Accessing content on old TiVo

[koenfucius]

I need some information about how I can retain access to the content on a TiVo after an (unexpected, and unasked for) upgrade to a Virgin 6 box. Any help welcome and received with gratitude!

The background: last week, when I called regarding an issue with my Broadband (the Hub 3 had died), I was sold an upgrade to Volt from whatever plan I was on for many years. The agent only mentioned the improvement of the broadband service, and at no time hinted at the fact that this would also involve an upgrade from TiVo to a Virgin 6 set top box.

When the parcel arrived, I was surprised to find not just the hub, but also a Virgin 6 box. I installed and activated the new modem (having been without internet for nearly a week), but in the evening I noticed the TiVo had been deactivated. I chatted with an agent about it who was not very helpful, and who kept repeating the party line - TiVo no longer supported, just plug in the Virgin box and that's that.

My mood: I am pretty hacked off that there are tens of hours of content still on the TiVo, and that there seems to be no upgrade path from one box to the next without losing all the recorded content.

My query: Now, the TiVo is still plugged in, and now has access to just a few channels - Channel 4, Channel 5 and ITV 3 it seems, plus several BBC radio channels. I also still seem to be able to access the recorded content. 

If I now unplug the TiVo and install the Virgin6 box, will I lose all the content forever? In other words, is the only way I will retain access to the content on the Tivo leaving it plugged in and forego access to the TV channel, and the ability to record? Or can I swap between the two boxes, depending on whether I want to see current or new content, or old recorded content on the TiVo?

Many thanks for any information or help!

Koen Smets

[koenfucius]

Thank you. 

On second thoughts, i am not sure I ever recorded from the TiVo (I did from the earlier VM PVR, I forget what that was called).

[koenfucius]

Thanks. I am not sure the V6 was already activated, but I needed to activate the new Hub, and that will probably have activated the V6-box (or at least, definitely, deactivated the TiVo).

I have decided to not bother. I have persuaded myself that content that was on there for so long without me watching it is probably not that important. 🙂

Still, I think it would do wonders for customer perception if Virgin allowed a transition period in which you have access to both the old and the new box. I would be surprised if there is a technical reason why this cannot possibly be done.

[koenfucius]

Thanks again for your insightful posts and replies.

Over the weekend, as the availability of recorded content was shrinking before my very eyes (first Sky Arts, then even BBC FOUR), I was wondering about cloud storage, which would at least resolve the box upgrade problem. 

It seems the media industry has not really learned from the CD debacle, where all the various protection mechanisms did was inconvenience bona fide, honest users who found CDs stopped playing (or never did), who could not make mix-CDs the way they used to make mixtapes etc, while it had a negligible effect on music piracy. 

But there is little choice, so it seems we have to grin and bear it.