Hi all,
I am at present with Sky and have a Sky Q box ,which has 2 cables connected from the satellite dish. Looking, possibly, moving to VM due to increasing Sky costs.
If I went ahead with the switch would I just connect one of satellite dish cables to the 360 box or would I need to install a normal TV aerial? i.e does the 360 box work off a satellite dish?
Thanking you in anticipation for any advice.
Virgin Media is a cable TV operator, so there are no antennas needed. The incoming VM coaxial cable carries both the linear broadcast TV channels & the DOCSIS internet. The VM installer will split the cable either internally or externally & feed it to both the Hub & the V360 box.
No, VM's coaxial cable almost always comes in at ground level, terminating on the outside of an exterior wall. There is then an internal coaxial cable which is split, one leg for the hub, the other for the 360 TV box.
Some later installations were all-fibre known as RFoG where there is a powered ONT that terminates the fibre, and from it are the coaxial cables for the hub and TV box.
And now in some areas there is a new type of all-fibre installation known as XGS-PON whereby the fibre terminates at a combined ONT/router known as a hub 5X. With this you get VM's highest download speeds (2Gbps) and symmetrical if you pay extra but don't get broadcast TV, just a non-recordable streaming box similar to Sky's Stream, and - for the time being - no landline either.
Some of the RFoG and XGS-PON installations are done using Openreach's poles, so you might get aerial fibre coming in.
Hi Bowler70,
Have you checked on VM's website to see if their cable services are available at your address?
https://www.virginmedia.com/broadband/postcode-checker
Also if you can receive services from VM then is it the Fibre or Full Fibre service? This will determine which type of TV service VM can provide.
On the older DOCSIS (Fibre) network the incoming VM coaxial cable carries both the linear broadcast TV channels & the DOCSIS internet. VM's recordable TV set top boxes (TV360) only work on the older DOCSIS cable network which uses coaxial copper cables. You can receive broadband speeds up to 1Gbps on this network.
VM's DOCSIS and XGS PON aren't compatable as without coaxial there are no traditional cable television signals just internet, so VM provide their TV service on the Full Fibre network over the internet using the Stream (Flex) box, hence no recording facilities. (Full Fibre (XGS-PON) is fibre to the premises and is VM's newest network currently offering speeds up to 2Gbps symmetrically and will be capable of 10Gbps symmetric speeds in the future.
Also, customers on the new full fibre to the premises network receive VM's latest router, the hub5x. which doesn't have modem mode. There isn't currently a landline service on the full fibre network.
The easy way to tell if you will be on the newer Full Fibre network is you will see the website offers speeds up to 2Gbps, also the advertised package(s) will indicate they are full fibre as per the screenshot below.
Forum TeamHey Bowler70, thank you for reaching out and for your interest in joining us. Also a very warm welcome to the community.
I hope the above advice has helped however you can also chat to our sales team on 0800 183 1234. They can answer any questions you need answering.
