Do I need engineer to replace a old vBox with a new V6 box?

[Rapssd]

Hello,

I'm upgrading from and VBox and TiVo to 2x V6 boxes. Also upgrading internet from 100mb to 350mb.

On the phone I was told an engineer was needed to install, so that they could turn up the gains. I booked this for a week's time.

Today I received a text from virgin, stating I can install myself. I accepted this then thought what about turning up gains.

Can someone confirm, if an engineer is really needed, or can I simply disconnect old boxes and connect the new boxes.

Many thanks, Raps

[japitts · Accepted solution]

I'd be quite surprised if you have one of the legacy V-HD boxes, they've been obsolete for a few years now - so that would be going some!

There's pictures of all the current TV boxes here and the legacy V-HD box here 

Which modem do you have? I'm not familiar with the broadband side quite so much, but some of the older hubs can't support the higher speeds - check here if you want to make sure 

[Rapssd]

Hi mate,

Thanks for your message. It's definitely that older vHD box. Truth be told, I paid for my mother to have the vHD box in her room, and it's apparently not worked for years! She didn't think to tell me. The TiVo is in the lounge. Both are being replaced with the new V6 box.

My router/modem is the superhub3, upgrading from 100 to 350mb.

Just wondering, whether my upgrade needs an engineer? I'd happily swap boxes myself, but I don't know about upping gains etc.

Separately, is the 360 better than the V6? I may cancel if the 360 is better. Does the 360 came with an extra monthly charge?

Again, many thanks for your time

Raps

[japitts · Accepted solution]

Ordinarily I don't see why the V6 installs can't be self-service providing you have working co-ax connections in all the rooms you want them, I'm not sure if the SH3 supports 350Mb - I hope they don't mind being "paged", but someone like @jbrennand can probably confirm. The common reason for needing a manned install is when your existing cabling is either insufficient (and thus new runs need installing, or the existing ones need amending)

The 360 question is a whole can of worms. It's a completely different software platform, it has some new features (voice control & profiles) but the TiVo-platform (which drives the TiVo & V6) is functionally superior with recording & series-link features. Some other functionality is different. But I'm not starting another thread on that - there's plenty of other ones already existing!

My only advice is to do your research into 360 before choosing to migrate. Any conversion is a one-way trip and you can't revert back to the TiVo-platform if you don't like 360. Currently, migrations to 360 are voluntary.

[Rapssd]

Ok mate, thank you again.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I'll call customer services and confirm tomorrow.

Take care and have a pleasant evening

Raps

[nodrogd · Accepted solution]

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@japitts wrote:

I'm not sure if the SH3 supports 350Mb.

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It does. I have an SH3 & I'm on 350.

[Richw1982]

Hi as nodrogd has said Hub3 will be fine with 350, it will support up to 600.  The Hub4 will go up to 1Gig at the moment.  You may have to do a pinhole reset just to force the update through for the speed increase

[Rapssd]

Thank you all, much appreciated

[Roger_Gooner · Accepted solution]

The issue is that all TV boxes from the V6 onwards need a connection to the hub. This isn't a problem when the box and hub are close as an Ethernet cable easily connects them, but the V6 in the bedroom will not work properly if the WiFi connection is poor.

[Rapssd]

Hi Roger, thanks for your reply.

So this is my current set up. In bedroom, there is the router and VBox, both next to each other.

Downstairs in the lounge is a TiVo box.

New V6 boxes will replace above boxes and the router will remain in the bedroom.

I found the SH3 to be a rather poor router, so I have put that into Modem Mode and connected it to a NetGear Nighthawk router. WiFi reception has greatly improved as a result.

So, can the new V6 box be connected to the Nighthawk router? And, can I leave the SH3 in Modem Mode?

The cabling in the lounge is the same cabling in the bedroom, well I mean it's the same colour, thickness and connections, so I assume its all the same