Moving V6 box to room with no coax

[Xgriff]

Hi Virgin Community,

I’d have thought after about 20 years with Virgin I’d know this. I have 2 V6s and a 500mb TiVo. We also have a new puppy so am practically living in the extension which doesn’t have Virgin coax. 

I’ve moved 1 of the V6 boxes into the extension and can stream recorded shows from the other V6, perhaps even watch Sky movies on demand. However I’d like to be able to watch live TV from our package. 

Without paying the £99 fee, or even realistically adding extension cables (we’re a townhouse and it’s a long way to lay a cable), is there another solution?

[nodrogd · Accepted solution]

In short no.

Virgins cable TV service is a broadcast service (DVB-C), & operates the same as Satellite (DVB-S) & Freeview (DVB-T). The box receives all the channels all the time & cable tuners in the V6 select the ones you want. So just as you cannot watch Satellite TV unless you plug in a dish, you can't watch cable TV unless you plug in the cable.

Added to that Virgin use specialised cable that keeps out the likes of Freeview & mobile signals out of the network. Changing the length of cabilng also affects your signal levels which require access to the cabinet in the street to adjust. So there is no real option but to shell out £99.

Oh. & its likely the box will stop working when the next NIT update is pushed out, which causes the box to retune all the channels. With no coax connected this will cause the reboot to hang.

[Xgriff]

Thanks. Needed to hear it from someone else before deciding on alternatives. NowTV it is.

[Xgriff]

It’s a shame SlingBox isn’t still going.

[japitts]

You could use the TV Go app on any compatible mobile device?

[Xgriff]

Thankyou Japitts. We’ll do that sometimes when it’s just me, but when we’re all wanting to watch something on a big TV, I did wonder whether I could stream from the Go TV app to the big TV (found out no!), or even whether the VM TV Go app is available in either the Google store or the Apple TV store (again found out no). There is an Irish version of the Virgin Media app though - sadly just for users in, you guessed it, Ireland. 

[japitts]

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@Xgriff wrote:

I did wonder whether I could stream from the Go TV app to the big TV (found out no!)

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Indeed not - that would be a way to avoid paying the multiroom charge.

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@Xgriff wrote:

or even whether the VM TV Go app is available in either the Google store or the Apple TV store (again found out no).

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That's where it should be... the standard app stores, that is.

[Roger_Gooner]

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@Xgriff wrote:

Without paying the £99 fee, or even realistically adding extension cables (we’re a townhouse and it’s a long way to lay a cable), is there another solution?

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Why are you assuming that a coaxial cable cannot be run to the extension? In most cases the cable length inside the home is not an issue.

[Xgriff]

I’m sure a cable can be run. But it’s more of an economical choice not to, as much as the fact I don’t want to run an extension cable down 2 flights of stairs, across landings, up and over doors and ultimately through an exterior wall to the extension. All for non permanent solution.  
I’m not trying to defraud or otherwise do anything underhanded, I simply want to watch an expensive package that I’m paying for on a TV for a few months before hopefully going back to the set up I have currently again. So not only would it be £99, it’s actually £198 as I’d need to get them back again to put it back ! 

[Roger_Gooner]

You can run Virgin TV Go on a laptop and display on a TV, various methods include a connection with an HDMI cable, wireless mirroring and casting via Chromecast.