Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I have been told today that Virgin ARE still to talks with Sky, ITV and ESPN over new channels.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I beg to differ, they weren't poxy to me and im sure many others.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks for the update. :)

Problem with them being in talks with Sly is that they will most likely force Virgin Media for ANOTHER price increase which is not acceptable.

Simply as £29.50 for XL TV and Sky Sports with HD 1 and 2 is already daylight robbery.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

All i have to say on this is why are all the network providers looking to IPTV and on demand content:erm:

This is my take on this:

1- People want to watch what they want when they want ( not revolve their lives around a tv guide ).

2- If IPTV is the future they need to be connected to a server / net ( not from a satellite ).

3- Why have all the national channels got on-demand on some of the providers.

I stand with my back against a wall blindfolded ready to be shot down.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

And we've gained around 17 Sky HD channels including the much requested Sky Sports HD, Sky Red Button, Sky VOD and soon the world's best PVR system.

And you do know that the only HD channels on Freesat are BBC HD, BBC 1 HD and ITV HD, yes? If cable is no longer an option,
you're better off with Freeview HD, at least then you'll get Five HD and C4 HD as well. In the longer run, YouView would be worth a look, if they ever launch the bloody thing.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

A lot of the content that was on Channel One, Bravo etc. is being moved or has already been moved to other channels which are available on VM such as Sky1, Sky Living, etc. so the content isn't lost just the channel. Which = even more capacity for VM to negotiate and add channels

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Good post :)

People don't realise that there will be SD & HD channels arriving soon. Once they have settled down with TiVo they then have a platform to launch much more channels. ESPN 2 should arrive in the coming months along with ESPN News for starters (Had an email today regarding this).

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Alwaysabear had an email confirming they were in talks with ESPN from High up.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

It Back!!! Sky to offer free Weekend on Sky3

For three days starting February 11th. Sky 3 will showcase some of the best content from the Sky.

-Friday 11 February Highlights is: An Idiot Abroad, Cougar Town, Got To Dance and Mad Dogs.
-Saturday’s line-up boasts Ridley Scott’s blistering spy thriller Body of Lies, Soccer AM and Gillette Soccer Saturday.
-On Sunday, viewers can catch a double bill of Boardwalk Empire.

All Free on Virgin Channel 180.

http://www.skyprogrammeinformation.c...Highlights.pdf

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

VM TV customers will be able to watch the first 2 episodes of Boardwalk Empire on Sky 3 on the 13th of Feb.

http://www.skyprogrammeinformation.c...Highlights.pdf

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Me too, pay £96 a month to virgin apparently this includes a £25 discount, called CS who said phone and broadband only would be £32.99. Sky offering half price to come back. Leaving it until end of March if no red button, sky atlantic confirmed and no more HD confirmed I'm off, if Mrs Ghost agrees:D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Come on guys why all the doom and gloom give VM a chance it's only 19 days into the New Year they no more HD and content is needed.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Can I just say that if you are thinking of jumping ship over to the dark side just remember that if yo do not take out insurance on the box you will get charged for the call out ( so if you are going can. I just say goodbye and farewell )

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thats a fair point personally i think new things will come this year but virgin already carry most of the channels worth having i am sure given time more content will arrive VM are working on their OD for the next month until mid feb must be a reason for that (Red Button could be work in preparation).

HD arriving is good but not at any price people will then be complaining about price rises.:shocked:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Sounds like a bargain to me! Where can I get it for that price?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I think its dearer than that come to think of it. :D

---------------------

Im not jumping ship... well not until I leave college as my parents will force me to pay for Virgin Media myself then.

---------------------

MattitudE is here...beware :p:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

After the warranty (12 months) expires

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Mmm, we only got half sky sports hd, and will we get full red button, and will this be available on sports 4?, we got smoked and mirrored with Sky Movies Classics Hd And Sky News HD / Sky Sports News Hd, we are no clearer if we are Getting Sky Arts HDwhich we were promised.
P.S. You dont get Five HD on Freeview, they passed up the chance of a licence which is why the BBC Launched BBC 1 HD as a simulcast.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

You are right but who is to blame because all you've mentioned is Sky , just imagine VM had exact channel lineup as Sky people in cabled areas would choose VM as there broadband is far superior , this is why Sky like to keep the edge in TV. I personally think VM should pursue the none Sky channels harder first.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Virginmedia/ESPN should outbid Sky for thr EPL football rights next time they are up for auction.

