Utter confusion regarding UHD channels

[Chicot]

Having recently upgraded to a 4k tv, I decided to upgrade my Virgin Media package to get as much 4k content as possible. Thus, I decided to upgrade to a hub 5 and 360 box. I'll spare you all the trials and tribulations I required to get this done. Suffice it to say, it required a technician visit to replace a defective hub. Anyway, I finally got my internet restored and my 360 box working. All was well or so I thought.

I was told I would be getting Sky Cinema UHD so I looked around for this channel and could not find it anywhere. I was supposed to be getting all the sky sports UHD channels but could only view sky sports main events UHD. The following 2 channels were there but just displayed "This is Ultra HD" which wasn't really such an entertaining program and would probably cause burn-in on my new OLED if I left it for too long. Ah, maybe these channels only show broadcasts at certain times so I checked the guide and it seems these 2 channels just show "This is UltraHD" 24/7. wth? I tried the Virgin Media UHD channel and got a message "We are currently setting up your channels. Phone 150 if this problem keeps happening". After a day of this, I took the advice and phoned Virgin Media.

I followed the phone directions and got to a stage where I had an option to perform some sort of automated checks and nothing else. For God's sake! This is terrible customer service. I don't care whether you think you know what the problem is or what you think the solution might be, you should always give the customer the option to speak to an actual human being. This is a pet peeve of mine and Virgin has done this to me on many occasions. You have to lie to the recorded messages in order to "trick" the system to actually let you talk to someone. Anyway, I spoke to an operator and he seemed none the wiser than I was about what actual UHD channels Virgin actually has. From surfing the net, I discovered that the "Sky Cinema UHD" being offered was on-demand only and not an actual channel. It would have been nice if this was made clear both to me and the actual company representatives. I am still in the dark as to how many Sky Sports UHD channels there are and why I am unable to watch the Virgin Media UHD channel. What 4k Sky Sports channels do other people get? 

[newapollo · Accepted solution]

Hi @Chicot 

I have the three Sky Sports UHD numbered channels.(532, 533 and 534)

Only one actual channel is named (Sky Sports Main Event UHD) the other two Sky Sports UHD channels aren't named because the content on those channels will vary depending on which actual program/event Sky themselves show. 

Sky themselves only transmit one UHD Sports channel (Main Event) any additional live UHD content on their platform is accessed by pressing on screen red button prompt.

ON VM when it's not showing the "You're watching Sky Sports in UHD" screen,  the second UHD channel has mainly been showing a simultaneous cast of the live program  that is being transmitted on the Main Event UHD channel because Sky themselves haven't been showning any additional live UHD Sports content.

There is a simultaneous cast of tomorrow nights live EFL game starting at 7.30pm on Main Event UHD and Sky Sports UHD 533.

This coming Sunday Main Event UHD will be showing live Scottish PL football between Motherwell and Hearts from 11am to 2pm, and then the EPL game between Man Utd and Leicester from 2pm. The build up though to the Man Utd and Leicester game though will be shown on 533 from 1pm followed by the Man Utd and Leicester game.

This will no doubt change when more live UHD programs such as F1, Test Cricket, or Golf are shown.  An example would be when UHD PL football is screened on Main Event UHD at the same time as live F1 in UHD which would probably be shown on 533.

Depending on the package you subscribe to BT Sport Ultimate may also be available on channel 531.

There is also UHD content on the following apps :- BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and YouTube

I've seen a few posts today where customers are seeing the  message "We are currently setting up your channels" when trying to view the Virgin Media UHD channel, so it's a VM issue and should be quickly rectified.

The Sky Cinema and Sky Entertainment UHD addon shows On Demand Sky UHD box sets as well as Sky Cinema UHD.

[Chicot]

Thank you. You've cleared up quite a lot for me. It's just a pity that this sort of information is not clearly made available by Virgin Media themselves and their own customer service reps seem to not know any of this.