Within the last few years there's been a new explosion of TV in our lives. Before, we were content to watch television on a schedule dictated by the broadcasters, but things have moved on a long way since then.
We now have a huge range of services that let us to get our fix of programmes and movies at any time and through a multitude of devices. No longer are we confined to the living room - the internet lets us watch TV anywhere in the house, while portable media devices like smartphones and tablets keep us entertained on the move.
Viewing habits haven't quite kept pace with technological advancement, so although the amount of time we spend watching television is increasing every year, we're still a long way from ridding our homes of the big TV - just 0.2 per cent of people in the UK watch TV exclusively online.
That's understandable considering most viewers have only recently just caught pace with the big-screen TV bandwagon. As the number of services increases, along with the number of ways we can access them, the future of TV becomes ever more muddled and confusing.
Which service do you trust to supply your programmes? Do you really need catch-up TV? Do you buy your movies through your TV provider, or should you stream them online? Most importantly, how much should you pay for it all?
Answering these questions isn't an easy task, and the service providers scrapping for world domination don't help either. We're here to cut through the jargon and tell you what's worth a second look.
We'll look at what traditional content providers like Sky and Virgin are offering, and what they're doing to keep pace with an ever-evolving industry. We'll also take stock of what the plethora of online services are offering to see if they can compete with the big guns.
BBC iPlayer
The BBC, with its publicly supported TV empire, is a long-standing British institution, so it should come as no surprise that its digital service - BBC iPlayer - was the first of the online catch-up facilities to appear as broadband internet connections hit the mainstream.
This is part of the reason for iPlayer's popularity - the BBC has long been a symbol of the nation - but it's also head and shoulders above the rest in terms of content and delivery - at least for now.
In 2010 the BBC received 887 million requests for iPlayer, and that number is set to rise. iPlayer's content is made up almost entirely of TV shows, along with the occasional film, which have already aired on terrestrial TV and can be watched for up to a week after they're made available online. There's also a catch-up service for the BBC's radio stations.
What makes iPlayer even better is the browser-based service's desktop counterpart, which - once downloaded and installed - lets you save programmes straight to your PC and keep them for up to 30 days, giving you greater flexibility over when you watch your choice of shows.
The desktop app has another significant advantage over the browser version - and other catch-up services - because it lets you record an entire series of programmes with a simple click of your mouse - iPlayer will do the rest of the work for you.
iPlayer's other celebrated feature is high definition content, which is ripped straight from BBC One and BBC HD. However, if you have a keen eye for quality you'll notice that HD programmes seem to have been compressed somewhat so they can be streamed down the pipes without causing any hiccups.
With these impressive features available to anyone free of charge, iPlayer is clearly ahead of the game. Provided you don't have to watch something the minute it's broadcast, iPlayer will meet all your needs. If you're happy sticking to BBC content, it could even make Freeview TV redundant.
Anyone for tennis
iPlayer doesn't just offer catch-up TV either; it airs a reasonable amount of live TV as well - mainly sports broadcasts and the like. It's started to provide HD streaming too, with the recent Wimbledon tournament offered in glorious detail, albeit to a lucky minority in particular parts of the country.
The BBC has attempted to broaden its reach by appealing to viewers who have an internet connection but don't necessarily want to switch on their PC to reap the benefits of its catch-up and on-demand TV service. That's why you'll find an iPlayer app in so many internet-enabled devices like the PlayStation 3, a range of smart TVs and the D-Link Boxee Box.
The BBC's final offering is its iPad app, which has been specifically designed to make the most of the service's features, which have been optimised for Apple's tablet. You can only stream iPlayer content over Wi-Fi at present, so you're restricted to using it at home or wherever you can find a wireless hotspot on your travels.
To date, no other catch-up service has managed to branch out to such a diverse range of media-consuming platforms, and iPlayer looks set to further capitalise on its growth as the BBC looks at ways of improving its mobile broadcasting.
One feature that might see the light of day is DVB-T2-Lite, which will let the BBC offer reliable live broadcasts on mobile devices with less impact on battery life. We have yet to see whether this will work with 3G networks and allow truly mobile TV consumption.
