Virgin Media Community

[WKeith]

I'm trying to find a definitive answer to this question:-

If you upgrade a system with 2 or 3 V6 boxes to 360's can you still record to and play back from the different boxes or is one of them where all recordings reside?  We currently have a V6 and have changed our package to include an extra box.as we got fed up with the ongoing metadataissue with sky Q.

We don't intend to change to 360 any time soon as we have a tv distribution system that relies of IR magic eyes for contol and this doesn't seem to work for 360's.  Is anyone aware of any system/technology/smart remote (not an app) that allows you to contol a v360 if it is out of range of ir and blutooth

[Tavis75 · Accepted solution]

If you have two converted V6 boxes, then when you set up a recording you can chose which box it gets recorded to, so you get the extra space available from having multiple hard drives, but all recordings are pooled so you see the recordings from both boxes on both boxes, and deleting on one box deletes that recording for all boxes (I think there is a "Show only recordings on this box" option, but it doesn't default to that). You also can't set up recording for the same series on different boxes, it will only ever be recorded once.

[nodrogd]

The maximum number of boxes you can convert from TiVO to Horizon firmware is two, so if you have 3, one will have to be replaced with a diskless mini box.

Also note that if one of the remaining hard disk boxes fails, it will also be replaced with a mini box. Some broadcasters are now coming round to the idea of cloud recording of content, which is mainstream in Europe & what Horizon was designed for. Sky now has some of this functionality & it may arrive with VM also, which means mini boxes will become the norm eventually.

[WKeith]

Thanks very much.
When you say "you can choose which box it gets recorded to" does it default to the one you are watching on or is there a 'Master' box which gets recorded to by default?

[Tavis75]

I believe there is a master box that it defaults to, I think you can change which one this is, but recordings will always default to that one unless you change it for that specific recording\series link, regardless of which box you are using.

Oh, and as there is no Series Link manager I don't believe there is any way to check or change which box a recording has been set on, you just have to delete the recording (which I think you can only do if there is an upcoming episode in the guide) and set it up again.

[WKeith]

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@nodrogd wrote:

The maximum number of boxes you can convert from TiVO to Horizon firmware is two, so if you have 3, one will have to be replaced with a diskless mini box.

Also note that if one of the remaining hard disk boxes fails, it will also be replaced with a mini box. Some broadcasters are now coming round to the idea of cloud recording of content, which is mainstream in Europe & what Horizon was designed for. Sky now has some of this functionality & it may arrive with VM also, which means mini boxes will become the norm eventually.

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Thanks very much. Virgin are obviously not keen on the multiple hard drive scenario!
Provided I can get a solution to the remote operation of a 360 box then two hard drives and a mini would actually be the perfect solution for us - we would have the mini in the bedroom which is too far away from the rack where the Virgin box is located to run an AV cable, one hard drive in the study for me and one hard drive in the central cabinet for the utility/kitchen/living room/garage for my wife - When we had SKY+HD we used to run an RF cable to the bedroom but the picture/sound quality is much better now as we have a SKY Q mini box there connected by ethernet. My wife currently does her recording on SKY Q and I use the V6.
We would need to get Virgin to run a coax to the room but that shouldn't be hard.
We just want to keep recordings separate, (not hide them!) so the issue that Tavis75 highlighted of the recordings being pooled together on the 360 isn't a problem and would maybe make the operation of the bedroom one easier than if we have 3 V6 hard drives as there would only be recordings on two boxes rather than 3.  I'd just need to make sure any recordings done from the mini were stored on the cabinet 360 rather than the study one.

[WKeith]

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@Tavis75 wrote:

I believe there is a master box that it defaults to, I think you can change which one this is, but recordings will always default to that one unless you change it for that specific recording\series link, regardless of which box you are using.

Oh, and as there is no Series Link manager I don't believe there is any way to check or change which box a recording has been set on, you just have to delete the recording (which I think you can only do if there is an upcoming episode in the guide) and set it up again.

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Thanks again - The 360 interface does seem a step back (a bit like we suffered going from SKY HD to SKY Q) . I think we'll be delaying going to 360 for as long as possible.  