Then we would see the fur fly.

sky would then be cap in hand to Virginmedia.

Might be expensive initially but it would turn the situation on its head.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I think ESPN could manage that on their own.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yes. Sky will need to watch ESPN, they have a lot of money. ;)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

ESPN are in a position to outbid Sky for EPL rights they certainly have the financial muscle. Sky have cosyed up to ESPN since they arrived in the UK as they know full well they are a major player in world sports coverage. However, VM do not have the money they are in a considerable amount of debit which they have just finished re scheduling.
IMO rather than them going toe to toe over EPL they will split the rights to stop either of them over paying for rights. Which I am well aware is anti competitive, but who is going to stop them!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

VM do not want to be in the content owning business. They are placing themselves as a platform.

UKTV will be next to offload, with the proceeds of the sale going back in to their network/platform.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I've been tending to avoid watching the Sky ads. at all but, maybe on my third watch/listen, I too have noticed that extra bit of ambiguity in addition to what I mentioned in a previous post.

If we do get Sky Atlantic, it will likely be on a 'non-base' package such as XL and above. That counts as paying for it and so the exclusivity in the ad. may be valid if you take into account the 'free' clause. Wishful thinking, it will be free in SD to all Sky customers but potentially available in SD and, maybe at some stage, in HD to paying customers on other platforms.

Even my attempt at explaining it is clumsy, ambiguous and open to interpretation but hopefully it makes some degree of sense that BSkyB are trying to suggest that only their customers will have Sky Atlantic to the exclusion of all others, without actually saying that.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I'm sure if a deal can be done, then VM will do it. Sky seems to be making a lot of noise about it being "free and exclusive on Sky" even when talks are ongoing, so they probably have no intentions of letting any other provider have it for a few months yet. IMO :)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

BSkyB move some Bravo shows about.

Hotel Babylon moves to Sky Living Loves on Fridays at 9pm.
All New Highway Partrol and Sun, Sea and A & E moves to Sky Livingit on Mondays from 9pm.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Media Boy do you have any information on the Brit Cops series according to wikipedia there is another one to be shown BritCops: Series 6: Rule of Law - 10 editions - Transmission TBA would it be put on Sky Livingit?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I saw no information about BritCops on the Sky web site.

But note to all TNA fans I saw that Sky2 has got TBA listed for 2 hours from 10pm on Saturday night on Feb. 5th.

http://data.skyprogrammeinformation....SKMX&week=388#

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Come on Virign give us something to discuss on here im getting bored LOL :-)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

hay sky 3 is not becoming appeaklign from feburary it getting good kids line up and also shw slike mythbusters etc

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Is there any likelihood of TCM2 appearing on Virgin or is that exclusive to Sky

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Feb. 11th lineup on Sky3 is part of the Sky Free pass weekend that will run from Feb. 11th til Feb. 14th.

So Sky3 will be showcaseing channel like Sky Sports News, Discovery and Sky Living.

---------- Post added at 16:52 ---------- Previous post was at 16:49 ----------

TCM2 is only an part-time channels that runs from 8pm - 4am (When Cartoonito is not broadcasting.)

Any way I think TCM2 will be closing soon to make way for Adult Swim Channel to launch.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Sky has a business to run and that means trying to be beat any competition. If Virgin customers want to view channels that Virgin cannot/do not want to supply them move to Sky. That is what a free market is about. (I do accept that some of Sky's moves could be considered more that simple competition). If Virgin do not meet your needs change.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yes i will change to sky now please tell me how to get a satellite signal as my flats cannot get a site of line,its absolutely pointless telling people to switch to sky if they do not like virgin many will simply not have that choice has been posted on here many times before.

The free market in pay tv is seriously flawed in the fact many cannot get sky (myself included) and many cannot get VM what kind of a "free market" is that i wonder.

