Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Some UKTV Channels free until November 29th with Gold Free over Christmas on Virgin TV.

Virgin Media customers who only subscribe to the M pack will be able to sample a selection of UKTV channels for most of November at no extra cost!

From today until 28th November inclusive, you will be able to view: Watch/Watch +1, Alibi/Alibi +1, Good Food/Good Food +1, Home/Home+1, Really and Blighty.

Viewers can find them on the following channels:
Watch - 124,
Watch +1 - 125,
Alibi - 130,
Alibi +1 - 131,
Good Food - 260,
Good Food +1 - 261,
Home - 265,
Home +1 - 266,
Really - 267
and Blighty - 208.

Then if that’s not enough, as a special Christmas treat, from 1st December until early January, GOLD will also be available to M pack subscribers.

Viewers can find them on the following channels:
GOLD - 126,
GOLD +1 - 127.

Also an UKTV worker has posted on Digital Spy that ''We (UKTV) are in continuous discussions with Virgin over carrying our two HD channels.''

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...74&postcount=3

---------- Post added at 15:16 ---------- Previous post was at 14:34 ----------

True Movies set to have an freeview on Virgin Media over Christmas.

I hear that True Movies will be free to all viewers from November 15th to January 5th 2011 on Virgin Channel 424.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Thats all good news, do you think picture box will be free some time over christmas like last year

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Keep up-to-date on the latest news on upcoming channel launches and other important events across all platforms of Virgin TV network.

NOTE: I do not work for Virgin Media so all the information on this list is subject to change.

BOLD = New

Colours on my list are as followed:

Media Boy = New Info just added.
Media Boy = Virgin Media News.
Media Boy EXCLUSIVE: = It an Media Boy EXCLUSIVE and you can only see it on my Blog or on this thread.
Media Boy = Other Media news.

=== Coming up on Virgin's Digital TV ===
=== November ===
1st. Watch and Watch +1 will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channels 124 and 125 until November 29th.
1st. Alibi and Alibi +1 will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channels 130 and 131 until November 29th.
1st. Blighty will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channel 206 until November 29th.
1st. Good Food and Good Food +1 will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channels 260 and 261 until November 29th.
1st. Home and Home +1 will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channels 265 and 266 until November 29th.
1st. Really will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channel 267 until November 29th.
1st. YeSTERDAY to broadcast until 3am from today on Virgin Channel 203.
3rd. BBC One HD will launch on Virgin Channel 108.
7th. Discovery Knowledge to be rebranded as Discovery History on Virgin Channel 217.
15th. True Movies will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channel 424 until January 5th 2011.
Ginx may become available on Virgin Media sometime this month. (Info from jamiec21).

=== December ===
1st. Virgin Media to cut prices of some Asia packages.
1st. ZING and Zee Punjabi may become available on Virgin Media in old Telewest areas.
1st. NBC on Demand to launch on Virgin on Demand.
1st. Sky Movies Showcase and Sky Movies Showcase HD will be rebrand as Sky Movies Christmas and Sky Movies Christmas HD on Virgin Channels 403 and 433.
1st. Movies 24 will be rebrand as Christmas 24 on Virgin Channel 419.
1st. GOLD will be available for free to all customers on Virgin Channels 126 and 127 this month.
1st Phoenix CNE will close on Virgin Channel 833 in Ex-ntl areas.

=== Before 2011 ===
-BBC to add 21 hours per week to their HD Channel on Virgin Channel 187.
-Virgin Media will introduce TiVo co-branded set-top boxes.
-BSkyB are to close Bravo, Bravo +1, Bravo 2, Channel One and Channel One +1 by the end of 2010.
-BBC ALBA will launch on Virgin TV.
-Diva TV will be rebranded as Diva Universal on Virgin Channel 164.
-KidsCo.
-BET, BET +1, Comedy Central Extra +1, NickToons Replay, Russia Today and Quest +1 will all become available on Virgin Media.
-Virgin Media aim to have 20-30 HD channels.
-Virgin Media will cease all analogue television transmissions.
-Virgin Media will introduce a new next generation V+ box.
-UKTV on demand will launch.
-BBC iPlayer will offer subtitled content.


