Bt Television. Aerial?

[bainbrig]

Tried asking this under my original thread, but without success.

BT TV - does the television signal come through a rooftop aerial?

BB

[bhg481]

Aerial

[Buenchico]

Quote:
"BT TV has both Freeview channels through your aerial, and premium channels via broadband.

To get Freeview channels which are available in your area, you'll need a working rooftop TV aerial with the right cabling to plug into the BT TV box. You won't be able to use the cables installed for Sky or Virgin."

Source:
http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/53501/~/what-do-i-need-to-get-bt-tv%3F

[bainbrig]

Since your explanations are likely to be clearer than BT's (they usually are) can you expand?

I don't want Freeview/aerial TV. No good in our North London valley (tried aerials before, which is why we went cable).

I want 'clean' top-class cable TV. Does BT broadband offer this? It seems a little difficult to get a list of BROADBAND TV packages on offer (given that I Don't Want Freeview!).

Any pointers would be very helpful.

BB

[hc4361]

The Freeview channels which include BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5 and many others come down the aerial.

Only the premium channels are delivered by broadband.

Also, check your broadband speed. I have found I am stuck with Virgin as I can't have Sky satellite tv and the broadband speeds here from BT and all the others are rubbish.

[bainbrig]

What's a 'premium channel'?

BB

[dannyk13]

Bainbrig, if you want cable TV then you are stuck with Virgin.They are the only cable TV supplier.

[bainbrig]

So what does Buenchico's quote mean "and premium channels via broadband"?

[hc4361]

One that you have to pay for, in your monthly contract and is not available free.

Their boxsets come over broadband

[bainbrig]

That sounds okay - I'm used to paying hefty monthly bills to Virgin to get their TV into my set-top box. But all I want to know really is WHAT premium channels they're talking about, a list of the damned things, and a price that I'd have to pay! Seems they're a bit secretive about such things...

BB

[hc4361]

He means that with BT the premium channels come via broadband over the tv line - if you live in a BT fibre area it will be fast broadband, if it's the old style landline it might be too slow to deliver the tv

[bainbrig]

And I know broadband isn't cable, and vice versa, but I thought BT connected you up to some sort of fibre-optic system that was as good as cable?

[hc4361]

The tv channels you get depend on the package
Starter
BT TV (www.bt.com) uses a YouView box, which delivers you more than 70 basic Freeview channels if you go for a Starter package. And, because it’s BT, you can get BT Sport thrown in for a small fee as well - but you need at least 6.5Mb broadband to watch it on TV.
Here are all the channels you'll get:
Type

Channels

Entertainment
BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV2, BBC Three, BBC Four, ITV3, Pick, Dave, Channel 4 +1, More 4, Really, Yesterday, Drama, 5USA, ITV4, Dave ja vu, ITVBe, ITV2 +1, E4, E4 +1, 5*, Spike, ITV +1, ITV3 +1, Quest, Quest +1, S4/C, Channel 5 +1, 4seven, BBC Alba, Challenge, 4seven, Channel 5 +24, Comedy Central, GOLD, Watch, Alibi, SyFy, Universal, E!, TLC, Lifetime, AMC, Sony TV, True Entertainment, CBS Action, CBS Reality, Tru TV, Tru TV +1, Horror Channel, regional channels

Factual
Nat Geo, Nat Geo WILD, Discovery, ID, Animal Planet, History, Crime and Investigation

Lifestyle
Food Network, Travel Channel, Community Channel, TBN, Motors TV, Daystar

Music
MTV, 4 Music, Viva

Film
Film 4, Film 4 +1, Movie Mix, Movies 4 Men

Shopping
QVC, Ideal World, QVC Beauty, Create and Craft, The Store, Rocks and Co, Gems TV, The Jewellery Channel, Price Drop, Bid TV, Big Deal

Kids
CBBC, CBeebies, CITV, Pop, Tiny Pop

News
BBC News, BBC Parliament, Sky News, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, RT, Arise News

Sport
BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport Showcase, BT Sport ESPN, BT Sport Extra