Verdict: 5/5
ITV Player
The ITV Player, previously known as ITV Online, is the place to go if you want to sift through the range of programmes available on the broadcaster's channels. The service couldn't be simpler to use and everything you could want is within easy reach.
When you open a program, you might find yourself getting a little annoyed at the two adverts that play at the beginning, as well as subsequent adverts that play throughout the show, but this is how the channel is funded. This is ITV after all, not the BBC, and it doesn't benefit from TV licence fees.
According to the word on the street, ITV is looking into creating a mobile version of its online service so that the majority of smartphone owners can access its programmes on the move. If it does, it will usurp the BBC, which currently only has an app for the iPad, but is looking at other mobile options (see above).
Verdict: 3/5
YouTube
Ask someone what they think was the biggest internet revolution of the 21st century and they'll probably say it was YouTube. And with good reason - the user-generated video-blogging site has changed the online landscape forever.
It lets anyone, however well known they are (or not), whatever the quality of their content and wherever they hail from, upload their weird and wonderful videos for anyone around the world to watch at their convenience. The beauty of YouTube is that in the blink of an eye it's taken the broadcasting power from the bigwigs and placed it right in our hands.
OK, so it might not have stopped people wanting to watch a high quality, professionally made production in their living room TVs, but it's an insight into how TV might be produced in the future. After all with YouTube you don't need a big budget - or indeed any budget at all - to produce your own TV series and establish a massive following.
YouTube also lets you share high definition content all the way up to the mighty 1080p, and the site has even started experimenting with 3D viewing. The service isn't just dedicated to amateur video bloggers and filmmakers either - it also has a section where you can watch catch-up TV from the likes of Channel 5 and 4OD, as well as a variety of films and live TV events.
Although it's at a disadvantage in terms of the amount of relevant content it can offer through these channels, YouTube's key strength is its ability to find something you're interested in watching quickly and easily. If YouTube's catch-up function doesn't offer what you're looking for, chances are you'll be able to find it elsewhere on the site - after all, its users upload a staggering eight years' worth of content every day.
Multi-platform
YouTube has universal appeal, and it's no surprise that you can access its video-sharing resource almost anywhere, no matter what the device you're using. There are apps available for just about any mobile device, media player and smart TV, but the unique thing about YouTube is the way its content is shared between users.
The site is a social powerhouse, with around 17 million people sharing their videos with an accompanying social network like Facebook or Twitter. Although it might sound like an excuse for one of your friends to annoy you with yet another video of a dog being beaten up by a cat or a dancing parrot, the sentiment is important: if everyone shared the programmes they watched live or via catch-up with their online associates, their viewing figures would no doubt increase dramatically.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Demand 5
Think waiting 20 seconds for programmes in ITV Player is bad? Then you won't like Demand 5, where the adverts are over a minute long. Surely on-demand TV should be instantaneous?
As with ITV Player there's also a smattering of adverts during each show, but you can choose to skip these. This aside, Demand 5 is making some pretty big strides to give its service something the other providers haven't picked up on yet.
Click on a programme and not only will you see the video, you'll also see a wide range of extra options related to it. For example, the new series of Big Brother has the addition of several tabs that allow you to check the show's Facebook page, see who's in the house and review the most memorable moments at a glance. These social tools transform the service from passive viewing to something interactive and much more compelling.
Verdict: 3/5
LoveFilm
While Blockbuster was bumbling about trying to stuff its shops with the latest movies, LoveFilm blitzed the market overnight. Its revolutionary rental service delivers films to your door, meaning getting what you want is as simple as clicking a button LoveFilm is now pushing LoveFilm Player, which lets you watch movies online, through a PlayStation 3 or via certain internet-enabled TVs.
There are over 6,000 movies online at the time of writing, so although it can't match the 70,000 or so available through its postal service, it's pretty impressive. LoveFilm even holds a small selection of free films, but these aren't great, and are really there so people can try the service before subscribing.
For the 6,000 titles available, LoveFilm has implemented an unusual selling strategy, making 5,000 open only to people who subscribe to its package deal. The remainder are available on a pay-per-view basis, with prices from 99p to £3.49.
