YouView has become a bit of a joke over the years in tech circles. Envisaged as an easy way of getting TV on-demand from the major broadcasters, it's been delayed so many times I'd given up hope of it ever being released.
The project has been a shambles, but I'm starting to believe that after all the false starts, this could just become the way millions of people who don't pay a subscription watch TV.
A couple of things helped changed my mind at its press launch this morning. First was something Mark Thompson, the director general of the BBC, said. He pointed out that, yes, YouView is delayed, but so was iPlayer (by about two years).
With both iPlayer and Freeview, Thompson pointed out, many people said the BBC was too late to enter the market, and look how well they turned out. He's right -- consumers don't care that YouView has been a catalogue of expensive disasters behind the scenes, they just want to know if the product is any good.
Simplicity is critical
That's the other thing that changed my mind -- in the short time I spent with it today, the service looked good. It's very simple and straightforward. The box has a big hard drive and can record two Freeview channels while you watch a third programme over the Internet.
Compare it to something like Virgin's TiVo and it doesn't win on features. But for the people this is aimed at -- those who don't own a PVR and are barely aware they can watch programmes on their computer -- that's a good thing. Most importantly, the menus are easy to understand and, crucially, fast.
It's been said that in the age of smart TVs, this sort of service is unnecessary, as Internet-connected sets offer a bunch of on-demand services already. To which I say: have you ever used a smart TV? They're all horrible -- slow menus, convoluted interfaces and generally frustrating to use. YouView felt light years ahead of those when I used it.
Contested control
There are problems though. One thing that could prove the platform's undoing is the lack of control YouView has on some of the experience. One of the cool things about the programme guide is the ability to scroll backwards in time through the last seven days, click on a show and stream it on-demand.
That sounds lovely, but what happens in reality is the box kicks you out to a TV station's own video player, rather than one made by YouView. That means the interface is ever so slightly different depending on which channel owns the programme you're watching. It also means long, unskippable adverts if the broadcaster wishes to show them.
The other, larger, problem is that YouView isn't offering a way to pay for anything. Everything I saw on the service today was free, but at some point there will be on-demand TV shows and films you have to pay for. But to shell out for them, you'll have to sign up to accounts with the services selling those shows individually -- in other words, you'll have to log in a lot. For a service that's painting itself as the ultimate in consumer friendliness, that's not good.
How much?
Then there's the price. The people YouView is aimed at are never going to pay £300 for this, no matter how good it is. At the press conference this morning, YouView chairman and creator of the E-m@iler Lord Alan Sugar said he wouldn't be surprised if there were YouView boxes on sale in shops for £99 in two years' time. That's a long time in consumer tech.
There's a chance that BT or TalkTalk, both shareholders in YouView, may bundle the box with a broadband deal for a lot less. But I can't see BT cannibalising sales of its own BT Vision box -- which is very similar to YouView -- so I'm not holding my breath for a mega discount here. (We'll know either way at the end of the month.)
But despite the problems, I remain a YouView convert -- at least for now. It's going to take years, but there is a chance this will change the way millions of people watch TV in the UK forever.
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Comments 16
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Mark Wood 4 July, 2012 19:18
Brilliant idea, and nice to see a UK content based solution with all the catch-up channels (unlike Apple TV, Google TV, Boxee, Roku, Game Consoles, Smart TVs etc)
£300 is far too much though, make it £99 and I'll buy a couple tomorrow. Stick in a Blu-Ray player and I might even pay £150 for it.
Lord Sugar - you're fired
(sorry, I tried to resist)
anonymous 4 July, 2012 20:38
I don't really get this. How is this an improvement over sky+ or virgin Tivo? Waist of £300
Late8 4 July, 2012 21:01
Is the box just a Humax PVR with a youview logo slapped on it?? Looks identical.
If so I hope they have boosted the CPU because the current flagship Humax free view PVR is so laggy when it comes to the TV portal and I player etc.
billfred 4 July, 2012 21:10
I really like the idea of this, shame it's taken so long. Also, £300... no freaking way. I'll be sticking with the Xbox plus old PVR for now.
billfred 4 July, 2012 21:13
Oh @ anon. It's subscription free, therefore = WIN. Sky's service was TERRIBLE for the 2 years I've just been with them. Customer service was dreadful (unless you were adding packs to your TV) and the signal dropped out every time it rained or a passer by farted. I'm willing to give Virgin a go soon as their internet has been so good (if a little pricey) and TIVO looks great, apparently a little laggy compared to the Sky box though. I reckon I could put up with it.... maybe.
anonymous 5 July, 2012 09:15
It's far too expensive for what it is. Most TVs now have Freeview tuners built in and you can pick up consoles or smart TV units like Apple TV, Roku, blu-ray players etc. for £100 or less. I'm sure you can get a smart TV for £300 or less.