=== 1st Quarter 2011 ===
LIVING, LIVING +1 and LIVING HD will be rebranded as Sky Living, Sky Living +1 and Sky Living HD on Virign Channels 109, 111 and 110.
LIVINGit and LIVINGit +1 will be rebranded as Sky Livingit and Sky Livingit +1 on Virgin Channels 112 and 160.
LIVING Loves will be rebranded as Sky Living Loves on Virgin Channel 159.

=== January 2011 ===
3rd. Coming Soon to Virgin TV 2011 Vol. I launches today.
3rd. Global Radio to close Galaxy or rebrand Galaxy as Capital today on Virgin Channel 919.
14th. Bravo on Demand and Channel One on Demand will be remove on Virgin Media.
Sky Movies Christmas and Sky Movies Christmas HD will be rebrand as Sky Movies Showcase and Sky Movies Showcase HD on Virgin Channels 403 and 433.
ITV1 +1 may become available on Virgin Media sometime this month.
An new ESPN Channel may become available on Virgin Media sometime this month.

=== February 2011 ===
No News...

=== March 2011 ===
No News...

=== April 2011 ===
No News...

=== May 2011 ===
No News...

=== June 2011 ===
No News...

=== July 2011 ===
No News...

=== August 2011 ===
No News...

=== September 2011 ===
No News...

=== October 2011 ===
No News...

=== November 2011 ===
No News...

=== December 2011 ===
No News...

=== Before 2012 ===
-Northern & Shell may rebrand Fiver and Five USA.
-Disney/ABC Television Group is to rebrand Playhouse Disney as Disney Junior on Virgin Channel 727.
-The BBC will close BBC Asian Network.
-The BBC will rebrand BBC Radio 7 as BBC Radio 4 Extra.
-Sky Sports red button interactive service.

=== Unknown dates ===
-Channel 4's ''4oD'' will offer HD content.
-Pop Girl.
-RTE International.
-Squirt FM.
-Virgin Media will introduce an enhanced TV interface

=== Rumoured/Hope/No news in months ===
-Eden +1 will relaunch on Virgin Channel 209.
-Yesterday +1 will relaunch on Virgin Channel 204.

=== HD Channels rumoured to be coming to Virgin Media ====
-Media Boy EXCLUSIVE: My Virgin insider has told me that talks are ongoing with ESPN over the launch of ESPN America HD on Virgin Media.
-[B]Virgin rumoured to be looking to add the HD Channels: MGM HD, Disney Cinemagic HD, Disney XD HD, Rush HD, History HD, Bio HD, CI HD, Nat Geo Wild HD, [B]Universal Channel HD, Luxury Life HD.
-Virgin Media will launch the following HD Channels by 2011: Sky Arts 1 HD, Sky Arts 2 HD.

=== What happened on Virgin Media this month ===
This part of list has now been removed by Media Boy.

=== Channels THAT still to appear in all areas ===
List was last updated on November 1st 2010.

NO. Channel Name
811. ZING*
812. Zee Punjabi*
917. Radio: RTE Radio**
920. Radio: WRN Europe**

* = Channels are not broadcasting in Ex-Telewest areas right now,
** = Channels are only broadcasting in Ex-Telewest areas right now.

=== Media Boy Thinks: ===
Virgin will keep the following Channels:
ZEE channels

====== Media Boy Information =====
Media Boy - giving out information for FREE on Cable Forum.
Media Boy is part of ''Media Boy Family''.

=== Media Boy Blogs & Extra TV info: ===
Virgin Media Blogs:
See My Virgin TV Blog here - http://virgintvmediaboy.blogspot.com/
See Virgin Media on ''twitter'' here - http://twitter.com/virginmedia
See latest news about Virgin on Demand via ''twitter'' here - http://twitter.com/vmondemand
See Nialli's blog on Virgin Media High Definition & TiVo Services here - http://vmhd.blogspot.com/
See Nialli on ''Twitter'' here - http://twitter.com/niallivm

=== Ask Media Boy ===
Q: WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT VIRGIN MEDIA FROM?
A: I get all my info from Virgin Media workers (NOTE: I called them ''An Insider''), Virgin Media viewers, my blogs and Web Sites (NOTE: When I used web sites I will post an link to that web site).

