stream it to record it so why not just stream it to watch it delayed?
Unless you wish to watch it multiple times and have a limited internet package I don’t see an issue.
At the moment BT has one 4k channel and one TV series in 4K (Snatch). It has a few markers on other slots that are not used. I see top flight rugby go out in HD and a bottom league football match go out 4k (satellite link from the ground which makes it worse). Not being a football fan, this I find a tad annoying. They can do far better and perhaps this streaming will allow the silly setup at the moment to be improved upon. As long is it is the same quality.
At the moment BT sport is just presented as a TV channel on the BT YouView box, there is no "catch-up" or watch again service, you have to watch it live or record it. If BT Sport on the AppleTV provided a catchup service that would be ok, (but probably a lot more work for BT?), if it was just live it'd be useless.
If I don’t pay for BT I dont want the app installed correct. Sure if you buy it with your BT subscrition it could come preinstalled (as long as it was removable if you went to another provider).
On the box there are a few place holder for more BT channels in the EPG. I guess they are looking to expand one way or another. However there is a bit of a tug of war over Freeview and Youview. Youview has more channels I think?? But BT is tied in with Youview at the moment. Those channels are presented on the existing BT box so I am guessing there is a bit of horse trading to be done.
Change the thread title. BT stopped calling themselves as/trading as British Telecom years ago, they are now just BT.