By the way i am not interested in US programming just pointing out the "free market" is seemingly failing a lot of people who pay for tv.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Or move to America cos the vast majority of whinging is about not seeing US programmes. :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I thought it has now been confirmed that OFCOM had not actually awarded Adult Swim a TV licence after all? Or am I not upto speed.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

And what if you want the channel but dont want to or indeed cant move? Customers of the VM platform are paying good money to receive Sky channels and only receiving a partial service. Time we all stood up for the customer not the big business that is Sky. Ofcom ought to do something about this and they are supposed to be looking in to making it easier to move between platforms. That has to benefit us customers and keeping channels exclusive to one platform should be part of their inquiry.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Ofcom should have grew some balls and made Sky Sports 3 and 4 part of the deal.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Nobody has mentioned FreeSat!!! Doesn't that have the potential to compete even more with BSkyB than FreeView, especially if you're willing to put up a dish or already have one? :confused:

Heaven forbid!!! :rolleyes:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

It would have been much better if a separate enquirey had taken place one that separates skys platform from the content which is the real problem here,if the content divsion had to operate independantly they would have to sell content on a non discriminatory fashion,certainly it would make the pay tv platform a lot fairer for those that want the content but cannot get sky.IE it would be a benefit to consumers not big buisiness so it probably will not happen.:(

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

People believe Sky shouldn't be regulated as it's a private company unlike BT , Royal Mail etc , however Microsoft in the states is a private company and look at all the times they've been regulated or made to change things ( ever noticed on Windows now you have the choice of browser to install). Sky uses it's Market position to dictate the pay tv Market.

Examples

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft
http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2...t-legal-issues

Would bundling together be the case if News Corp buys 100% of Sky (Ie selling newspaper subs with Sky and vice versa.)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Let's be quite clear BSkyB is most certainly regulated, whether that regulation should cover a wider scope is something that is worthy of discussion in my opinion, I personally wouldn't want to see any broadcaster too heavilly regulated though.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I would hope the regulator would look into all the issues regarding Mr Murdoch buying 100% of BSkyB along with the newspaper division he would have massive influence on the media including the one you highlighted ie bundling.

Yes Microsoft faced several investigations regarding their browser monopoly,and were made to change things ie due to their size and power thanks to a ruling we now have a choice as to which browser to install,however unless i am wrong microsoft are not quite so agressive as Mr Murdoch about using political influence,any politician sems to go a pale white and start to shake at the very mention of his name,which cheifly is why we are where we are today in regards to sky being properly regulated as a virtual monopoly of content people really wish to pay for.

---------- Post added at 18:12 ---------- Previous post was at 18:07 ----------

Surely though by separating the content from the platform it would be a lot better for the consumer in general sky have enormous power in being a platform as well as content providers.

I am in favour of more regulation of any near or monopoly service.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

That's what I thought would happen, but it's a new license, if they were gonna close it TCM2, they would change the name of the TCM2 license.

No, they have the license http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/tvlicensing/cs/2095.htm

But Adult Swim's Twitter and Facebook are denying they're launching a channel, saying it's the license for the Sky Mobile TV channel

Which makes no sense since none of the other Sky Mobile TV channels have ofcom licenses

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I don't have a view on the content/distribution argument personally, i'm open minded at the moment.

I don't know what your definition of a monopoly service is though, if VM have 4m and Sky have 10m TV customers I cannot see any monopoly personally as don't OFCOM, being dominant and a monopoly are two entirely different things (I accept they can buy up a lot of unregulated content though) and of course there are other players too but I do understand peoples genuine concerns.

Bad news that it has today been reported that YouView may be delayed until next year, Sky and VM will no doubt be pleased though as they can truly offer both real competition.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Sky's content is great and there HD is second to none however I feel everybody should be able to watch it on the platform of there choice much like in the US.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Whilst I would like to see Sky split more clearly between the delivery platform and the content provider, the same could have been said of VM until a few months ago. Even now VM have a 50% interest in the UKTV channels and I would be very wary of them losing that to certain parties (not just Sky).