Q: I HAVE GOT NEWS BUT I WORK FOR VIRGIN MEDIA AND I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO SEE MY USER NAME?
A: All you need to do is pm me right now and tell me and I will post your news on ''Coming soon to Virgin TV'' for you.

Q: WHY AM I NOT GETTING ''CHANNEL Z'' FOR?
A: Some channels are only in some areas - Zing is only in Ex-ntl and Ex-Cable & Wireless areas but Ex-Telewest area have got RTE Radio.

Q: NOW THAT BSKYB HAS TOOK OVER VIRGIN MEDIA TELEVISION WILL ANY CHANNELS CLOSE ON VIRGIN TV?
A: Living HD has launch on Sky Digital. But us Virgin Media viewers will see some channels moving about as we have now got Sky1 HD and will be getting Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts 2 HD sometime before 2011.

==== Deals with broadcasters ===
When deals with broadcasters run out Virgin Media need to sign new one to keep that Channel on Virgin TV.

Here is an list of channel that Virgin may get when they old deal runs out with that broadcaster:

NOTE: To start broadcasting soon = That channel has still to start broadcasting on Sky, Freesat or Freeview.

=== SD and Radio Channels: ===
=== Own by AETN UK ===
Bio HD
Crime & Investigation Network HD
Crime & Investigation Network +1
HISTORY HD
HISTORY +1

=== Own by ABC Television Group ===
Disney Cinemagic HD
Disney Cinemagic +1
Disney Junior + (Soon to start broadcasting).
Disney XD HD
Playhouse Disney + (Soon to be rebranded as Disney Junior +)

=== Own by ARY Group ===
ARY News
QTV ARY

=== Own by BSkyB ===
Sky 3D
Sky 3 +1
Sky Arts 1 HD
Sky Arts 2 HD
Sky Movies Classic HD
Sky News HD
Sky Sports HD3
Sky Sports HD4
Sky Sports News HD

=== Own by CBS International and Chello Zone ===
CBS Action
CBS Drama
CBS Reality +1
Horror Channel +1

=== Own by Channel 4 Television Corporation ===
More 4 +1

=== Own by CSC Media Group ===
Bliss
Chart Show TV
Dance Nation TV
Flava
Kix!
NME TV
Pop Girl
Pop Girl +1
Scuzz
The Vault
Tiny Pop +1
True Enterainment
True Movies 2

=== Own by Discovery Networks Europe ===
Animal Planet +1
Discovery Home & Health +1
Discovery Knowledge +1
Discovery Science +1
DMAX +1
DMAX +2
Investigation Discovery
TLC (To start broadcast in the UK in 2011.)
Quest +1

=== Own by ESPN Inc. (The Walt Disney Company/Hearst Corporation) ===
ESPN2 (May launch in 2011)
ESPN America HD
ESPN News (May launch in 2011)

=== Own by GMG Radio ===
Real Radio

=== Own by Independent Media Corporation ===
AAG
GEO News
GEO UK

=== Own by ITV Digital Channels Ltd ===
ITV1 +1 (Soon to start broadcasting in England and Wales areas only.)
ITV2 HD
ITV3 HD (Soon to start broadcasting.)
ITV4 HD (Soon to start broadcasting.)

=== Own by MGM Channel (UK) Limited (BSkyB and MGM) ===
MGM HD

=== Own by NBC Universal Global Networks ===
Diva TV +1
Universal Channel HD

=== Own by NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment, Cookie Jar Group ===
Kids Co (Soon to start broadcasting.)

