Real world experience of Virgin 360 after 4 weeks

[johnau]

Overall, I'm really liking the new service and I believe it stacks up well against Sky.

Pros:
Is it just me or has the picture quality improved significantly now that my V6 boxes have received the software update?
Voice commands.
Fast response times.
Much improved and colourful user interface.
Access to some Sky UHD content - sadly, still no UHD Sports.

However there are a few areas where I believe the experience has gone backwards in useability.

Cons:
EPG no longer shows which programmes are "new"(or when they were first aired).
EPG no longer gives star rating for movies which now means a visit to IMDB to determine if a movie is worth watching.
Multiple key presses required to get to my recorded shows - no dedicated button.
No option to record only new episodes of shows.

The cons may be just ignorance on my part. In which case I'm willing to be corrected.

[Anonymous]

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@Roger_Gooner wrote:

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@covkid69 wrote:

terrible picture quality

audio sync being miles out…never had that with v6

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You should start a thread about problems like this.

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@covkid69 wrote:

repeat recordings of shows I’ve already watched.

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I've had this with my V6 as well.

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@covkid69 wrote:

also about time they ditched the having to have a phone line that I don’t want as they say it makes my bills cheaper.have never ever used my phone line and never will

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No phone line is needed. Try switching to Sky or BT TV and see if their services work without a landline. Actually you can't even get BT TV without BT broadband.

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When the Broadband functions over the landline then you obviously need it, where as BT's fibre doesn't require a landline and as such you can save money by not taking it.  Virgin has never needed a landline for their BB service but they almost force them on customers with dramatic pricing.

You can't get BT TV without BT broadband.... true.  After your subscription you keep the box and it functions perfectly well without BT's channels - you could even sell it on as a freeview/youview box with streaming apps all supported.

You can't get VM TV without VM broadband.  After your subscription you send the box back, or are charged for it and it can't function at all.

.....................

The 360 is just cheap and gimmicky. 

If you can't have the same functionality as TiVo/SkyQ or whatever because of they hold patents then erm. pay them to use their patents, and, or get smarter people to work it all out before selling it as an upgrade.  It's the worst £24.95 I ever spent.

[g4hdu]

I accidentally deleted a programme and there's no "recently deleted" function - this is a function available pre windows in MS-DOS, surely that can't be subject to patents !

[japitts]

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@Anonymous wrote:
You can't get VM TV without VM broadband.  After your subscription you send the box back, or are charged for it and it can't function at all.

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Is not true. You are limited to TiVo boxes however - these have in-built broadband and don't rely on a connection via your homehub.

[Anonymous]

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@japitts wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
You can't get VM TV without VM broadband.  After your subscription you send the box back, or are charged for it and it can't function at all.

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Is not true. You are limited to TiVo boxes however - these have in-built broadband and don't rely on a connection via your homehub.

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I can see no option on the website for TV on it's own but you are way more knowledgable than me so I accept your word. Interestingly the TiVo still requires internet to function even if it is built in and at no extra cost.  Seems all landlines will be moved to a VOIP in the next 5 years or so as exchanges are powered down. This is all detracting from the OP.

360 TV is rubbish. 🙂

[johnau]

Just to get this thread back on topic, being unable to recover deleted recordings was another of the cons I forgot to mention.

I'm sorry to see that this thread has now become a space to have a moan about all the Virgin services.  I was just trying to give a fair representation of my experience.

Having been with CableTel/NTL/Virgin since it's inception, overall I have been very happy.

Sure the CS frustrates the hell out of me but the same can be said of many top flight service providers.

The fact I'm still with them is all I need to say.

[unisoft]

but the point is VM listening to feedback and doing something about it, not just accepting a service that isn't cheap as such....At some point (and depending on VM TV being around), they'll try to get everyone over to the new Horizon software because its cheaper to support one software platform. At the moment they can get away with things not being there as the user has to request an upgrade or are a new customer; its not forced to existing people with better Tivo v6 software for example.

They probably don't care about TV now, because they intend to change network infrastructure from Hybrid Coax to FTTP by 2028 (though changing customers over may take longer than just prepping the network side), and VM TV services may not be around by then or all IPTV delivery if they do. The way channels are currently dropping like flies in favour of streaming revenue via apps is likely to mean a limited shelf life. Even terrestrial and satellite could be forced to IPTV delivery where it would be cheaper distribution, and possibly by an "app" for access because no industry standard in the UK exists yet, but Sky are trying to position their IPTV solution (soon, and not speaking of Now TV) BUT theirs is a closed system managed by Sky only.

[g4hdu]

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@johnau wrote

Having been with CableTel/NTL/Virgin since it's inception, overall I have been very happy.

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I had always been happy with Telewest/virgin for many years until this latest downgrade to 360

[NinjaMeerkat]

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@unisoft wrote:

but the point is VM listening to feedback and doing something about it, not just accepting a service that isn't cheap as such....At some point (and depending on VM TV being around), they'll try to get everyone over to the new Horizon software because its cheaper to support one software platform. At the moment they can get away with things not being there as the user has to request an upgrade or are a new customer; its not forced to existing people with better Tivo v6 software for example.

They probably don't care about TV now, because they intend to change network infrastructure from Hybrid Coax to FTTP by 2028 (though changing customers over may take longer than just prepping the network side), and VM TV services may not be around by then or all IPTV delivery if they do. The way channels are currently dropping like flies in favour of streaming revenue via apps is likely to mean a limited shelf life. Even terrestrial and satellite could be forced to IPTV delivery where it would be cheaper distribution, and possibly by an "app" for access because no industry standard in the UK exists yet, but Sky are trying to position their IPTV solution (soon, and not speaking of Now TV) BUT theirs is a closed system managed by Sky only.

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Virgin will need to get everyone onto 360 in 2022 when the contract with Tivo expires.

[japitts]

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@NinjaMeerkat wrote:
Virgin will need to get everyone onto 360 in 2022 when the contract with Tivo expires.

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 @NinjaMeerkat  - Not necessarily true - see this

[NinjaMeerkat]

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@japitts wrote:

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@NinjaMeerkat wrote:
Virgin will need to get everyone onto 360 in 2022 when the contract with Tivo expires.

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 @NinjaMeerkat  - Not necessarily true - see this

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Thats not the first time someone has raised that particular post. Wait till next year and we will see who is right.