It's a good concept, but nothing new, and the price really is staggeringly ridiculous. The only way I could really see this making an impact is if they sold it as a budget option.
I guess the ability to record TV goes some way to justifying the price, though for me there is very, very little worth recording for later on Freeview, and what there is can generally be found on the channel's online catch up service.
It just looks like a device that looks like a great idea, but when you take each selling point and analyse it, you realise that the market is full of far cheaper options, and for many people, they probably already have these options (like buying a TV tuner for their PC for example).
Also, no wifi? Meaning you essentially must have this in your main room. If these cost £100 having 2/3 of them in the house feeding off the wifi would be a really good solution for smart TV throughout the house, especially if they can be linked together and what is recorded on one in the living room whilst getting making dinner, or something, can be watched later on in bed.
For a company headed by a man that likes to tell people that they're not very good at understanding markets or doing business, and then telling them how it's done, I'm a bit surprised at how out of touch this is.
anonymous 5 July, 2012 11:14
I think the price will drop after the initial surge of clueless monkeys snap up a bunch. Always does.
Needs to be £100.
anonymous 5 July, 2012 11:21
About 10 years or so ago, I built a Windows Media Centre PC. It recorded and showed live Sky tv, It also shared all it's media on the home network very easily.
I don't have it any more, I just use Youtube on my android and other devices. Does me fine.
anonymous 5 July, 2012 11:33
I'm surprised that more people aren't using mini desktop pcs as main media centres these days, especially with SSDs making boot up times and resuming from standby very, very quick. I suspect you could build one for cheaper than this with a freeview tuner. You can even get Sky monthly passes. And even if you can't record stuff, most things are available on catch up services anyway. This does seem like a market that's waiting to explode really, maybe the profile of youview will give it the push it needs.
anonymous 5 July, 2012 12:58
I'm one year into my first TiVo box. To the poster above who said its slower than sky i disagree my father has sky+ HD and the interface is terrible & laggy compared to TiVo. TiVo box has 3 tuners and you can watch recorded show while all 3 are recording, it also has the go back in time to watch catchup mentioned for You View. Plus it does youtube.
It learns what you like to watch and records programs for you automatically, many times ive realised i missed a program only to find its already there waiting for me. Its interface is way ahead of everyone else in usability. I dont know that ill be able to use anything else again really.
As for youview, it would be OK for my mam who dosnt do subsciptions if it cost a £100 but not at £300.
Is it Freeview HD? for £300 it better be.
Jason Jenkins 5 July, 2012 17:19
To the commenters above:
Watching TV over wi-fi is a rubbish experience for many people, with stuttering and drop outs common. It's a good thing there's no wi-fi on this box, because it would only end up frustrating the people it's aimed at in the long-run.
Yes, it's more expensive than Apple or Roku, but it has a hard drive recorder and two TV tuners in it. Plus there's way more UK TV content.
Yes, it's Freeview HD and yes, it's too expensive, but in a year or two, who knows?
anonymous 6 July, 2012 16:50
Got to be better than "Sky" just ordered hd package from Sky plus, spent over an hour to get a good package, only to be ruined by the so called "Sky engineer" saying that I had a call booked for installation at 7.45am the next day. I said I thought that was a bit too early for me and could I book a later time, due to the fact I had to be out of the house at 6.50am due to work.
I was told that was it mate take it or leave it, next time they could fit me in was in 10 days.
I spent 3 and a half hours trying to get it all sorted out on the telephone, but to no avail, so in the end I cancelled my account, which I thought was appalling way to treat a customer for over 8 years. Who do these people think they are to bully their subscribers in such a way, I was shocked and still am very angry.
anonymous 7 July, 2012 10:51
I've already got a Freeview recorder, so only want the catch up services. Will they release a device with these on only.
There are many devices with internet TV on, but none with all there services I want, so have not brought any!
The only devices with all the services I want are game consoles, but am not prepared to pay that much, as don't want to play games.
Mark Wood 7 July, 2012 18:52
if one were being cynical, then one might think that the price tag is artificially high so that the 18+ month deals that BT & TalkTalk are to offer will look like good value :-)
Mark Wood 7 July, 2012 18:55
do any of the game consoles do 4OD, ITVPlayer and BBC iPlayer for free?
GrahamC 10 July, 2012 11:00
This is the box I have been waiting for. A Simple slip under box with every thing included for over the air TV watching. I personally don't find £300 expensive, wanting it cheaper is only natural but that will come and I expect it to end up at the £230 mark in 12 months. It's also easy to see this sans recording at £150.
I'll def be taking a close look at the deals on offer.