Virgin 360 sucks

[Shredder87]

I hate the 360 box over the v6. There is no improvement apart from the remote control voice feature. Here’s why I hate it.

1) Although both boxes will automatically record so much live tv so you can rewind, with the 360 box you lose the ability if you swap from watching a recorded programme to live tv. With the v6 box it would still record.

2) the search function is not as good. Often when search for a series and you choose episodes, it will only show the most recent episodes.  to go back to episode one, you often have to go to BBCi player etc to play it.

3) recording.  This is my biggest bug bear. On the v6 box you had options to record new series only, but not on this one. For example I’m constantly getting repeated episodes of Gogglebox recorded onto my box and it’s filling up with stuff I’ve already watched.

4) the remote - going through batteries almost every 2 weeks as it’s back light comes on every time you touch it. Also it doesn’t always respond.

5) the software is buggy. Sometimes I go to recordings and it’s says no recordings available. Occasionally I try to delete an episode I’ve just watched and it say cannot delete at this time.

also when watching a series episode, as the episode it about to end, it will give you a choice of automatically playing the next episode, however it’s switching over to it before the episode has actually ended, missing the last couple of minutes.

[grace_67]

HD Rocket,

You forgot a couple of things (and yes I'm old and watch TV every evening):

1) If accidentally you delete a recorded programme before watching it, you've lost it and will have to see if available on catch-up (if you're lucky as not always available).  The V6 had a setting with the deleted programme which was so easy to retrieve.  If this facility is available on the 360, don't know where it's hidden.

2) What about the wish-list?  I had a long wish-list with for example the name of an actor on the V6.  Then every programme on every channel which featured the actor's name was recorded.  Then you can go through the programmed recordings and delete the ones you don't want to be recorded. I'm losing so many programmes because of this.

3) Several times the screen freezes and the only time it can be unfrozen is to switch off the telly and the 360 and start again.

I agree with everything you've said, especially where young people do not watch TV, but oldies like me.  To be honest I hate the 360 and wish could revert to the V6. 

I bet there's loads of people who don't like and don't bother to complain.  I've written to complain months ago but just got a reply that my email was passed on to the relevant department...zilch reply.

I hate the fast forward but have discovered that if you press the bit round the ok button, it will jump in increments of 30 seconds to the right and 10 seconds backward to the left.

[HDRocket]

Now that I've been using the awful 360 software a few days, here are some additional atrocities I've noticed:

• You used to be able to fast-forward in large increments at the single touch of a button. Sure, you'd never know quite how far it would skip - it seemed to be proportional to the total length of the programme - but at least it was there. Now the maximum you can skip is around 1.5 minutes a second.
• The fast-forward function sometimes freezes for a few seconds. 
• The fast-forward function doesn't state how fast it's operating - whereas on V6 it would say x32 etc., now it just has four or five arrows.
• The sweet spot for fast-forwarding seems to be between three and four arrows... but they are too slow and too fast, respectively.
• The fast-forwarding seems to be jerkier than V6, showing fewer frames, making it difficult to judge when to press play.
• The volume and channel up/down buttons are too far down the remote - they should be about three-quarters of the way up, where your finger usually rests.
• I recorded Mastermind. I watched Mastermind. I selected Stop Recording & Delete. It kept 'recording'. It kept 'recording' indefinitely, for hours on end. I tried to stop the recording several times. In the end cancelling the series link was the only thing that seemed to work. Oh dear, Virgin. Oh dear.
• It didn't record an episode of a daily show I had on series link.
• On V6, the date and time was displayed on the mini-EPG. How convenient! So that had to be binned, obviously. Now the date isn't even displayed on the 'Home' screen or the full EPG.

Here's how to fix the situation, Virgin: swallow your...well, I was going to say pride, but let's be realistic - embrace some even more shame and scrap the 360 wholesale. Allow people to re-install the V6 software, and send them V6 remotes, for free. The 360 software is too fundamentally flawed in its design and broken in its execution to continue with. It is inferior to the V6 software in every regard. I'm eyeing up my Sky and Freeview options. Virgin should weigh up its options carefully, too.

[wisedroid]

Have you tried calling them directly/escalating and asking to go back? Always worth asking if the alternative is losing you as a customer.

[grace_67]

Wisedroid,

No point as you can't go back to the V6.  All Virgin subscribers will be changed to the 360 eventually, whether they like it or not.  I'm not asking for mega things.  Just bring back The Wishlist and the deleted bin..

[Tavis75]

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@grace_67 wrote:

Wisedroid,

No point as you can't go back to the V6.  All Virgin subscribers will be changed to the 360 eventually, whether they like it or not.  I'm not asking for mega things.  Just bring back The Wishlist and the deleted bin..

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The deleted bin is maybe a possibility as that's a fairly standard function across lots of systems, so don't think there's any reason it couldn't be added to the 360 as far as I know.

