Possible new EE TV customer - a few questions to ad the decision

[Profile closed]

Hello,

My mum is looking to ditch Sky due  to financial reasons (bill likely to go over £100 for broadband, TV, Netflix and mobile) and having spoken to an EE sales rep today looks like she may be able to halve that potential bill which sounds appealing.

Trying to compare what she gest form Sky, could anyone please help me aid her decision with some questions please?

1. The Sky channels she watches (Sky Atlantic, Sky Max etc) is through the NOW TV layer built in to the EE TV box?

2. Can she record these Sky programs to watch later?

3. Can she series record the Sky programs automatically?

4. Can the normal TV terrestrial and Freeview channels be recorded and watched later?

5. Can the mini EE box for second room viewing access all the same channels? (I realise that cannot record instead just stream)

6.Can two programme be record at one one or watch one and record another?

7. In general how reliable has the service been? I'm not sure if Sky has ever gone down do you do hear people like to share bad experiences more willingly than good ones.

Please forgive for the basic questions, I personally have never had Sky or a TV package. I've only ever had the standard TV with built in freeview.

[Andy_65]

Hi @Profile closed ,

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Yes, will she be using an aerial for theses channels or IP mode (freeview over the internet) from EETV? If, as I do, freeview channels come via IP then the channels available are limited, you cannot skip ads on recorded ITV channels and recorded BBC programmes play through iPlayer - so id the BBC haven't uploaded a programme to iPlayer you can't watch it even though you've recorded it.

5. I don't have an aerial so I don't know, only the IP channels are available for me and you cannot watch recordings.

6. Yes

7. I've had no major issues but more minor glitches in 6 years than I had with Sky in over 20 years. Having said that, I believe generally that you get what you pay for, and if you switch to EETV at the right time then it can be good value for money. I don't think the user interface is as good as Sky, it's nothing more than average and takes some getting used to, especially if you record a lot.

I think your Mum needs to look at what channels she watches, how much she records, what channels she'll get from EETV etc, whether she'll be using an aerial or IP mode only. From a cost point point of view it can certainly be worth switching to EETV but as I said earlier, you get what you pay for.

[Profile closed]

Thanks @Andy_65  much appreciated.

Have you got the EE Pro TV box?, is it possible o post a picture of the planner and general interface please? I'm struggling to find a recent YouTube video showing it.

[Andy_65]

Please excuse the quality of the photos but I have a curved screen which looks exaggerated when a photo is taken close up. Also the photos will need to pass moderation to I'd be surprised if you can see them before tomorrow.

The first is the Home screen, I haven't taken a shot of the TV Guide but the one advantage they do have is that you can scroll back through previous days to see what was on, and if you see the 'Play' symbol press enter and it'll play via the relevant app. Future programmes that are available via on demand also show the 'Play' symbol, a major advantage over the Sky TV Guide although I haven't used Sky Q.

The next one is the Planner home screen.

The last one is what you see when viewing recordings from the same series. You need to be careful when deleting as it's too easy to delete an unwatched recording. There's no 'deleted recordings' tab like Sky so my advice is to watch them all before deleting any of them.

[Profile closed]

Many thanks again, I can see them and will pass  on. Just spoke to her, your answers have confirmed for both us is that we will be happy with the EE offering and will be getting back to the sales agent tomorrow to discuss further. We are approaching with an open given the saving that we will make.

[XRaySpeX]

@Andy_65 : Don't worry, the images were awaiting approval. I have now done so & they should appear soon.

[Andy_65]

Thanks for your speedy intervention @XRaySpeX .

[Midnight_Voice]

@Profile closed 

Very little to add to @Andy_65‘s comprehensive answer, except that the Box Mini doesn’t have an aerial option, so all the channels you get are in IP (internet) Mode, and there’s a more limited selection than via an aerial on the Pro box. But you get all the main ones, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, My 5, and all their sister channels, though several people have bemoaned that Talking Pictures doesn’t appear.

And not relying on an aerial is great if you want to watch in a room without a TV point.

Here’s what you do get, if you want to check for faves:-

https://ee.co.uk/help/tv-sport/manage-use/channel-guide

Note that the Pro box, like all YouView boxes, has the unlovely habit of cutting off the end of programmes that overrun their EPG slot, unless the broadcaster is really on the ball and adjusts for this. It’s rare that it happens, and even rarer that it’s critical, but if you really, really want to be sure of not missing the end of something, record the following programme as well; the missing end will be on the start of that.

[Profile closed]

Many thank @Midnight_Voice very helpful, done much reading on different posts and yes will be setting up in aerial mode, luckily all rooms in the house have aerial points but I understand we wont be able to connect that to the mini TB box, that is fine we have  a Panasonic DVR with is connected to the aerial and can record Freeview channels so will switch to that if and recordings are needed.

Noted about the program  over run comment too.