Mini Boxes Have to be Hard-Wired?

[DiscoGaza]

After waiting months for VM to complete cabling our street with full fibre I was eager to sign-up for Broadband and TV. As an existing Sky Q customer, I wanted to replicate what I already have: a main box and two mini boxes. I was left dumbstruck when the salesman told me that the mini boxes have to be hard-wired. There is no possible way of getting to the two rooms where the mini boxes will be without the cables being visible.

I find it astonishing that in 2022 Virgin Media don't have mini boxes that can be connected via WiFi. I've had Sky Q for 5 years so it's not as though the technology is new.

VM must lose considerable amounts of business due to the lack of WiFi connected mini boxes.

Are there any plans to introduce them?

[japitts · Accepted solution]

There are numerous "pro and con" comparisons between Sky & Virgin, but fundamentally VM is a cable-TV operator whose TiVo, V6 & TV360 boxes need to be co-ax fed.

Currently the stream boxes provide a workaround if you're an existing VM-broadband customer, but these cannot be combined with any other TV product.

[newapollo]

Hi @DiscoGaza 

VM have just introduced the Stream boxes which don't require a coax connection, however they are only available to broadband only customers and it's one device per address.

There may be plans further down the road, however VM will keep that close to their chest. Any developments will be announced via their news pages. https://www.virginmedia.com/virgin-media-o2 

A major plus that the 360 boxes have over Sky Q is that all 360 boxes are capable of 4K.

[roy247]

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@DiscoGaza wrote:

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I find it astonishing that in 2022 Virgin Media don't have mini boxes that can be connected via WiFi. I've had Sky Q for 5 years so it's not as though the technology is new.

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The advantage is the mini box is 4K capable and the sky mini isn't.

[Roger_Gooner]

The mini requires a coaxial cable and a network connection by either Ethernet cable (best) or WiFi. Do this and enjoy years of reliable TV in 4K and HDR whilst others have inferior Sky minis fed with WiFi which can be flaky at any time.

[DiscoGaza]

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@roy247 wrote:

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@DiscoGaza wrote:

........

I find it astonishing that in 2022 Virgin Media don't have mini boxes that can be connected via WiFi. I've had Sky Q for 5 years so it's not as though the technology is new.

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The advantage is the mini box is 4K capable and the sky mini isn't.

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Personally, I'd sacrifice 4k for not having to run cables across the house. Where the boxes need to be would result in surface cables. That isn't happening.  

The Sky Q mini boxes have worked fine for 5 years. We have a small TV in one bedroom that isn't 4k. The TV in my sons den is 4k but he mostly uses it for gaming or Netflix.

[roy247]

Maybe the stream box will be made available to everyone at some point depending on how you read this on the Stream page.

4K: 4K/UHD compatible. Requires 4K compatible TV/device with HDCP 2.2. 4K content not currently available on Virgin TV channels. Some platforms like Netflix and YouTube offer 4K, which can be viewed on your TV if you have a Virgin TV V6 box or Virgin TV 360 box.

[japitts]

I wouldn't bet against that being a VM website error, to be fair. It wouldn't be the first time that sort of "whoops" has slipped through.

[roy247]

I can't believe there would be a mistake.

[Roger_Gooner]

I do not believe for a moment that those who write content for VM's website are in any way privy to VM's plans. I see the information about Stream's 4K capability as what it is and no more.