Forum Discussion

cronshd's avatar
cronshd
On our wavelength
2 days ago

Advice needed for my parents TiVo

Hi

I am visiting my parents (in their nineties) and the TV screen shows the message “I’m sorry but iPlayer will no longer be available from July 25th…….etc”.

They have a TV which is pre Smart.

They would like things (ie the interface) to be as close as possible to how it is now.

Can anyone confirm/suggest the best option for them?

bear in mind , they have not received any email or letter from Virgin about this. In addition they have no idea what their password is for when a call is made to customer service.

Would one option be to buy a Smart TV and access iplayer via an app and continue with the existing TiVo.

Is there an option to get an updated more advanced TiVo box if such a thing exists?

any other ideas greatly appreciated! 

 

 

 

 

1 Reply

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person
    2 days ago

    TiVo is as much a reference to the software as the outdated box your parents have,

    The newer V6 model runs the exact same TiVo-software as your parents are used to, but on the exact same hardware as the TV360 that VM are keen on. Because the V6 has newer hardware, it supports many additional streaming apps - as well as having 6 recording tuners.

    There are two issues to be aware of.

    1: TiVo's have an in-built internet connection, which the newer box doesn't. Thus V6 & TV360 both require a VM home broadband connection for the internet-based services, this is non-negotiable.

    2: VM's parent company, Liberty Global, would like all their TV customers to be using the Horizon-software platform that TV360 uses on VM-UK. This is fundamentally not TiVo, and is very much designed around the online-world rather than being recording-centric.

    Thus the most logical solution here is to swap the TiVo for a V6, assuming you or they can persuade VM to offer this. If they view any pay-TV channels, then this is likely to be the only solution. If not, and they don't want a recording box, then either a Freeview-based system with an HDD recorder, or potentially an internet-connected TV as you mention, could also be solutions.

    Is there an option to get an updated more advanced TiVo box if such a thing exists?

    Indeed there is - a V6. Refer to my second paragraph above. It is highly unlikely that VM will offer this unless you or your parents specifically request one.