=== Own by NGC Europe Limited ===
FX +1
Nat Wild HD

=== Own by Rainbow Media ===
Rush HD
Sundance Channel HD

=== Own by Scripps Networks Interactive (Run by Chello Zone) ===
Food Network
Food Network HD (Soon to start broadcasting).
Food Network +1

=== Own by Sony ===
NOTE: The following channels will become part of the ''ViewAsia'' package if Sony can sign an new deal Virgin Media:
ARY Digital^
B4U Movies^
Colors
MAX^
SAB
Sahara One
SET Asia^

^ = On Virgin Media right now.

=== Own by STAR TV ===
STAR Gold
STAR One

=== TIML Radio Limited ===
Absolute 90s

=== Own by Turner Broadcasting System Europe ===
TCM 2

=== Own by Twenty Four 7 Ltd. ===
Luxury Life (Was Luxe TV)
Luxury Life HD (Was Luxe TV HD)

=== Own by UKTV ===
Eden HD
Eden +1
Good Food HD
YeSTERDAY +1

=== Own by Viacom ===
BET
BET +1
Comedy Central Extra +1
MTV Classics
MTV Shows
MTV +1
Nickelodeon HD
NickToons Replay

=== Own by Zee Entertainment Enterprises ===
ZEE Cafe

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Ok this is my 1st post.

Am bit worried bout this. I turned on my tv 2day. switched to Good food. A msg popped up sayin that I am on the XL package

So i googled and this forum com up :D

Can any1 confirm this. Thnx

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

this message is shown when any channels that are being offered as free to view for a limited time. Good food is included in the channels that are offered till 28th Nov.

here is the full list

Watch - 124,
Watch +1 - 125,
Alibi - 130,
Alibi +1 - 131,
Good Food - 260,
Good Food +1 - 261,
Home - 265,
Home +1 - 266,
Really - 267
and Blighty - 208

the message is shown regardless of package you are on.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I think that message is aimed at people on lower packs. You would think they could make it only appear to those on the packages who it was aimed at. I just had it on the channel called "watch" and I'm on xl also.

Edit to say Joff81 beat me to it and to say welcome to the forum wazz.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I think us XL pack people should get money takeing off are next bills couse M packs are geting free channels and we are not geting nothing :( do you think im right in saying this whos with me :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

i wish we could but it will never happen. a bigger point is will we get a refund once SKY close Channel one and Bravo Channels as we are loosing 5 pretty popular channels !!!

no way we will get the same old following line

" We at VM see XL pack as great value and we never increased the price with new channels we have added in the past few months ".

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

why shoudl virign refund you for losign 5 channels? that like saying you supermarket has stopped sealign yoru favourite sweet so they shoudl refund oyu for the liose and hardship to try and find it somewher eelse

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Can't be that popular, that are closing for a reason!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I'm not; a very petty attitude in my view.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

By that logic, you must also think your bill should go up because TV Choice On Demand is no longer available to lower packs

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Thnx for the replys every1 and also thnx for the welcome

So i shud not b worried bout this then

So is this only aimed at ppl who hav M package

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Yep only aimed at M packs us XL packs are safe :D:p:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

thank god from there i was thinkin like wtf lol

I cudnt miss a day with out my food shows. Man vs food, rick stein, ect ect

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

nothing like it.

its more like a supermarket charging you £1 for 4 tins of beans one week then the next week only giving you 3 for the same money.
i dont expect a shop to refund me for service/products ive already had but i do only expect to pay for products/services that i recieve and with VM you are getting short changed by 5 channels once they are removed.

the difference is i dont have a contract with the supermarket but i do with VM which means that if VM take something away (like the supermarket) i cant simply say i dont want your service and move on.

