Rubbish service

[JKDerry85]

You should do what I am doing - move to Freesat, best thing I ever did. 

Freesat relies on proper TV signals, and never ever did I have any signal problems.  Freesat signal strength and quality if always at 100% - and unlike Virgin Media, you can check the signal easily - Virgin hide signal checks in their menu of complete and utter bull in their systems sections, where only a cable engineer can understand. 

Freesat was SUPERB - the signal quality never pixelates - unlike Virgin, who recently again had been pixelating on channels - they are a CABLE service, where they boast that weather does not affect their signal - well cable signals are always affected, just look at the number of people on here complaining about pixelating on their Virgin TV. 

We had a huge thunderstorm recently, and when I checked the signals on Freesat, to my astonishment they had 90% - fantastic. 

Move to Freesat - better TV service. 

[JKDerry85]

Please explain to me why Virgin Media television service is so appalling at times? 

Reading through these forums, all I see is constant problems with the TV service, pixellating and terrible picture quality.  Also, constantly reading that it is signal problems, tech visit needed etc etc. 

Well, I also have Freesat, and have had it since I moved here a decade ago. Very interesting that I can count on my one hand the number of times I have had problems with Freesat = NONE! 

I never had any signal problems - no box problems - no picture problems.  Also, the Freesat box never restarts on its own over night. Freesat box never switches itself off for a tech download - a few nights ago, I was watching a late film at 1.05am, and the box went off, restarting for an update - why does Freesat box never do that?  Satellite seems to be more technically superior than cable. 

I keep my TV service of Virgin now as a back up, rather than my main TV - Freesat is far superior.  Even their cheap as chips boxes work superb. 

Virgin Media really need to upgrade their cable television system, as it is becoming pathetic - No wonder so many or with Sky, Freesat, Freeview or even just streaming online now. 

[japitts]

---

@JKDerry85 wrote:

Freesat relies on proper TV signals

---

I'm not sure what you mean by "proper TV signals", but Freesat is a satellite-based platform and Freeview is terrestrial.

---

@JKDerry85 wrote:

Freesat was SUPERB - the signal quality never pixelates - unlike Virgin, who recently again had been pixelating on channels - they are a CABLE service, where they boast that weather does not affect their signal - well cable signals are always affected, just look at the number of people on here complaining about pixelating on their Virgin TV. 

---

A properly installed and well-maintained Virgin cable service is quite capable of working without pixellation. Pixellation is how digital TV systems handle poor signal, so any VM customer with signal issues will potentially have pixellation issues. That doesn't make it a Virgin-issue, it makes it a digital-TV issue. Any VM customer with pixellation issues should report their fault to Virgin and make sure the problem is properly investigated.

---

@JKDerry85 wrote:

We had a huge thunderstorm recently, and when I checked the signals on Freesat, to my astonishment they had 90% - fantastic. 

---

I didn't have any problems with my VM service in recent storms here, either.

[Roger_Gooner]

It's an apple and pears comparison. If you're happy with free TV that's fine but there are millions who pay to get much more, such as more channels including BT Sport in UHD (and sometimes Dolby Atmos) and Eurosport in UHD and HDR.

Furthermore I can't remember the last time I had a fault with my TV service, and I've been a cable TV subscriber since 1998 (initially with Cable London, then Telewest). The main issues over the years have been the limitations of the TV boxes prior to the V6 and the V6's 1TB storage (rather measly) and lack of support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision).

[Zach_R]

Hi @JKDerry85,

Thank you for your posts and welcome back to our community forums. We're here to help.

I'm really sorry to hear you've been having some issues with your Virgin TV service recently. Is this ongoing today? If so, in the first instance would you mind checking our Service Status page? It'll detail any known area impacting faults along with a current estimated fix date/time, and you can sign up to receive updates on this via SMS or email.

If nothing is reported there, can you expand on the nature of the fault? Are all channels affected by pixilation that you're aware of or just certain ones? Is On Demand, Catch Up, and or Apps such as Netflix also affected by this, or is it live TV, or both?

Thanks,
 

[JKDerry85]

I am considering ending my Tivo service from Virgin Media for a number of reasons. I hardly ever use the service now, as I now mainly stream content on my laptop and TV and supplementing it via my Freesat service. I have a lot recorded on to Tivo over the years, but I have been looking back, and I can safely say I hardly ever watch the channels or live TV. 

I now 90% of the time use my laptop, YouTube, BBC iPlayer etc, and my TV viewing habit has changed dramatically.

Please can you advise me on how I go about cancelling my Tivo - also about returning the Tivo box once I do.  I plan to keep the broadband, and possibly increase the speed I have at the moment, which is 100MB to higher speeds. 

Your advice will be most handy before I make the final decision. Thank you.

[japitts]

To make any change to your services, it's the same advice - call VM on 150 (from a Virgin phone) or 0345 4541111 (from any other phone) and choose the option for "I'm thinking of leaving".

Bear in mind that any change to your BB speeds could trigger a new 18month minimum term. You might find it cheaper to drop your TV to the Mixit bundle but therefore retain the ability to record live TV & use streaming services - but only VM cancellations can advise on your specific circumstances.

[JKDerry85]

What is the "Mixit" channel pack? How many do I get? As I barely watch the current ones now such as Sky One, W, CNN etc - I can really count on both hands the channels I watch often now on Tivo - less than 10 obviously, which I feel is a waste of money.  I use my broadband so much more, both for work and play.

[Zach_R]

Hi @JKDerry85,

If you want to make any adjustment to your package, including both upgrades or downgrades, then please reach out to our retentions department by calling 0345 454 1111 (or 150 from a Virgin Media landline).

I'm afraid that we're unable to process package changes from here.

Thanks,
 

[JKDerry85]

OK - I was just wondering what the Mixit was, I never heard of it before