BritBox: The Best British TV Hack 2.2.8 + Redeem Codes

Been a subscriber for a few years now to Britbox and Acorn. I enjoy both and find value in both. I am into the mysteries and comedy shows with the occasional history show throw in. I do wish there was more options or deeper trove of shows across UK, NZ, AUS and Canada. Especially options of shows from the late 90s early 00s. I have watched just about everything on both services except the soaps and the morning shows. I find the closed captions are quite glitchy. I have a hearing loss in one ear then add in some accents are difficult to understand to my American ear I can find it quite difficult to follow the story without the captions. Several times the wrong closed captions have appeared for the entire show in a series, the captions belonged to a different episode, they had been flipped. Other times it was clear that most of the dialogue was off script as the captions didn’t match at all what was on the screen. When I contacted them they said they couldn’t do anything about it. Which I find quite odd.

Before this newest update, I’d rate my two-year BritBox membership a 10-star streaming option for it’s variety, quality, and frequent additions of vintage and current programming. I’ve used my membership access to review various shows for an online magazine. However, this Nov. 2020 update has many issues! I was very disappointed that my “entertainment” iPad (10.3.3) no longer plays the video, even though it states it works on IOS 10.0.0 and above; I hear the audio, but see nothing. I can access programming on my “business” iPad, but the full-screen is still not a real “full” screen, and watching on my iPhone is, of course, inherently small. Also the app is aligned with portrait for browsing and landscape for viewing making it just slightly annoying. Lastly, the video end before the ending credits finish...maybe it’s an OCD thing, but I like for the program to be complete, ending credits and all. I do like the addition of the 10-second forward or rewind. I’m not in anyway saying “so long,” I greatly enjoy my daily “Brit Fix” way too much and just hopes these and other issues will be addressed and corrected...soon. If and when they do, I’ll revise my review!

I have been searching for a place to watch surviving episodes of Classic Doctor Who and this service provides! Though it isn’t perfect due to missing the episodes that have not survived (including the parts of those episodes that did survive) having 90% of the classic series available makes up for it anyway. Plus, since I am subscribing to the service I also get to check out everything else the service has to offer besides Doctor Who.

The actual streaming service of the app is good, much better than most reviews suggest, but it could use a few improvements. It would be nice if it kept track of what you have watched and had a “continue watching” section where it had the next episode ready for you instead of making you remember what you have already watched yourself. Other services also have features that let you skip back or skip ahead a few second to get to a part you want to see which is also absent here. You also cannot watch videos on this app while opening another. Despite these small flaws, the app has been reliable so far and I have subscribed to the annual plan. Here’s hoping to a good use of it.

I don’t know who thought this new design was a winner for BritBox but it’s a total clunker for users. The design is neither clean nor intuitive - it is in fact a total disaster. And who was the genius that decided you would force users to navigate this app in portrait mode only - even though your content is best viewed in landscape mode? Back in November you stated a new design would be delivered soon. You promised it would allow us to navigate and view content all in landscape mode. Remember that promise? Well, it’s February and while there have been updates, we are still forced to twist our iPads like we are clearing an Etch a Sketch just to view and navigate your content. Why?

UPDATE

Well, it took a while but the latest app update is a real winner. Gone are all the forced awkward gymnastics needed to search and play content. Now the app is smooth, intuitive, and it just plain works! Finally, an app worthy of the truly great content offered by BritBox.

I was literally in the middle of watching a show on the old (and FAR superior) app, when play was interrupted and I was told I had to update the app. I obliged the request and upon opening the newly updated app, the entire formatting has changed....for the worse! 1. Now the landing page is ONLY vertically oriented, so if your lying in bed watching you iPad, the vertical orientation is a pain and not worth adapting to. 2. Then, IF you can tolerate the stupid landing page and subsequent navigation to find the video you want to watch, the playback orientation, now able to go horizontal, only offers a window within a window sort of video. In other words, it no longer takes advantage of the full horizontal, wide screen playback and feels more like I’m watching on a phone or worse yet, like I’m watching on an old cathode ray tv...via an iPad! NO other streaming apps have such ridiculous interface and I totally regret the lure to and eventual capitulation to update the app. Unless it’s redone like it originally was and per the standards of all streaming apps for iPad, I’m deleting the app and I’ll just have to watch via telly for the foreseeable future. Your developers just set back this app by about 10 years!