Putting broadband and telephone aside it is still quite a complicated situation with the Sky/BSkyB TV and Radio service. As I understand it, you buy a Sky box and dish and you can already receive free-to-air and free-to-view programming with it, subject to having a £20 FreeSatFromSky viewing card perhaps. Then, for a subscription, you can receive additional channels with content from a variety of providers as well as Sky branded channels, such as Sky 1, 2 and 3, with content from a variety of providers, as well as Sky produced programming on Sky channels such as Sky News and Sky Sports. Then there are the movie channels with content from a variety of providers and some On Demand services as well, if you have a broadband connection, with content from a variety of providers.

So where do you make the split? The satellite platform, the additional channel provision, the Sky branded channels, the Sky production company, the bit that buys up the rights to televise various sports etc.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

It's a fair argument, of course they would say if they are not allowed to enhance the attractiveness of their own platform by having something exclusive (like SSP 3/4 HD) they lose the incentive to invest. They might also say others like VM have decided to not provide their own content and are happy just to carry theirs and other providers so there's two sides to the coin. I don't know who is right.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I've noticed this at around midnight on the 14th and 15th January. I agree it is SO much less annoying...

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s....php?t=1424571

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Agreed but this comes back to platform/content, in the US the main sports channels are not platform providers ie ESPN , Fox Sports , ABC Sports , TNT , NFL network etc so there channels are available on a variety of platforms , I think Comcast have a sports channel and they are a platform provider but can't think of any more.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I think Comcast are the biggest Pay TV platform (either cable or satellite) in the US and they are most certainly a content provider, in fact they are just in the process of buying NBC. Don't Time Warner also have a cable network and channels too?

It is very common in Europe for platforms to provide content too, I suppose Canal Plus France are the best example and I think these are the best to compare with rather than US companies.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I have just found on the Virgin EPG that BritCops are broadcasting on LIVINGit on Thursday nights at 10pm until the end of January.

(Sorry but I only found it).

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks for that Media Boy as i suspected they have put it on LIVINGit.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Hence the desire for a 'split' of the platform from the content provision. In your example, VM have 4m platform customers and Sky have 10m platform customers and those are reasonable, competitive proportions. But Sky as a content provider also buy up a lot of programming, produce their own programming and corner the market in some sports which they have been known to withhold from other platforms or for which they negotiate anti-competitive deals, hence the Ofcom ruling last year.

So, similar to the way that BT OpenReach must provide unbiased access to the broadband infrastructure for all service providers, BSkyB's content provision and production companies could be made to supply all platforms, including Sky, under equal contract terms.

However, maybe that in itself is anti-competitive.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Sky had no problems with using BT's network.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The difference is, BT's network was once nationalised.

Sky's "platform" has always been provided by private companies (Astra), which anyone else could attempt to agree access to. So they have not benefited from a public service in the same way that BT have.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

You have to read this post from DS Forums:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...59&postcount=1

---------- Post added at 09:55 ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 ----------

Digital Spy: News Corp 'suggests Sky News sale'.

News Corp has reportedly told the government that it is prepared to make concessions, including the sale of Sky News, to avoid a lengthy review of its bid to acquire Sky.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcas...news-sale.html

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...-Sky-News.html

---------- Post added at 10:54 ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 ----------

The question should be why they so desperate to take control of Sky.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Money, pure and simple. It's a massive cash cow.

By selling off the (loss making) Sky News they will aim to silence critics who believe there's a political influence agenda behind the Murdochs' bid.

Having said that, if Sky News is sold (and who would buy it??) don't be surprised to see another channel launched once the Sky purchase is completed by News Corp. Launch a new channel after the deal is done? Surely not...Fox News anyone??

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

FT says Sky News is losing £4m a year.

I think Sky may just close Sky News down unless ITN OR NBC want to buy it.

Or BSkyB can give it new ''owners'' like Own by ''Sky News Network''.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Huh? Relevance? :confused:

AFAIK, all of the ADSL broadband providers, including VM's national service, use BT's network - copper, fibre and exchanges.

I know but it was the best and most recent analogy I could come up with, even though I knew it was somewhat flawed. I did say "similar to" rather than "the same as". The next time I use a weak analogy I'll say "similar to but not the same as", okay? :rolleyes: Tough crowd! :)

Anyway, it's about separation of service (content) provider and carrier (platform) but, in Sky's commercial, non-nationalised legacy case, is it anti-competitive to split them up?

