BT
VISION
NOVEMBER
8th 2007
BT have
come out with a real corker in BT
Vision. But their marketing and sales drive you potty. [However,
see latest notes below].
You don't
need a SCART input on your TV, you can
get a RF Modulator for about £20-£25 that has the necessary
sockets and loop-throughs to handle it. A 20-year-old Ferguson has a
bigger better clearer, sharper, brighter more regular picture and
better colour than anything
I have seen in a shop for years. It is also the best aspect ratio
compared to some of the new wide-screen models (which are a big
mistake, unless you
have a really large one with enough vertical dimension for the classic
format). As for High Definition, a
complete waste of time for normal viewing though the BT Box will handle
that too.
You DO need the BT Home Hub,
not just a line networked Voyager router. BT Vision sales misinform
applicants on both points - the SCART (because they have never heard of
RF Modulators) and need for the Home Hub (if they check your account
and confirm you are fully equipped already you could find they are
wrong on page one of the instructions once the box is delivered). BT Vision Tech Help who have the
answers are not directly accessible - not a problem if the sales staff
are informed on these, the only two absolute basics, but they are not.
Nor are the BT Technical Help line you are told to ring. They have to
put you through..... and you know what that can mean.
Also you do NOT need to start with any package
that costs £14 or even £4 per month. You can choose that
later when you have
all the details and the Freeview up and running (about 50 channels).
And you can take
pay-for stuff on the fly, or open up a package for a month and close it
after. Included in the hardware are two 'Powerline Adaptors' that
enable your PC and your TV to be in quite different places in the
house, while both use your broadband connection, though the main live
TV
will come in through your aerial. The possibilities and choices are
extraordinary and flexible, the controls are simple, you only need ONE
remote control for everything (I think, maybe not actually).
How is it possible
that companies this big, with such amazing products and services at
such amazing value, make such a complete pig's ear of marketing it and
don't even tell their sales staff what they are selling and what you DO
and DO NOT need to get it set up. The only
answer has to be that the people right at the very top are no damned
good at their job. They are just accountants, manipulating the
books and their own salaries and parachutes.
Well now!
BT seem to have put all that right very quickly - the only remaining
thing being to add one line
in the setup instructions:
STEP 4 Start up your BT Vision
1. First switch on your TV. It can
be set to any channel.
That important line is missing.
Later on it explains you should allow
up to 1 hour without TV programme reception for the automatic BT Vision
setup, which starts when you switch on the BT Vision box, to complete
itself. During that time you must not try to switch channels or AV
settings.
NOTES - Nov 14th 2007
If using an RF Modulator:
Before switching on the BT V-box to start the setup
1. Set your channel on the TV using your old remote to 8 or the one for
VIDEO
2. Set the channel in the RF Modulator window to 32
Otherwise you may not get the V-box setup showing on the TV screen.
The BT Vision helpdesk, NOW available to all those BT Broadbad
subscribers setting up BT Vision, is instantly accessible and up to the
job. I recommend this technology and service unreservedly.
nnnn
.