HD
BBC One HD, BBC Two HD, ITV HD, Channel 4 HD, BBC Three HD, CBBC HD, BBC Four HD, BBC News HD, Al Jazeera HD, Channel 4 +1 HD, 4seven HD, CBeebies HD, QVC Beauty HD, QVC +1 HD, Clirlun

Entertainment
True to its name, Entertainment is a little more entertaining, with a few extra channels - plus the ability to rewind and record TV. You’ll get everything above included, plus:

Type

Channels

Entertainment and lifestyle
Comedy Central Extra, Good Food, MTV Music

Factual
Eden, H2, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo

Sport
Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2

Film
TCM, Movies 24

Max
Max is where you’ll find 4K BT Sport Ultra HD. It also comes with the BT Kids and HD Extra Bolt-ons included. So altogether you’ll get all the channels in Entertainment along with:

Sport
BT Sport Ultra HD, BT Sport 1 HD, BT Sport 2 HD, BT Sport ESPN HD, Eurosport 1 HD, Eurosport 2 HD

Kids
Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, Boomerang, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Nick Toons, Nick Jr

HD
FOX HD, Nat Geo HD, Nat Geo WILD HD, MTV HD, History HD, Crime and Investigation HD, Discovery HD, Animal Planet HD, TLC HD, SyFy HD, Comedy Central HD

Bolt-ons
If the TV you’re getting just isn’t enough, there’s always the option to add a Bolt-on. These cost a little more each month, but you get a nice range of extra channels or services, and you can stop and start your subscription whenever you want. Here’s what you can get:


Netflix
On demand movies and box sets in the Netflix catalogue


Kids
Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Nick Toons, Nick Jr, on demand

Sky Cinema
The whole Sky Cinema suite: Premiere, Action and Adventure, Disney, Showcase, Family, Comedy, Sci Fi and Horror, Greats, Crime and Thriller, Select, Drama and Romance, on demand

HD Extra
Animal Planet HD, Comedy Central HD, Crime and Investigation HD, Discovery HD, Eurosport 1 HD, Eurosport 2 HD, FOX HD, History HD, MTV HD, Nat Geo HD, Nat Geo WILD HD, SyFy HD, TLC HD, BT Sport 1 HD,

The prices are between £6 and £20 a month plus line rental and broadband.

[hc4361]

Have you put your postcode in to the BT website to see what speed you will potentially get? Remember it is up to, not guaranteed.

https://www.productsandservices.bt.com/broadband/deals/

[bainbrig]

Thanks hc, comprehensive.

a) Yes, I have put my postcode in, and the speeds are comparable with Virgin cable.
b) I do NOT want aerial-driven TV. So NO Freeview. Aerials in our NW London valley are useless, completely useless. Every time the wind blows, lines of trees between here and Crystal Palace 'shake' the signal. The only decent TV is via cable.

[hc4361]

In that case you might not be able to get any of the Freeview channels such as BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5, Dave etc - you need to phone them to check

[Buenchico]

In case any clarification is needed here, BT TV will be almost useless to you without an aerial.

This is the page that Hc4361 has copied-&-pasted from in his post above, so it doesn't directly add anything new but (because the original layout is preserved in my link) it makes it easier for me to explain things:
https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/providers/bt/bt-tv/channels

Everything listed under 'Starter' on that page is ONLY available through an aerial. If you only subscribed to the BT TV Starter package then, without an aerial, you'd receive absolutely NOTHING. If you subscribed to the Entertainment package you'd ONLY be able to receive those channels listed under 'Entertainment'. If you subscribed to the Max packages you'd ONLY be able to receive a combination of the channels listed under 'Entertainment' and 'Max'.

There are NO providers of a full range of TV services solely using broadband technology. The ONLY roughly similar service (other than in a few very local areas) is that offered by Virgin Media, whereby TV signals are sent via cable but without actually using the internet to do so.

I suspect that getting a DECENT aerial company to fit a REALLY GOOD aerial is all that you actually need to do. (Well over 80% of aerial fitters haven't got a clue about what they're doing. You need to seek out somebody who actually knows about the job). That, together with some good quality low-loss cable, and possibly a signal booster, should solve your problem.

[bainbrig]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m sticking with Virgin!