---------- Post added at 23:12 ---------- Previous post was at 23:07 ----------

to be honest the reason why they are closing is mainly down to the fact they offer very similar tv programs to when SKY`s own SKY channels offer. hence the reason the best shows off them are moving to living/sky and Sky are closing the old VM platforms.

also by doingg so Sky got out of that long term carrage deal as you cant offer channels that no longer exist. this is why Sky Atlantic needs Sky and VM to agree a carrage deal as Sky have screwed VM out of the carrage of their old tv channels and get to screw more money out of VM for a carrage deal for Sky Atlantic when Sky could easily rebrand channels like they are with living in january.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Do any1 know whats going on about ITV2 3 & 4HD coming yet and when? :confused:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

sky are losing the channel to so it no like we are down 5 chanenls and sky keep them

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

yea i have to agree there like !!!!

but no doubt Sky will fill the vacent EPG numbers left by these channels pretty quickly they well get Sky Atlantic and Sky Atlantic HD so thats 2 down and another 3 will appear soon after.
us on VM will still be stuck with the 5 channel hole for months before VM think of filling them going on past form.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

As far as I know - ''Talks are still ongoing.''

---------- Post added at 09:54 ---------- Previous post was at 09:46 ----------

No news on Picture Box being free over Christmas.

But I think Magic may become free to L Package viewers from December 1st until January 6th 2011. (Virgin did offer Magic over the last two christmas.)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Incentive deals occur in life all of the time. You're not losing out by others having a sneak preview of what they could have if they upgraded to your package. It's just a form of advertising. If the M and L packages were suddenly getting all of your content free of charge permanently, well that would be a different story.

---------- Post added at 10:00 ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 ----------

If you signed up for a package based on the channels it included and the these were subsequently removed, you would be paying for something you are no longer getting. That, to me, constitutes a significant change in the contract. You could downgrade to a lesser package but then you might lose other content that you still wish to have. I think that VM are obliged to replace the missing channels with something of equal or better value or reduce the cost of the package.

Personally, I don't have a contract with my local supermarket to stock specific items for a monthly fee, your experience may differ. ;)

---------- Post added at 10:05 ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 ----------

We still don't have a level platform for all of the old franchises yet then.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

If the missing Zee Channels is added to Ex-Telewest next month.

All the Ex-ntl/C&W viewer are missing will be RTE Radio and WRN Radio - If I wanted to hear an Radio Channel I buy an Radio.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

BBC ONE HD now showing a red back ground with sound, and theres a logo in the lift coner :tu:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

It was on after Corrie last night.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

not seen anything posted on ESPNA HD for ages - have I missed something?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

No news.

Rumoured to be set to launch with ESPN2, ESPN News and ESPN on Demand from 2011.

---------- Post added at 12:26 ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 ----------

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/35110407-post240.html

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

from the epg today bbc 1 hd will not launch till 7pm on the 3rd

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Good news for the people who love sports :D is ESPN sports news will that be a free channel like sky sports news was?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I have no news - I just saw that rumour on the link that I posted today.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Gah! Just in time to miss all of the college bowl games. I hope ESPN HD show some of them. :rolleyes:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

That is disappointing news after all the hype over the summer,:( I had hoped to see some of the College Football in HD. As you say we will just have to hope that some of the Bowl games are shown on ESPN HD.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Media Boy EXCLUSIVE: Virgin hope to launch Sky Atlantic HD.

I have seen info from my insider tonight that says Virgin Media are hoping to get both Sky Atlantic and Sky Atlantic HD.

NOTE: No deal has been sign and talks are still ''ongoing''.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Thanks for the heads up. Hope it does launch. :)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

They will slide in nicey when channel one and +1 get moved :clap::clap::clap::clap:

And with bravo +1 and 2 going that just leave 3 places free for other channels :tu:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Not wanting to be cynical, but surely there are stacks of channels that VM hope to add to their network.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

It's a little better than "hoping" - they're in discussions with Sky. Nothing confirmed yet though

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

So they have to 'talk' to Sky to get Virgin 1 in a new frock. ;)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

My informer believes CBS Drama, ITV2 HD will fill 2 of the 3 spaces.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Your informers been consistent in the past :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

TIVO announcement:

http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/p...920&highlight=

Press release in full:

03/11/10

Virgin Media announces details of new TiVo-powered next generation connected TV service

* New HD/3D set top box will offer 1TB of personal storage
* Thousands of hours of TV on Demand instantly available
* Dedicated internal modem to bring internet services and apps direct to TV