Pretty sure Wishlists are patented by TiVo, so doubt we'll ever get them (skip back on fast-forward is also a patent, as well as a few other things I think).

Hoping that maybe TiVo will release a Freeview box in the UK now that the VM deal is ending, but somehow doubt it will happen as more and more people are moving to streaming and their first attempt on the UK market was unsuccessful, probably ahead of its time as it was several years before Sky+ was released and I don't think most people even knew what it was (I remember Curry's or Dixon's trying to sell videotapes as an extra on for it when you purchased one!)

Realised I barely watch anything that isn't on Freeview these days as Sky Atlantic basically killed Sky One (or whatever it's called now) as a decent channel, so only thing that really keeps me with Virgin for TV is the TiVo software.

[newapollo]

Hi @HDRocket 

As you've found if you press the fast forward button you have 4 speeds depending on how many times you press the button, when fast forwarding you can press the TV button to turn off the graphics, you can then press the play button to start watching.

When fast forwarding press TV button and that will switch off the fast forward arrows etc. For Stop press the back button or pause button, TV button also stops and puts you back to TV.

To play back in slow motion press pause then Fast Forward.

The left and right arrow buttons either side of the OK button skip forward 30 seconds and back 10 seconds.

Have you tried using the voice button?

To skip forwards/backwards 15 minutes in recordings - press MIC and say "go forward 15 minutes" or "go back 15 minutes".

You can also say "fast forward 10 minutes" or whatever amount of time you want.

To avoid adverts on streamed & on demand say "skip forward three minutes" or "fast forward 3 minutes"

I've found that the length of advert breaks on some individual channels appear to be mostly of the same set  length, so for example if I know the channel I'm viewing usually has an add break that's 4 minutes in length then I can say, "fast forward 4 minutes"

I too had been used to the V6, and as a 70 year old I would have expected it to be major step and learning curve for me due to the differences. However it was far from a major step. It took me around 10 days to get used to using the 360 remote, and the 360's functions. 

I prefer the smaller 360 remote, but each to their own. It's also possible to use third party remotes with the 360.

You can use the OneForAll URC7125 - use the SimpleSet setup process and choose Ziggo manufacturer

Also the Logitech Harmony remote.  You need to set them up as a "Ziggo Mediabox Next" 

If you prefer, or are used to using your normal TV remote then see if you can control your 360 with that.

I  can also use my LG Smart remote to control my 360.  On my particular model I can search for the device name Virgin. It can also use Ziggo, or Ziggo Mediabox Next as the device name. Other forum members have set up their Samsung smart TV remotes to work with the 360.

You can also control the 360 by using the Virgin TV Go app.

[Chicot]

I don't know about HDRocket but some people prefer not to carry on conversations with their tv remote control. Voice control should be there for those who like that sort of thing but it shouldn't be an excuse to remove basic functionality from other methods.

[jka94036]

Have to agree, the 360 gui is garbage.

Probably designed by accountants with a very slim budget 

[delboy8]

Absolutely right 360 tv sucks. 

Absolutely right. If I had known it was so bad I would never upgraded, especially as you can't go back to the superior V6. I upgraded 4 weeks ago, in which time it has deleted my recordings & planned recording 4 times on its own & there is no way of recovering them. The menu isn't user friendly so you don't know if it going to do what you ask so you have wait & see on your recording if it will only record once or rerecord an episode you have watched & deleted. You now have to make a "Watchlist" as opposed to bookmark in my shows to find the programmes that were deleted. Heaven help a mute person because the only way you can go the "Watchlist" to find then all in one place is by using the microphone as there is no option on the menu. If you are in your profile you can only watch your favourites which have been renumbered. The TV guide is a load of rubbish You can see the names properly because the are using the logos. You can't select the exact the time you want to view on the guide & it opens from whichever channel you are viewing at the time. The info on the programme is too small to read. If you use the enlarged guide you have to click on each programme for the info & half the time you can't read it because the words are lost in the colours on the background picture.

Finally very disappointed with customer service spent 2.5 hours on the phone 25/2/23 in the morning without any resolution got cut off & no call back. Called again in the afternoon spoke to someone who told me how to stop my recording being deleted hopefully, but you can only apply the fix if you have a recording. After we had hopefully sorted some of the problems I have with TV 360 he insisted he would call me back at 11.00m the next day I'm still waiting just like the compensation I would get for all the inconvenience.

[moof]

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@newapollo wrote:

Hi @HDRocket 

You can use the OneForAll URC7125 - use the SimpleSet setup process and choose Ziggo manufacturer

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...well that's one niggle resolved from list of hate for VTV360 😁

£18.99 @ Argos well spent and I now have a remote thats spaced out better and far more logical!

Also programmed the NETTV button with a Macro to launch YouTube!

cheers for the top tip 👍