Right, upgraded my broad band the other week, and BT have been sending me freebies galore!

First I get a new router (Home hub) and next they send me a BT Vision box. Now my understanding is that this is a freeview box of some description....?

I already have a freeview box, with DVD and Surround sound, so dont really want to disconnect it and replace it with this BT box if all it does is freeview...

Have I got it wrong though? Is it worth connecting the Vision box up as well as my current freeview box - does the BT Vision offer more channels / services etc...?

Alright fella, BT Vision contains the usual freeview stuff, but combines it with a PVR and IPTV service. This means that it is essentially like Sky+ in that you can record and pause TV etc directly onto the box, but also watch TV on demand and streamed TV content too, in a similar way to cable.

Now im not 100% sure on the costs of the IPTV stuff, but I believe the PVR is included in the cost of the broadband.

I know the IPTV aspect of things includes things like movies, music video's and Premiership footbal on demand, which BT has near-live content rights to something like 260 games per season.

It cold be worth a try, it may also hook up to your existing system, either as a standalone, or integrated system. If you dont have a PVR, you may fnd it useful for that feature alone, otherwise, you may feel the IPTV stuff isnt really something that you are interested in.

Have a gander at it, you may enjoy using it, it could well be used in addition to your current setup; after all, as it's included in the cost of your broadband package, its an extra little bonus and something extra on what you have now.

PVR = Personal Video Recorder ( Ithink)
IPTV = I Pause Live TV (I think)

PVR is correct, IPTV stands for Internet Protocol TV, which is essentially on-demand and live internet streaming of video content. This is basically what BBC iPlayer is when you "stream" the content instead of downloading them.

Say you watch something on BT Vision which is IPTV, it will be using 2 - 4Mbps on your internet connection to stream it to the box.

i got Vision through free in mid december,sacked sky off on 3rd of jan only to find i dont have a working aerial socket downstairs in this hovel, ive tried using extensions and adaptors to get the upstairs signal downstairs to no avail,and the RAF wont pay for an engineer to do anything up on the roof,i knew there was a reason we were forced to get sky!

gonna cost me a chunk to get it working, oh and the "mains adaptor" system vision uses is a clever system but huge waste of electricity. God damn BT, and now that sky are doing broadband and TV for 16 a month i regret cancelling it, paying 25 quid for the BTBB and Vision