Virgin Media today announced the first details of its upcoming TiVo-powered HD/3D set top box which will give customers a whopping 1 TeraByte of storage for personal recordings. The new HD/3D set top box will launch alongside Virgin Media’s new TiVo-powered next generation connected TV service scheduled for later this year, and will be capable of storing up to 500 hours of content. When coupled with Virgin Media’s pioneering TV on Demand service, the new service will give UK consumers unrivalled access to over 4,600 hours of TV shows, movies and music videos, including hundreds of hours of HD and 3D entertainment, plus catch up TV from the terrestrial broadcasters, all available instantly.

Powered by Virgin Media’s unique fibre optic network, the box will also feature its own dedicated internal modem able to deliver HD video and other online services without impacting customers’ regular broadband connections. As a result, Virgin Media’s new TiVo-powered service will not only be able to deliver linear TV alongside an unbeatable instant TV on demand offering but will also be able to support compelling online video in HD straight to customers’ TVs without having to sacrifice other online activities when in use.

Competitors’ ‘connected TV’ products rely on just one central broadband connection, typically DSL, making it difficult for families to watch online TV or TV on Demand and take advantage of the internet at the same time. With Virgin Media, a typical family enjoying the new TiVo-powered TV service alongside Virgin Media's ultrafast 50Mb broadband connection will be able to enjoy a seamless experience with incredible connectivity, allowing the whole family to watch, surf, and play, all at the same time without compromise.

Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, said: “Virgin Media’s next generation connected TV service - powered by TiVo - and combined with our superior broadband will blow other ‘connected TV’ products out of the water. We’re really proud of our new next-generation TV service which will appeal to anyone and everyone looking for the best of live broadcast TV, catch up, on demand and internet apps and services.”

Virgin Media and TiVo announced plans to join forces in November 2009. Virgin Media and TiVo have developed a unique converged television and interactive service bringing UK consumers the best in TV entertainment, be it broadcast, on demand or online.

Further details of pricing and availability will be announced in due course. For more information on Virgin Media products and services visit: www.virginmedia.com.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Thanks for the info. Interesting to see when and what the pricing will be.

Not sure why it is in this thread but I will copy and paste it into the thread that is already talking about this potential box

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

....because it's coming soon, that's why it's in this thread. But as you say no price, no timetable, they're going to string this out.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I've heard monthly subs for TIVO being mentioned I can't see people paying that if u have to pay upfront for the box , Sky make no charge for their HD box after the up front install costs.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Unless I am mis-informed, I thought Sky charged £10.25 per month to receive HD channels.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

yes they do

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I think the charge with sky HD is for the HD channels, not the PVR functionality.

If you have a Sky HD box, but don't have HD channels, then the PVR functionality is free, providing you have a sky pay package of any kind.

Wasn't the initial charge of £10pm for the (then called TV Drive) V+ box for the PVR functionality? This is now dropped there is a one of payment up front.

I hope there is no monthly fee with the TIVO.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I can see no charge for TIVO under its base service equivalent to V+ but a larger HDD, they would have a big issue with current subscribers if they introduced a fee for just that. There could however be a service fee for additional services perhaps e.g. Internet based services available to TIVO? But if I’ve read it correctly on the TIVO site, there is no charge directly from TIVO for such service, but you may have to subscribe to the service and so pay a fee for it which is different.

There are also other additional items to pay for, e.g. being able to transfer recorded content to a mobile device like a PSP, iPOD, which requires purchase of software, see https://www3.tivo.com/store/accessories-software.do

Certainly delivers the any time and place story on content viewing and with an independent Internet gateway in effect, I would what will be the bandwidth made available for downloading an HD film from Blockbuster say(http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/product-f...ies/index.html) as separate to your normal broadband limit!

