Virgin Media Community

[ianmc_uk]

Are there any videos showing the Live TV experience on Stream?

I wonder if it is comparable to a normal TV service, or if they just mean you can use apps to access channels separately.

Cheers,
Ian

[pepster]

Yes it is fine, it moves between channels like a normal TV box to me... it starts off in SD when within 5 seconds if the channel is HD it will goto HD.

[newapollo · Accepted solution]

Hi @ianmc_uk 

There aren't any videos of the Stream box in action at present.

There is one official VM advertorial video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoMjD058CPs  but it doesn't actually show the Stream box.

There is also a user upload on YT showing the unboxing of a Stream box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt3lPmBaaEo 

As far as I'm aware Stream works exactly the same as the 360 mini box,  Stream uses the same Horizon 4 interface as the 360 and has the same remote control with voice activation, however the record button doesn't work as there isn't a hard drive. 

The Stream box has a normal EPG for the TV channels.

There's a user review of the 360 which you may find interesting on YouTube, however it's rather old now and a lot of the features shown have been updated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEKXTXLlphM 

Free tier Stream channels

Spoiler

Free tier Stream channels:

BBC ONE HD, BBC TWO HD, ITV 1 HD, Channel 4, Channel 4 HD (or S4C HD), Channel 5 HD, ITV 2 HD, BBC FOUR HD, ITV 3 HD, Pick, QUEST HD, E4 HD, Film4 HD, Really, More 4 HD, Cbeebies HD, BBC News HD, CBBC HD, CITV, BBC Alba HD, BBC Parliament HD, Dave, Drama, W HD, BBC Three HD, DMAX, 5 USA, ITV 4 HD, Yesterday,
ITVBe HD, 4Music, 5STAR, 5Action HD, Quest Red, Challenge, 4seven HD, 5SELECT, Blaze, FreeSports HD, CBS Reality, Tiny Pop, Great! Movies, BBC Scotland HD, Pop, Sky Arts, Sky News, GB News HD, Sky Sports Racing HD (and specific to Ireland TG4, RTE One, RTE Two)

The add on packages available at launch

Spoiler

These are the packages available at launch:

Sky Sports HD pack (£38.75 a month) – All 8 Sky Sports channels in HD
Sky Cinema HD pack (£14.99 a month) – All 11 Sky Cinema channels in HD
Sky Sports HD + Cinema HD pack (£46.25 a month) – All 8 Sky Sports and all 11 Sky Cinema channels in HD
BT Sport pack (£18 a month) – All 4 BT Sport channels in HD, plus BT Sport Ultimate in Ultra HD

The following channels are included in the Essential Entertainment TV pack: Ultra HD, Dave HD, Sky Showcase HD, Sky Max HD, Comedy Central, Sky News HD, Sky Witness HD, Gold HD, ITV3 HD, Alibi HD, ITV4 HD, W HD, ITVBe HD, Sky Crime HD, TLC HD, MTV HD, Discovery HD, Syfy HD, Sky History HD, E HD, Sky Replay, National Geographic HD, Sky Arts HD, Sky Comedy HD, Sky Nature HD, Sky Documentaries HD.

Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, and Sky Sports Mix not listed but showing as included on various sites

Kids pack (£4 a month) – Nick HD, Nick Jnr, Nick Jnr Too, NickToons, Cartoon Network HD, Cartoonito, Boomerang

Starzplay (£4.99 a month) – Top US drama series and blockbuster movies with original STARZ content

Stream apps

Spoiler

Entertainment And Broadcast Apps:
Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, YouTube Kids, Vimeo, BBC iPlayer, ITVHub, All4, STV Player, Britbox, My5

Music Apps:
Vevo, BBC Sounds, BaebleMusic, Dance TV, RadioLine

News Apps:
Al Jazeera, CNN, France24

+Fun Games
Currently not showing which games are available

If you want to get the Stream 10% subcription discount on your monthly streaming bill, then you will need to pay for your streaming subscription via Virgin Stream, rather than via the platforms directly.

New customers can simply sign up for the apps on the TV interface. However, if you already have a streaming subscription, you may need to contact the third party company to migrate your payment details over. For example, if you already have Netflix, you will need to head to Netflix support and move your billing over to Virgin Stream.

It is worth noting that Amazon Prime Video and BritBox will not be available as Stream subscriptions. You can still sign into these apps on the interface, but they are not eligible for that 10% discount.

Just like other streaming hardware it gets its content via Wi-Fi (dual-band 802.11ac) and your home broadband and it supports up to 4K resolution and HDR. As with other streaming products, you also need to power it, either via a spare USB socket on your TV or the mains adapter supplied in the box. The mains adapter also has an RJ45 socket on it that allows you to hook up the Stream to your router via Ethernet cable. You can also connect via wifi if your hub is too far away.

[Stephie79]

well now that description couldn't be any more accurate and informative if it wanted to be. Virgin stream is exactly that. It's so accurate it's freaky, but in a good geeky kinda way though.👓

[VMViewer]

Hi @newapollo

You've listed W HD as a 'Free tier Stream channel' and 'Essential Entertainment TV pack' too - which is correct?

Have they put W (in SD) in the free tier like the other free channels from UKTV (Dave, Drama and Yesterday) with W (in HD) in the paid package like Dave HD?

[newapollo]

Hi @VMViewer 

I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully a forum member that has the Stream package can clarify.

 I would hazard a guess that it's only SD as part of the Inclusive Channels pack.

It's in the Inclusive channels according to the pdf on 

/uploads/2022/04/Stream-from-Virgin-Media-Pack.pdf 

And according to the pop up box on https://www.virginmedia.com/tv/streaming  it's in the paid for Essential Entertainment list. (screenshot below)

I've fed this back to modteam.

Essentials

[Roger_Gooner]

There are only eight Sky Sports channels, missing are Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Mix.

[deans6571]

There is a review of the box here (which also shows it in action) :

https://youtu.be/VwEEGGpSnDY

[Roger_Gooner]

Having watched the video I saw the Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Mix channels which are not advertised by VM.

[newapollo]

Hi @Roger_Gooner 

I've already fed that back to the modteam, I also mentioned Eurosport (should be showing Eurosport 1 and 2) which is listed on the following page

https://news/uploads/2022/04/Stream-from-Virgin-Media-Pack.pdf 

Essential Entertainment (£12 a month)
25 channels in HD including Sky Showcase, Sky Max, Sky Sports Mix, Sky Witness, Sky Documentaries, Sky Comedy, MTV, Gold, Comedy Central, Discovery, Eurosport & Nat Geo