[Tavis75]

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@WKeith wrote:

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@nodrogd wrote:

The maximum number of boxes you can convert from TiVO to Horizon firmware is two, so if you have 3, one will have to be replaced with a diskless mini box.

Also note that if one of the remaining hard disk boxes fails, it will also be replaced with a mini box. Some broadcasters are now coming round to the idea of cloud recording of content, which is mainstream in Europe & what Horizon was designed for. Sky now has some of this functionality & it may arrive with VM also, which means mini boxes will become the norm eventually.

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Thanks very much. Virgin are obviously not keen on the multiple hard drive scenario!
Provided I can get a solution to the remote operation of a 360 box then two hard drives and a mini would actually be the perfect solution for us - we would have the mini in the bedroom which is too far away from the rack where the Virgin box is located to run an AV cable, one hard drive in the study for me and one hard drive in the central cabinet for the utility/kitchen/living room/garage for my wife - When we had SKY+HD we used to run an RF cable to the bedroom but the picture/sound quality is much better now as we have a SKY Q mini box there connected by ethernet. My wife currently does her recording on SKY Q and I use the V6.
We would need to get Virgin to run a coax to the room but that shouldn't be hard.
We just want to keep recordings separate, (not hide them!) so the issue that Tavis75 highlighted of the recordings being pooled together on the 360 isn't a problem and would maybe make the operation of the bedroom one easier than if we have 3 V6 hard drives as there would only be recordings on two boxes rather than 3.  I'd just need to make sure any recordings done from the mini were stored on the cabinet 360 rather than the study one.

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Recordings aren't kept separate on the 360, you can select which box they are recorded on but when you go into My Shows, you will see all the recordings on both boxes (as mentioned, I think you can go and filter the recordings by box once you're in My Shows, but you have to do that every time), you also have to remember to set up every recording on the correct box, which involves going into the advanced recording settings menu every time you set up a recording. 

Also, not sure if you realise but the mini box requires a coax connection as well as ethernet\Wi-Fi, the same as a regular V6\360 box.

Overall, the 360 offers very little benefit over the V6 (voice control and Disney+ basically) and you lose a lot of features, plus the interface is more effort to navigate, for instance, I believe it is 7 clicks to get to My Shows, rather than 1.

[newapollo]

Hi @WKeith 

A lot of actions can be done very easily by using the voice function. You don't need 7 key presses to go to My Shows (which is actually called Recordings on the 360). Just hold the voice control button on the home screen and say, "My Shows", or say, "Recordings".

Reference recordings

You can fine tune the recordings between boxes by clicking on Record, then on the next screen click Advanced Options, then on the next screen click on Choose TV Box, then select the box, then click on Record. That program will then be recorded on that box going forward, even if the default recording box is one of the others

When going to Recordings > Recorded > Recorded you can select each box individually and the interface now lists the percentage used on each box (applies to upgraded V6 boxes as they all have hard drives)

You can't set the same series links to record on both boxes either, however you can fine tune series links to record on one box, irrespective of it being your default recording box.

When setting up a new series link go to Advanced and select which box you want the recording to be made on. It will then be recorded on that box going forward. If though you've already got a series link set up for a particular program  and want to change it so it will record on the other box then you need to cancel that series link, and then set it up to record again, using the advanced options when you press record.

[WKeith]

Also, not sure if you realise but the mini box requires a coax connection as well as ethernet\Wi-Fi, the same as a regular V6\360 box.

Overall, the 360 offers very little benefit over the V6 (voice control and Disney+ basically) and you lose a lot of features, plus the interface is more effort to navigate, for instance, I believe it is 7 clicks to get to My Shows, rather than 1.

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Many thanks.  I knew about coax. Hoping to get virgin to do it if we add the v6 in bedroom.  (If my wife is happy with the v6 downstairs for her recordings we can drop sky q.  Currently kept it with minimum package as that’s where she records programmes from).  A happy wife is worth the extra subscription - she took a long time to get used to Sky Q after we changed. 

We are unlikely to move to 360 unless can get I can find a way to transmit the control signals to the box or are forced