All sounds very good.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

How's that box related Sky also get a lot more HD than VM the PVR function of the box is free if you take any Sky package and Virgin charge £7.00 if you take Sky premiums but that's nothing to do with TIVO.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

It was you that raised Sky HD and said that there was no charge after you paid up front. That is not true. Once you have paid for the Sky HD box, you have to pay £10.25 to get the HD channels for your package, something which is free with TV XL.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

You don't have to pay it you could just have 1 mix and get the FTA HD channels and you get recording functions.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

BBC 1HD is now on but it dont look very HD to me.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

same is it in widescreen

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Yes in Widescreen but thats no way HD

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Didn't have 5.1 audio either on The One Show.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

according to the EPG the one show is being broadcasted in HD

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

The DOG seems to distort using moving scenes which is a shame as the BBC HD DOG was one of the best for not 'tampering' with the picture.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

It's brand new technology to the UK market so I'd be expecting to pay an installation fee plus a monthly instalment. When V+ launched back in 2005, formerly TVDrive, all customers had to pay a monthly sub regardless of their package.

Quote taken from the December 2005 press release:

"TV Drive is expected to launch nation-wide early next year and will cost £10 per month for customers taking the company's top digital TV package, or £15 per month otherwise. Unlike existing PVRs, there are no large purchasing costs and maintenance is included in the monthly fee."

If the TIVO box is all singing and all dancing then I'm sure we'll be asked to pay extra for the privilege.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

No, it's not. It's still a PVR. A good PVR yes, but still a PVR.

And the software that makes it a good PVR is also not "brand new technology" - it's a refined version of what was so good in the original UK TiVo all those years ago. Refined quite a lot to move with the times, but not the earth shattering move it was from VHS to PVR

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Thanks for clearing that up.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

BBCHD looked superb on mine last night. I have found the samsung box I have just had fitted is a superior in picture to my old SA box for some reason, One show looked great on mine

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Can you advise which mix you can get which only has FTA HD channels in?

Here's a page for you to use as reference:

http://www.sky.com/shop/high-definit...e/hd-channels/

I think that you have to pay the HD charge if you have any of the Sky mixes?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

From your link:

i.e. any mix will contain these channels, as they are free and only require a viewing card to ensure they are only available to UK viewers

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Sky are installing the Sky HD box as standard now I believe if you took say the Variety mix the recording functions are free and u get certain FTA HD channels like BBC HD , BBC1 HD not sure of others. When I cancelled sky completely my.box still got the FTA HD channels I just couldn't record them.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Coming soon to virgin tv....... not coming soon to sky or anything to do with sky.:cool:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Removed. No further Sky talk.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Firstly if you want the tivo box you are wanitng it either for tivo or 1tb storage even charge a extra fee for 1tb and since it is the most newest tivo they ahvea right to charge for it if yo dnt want ot pay then no one is forcing oyu they have ot mak aprofit on it

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Maybe I'm not wanting it for either of these things? Maybe (as many others), I just want a PVR that doesn't:

Take an age to change channels
Require constant reboots
Can get hot enough to cook dinner on top
Misses the start/end of programs

They do have a right to charge what they want - its a business, I'm well aware of that. I never said they didn't have the right to do this.

I don't see why you have quoted my post - you haven't actually agreed or disagreed with anything i've said. You have just said, if you don't like it, don't pay for it. Doesn't really help the discussion. And if everyone took that view, where would be the need for innovation. Everyone would just sit on their laurels.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Maybe you have shares in Virgi Media? That may account for 'encouraging' a monthly fee as well as a one off upfront payment :D

When the TV drive was launched, both sky and Virgin charged a monthly fee for PVR functionality. Both have now dropped that. Don't encorage these companies (by posting a willing aceptance of it) to go back to those days.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

More info on Virgin/TiVo:

http://vmhd.blogspot.com/2010/11/lit...ivo-v-box.html

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Interesting...... I wonder if that means it can be networked within your house?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Would be nice.

