V6 box works without internet?

[squonk]

During the countrywide outages on Tuesday I was affected. I had no internet, no WiFi and no phone line. But I could still watch tv on my V6 box. I always assumed that I needed internet for the box. Is that incorrect? And if you do need internet for a connection how was I able to watch it? I didn’t try any catch up apps but I assume they wouldn’t have worked as I had no WiFi.

[japitts · Accepted solution]

The internet connection is used for OnDemand, streaming apps, & EPG updates.

Live TV doesn't use the Internet - both that, and recorded content, are unaffected by loss of broadband.

[squonk]

Ok thanks. That’s useful to know. I didn’t realise about live tv without internet until Tuesday. Thanks for the reply

[nodrogd]

---

@squonk wrote:

Ok thanks. That’s useful to know. I didn’t realise about live tv without internet until Tuesday. Thanks for the reply

---

Yep! It's broadcast TV not IPTV. The channels are sent in the same format as those from a satellite dish or TV aerial. Boxes will work for a while without internet, but do check in with VM servers occasionally to see they are still authorised.

The problems earlier in the week were mostly routing issues, so most hubs remained fully connected to the DOCSIS infrastructure right back to the cable headend.