I've got it! As it's almost a monopoly with almost national coverage, let's nationalise BSkyB "the platform"! Oh, I just remembered, wrong kind of government for that sort of thing. ;)

Yes, there is the further complication that the satellites are not owned by BSkyB and no, I'm not forgetting the 'nationalised' FreeSat which operates from similar satellite constellations to BSkyB.

Huh? What am I looking for? :confused:

---------- Post added at 09:55 ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 ----------

As a 'news corporation' I'm surprised that the first thing they're willing to let go of is their TV news channel. Makes you wonder how much they actually value it.

Maybe selling off the sports side, including all of those lucrative exclusive deals for coverage of events and various leagues, would appease Ofcom and the Competition Commission more.

I presume that Sky Sports News is considered part of Sky Sports rather than Sky News but it does blur the line a bit.

---------- Post added at 11:32 ---------- Previous post was at 11:28 ----------

What Nialli said! :tu:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Telegraph says £30m a year losses, which is probably nearer the mark. ITV could buy it and merge it with ITN, or C4 possibly but they're short of funds. No-one in the UK I can see would have the cash or the inclination. It really does highlight how few broadcasting companies we have in the UK and how dominant the BBC and Sky are now.

More beneficial would be is Sky were to separate the TV channels from the delivery platform, but they will never volunteer that and it's not particularly pertinent to this.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I was on about the following lines: What about On Demand and also the TiVo? Also why is Sky still in talks with Virgin if Sky Atlantic is just going to be ''exclusive'' to Sky viewers?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Sky have a monopoly end of.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

They may have the monopoly to all the TV Shows.

But do they own the Network they broadcast on?
Do they own their phone network?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Got it! Agreed, VM are getting far too much stick considering the leaps and bounds in improvements they made last year as well as what is "coming soon", as we say around here.

Many people don't seem to know about or appreciate the effort and expense it took to merge all of those disparate cable franchises, roll out NGTV and Nagra 3, add quite a few HD channels, expand On Demand as well as the big improvements on the broadband side.

The sell off of the VMTV channels may seem like a retrograde step in the short term but it will allow VM to concentrate their funding and resources on their core business and I expect to see the benefits of that in the coming months.

Just now, we are in a state of flux, while we await new deals for content and the full launch of TiVo, to mention just two. Personally, I'm looking forward to another good year with VM.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Fair point but what good is that if you can't get access to content , its content the customers after they don't care how its delivered.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I care. I prefer it coming down a bi-directional cable. Others care. They either don't have line-of-sight to the birds or they have local restrictions on erecting a dish.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Agreed Felim Virgin had a great 2010 let's hope it continues this year.

---------- Post added at 12:39 ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 ----------

But you are in the minority to be fair , just look how many of them ugly dishes there are LOL :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

My Dad called them ''Bin Lit''.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

There's a little piece that the Discovery channels sometimes use to fill in between programmes about a graffiti artist who reckons he's making things look better by cleaning them up rather than defacing them. Maybe we should go around at night with a suitable brightly coloured metallic paint decorating those ugly dishes!

---------- Post added at 15:19 ---------- Previous post was at 15:19 ----------

Parabolics! That's what it's all about. If your "Bin Lid" (no, not the al-Qaeda leader) has the right focal point then it will probably perform better than a Sky Mini Dish due to its larger diameter.

One of my other interests is amateur radio and, in particular, amateur satellites. Some guys I know have made umbrella dishes using brass or similar mesh. It is possible to pick up weak signals from lunar and Mars orbiters with this size of dish!

A Brolly Dish for AO-40
Brolly Dish II: the Portable One

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

What's the point of a 3d EPG? Wouldn't their time and money be better invested in bringing us better content, more HD, more stable STBs etc?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

someone would moan that they aren't getting a 3D EPG :rolleyes:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

There's a 3D EPG coming? Wowzers, tie me down for another 12 months :rolleyes:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

3D EPG coming to Virgin ... wow that is amazing... :rolleyes:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

A 3D EPG does seem rather a trivial thing to be putting time and effort into but I guess they have to showcase the 3D features and people with a 3D TV and a 3D capable box, especially a paid-for-up-front TiVo, will want to have something 'cool' to watch on them, even if the 3D programming is in short supply.

