TalkTalk TV | My Mills Baby

As you all know, we’re TalkTalk ambassadors and are now roughly halfway through an extended trial of their services. Just in case I’ve managed to tempt any of you into making the big switch, I thought I’d give you a little update with some important news from the brand. They’ve gone and launched an all new and improved TalkTalk player - and pretty special it is too.

It’s easier to use, quicker to load and tailored to you giving it a much fresher user experience. To access the new world of TalkTalk, you need only press the TalkTalk button on your remote and you’re then free to browse the new homepage for On Demand programming. If you can’t access it, you’ll need to go to ‘Settings’ from the YouView menu, select ‘Device Management’, ‘Update On Demand Players’ and press ‘OK’ to download the update. This update is now available to all one million plus TalkTalk TV homes.

It’s actually a much needed update. The old style was a little tricky to navigate. In particular, it was difficult to work out which films were part of the Sky On Demand collection, and which were available to rent. With the new look, the menu is now styled on a word cloud so there’s no more tabs to scroll through - this has simplified the experience so you can easily tell the difference between the bundles and Sky On Demand service. They’ve also handily got a space for ‘Included channels’ so you can find the free to watch movies, series and shows included within your TV boosts.

They’ve also considerably improved their TalkTalk Box Office with new blockbusters like The Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave added daily. As always, you can watch trailers for free so you can always find something you know ~~he’ll hate~~ you’ll like when your significant other has finished hogging the telly for the World Cup. Movies are priced from £4.00 for 48hrs with many released on same day as DVD. This makes it far cheaper than a trip to the cinema or HMV. It’s also worth reminding you that you cannot accidentally select a movie and be charged for it as you have the pin protect feature - this is a must when you have button-happy tots milling around.

It’s quicker too and more intuitive. It’ll save your last position if you have to leave a programme suddenly. This is SOOOO useful as I’m forever having to leave the sofa to see to one of the kids. The rewind function was always a little clunky and I hate leaving a programme on pause in case of screen burn. Now I simply turn the television off and know I can resume watching from where I left off.

Other features of the revamped TalkTalk Player include:

· Powerful search: Search movies by title, actor, director or keyword

· Watchlist: Save movies and shows to watch at another time

· More like this: Find similar programmes to your favourite shows

· Play all: Press the green button to play every episode in a series back to back

· Most popular: Your favourite shows and movies in one place

They say:

The new TalkTalk Player is the latest installment in TalkTalk’s continual enhancements to its YouView TV service. In April, TalkTalk joined forces with FilmFlex to significantly expand its movie library and offer hundreds more movies on demand. It also bolstered its Plus TV package by adding in seven Sky Entertainment channels including Sky 1 and Sky Living. Earlier this month, it launched a new African Boost package, offering eight additional channels from across the continent, and just last week pre-school favourites Wallace and Gromit and Timmy Time joined TalkTalk’s popular kids line-up.

YouView from TalkTalk is fast becoming a destination for family entertainment and our all-new TalkTalk Player offers more of the best TV and movies at a cost viewers can control. We’ve made our on-demand movies, kids and Sky entertainment library bigger than ever and the TalkTalk Player is faster, and smarter, making it easier to find shows and films you want to watch.

Thanks TalkTalk - we’re loving it!

Over the next year we’ll be doing a series of review posts all about TalkTalk. These will cover all their services from telephone, to broadband to the TV package. As a self-confessed tv and social media addict, I can safely say there’s no one better placed than I to give TalkTalk a thorough road test, and hopefully it’ll be useful if you’re considering an upgrade or switch to a new provider soon. One thing is for certain, I’ll be brutally honest.

Our first assignment is to review the TalkTalk Kids Boost. In my opinion it’s these boosts that set TalkTalk apart from its competitors. TalkTalk offers its viewers the ultimate in viewing flexibility with all TV Boosts available with just one month commitment - so no lengthy subscription charges. This allows you to add extra channels to the basic YouView package to enhance your viewing experience. What’s more, you can add the Boost’s from the comfort of your sofa using your remote control and TalkTalk pin number. The on-screen instructions are incredibly easy to follow and the fees are clearly explained to minimise any confusion. This means your selected Boost will be added immediately and you can get watching your favourite tv shows in seconds.

So just what does the TalkTalk Kids Boost have to offer your little one?

Well first up, it’s great value at just £5 per month. With just a few easy peasy clicks on the remote, you can open up a whole host of great children’s entertainment. Currently featuring 14 child-friendly channels (including all the usual favourites: The Disney Channel, Disney Junior, The Cartoon Network, and Nick Jr… the list goes on) and a huge majority of the shows available On Demand, you can better control their viewing experience.

As we limit Dexter’s tv-time (I’d love to cite some noble reasons behind this but it’s mainly because I find kid’s tv irritating) this is fabulous for us. At only 16 months, I’ll select the shows I feel are most appropriate (and least likely to have this pregnant mumma blindly searching for a Kool n Soothe forehead strip) from a choice of live and previously aired shows via the On Demand feature. As Dexter’s viewing time could take place at anytime throughout the day, this means I’m not limited to a set timetable and can cut out a vast majority of annoying adverts for Dex.

I’ve put together a little video to show you how to get the most from your Kid’s Boost, how easy it is to navigate, and all its major features. Ordinarily I’d have the little man helping me out but after a few takes he needed a nap so it’s just me and bump today. Hope you find it useful.

MINI COMPETITION

TalkTalk have five Samsung 32″ HD TVs up for grabs via a TV picture quiz on their Facebook page. Head on over to enter - it’s great fun and really addictive (I’ve been playing all afternoon!).

DISCLAIMER: We have been provided with a free TalkTalk TV & Broadband package for the purpose of this year-long review.