LoveFilm hosts regular promotions offering free rentals for a couple of months to new customers, so our advice would be to try this before you commit to anything. The beauty of LoveFilm is that you can watch films online immediately, so there's no waiting for downloads.
Movies are streamed on demand, but there's a price to pay for instant gratification, and the quality of the movies is a little low. This isn't HD in all its glory, and is a bit disappointing on a big HDTV. Then again, those of us with slow internet connections may be thankful, because it works without hiccups.
Still, BBC iPlayer and MSN's VideoPlayer offer HD streaming, so LoveFilm has a little catching up to do. LoveFilm has an iPad app, but at the moment it only lets you order films by post, not watch them. However, if you're using a Flash-enabled browser (not Safari then) you can watch films online as you would on a PC. Not ideal, but it works.
Verdict: 4/5
iTunes
Apple is a bit like Marmite - you either love it or loathe it - and the same goes for its media-rich offspring, iTunes. The store is targeted primarily at an audience of iFans - those with iPhones, iPads and everything else with an 'i' in it - although Apple also caters who want to download the latest TV show or movie to their PC, provided they don't mind watching it in the iTunes desktop app.
Apple is an American brand, so the store's content is biased towards American TV shows. This is no surprise - Apple is the dominant service in the US, with a 64.5 per cent share in the on-demand market last year.
Its biased selection isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on what floats your boat. You'll also find the odd Brit show like recent comedy The Inbetweeners and classics like Blackadder. The film selection is quite impressive, but not quite as extensive as those of dedicated services like LoveFilm.
iTunes has one huge advantage though - most of its content (be it TV shows or movies) is available in high definition, which puts it head and shoulders above LoveFilm's standard definition line-up. You'll have to wait for it though - there's no instant access streaming here. You have to download anything you want to watch, and with the HD stuff that's going to take some time.
What makes iTunes a truly great service and a serious contender for the title of best on-demand provider is its ability to transfer any movies or TV shows straight to your mobile device. This means you can download a programme once and watch it wherever you are. Didn't have time to finish that movie on your desktop last night? Save it to your iPad and watch the rest of it on the way to work the following morning.
No other service currently offers so many ways to enjoy films and TV. You'll need to have an Apple mobile device, but that's to be expected. Should you have such a device, you can also use it to download and buy content through iTunes.
If you're stuck for entertainment on your travels you can access anything you need, although you need a Wi-Fi connection the content happens to be below 20MB, which is unlikely.
iTunes isn't perfect; it's a little bit clunky and slow at times, and unless you've already got an iDevice installed you might baulk at the need to install it just to get access to something you want to watch.
But that's the real Marmite bit of iTunes, if you want to do anything with it, it must be done through iTunes - there's no other way.
Verdict: 4/5
BT Vision
Vision is BT's TV on demand service. For around £20 a month you get broadband, a Home Hub router and the all important BT Vision+ Box. This is a Freeview recorder that can access BT's on demand library. You can also upgrade your package for access to extras like Sky Sports channels for £12.50 each.
So what's it like living with BT? The system's interface has constantly evolved and at the time of writing has recently moved over to a white text on pastel blue look. Oddly, this makes the interface more difficult to see and navigate.
That minor gripe aside, BT is a well organised and thought out system. Recorded content comes from Freeview and on Demand program from BT's library. BBC iPlayer is a comparatively recent addition to the platform and BT has done a solid job implementing it. Movie rentals cost £4 for two days. For newer movies this makes sense, particularly if you fancy watching in high definition or 3D. You can't buy a blockbuster Blu-ray for that money.
The story isn't the same for older movies though. We sometimes find its cheaper to shop around and buy DVDs rather than rent from BT. The platform also boasts a huge selection of TV on demand. Episodes of major shows cost around £1 each which isn't bad value.
BT can be a bit cheeky though. We found a recent show was available for free on Channel 5's on demand services but cost £1 an episode on BT Vision.
In conclusion BT Vision is a well executed and stable platform. If you want to enjoy the latest movies at home it makes good financial sense too. When it comes to older films and some on-demand TV we recommend shopping around before streaming your evening's viewing from BT. There may be cheaper options out there.