Any day now, you won't need the remote any more, you'll be able to put your hand out towards the projected 3D EPG and manipulate it without having to wipe the finger-lickin' Colonel's secret recipe from your hands first. :cool:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Remember unlike Sky, Virginmedia do not charge for HD (Premium HD excluded) and 3D, and everyone has access to free catch up.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

This will be great for selecting "Minority Report" on from VOD ;)

If you want to see just how close this is to being an affordable reality take a google at what MIT (and many others) are doing with an Xbox 360 and Kinect

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Despite being a technophile, I still don't have a HD TV, a PVR or, for that matter, a DVD recorder at the moment, so 3D might as well be in another dimension as far as I'm concerned. :)

Maybe this year, around April, I'll take advantage of the likely price drops in HD TVs, PVRs, DVD±Rs and higher speed broadband offerings from VM and 'tool up' to the (almost) latest technology.

I probably won't opt for 3D, TiVo, Blu-Ray recording or 100Mb/s internet just yet but at least I'll be in the twenty first century albeit not the current decade of the century. :cool:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I agree this does seem a bit of a waste of time and money BUT having said that virgin have to keep up with sky and developing technology such as 3d. They can`t afford to loose customers to sky just because people have 3d televisions and want everything that goes with it to be 3d too. Personally I`m not bothered about 3d and won`t be buying a 3d television for a few years yet(unless circumstances force me to).

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

MB, or anyone else, I know that it would be in 'Post One' if there was news but, just in case, are there any likely dates for Five +1 (soon to be Channel 5 +1) or the additional UKTV +1s?

Also, I know that the UKTV channels have traditionally aired repeats from other channels but, with more original programming and exclusive offerings being shown now, is there any expectation that some of these channels will have a presence in the On Demand sections such as Catch Up?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I am sorry I think this is probably the wrong place to post this, but here goes.

I consistantly find that HD channels are actualy worse than the SD channels. For example I am currently watching Syfy HD and I keep getting "interference" on the screen. The screen appears quite grainy and I get flashing bars of grianeyness (probably a made up word ;-) ) all over the screen.

I have noticed this on BBC1 HD, ITV HD and now syfy HD.

Is this an indication that my V+ box is not working properly, or is this normal with the HD channels?

TIA John

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yes it is the wrong place to post this:

1- Have you checked that all the cables are in correctly.

2- Have you checked the service status page to see if there are any problems in the area.

3- Have you tried the fix it assistant to see if there are any errors for you.

If you have tried all of these then i would say to call in to check the signal strength for you.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks for the reply (for future reference where would be best to post this?).

I have tried checking the cables (and everything else appears OK picture wise).

But I havent tried the other suggestions, I will work out how to do so and if all else fails then I will do as you suggest and call in.

Thanks again, I appreciate it.

Mods.... as this is in the wrong place, I wont be offended if you delete this message.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Service status page here:

https://my.virginmedia.com/service-status/details

Or link for the fix it assistant and how to find it here:

http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/...nt/td-p/128873

But instead of trying the numbers you may need to check for what it says dependent on the box that you have.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks again

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I have never understood why people use the word 'monopoly' when describing Sky.

Virgin actually have significant power over Sky in that Sky can't realistically run any of its own channels (in SD) without making it available to Virgin. The Sky 1 saga proved this.

What it can do is make a bit of fuss for a while which it certainly does. But that is just open markets and Virgin seem like a company not willing to pay over the odds so timing differences will always occur.

I personally find the idea of splitting Sky very strange. If you reduce the incentive for them to gain an advantage then all viewers including Virgin viewers would lose out.

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't the sale of Virgin channels to Sky include freeview channels (sorry I'm not familiar with freeview)? If so that is very convenient as Sky pay Virgin to buy channels then only to remove from freeview and both win. Sky also removed SSN from freeview trying to devalue BT Vision and Freeview.

