BritBox player launch

SarahSarah Member Posts: 1,812 admin
in Announcements

From today, BritBox will be made available to selected devices on YouView starting with Humax Retail T2000 devices.

This is a phased release as it requires a software update to enable it to be switched on, so some box models will receive it sooner than others. We will update this thread when it’s made available on other box models.

BritBox is a subscription service focusing on British TV series and films supplied by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. BritBox will offer a wide range of popular TV shows across various categories including Drama, Comedy, Documentary & Lifestyle, Reality & Entertainment and Crime. 

To create an account, please go to www.BritBox.co.uk


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Comments

  • VisionmanVisionman Member, Super User Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭
    That was quick!
    I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
  • Ken Hill1Ken Hill1 Member Posts: 261 ✭✭
    edited 31 March 2020, 5:34PM
    Good news when we having it on the t400 and the T2100 boxes anytime soon as I don't have to watch it on my Smart TV ? thank sarah for the good news now we know that brit box as started to roll out on youvier.
  • gsvalentinegsvalentine Member Posts: 163 ✭✭
    Just news! Just had the update!
  • jimbjimb Member, Super User Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭
    Reminds me of when I first got a TalkTalk box. 
  • RoyRoy Member, Super User Posts: 17,718 ✭✭✭
    jimb said:
    Reminds me of when I first got a TalkTalk box. 
    Slow and clunky?  :p
    ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
  • AnaglyptaAnaglypta Member, Super User Posts: 871 ✭✭✭
    two new player launches in the space of a week! I do declare my head is spinning. :D
    John.
    "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." - George S. Patton
  • RoyRoy Member, Super User Posts: 17,718 ✭✭✭
    edited 31 March 2020, 9:52PM
    90 minutes in to White House Farm Murders (30 mins in on 2nd episode, watched back to back) it glitched, came back playing, but with no sound, unresponsive to the YouView remote - Pause, Back, Close, nothing.

    And you can’t get subtitles, even when it is working ‘properly’.

    I had to turn off the YouView box to regain control.

    Put it on again, went back in, fast forwarded to where it stopped (roughly, as there is only a timeline, with no visual clues) and was able to watch the rest of the episode.

    But there is no way it should have been released in this state  :#
    ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
  • kodikidkodikid Member Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    Anaglypta said:
    two new player launches in the space of a week! I do declare my head is spinning. :D
    John.
    Pity those "new" releases didn't include Disney ☹
    Deacon Blue hit from October 88
  • VisionmanVisionman Member, Super User Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭
    edited 31 March 2020, 9:53PM
    Roy said:
    But there is no way it should have been released in this state.

    Agreed, however these are strange times for everyone. I'm also shocked by the quick release of this as its nowhere near ready for public release. But better than nothing perhaps, before a possible total lockdown?
    I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
  • kodikidkodikid Member Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    In a saturated  market with Netflix prime and Now tv, " better then nothing " is hardly applicable. 
    Apparently all 4 are adding content this month but the mystery remains why iplayer is exceptionally user friendly and Britbox simply isn't. 
    Deacon Blue hit from October 88
  • scottscott Member, Super User Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭
    Yes we seem to have gone from one extreme to the other with YouView releases. I presume the thinking is that in these lockdown times having the ability to access something (not matter how rough) is better than nothing. Games have been following this path for a while with patches released to get it to what should have been a release state, some prefer some do not. I think a small middle ground needs to be found going forwards (hopefully there will be more to come) but I don’t think we should be too hard on decisions made in these unusual times.
  • scottscott Member, Super User Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭
    or to quote someone else on here. It is rushed out so they can take advantage of the situation and upsell to a few more confined customers. Shameful ;)
  • RoyRoy Member, Super User Posts: 17,718 ✭✭✭
    scott said:
    or to quote someone else on here. It is rushed out so they can take advantage of the situation and upsell to a few more confined customers. Shameful ;)
    It is a truth universally to be acknowledged that by the time an app finally appears on YouView, it is already available on just about every other platform going.

    So all Britbox on YouView brings to the party is a little more convenience in accessing an app which, if anybody wants it, they probably have already subscribed to elsewhere.
    ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
  • kodikidkodikid Member Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    Dont think it was rushed out.
     It was originally due end of 2019 on youview that then got postponed to the "2nd quarter ".
    Its basically a poor app in comparison to it's competitors. 
    Stay safe everyone. 
    Deacon Blue hit from October 88
  • Ken Hill1Ken Hill1 Member Posts: 261 ✭✭
    i have not got it yet on my bt t 400 box and not on my t 2100 box
  • Ken Hill1Ken Hill1 Member Posts: 261 ✭✭
    channel 4 as just been add today
  • RoyRoy Member, Super User Posts: 17,718 ✭✭✭
    edited 1 April 2020, 12:16PM
    kodikid said:
    Dont think it was rushed out.
     It was originally due end of 2019 on youview that then got postponed to the "2nd quarter ".
    Its basically a poor app in comparison to it's competitors. 
    Stay safe everyone. 
    It is academic whether it was rushed out, or dribbled out.

    Either way, it isn’t ready.

    And while neither the BBC’s design of the iPlayer nor itv’s design of its Hub seemed to have informed the UI of this app, their combined experience in this area should have taught them how to produce something that does not crash so frequently.

