A Freeview box is normally just a plain old Freeview box, but YouView is a little different. The big selling point of this set-top box is its catch-up and on-demand features. Many smart TVs and Blu-ray players have access to these features but rarely more than one or two any typically just BBC iPlayer.
However, TalkTalk YouView has managed to offer all of the big name services: BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD and Demand 5. Furthermore, there is Sky Now TV and Milkshake, a dedicated kid's channel from Channel 5. These are all free except Now TV which as standard costs £15 per month.
See also: BT YouView Humax DTR-T1000 review.
It's worth pointing out that 4OS on YouView is the full on-demand service rather than just seven day catch-up with back catalogues of shows like Peep Show and Green Wing. See also: all digital home reviews.
You can access all of these from an on-demand section of the software but what is a clever new concept is that you can access available shows straight from the electronic programme guide (EPG). You can scroll back through the last seven days of TV and watch any show which is available via catch-up. Simply find a programme with a play icon and it will take you directly to the appropriate player so you can get watching.
Having both these options is great meaning you can use the on-demand apps like you would elsewhere to browse recommended and select favourite shows, but also simply watch things you missed.
All of these services require an internet connection so we were somewhat disappointed to find the TalkTalk YouView box had no Wi-Fi. Instead, the box used a physical ethernet connection which could be a pain, depending on the location of your router. TalkTalk says you need a broadband connection of at least 3Mbps for catch-up so it would be wise to check if yours will be able to handle it.
The YouView EPG is one of the best we've seen. It's big, clear and easy to use showing six channels at once and a period of 90 minutes so you can almost always see what's on next. Although it's easy to use, we did find the YouView box a bit laggy at times having to wait a few seconds to load certain sections.
As well as going back in time, it's also possible to jump forward seven days in the EPG to view upcoming shows and schedule recordings. Skipping forwards and backwards a day is done by pressing the fast-forward and rewind buttons on the remote control. If you get lost you can simply hit green to jump to the present.
Recordings are neatly displayed in the MyView section in Recordings and Scheduled windows. The box helpfully tells you which are yet to be watched and groups series together. You'll have to be wary of the delete key as there's no prompt asking whether you're sure or an undelete function.
Next page: TalkTalk YouView - The box, TV Boosts, remote control and app.
Comments
Jack Duckworth said: The box only responds to about 1 in every 4 presses of the remoteThe most useless and frustrating set top box I have ever used Nearly thrown the remote at it many timesIf you are thinking about investing in Youview wait for the next generation box
Dromo said: i doubr the vox IS worth 299 more like 150
Ferngarth said: Whilst theYouView service does offer a lot and is useful I have a few gripes The boxis tediously slow to start up and to navigate Im on fibre running at 40MBPSso its not the internet speed thats the problemThe EPG isvery slow too if you want to scroll back or forwards say going back 3 days isa right pain Yes it works when you getthere if you havent given up by thenAnd the wholemachine and remote are so complex to useTheyve tried to put so much on the service that its wholly user un-friendly It will take you an age to get to know how touse the features and even then I guess most people will only use a small numberof them There are a number of buttonsservicesthat youre left wondering why they are there and whats different to each ofthem The service really is a victory ofover-engineering against common senseSomeone at YouView needs to bash the designers heads together and tellthem to make things simplerThanksreviewer for the tip on removing unwanted channels I couldnt see how to do this and the installationengineer said that it couldnt be doneNow I can dump the Adult and shopping channels hooray All I need now is to find out how to re-orderthemFinally Ivejust discovered that the Huawei box doesnt allow you to set static IPaddresses You can only do this if youhave a business package A pretty stupidoversight They cram the system withoverly complex services then deny you the simple ones
Cosmic said: Cosmic again - when posting a question to Talktalk help up popped the answer un-found via google - the software was updated in Dec 2012 - The user manual doesnt mention it - on remote press guide - then press yellow - scroll to unwanted channels and press ok to put a cross in corresponding boxes - once all unwanted channels crossed press yellow again to save - the guide list updates and you are left with those you want You can also restore - see httphelp2talktalkcouktv
Cosmic said: Just had the box installed - seems talktalk promised that the EPG would be editable to change the channel order and remove unwanted channels by Dec 2012 - here we are March 2013 Cant find anyway to do it - only the parental control system Any news how to change the EPG list like all other decoders
Chris Martin said: I only said the box is free its worth 299 and I said you needed to be on the 1550 a month Plus plan Not sure what the problem is
Figgerty said: I currently pay 20 per month for phone and internet service If I take up the free You View box offer my monthly charge will increase to over 30 - not quite a free offer