The cost of on demand TV

Busy lives and last minute lunches mean we often miss our favourite programmes. Here's one way to watch TV without having to set that recorder...

I like to think I lead a busy life, and though I'm more of a social chrysalis than a butterfly, missing several Strictly Come Dancing episodes this autumn left me with serious salsa withdrawal symptoms.

But as diaries become busier and organisation goes out the window, one way to make sure you don't miss out on your favourite programmes is on demand TV.

The launch of services such as BT Vision and the Sky+ box now means watching TV can be more likened to a DVD library than simply watching the box. What's more, being able to tailor what you watch and cut out all the things you don't means on demand could prove more value for money than a traditional sky or cable TV package - especially if you're a heavy subscriber.

According to BT, a fifth of all people who subscribe to Sky's Movie channels hadn't watched a single film for a month. With nearly two-thirds of Sky customers paying over £50 a month for their Sky bundle, it also found almost half the respondents had watched three or less movies per month.

So, with on demand allowing us to control what we want to watch, when we want to watch it, perhaps it's time to think outside the box and follow this new trend.

Here's a quick look at the three main players in the market, together with what they offer:

*Includes £1 a month BT line rental increase from April 2009. Assumes payment by direct debit and paperless billing.

**£60 installation fee applies for existing customers.

As you can see, although the packages are hard to compare on a like for like basis, each has its plus points.

When you factor in broadband costs, BT's offering, BT Vision costs slightly more per month than its competitors. However, you also get its 'V-box' (the part which does all the magic) free, which brings it in line with the competition.

If you live in Virgin's cable area, you may also want to consider its on demand service.

As well as offering seven days of free catch up TV on channels to all its TV customers including BBC, E4 and Living, Virgin is also the first to bring BBC iPlayer to your TV, so you won't have to squint at the pixels on your laptop.

For a more comprehensive service which offers entire series of popular TV programmes such as Grey's Anatomy and The Sopranos, you could also opt for TV choice, which costs an extra £7 a month, but is free to XL TV customers, and has a whopping 4,600 hours of on demand content available.

To qualify for these prices, you'll need to have a Virgin phone line, which costs £11 a month. You can also currently get £50 credit when you sign up to a bundle before the end of the month.

If you don't fancy switching your phone line, and don't like the look of BT, Sky's Anytime service comes free with any Sky HD+ or Sky+ box (after November 2005), and offers 40 hours of the best TV on demand, updated daily.

Although it comes at no extra charge, like Virgin catch up, it is also more limited than BT Vision and Virgin Choice.

Pause live TV?

However, one great feature of Sky+ is it allows you to pause and rewind live TV as it happens, and, for the organised, allows you to record the shows you want to watch at your leisure. BT's TV Replay (provided you have Freeview reception in your area) also offers this service.

Sky is also offering its high tech Sky+ HD box for just £49 at the moment, with no installation fees for both new and existing customers - provided they are prepared to fork out the extra £9.75 a month for the HD (high definition) service.

Sky's HD box also comes with an ethernet connection, suggesting it could move towards more comprehensive on-demand services in the future - so watch this space.

If you want to pause and rewind live TV with Virgin, you need to get hold of its V+ box. The service costs a one-off fee of £99, plus £5 a month on M and L packages (free on XL packages), and can also handle HD.

Brain exploded yet? You can get a better view of how each provider compares here.

Watch while you surf...free!

As well as these paid on demand services, the UK's main terrestrial channels also offer free catch-up TV to watch on your computer.

The most well known is probably BBC's iPlayer, which you can watch on your computer or on a range of compatible devices at your leisure. All you need is a decent broadband connection (around 512kpbs or more should be sufficient).

To help you find what you want, handy search tools as this guide from TVReplay let you search for the programme you're looking for, and will lead you straight to its location on the net.

For a more comprehensive service, Sky Player TV also allows you to watch a range of programmes on your computer, as and when they happen. Plus there's no need to subscribe to a dish, set top box, or long term contract (although Mac users are currently unable to get movies or entertainment channels). You can either pay as you go as an existing Sky customer, or get a TV pack which starts from £15 a month.

In a world where convenience is quickly becoming king, TV on demand is fast becoming the way forward. It may not be cheap, but it could save you money on that bumper Sky package, and gives you the luxury of building your watching habits around your life, and not the other way around.

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