    Does anybody know if these woes are common to Britbox everywhere, or is it just the YouView version that is rocky?
    ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
  • kodikidkodikid Member Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    edited 1 April 2020, 1:53PM
    Only 2% carry on the subscription after the trial offer, so the assumption can be made it's truly woeful universally. 
    Whether they give in because of the poor content or pathetic usability is anybody's guess. 
    Deacon Blue hit from October 88
  • AnaglyptaAnaglypta Member, Super User Posts: 871 ✭✭✭
    Roy said:

    Does anybody know if these woes are common to Britbox everywhere, or is it just the YouView version that is rocky?

    The UI is pretty much the same whether you use a Web browser, YouView, or the Android app. (Sorry I have no iThingy devices, so can't comment on these)

    @kodikid Just about every review of the android app is 1 star, and nearly everyone is complaining about the UI and its usabilty rather than the content, saying that they have to fast forward through previous episodes to pick up where they left off in a series because there is no method to display all the episodes.

    I can sympathise with this last problem as it took me ages to discover how to display all series and all episodes, and it differs depending on how you launched the programme - Intuitive it is not!

    John.
    "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." - George S. Patton
  • jimbjimb Member, Super User Posts: 1,425 ✭✭✭
    kodikid said:
    Only 2% carry on the subscription after the trial offer... 

    You keep saying this. 
    Where does this information come from? 
  • kodikidkodikid Member Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    Ok I was exaggerating. 
    It's actually 1.5%
    Mail online.
    Deacon Blue hit from October 88
  • joneshjonesh Member, Super User Posts: 1,706 ✭✭✭
    edited 1 April 2020, 5:46PM
    jimb said:
    kodikid said:
    Only 2% carry on the subscription after the trial offer... 
    You keep saying this. 
    Where does this information come from? 

    kodikid said:
    Ok I was exaggerating. 
    It's actually 1.5%
    Mail online.
    The figure of 1.5% comes from a piece by The Mail reporting on the results of a presumably voluntary response survey conducted by Oliver & Ohlbaum associates, Strategy Advisers in the Media, Entertainment & Sports sectors. There was a similar article in The Times.
    There is no indication of how the sample for the survey was chosen, or how it was conducted.
    The piece includes this comment from a spokeswoman for BritBox: 'The research assertions made about BritBox bear no resemblance to the truth - unsurprising as they don't have access to real user data vs sample data - which we would question.
  • kodikidkodikid Member Posts: 1,084 ✭✭
    The spokesperson for Britbox was in a clear position to say those figures are fantasy as the official churn rate is..
    They didn't which speaks volumes. 
    Deacon Blue hit from October 88
  • VisionmanVisionman Member, Super User Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭
    edited 1 April 2020, 8:55PM
    jimb said:
    kodikid said:
    Only 2% carry on the subscription after the trial offer... 

    You keep saying this. 
    Where does this information come from? 

    As jonesh has helpfully said, the survey was conducted by Oliver & Ohlbaum associates, Strategy Advisers in the Media, Entertainment & Sports sectors. The results were taken from a total sample group of 5,300 people who were on the free 30 day trial. The survey was commissioned by The Times newspaper.

    No one knows the true figures as ITV hasn't said, but they expect BritBox UK will remain in the net investment phase for a number of years, which in simple language means lose money. So its pretty much following the pattern of all SVoD service launches by a) refusing to release subscriber numbers, b) lose money in its first few years (expected to be 4-5), c) will review the situation after 4 years.

    But personally all the above doesn't really concern me. The quality, solidity and reliability of the app DOES. Its poor across all platforms as it stands at the moment.
    I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
  • joneshjonesh Member, Super User Posts: 1,706 ✭✭✭
    Visionman said:
    the survey was conducted by Oliver & Ohlbaum associates, Strategy Advisers in the Media, Entertainment & Sports sectors. The results were taken from a total sample group of 5,300 people who were on the free 30 trial. The survey was commissioned by The Times newspaper.
    Thank you for the clarification @Visionman.
  • VisionmanVisionman Member, Super User Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭
    Hey and no jonesh. It was your post that nudged my memory! So thanks to you!  :)
    I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
  • westonewestone Member Posts: 40 ✭
    The BritBox app is not available on either of my T2100's but became available on both my LG TV's last night so will see if that works OK.
  • RoyRoy Member, Super User Posts: 17,718 ✭✭✭
    westone said:
    The BritBox app is not available on either of my T2100's but became available on both my LG TV's last night so will see if that works OK.
    Ah, do let us know, preferably after watching a couple of episodes of something back to back. This is something that Britbox on my YouView box hasn’t been able to cope with, twice now.
    ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
  • VisionmanVisionman Member, Super User Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭
    Heres a very balanced review of Britbox, although strangely the reviewer didn't encounter any technical issues -

    https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/britbox-uk-review/ 
    I'm now happy with the disagree icon, because its gone.
  • westonewestone Member Posts: 40 ✭
    Roy said:
    westone said:
    The BritBox app is not available on either of my T2100's but became available on both my LG TV's last night so will see if that works OK.
    Ah, do let us know, preferably after watching a couple of episodes of something back to back. This is something that Britbox on my YouView box hasn’t been able to cope with, twice now.
    @Roy watched 3 episodes of Doc Martin without any technical problems on the LG version of the app. My only comment would be that navigation of the home page was rather sluggish.
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