Personally I think Virgin and Sky are like Marie and Frank from Everybody loves Raymond. They come across as hostile but they love each other as they both make money from each other.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Anyone else got a bad blurring picture every so often on ESPN HD Man City game ?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Mine seems Ok at the moment.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yeah mine to now was blurring a bit before

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I haven't ever heard anyone say that Sky is a monopoly. The fear is that they will eventually become a monopoly. Sky has so much money that if they decide to squeeze other platforms by denying them content then there is nothing to stop them. At least when VM owned some channels they had some leverage over Sky. Now they have nothing. VM used the sale of the channels to gain some of Sky's exclusive channels to give them a fighting chance to compete against them. Look what has happened. Sky has bought loads of content that they could have put on their existing channels and put it on a new exclusive channel. How any customer would say that is not a bad thing is beyond me. The different platforms should be competing on price and level of service not channel exclusivity.
If Sky were split up they would still have the incentive to make money that any company has. It's not going to happen though. What we need is for Ofcom to take a stand on this blatant anti-competitive and anti consumer behaviour but Murdoch has too much political influence for that to happen.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

And Sky have so much money because..............?















Yes that's right, they are the best at what they do

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

So you dont want Ofcom to act in our interest then and stop sky keeping content exclusive to their platform?
It's quite obvious as well that a major reason why they were able to get so far in front of everyone else was that all they have had to compete with in the pay tv market was a fragmented cable service. Even now that cable is getting it's act together it would take a huge amount of money to get anywhere near their coverage.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Because they were first. also as ahardie says, Cable was fragmented in the UK until the last few years. It's only now that cable (Virgin Media) is getting on it's feet and being a real competitor to Sky.

Competition is good for the consumer, but exclusive content only benefits it's holder.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Competition is good for the consumer, only problem is at the moment neither company can deliver what I really want for my TV viewing experience.

I want all HD and SD channels that broadcast on SKY, but I also want the catch-up and on-demand service Virgin provides. If a company can deliver me both of these, under one monthly subscription, then I'll be a happy customer.

Maybe Virgin and SKY can do a deal. Virgin let SKY use their broadband network, in return Virgin get access to all SKY HD channels, SKY 3D, full red button access, SKY mobile, SKY anytime and SKY Player. Or the other alternative is I stop drinking cider before I post my thoughts on here :dozey:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Its one of the focal points of VM, the brilliant broadband. Giving that away isn't worth a few extra pixels, you can't buy broadband speed 6 month later on DVD.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

With the greatest of respect DF I think it is somewhat disingenuous of you to say Sky have so much money 'because they were the first'.

They joined the DTH game (but launched first) far later than British Satellite Broadcasting who even with the might of the Government and the IBA behind them made a complete and utter hash of their own business plans and were beaten to the post although regulation and technology contributed to the endless delays but basic poor decisions did too. Remember the squarial? Their CEO bought the idea from a small time inventor when there wasn't even a working prototype, that wasn't a technology that was imposed on them like the DMAC system, they had no choice with that but they didn't monitor it's development properly. I read a great book called 'Dished' which is all about the history of BSB, it was a complete and utter joke, it was quite unbelieveable what went on. Murdoch knew this and smelled blood but he really got in through the back door using Astra and it's cheap equipment, in fact the whole set up was cheap full stop, in my opinion it was awful but it was different, BSB seemed similar to the BBC.

I would suggest the reason Sky are cash rich is down to far more factors than launching first, let's be clear Sky have made some huge howlers over the years and initially could have brought News Corp down but overall I think the fact that they are a fantastically run business is a key reason for their success and the legacy cable companies appeared to be badly run, it's unlikely you file for bankruptcy protection like NTL did in 2002 because they were over $23 billion in debt if you are very well run. Put simply Sky gives Average Joe what he wants, they are not for me but the numbers don't lie, that's why I would guess they are successful. Now how they do that and the methods they use are up for debate.

That's just my opinion.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Personally I think saying they were first was being brief rather than disingeneous. Of course there is a lot more to it than that. If politicians had known what cable would have to contend with they wouldn't have set it up the way they did. Apart from that I broadly agree with your post but the fact that Murdoch is a canny operator doesn't mean that we consumers don't need protected from some of BSkyB's practices. Microsoft has also been a canny operator and has been probably even more successful than Sky but that hasn't stopped governments taking action to protect the consumer against their anti-competitive behaviour, as Muppetman has pointed out.