I am a huge Brit tv fan, and luckily live in DC metro area where we get a unique PBS channel, WETA UK showing 24 hour Brit programming. Even though it's wonderful, I also subscribe to Acorn, and now BritBox to round out my options with very few duplications. However, I have had to sign out and back in every day to access BritBox as I am prompted with " invalid token". This is got to be resolved soon. Support suggests to sign out and back in, duh,... I get that, but every day? UPDATE...I've adjusted my rating to 5 stars after sign in issues resolved. Britbox app support contacted me to confirm their update corrected my issue. Barely over a week new, and already more content. I haven't used any other apps all month! Very Happy!!
Edit/Update Several months on and I'm still loving this app!!! No longer any sign in issues.
I've learned that 95% of the classic Doctor Who episodes that are NOT available on BritBox can be watched on Dailymotion, although some are animated.

During the free-trial period this app, while not brilliantly organized, worked fine, no crashes. The day after the first month was billed, it began crashing! Every darn time I start to watch an episode of something, about 10-15 minutes in, it crashes. Doesn't matter which device (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV) or what the program is. Close app, reset device, restart app, crash, repeat. Delete app, reset device, reinstall app, sign in again, choose program, start to play, crash. Doesn't matter at that point that I like programs offered, I'm fed up!

As for the app's design, it's as if whoever the developers were, they must have never used any other streaming service themselves, since the app has virtually none of the features a good streaming service has. Doesn't properly track and save what you've watched so you can immediately return to a series and/or episode you've already watched. Search makes it crash. What's the point?

While I like the huge selection of British programming that it has, what use is it if the app is unusable?! The only reason I gave this app two stars is the size of its library of programming.

UPDATE in response to developer response: You have told me what I already know (knowing that I already knew it!) Obviously, your product developers do not understand the behavior of the serious binger and are blind to the need to improve your product by (a) providing option to turn APN off, (b) programming APN not to cut off program before its actual end, and/or (c) both. One star rating stands.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I would give BritBox five stars for content and overall functionality if it weren't for the dang auto-play-next. It would be OK if the next episode would play after the current episode were actually over. However it frequently cuts off the end of the program, when the action continues under the credits. It also cuts off closing credits music, some of which is rather good, and I would like to listen to it and have a less abrupt transition to the next episode. The only solution that BritBox offers is to instruct you to" simply hit cancel if you don't want to continue onto the next episode." The problem is, you do want to continue onto the next episode, you just want to finish the one you're watching before you do.

I like the shows, although lately I seem to watch Acorn more often. Not sure if acorn has had better programs lately or what - but that has nothing to do with the app itself. There are a few things that bother me about the app: 1) it doesn’t show that you’ve already watched an episode or movie. I don’t usually remember the name or number of the last episode I watched so then I need to read the descriptions and usually watch part of several episodes to find one I haven’t seen. 2) you can’t jump ahead and backwards 15 or 30 seconds. If you want to go move up or go back you have to drag the dot on the progress bar. That’s really inconvenient and hard to do just 30 seconds or so. I usually like to skip the intro that’s the same in all episodes.. can’t do it on BritBox. 3) you have to choose close captions every time you watch a show. It would be nice to set that as a preference and then it would default to that choice each time.

maybe they can spend the extra $1 from everyone to make a platform that operates the way it should… when i try to choose a program i have to go back and forth *hoping* it will land on what i want as one click of the remote arrow = one to five spaces moved. the app regularly kicks me out MID-EPISODE and signs me out as well so i have to go over the whole process of signing in again - sometimes several times in an evening. want to FF or REV a few seconds? good luck there too, the control is so laggy and jumpy i wind up going 10 minutes back instead then forward past where i was to begin with. really guys, it’s not worth the $7.99 you are currently charging because of the bother of actually getting around (or being allowed!) to watching anything on this horrid app. that’s my iphone AND my roku tv. and before you blame it all on my devices, as is the custom these days, know that that excuse holds no water as it is on you to keep your product functional with the current times.