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Updating software & firmware

Johnny1983
Fibre optic

Hi

Is anyone aware if virgin media are going to continue updating their v6 box software & firmware then eventually rolling horizon 4 rdk firmware onto them? 🤔 I'm under the impression that virgin are rolling the horizon 4 rdk onto their existing v6 boxes. And customers with the existing tivo will be offered the v6 boxes with horizon 4 rdk already on 🤔 Am I correct? I can't imagine virgin media scrapping all their existing v6 boxes and sending their customers new ones 🤔. I would imagine that would be to expensive. 

J.H
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nodrogd
Very Insightful Person
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@PhilipF wrote:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/08/virgin-media-uk-preps-next-gen-tv-360-service-for-laun...

This article assumes wrongly that VM will use the LG mini box. It will not as VM are not using cloud storage as per the rest of LGs operation. VM are using 2 boxes. The main box is as the existing V6 with a 1TB HDD. The MRV multiroom box is disc less (pictured with the remote in the article) & relies on the main box for storage. The MRVs also retain a cable TV tuner for live channels, so still require a coax connection.

VM 350BB 2xV6 & Landline. Freeview/Freesat HD, ASDA/Tesco PAYG Mobile. Cable customer since 1993

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nodrogd
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@Johnny1983 wrote:

OK thank you for confirming Mike 🙂

 Why don't they concentrate on removing the old tivo boxes out of service and giving those customers a v6 box? Then work on updating all v6 boxes to horizon 4? 

 


The V6 & V360 require Virgin Broadband to operate. A lot of people with the old TiVOs are TV only or TV/Phone only customers, & also customers with large installations of up to 6 TV boxes. VM usually provide up to 4 V6s, the rest being TiVOs.

VM 350BB 2xV6 & Landline. Freeview/Freesat HD, ASDA/Tesco PAYG Mobile. Cable customer since 1993

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DJ_Shadow1966
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Hello

From what I have seen posted here on the forums is that some customer have already got these on trial so I would take it that once the trial is over then I would believe that VM will be releasing them to the public, potentially through a free upgrade, the advantages for VM would be a saving as Tivo software is a 3rd party licensed piece of software where the horizon is in house software, so potentially bug fixes will happen quicker.

Regards Mike

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Ernie_C
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Johnny, I would not set your sights on getting to retain your recordings if you want to go to Horizon.

Personally, I have seen or heard nothing about existing V6s being upgraded over the air with retention of existing recordings.

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Bemak187
On our wavelength

I think that ISP review story has caused a lot of confusion.  There seems to be 2 systems out there moving forward.  From other posts it appears VM will use similar to what VM Ireland have which is basically a V6 box with a hard drive but running Horizon 4 and then a mini box which also requires a coax connection (and hopefully also has ethernet on it).  The really small Mini 4K box featured in that article is not being rolled out in the UK and is related to countries LG cloud storage which is totally different.  Happy to be corrected though as I am not 100%.

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I expect this to be a two-stage programme of work.

Stage 1 is replacing the existing V6s, a job with plenty of potential problems as there's about 2.3m of them installed.

Stage 2 is replacing the TiVos, a bigger job in some cases as although there are fewer of them (1.3m) than the V6s a broadband connection will have to be installed for TiVo-only customers. Also, not everyone will want the added expense of broadband. I expect stage 2 to be phased over a period of time.

--
Hub 5, TP-Link TL-SG108S 8-port gigabit switch, 360
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If the V6s cannot have TiVo replaced by Horizon 4 via an overnight cable upgrade it will be a hideously lengthy process to get the boxes swapped, look how long it took VM to replace the old V+ and V+ HD boxes.

--
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DJ_Shadow1966
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Hello

From what I understand the Horizon firmware cannot be loaded on top of the Tivo firmware from the connection, it has too be done in the factory using a physical JTAG connection too the box.

If the customers do not  have a VM broadband account then the older Tivo boxes will have to remain as like the V6 the horizon requires an active VM broadband connection with a hub 3 minimum.

The older V6 will not actually be scrapped as will be returned for updating, see the first point.

Regards Mike

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nodrogd
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@PhilipF wrote:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/08/virgin-media-uk-preps-next-gen-tv-360-service-for-laun...

This article assumes wrongly that VM will use the LG mini box. It will not as VM are not using cloud storage as per the rest of LGs operation. VM are using 2 boxes. The main box is as the existing V6 with a 1TB HDD. The MRV multiroom box is disc less (pictured with the remote in the article) & relies on the main box for storage. The MRVs also retain a cable TV tuner for live channels, so still require a coax connection.

VM 350BB 2xV6 & Landline. Freeview/Freesat HD, ASDA/Tesco PAYG Mobile. Cable customer since 1993

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

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OK thank you for confirming Mike 🙂

I guess we will have to wait and see what happens. As I've seen lots of mixed information about horizon 4 rdk. Virgin don't appear to very fourth coming about their horizon 4 plans. It's questionable if horizon 4 is actually going to happen. As they will find lots of customers like me are happy with the v6 tivo system. It basically does what I want 🙂. If virgin think they can take my box off me. They've got another think coming 🙂. I've recently been made redundant and can't afford to pay virgin any extra fees. Hopefully they'll find away of getting horizon 4 onto their existing boxes. Trust me. It can be done. It can be done via a big platform rebuild via a firmware update. It will cost virgin alot of money to replace customers boxes in the long run. Why don't they concentrate on removing the old tivo boxes out of service and giving those customers a v6 box? Then work on updating all v6 boxes to horizon 4? 

 

J.H

nodrogd
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@Johnny1983 wrote:

OK thank you for confirming Mike 🙂

 Why don't they concentrate on removing the old tivo boxes out of service and giving those customers a v6 box? Then work on updating all v6 boxes to horizon 4? 

 


The V6 & V360 require Virgin Broadband to operate. A lot of people with the old TiVOs are TV only or TV/Phone only customers, & also customers with large installations of up to 6 TV boxes. VM usually provide up to 4 V6s, the rest being TiVOs.

VM 350BB 2xV6 & Landline. Freeview/Freesat HD, ASDA/Tesco PAYG Mobile. Cable customer since 1993

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Thank you nodrogd 

So from what your saying customers with virgins existing v6 boxes will be getting horizon 4 rdk firmware eventually loaded onto them? 🤔 Customers with the really old tivo boxes will be getting them swapped out for a v6 box with horizon 4 rdk already loaded onto them?

Does this sound right? 

J.H

DJ_Shadow1966
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Hello

From what I have seen posted here on the forums is that some customer have already got these on trial so I would take it that once the trial is over then I would believe that VM will be releasing them to the public, potentially through a free upgrade, the advantages for VM would be a saving as Tivo software is a 3rd party licensed piece of software where the horizon is in house software, so potentially bug fixes will happen quicker.

Regards Mike

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Thank you DJ_shadow

I'm guessing eventually virgin will roll out horizon 4 rdk onto their existing v6 boxes rather than swap them out and have customers lose their recordings. To me a big firmware update would make sense. I won't be handing back my existing v6 box unless it is swapped out via an engineer in the future due to a fault. Until it goes faulty I will be hanging onto it. In fact mines the newly manufactured model. I only had it swapped out last month. My new one doesn't have the plastic display on the front of it. 

 

J.H

Ernie_C
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Johnny, I would not set your sights on getting to retain your recordings if you want to go to Horizon.

Personally, I have seen or heard nothing about existing V6s being upgraded over the air with retention of existing recordings.

I'm a Very Insightful Person, I'm here to share knowledge, I don't work for Virgin Media. Learn more

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