Sky TV
Murdoch's empire knows no bounds, and nothing says this better than Sky TV - the virtual monopoly that's stormed into the homes of millions of UK residents. Almost 40 per cent of households are subscribers according to Ofcom in its report on digital TV in 2010.
There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the Sky dish makes it easy to access a huge range of content. The second and more important factor is the range of programmes available to viewers, including a hefty selection of movie and sports channels.
The company's main focus is its regular TV service, which is where it makes its money, but it's still experimenting elsewhere. One of its most recent advances has been in 3D TV, letting the three million Sky+ HD customers enjoy their favourite programmes with an extra dimension.
That's not to say there hasn't been investment in other areas. Sky was one of the first TV services to offer mobile apps for viewers wanting to watch programmes on the move. Although limited to the company's sports channels, the Sky Go and Sky Mobile TV iPhone and iPad apps let mobile users watch live content where they are - even over a 3G connection (unlike the iPlayer app, which needs to be tethered to a Wi-Fi connection).
As with everything from Sky, if you want to use the apps you'll have to pay for the privilege. Sky Mobile TV costs £8 a month on the iPhone and a hefty £35 a month for the iPad. The Sky Go app is free, but you must be a Sky TV subscriber to use it.
It's a similar situation with the PC-based version of Sky's TV service, also called Sky Go. If you already subscribe to regular Sky TV, you can easily access any of the channels you already normally watch, including the live streams and any catch-up TV available. The catch-up service boasts over 500 movies, so there's plenty of up to date content to choose from.
Silverlight
Sky's video player does away with the Flash format in favour of Microsoft Silverlight, so Sky Go streams content perfectly without delay or interruption. It's a great feature, and we're surprised that it isn't more common.
Non-subscribers have it much harder, as you might expect. Live streams aren't available unless you use Sky's Monthly Ticket facility, which ranges from £15 to £40 a month, and catch-up TV is heavily restricted, featuring only channels given to basic subscribers, like Sky One. Even then, you have to pay £1 to rent an episode.
It's worth noting that even if you subscribe to the Monthly Ticket you'll still need to pay nearly £150 a year for a TV licence. This leads us to wonder whether there's any point subscribing to a low-spec service from Sky when the majority of its channels are available through live or catch-up services elsewhere on the internet, which are covered by your TV licence.
The allure of subscribing to Sky is its wealth of premium film and sports channels. The internet-based Go service is tricky to use unless you know exactly where to click, and the current payment structure means it feels restricted to the casual user.
Sky Go has also branched out into the realm of gaming with Xbox 360 compatibility, which is convenient, because the console is likely to be sitting next to the TV in the living room anyway.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Your comments (4) Click to add a new comment
bradavon
December 5th 2011
4. YouView is the one that interests me most. The ability to have Catch Up TV, BBC iPlayer and Freeview+ HD all in one box should be great. This is kind of offered now from Humax etc... but their BBC iPlayer section is hardly integrated. It should be seamless on YouView.
I've zero interest in video (except YouTube) on a computer screen, no matter how big it is. I am okay watching short TV shows on iPlayer on a smartphone/tablet but proper TV watching, it's all about the TV.
It stinks the Android iPlayer app works only over Wifi when both the unofficial MyPlayer and BeebPlayer worked perfectly over 3G, before the BBC saw fit to kill them off.
Both also allowed you to pause without it going completely out of sync and rewind/fast forward without the stream completely crashing.
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matthew.newton1993
December 4th 2011
3. Wait, misunderstood, it's the same principle, both iPlayer and ITV Player apps require Wifi, so they aren't really mobile.
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badgerboy1977
December 4th 2011
2. Just a couple of notes, TvCatchup and Blinkbox both work on most Android devices through the browser due to Flash being on board (I personally use them a lot for TV and film streaming, especially on my Tablet). Also Blinkbox is available on the PS3 through the browser so no need for PC connections if you have one.
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matthew.newton1993
December 4th 2011
1. The ITV Player App is available for Smartphones - I have it on my GSII, free from Android Market
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