I have a WDTV Live box in the bedroom, I wonder if it (or other media streamers for that matter) could view a Tivo box as a IP device and stream content from that directly.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

becuase oyu are saying since it ais a pvr it should be free liek teh v+ i am syaing it is different and sky also charge a premium for there premium pvr

---------- Post added at 15:03 ---------- Previous post was at 15:02 ----------

sky charge for there 1tb pvr drive s why shouldnt virign? 1tb disk are expesive at least the pvr type ones

i never said it was right i am jsut givinga reaosn why it ill eb charged for

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Well said!
This whole thread is pretty much off topic.
Why it can't be left open for discussion on the channels being added/removed and that's all we would still be on thread 1 and not thread 4.

Just create new threads for specific topics.
It's beoming increasingly difficult to search for things that may have been discussed before as everything is pretty much just held in this 1 thread!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

No ones arguing about a one off charge -- it's the monthly subscription that no one wants.

Are you saying, on top of the box charge, Sky charge a monthly subscription for the 1TB box? It's news to me if they do.

---------- Post added at 15:22 ---------- Previous post was at 15:19 ----------

Where does it mention TV channels in the coming soon bit of the title?

TIVO is coming soon, so unless the thread title is changed, surely, TIVO is within the thread title.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I don't object to paying upfront for the box , it's a monthly fee I object to and this should be free I hope to XL , VIP customers.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

5 years ago (when V+ was introduced) 160GB drives cost more than 1TB drives do now, in bulk we pick Western Digital drives up for £32 a go and that's no where near the quantities that TiVo will buy them in!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I thihnk sky charge 400 for the 1tb box but it is al speculation as to monthly charge i suspect they will go with one off charge but it wont be cheap it will be in the range of sky 350 to 500

---------- Post added at 15:59 ---------- Previous post was at 15:56 ----------

anything importnt is found on mediaboy signature he post ever weeka udpateds lsit anytihng that hcanged is there if it something for that day it will conthunie ot be discussed and nrokaly have serperate thread as well but i see you point i have said to the mod before gie exacts to what is on and off topic it is pretty hard to say wha tis the title coing soon to virign tv is very specultive

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

The Sky 1TB box cost £249 and set up varies from £15 to £60.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

http://www.sky.com/shop/boxes/1TB


And there's no monthly charge to use the recording side , Virgin would be crazy to have a monthly charge for TiVo , I can understand the upfront cost for the hardware.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

This will be an upfront cost for sure for the base service we are used to and equivalent to V+, there may be options in terms of services which may be chargeable, Tivo already has this, see their web site.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

PVR hard disk cost far more there specialy designed for PVR so aint as likely to fail as quickly you standard HDD oyu get at 30 quid will fail if used day in day out within 18-24 motnbhs the vr one are meant ot last 4-5 years

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

With live TV being recorded all the time, the HDD is in continuous use so a long life HDD is key, you would not want to lose your recordings every 2 years say due to HDD failure so a high spec HDD required.

I would ideally like a £199 price plus £50 install say, but suspect VM will price match Sky at £249 but far better box solution of course!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Erm any new channels coming soon?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

nothing it all went quiet the last i heard they are still negetiotiing mostly hd hannels ITV being the biggest one but nt heard any uodate on it

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

My media contact is still saying ITV Hd channels this month.

---------- Post added at 17:52 ---------- Previous post was at 17:17 ----------

I would pay 249 + 30 install if there was no monthly fee. The remote record seems a great feature even better if you can remote record from iPhone , Android Blackberry etc.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Strange considering the HDD inside the normal V+ is just a standard OEM hard drive (Western Digital Caviar Green).

There's nothing out of the ordinary with the hdds in PVRs, nothing that you can't get in a consumer level unit seeing as you can buy enterprise level hard drives from a huge amount of places. Remember that enterprise level hard drives have performance requirements far in excess of storing video.

There are a couple of ranges that are aimed at PVRs (Seagate DB35 and Maxtor QuickView) but again, they contain nothing that you can't find in other consumer level drives, just the usual temperature and error diagnostics that you'll find in any enterprise level drive, they're just marked up.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

They are essentially the same hardware with the higher MTBF guarantee by the manufacturer...

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=615 <-- PVR HDD

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=733 <-- desktop hdd

there is a difference and the pvr ones are more costly because there are designed to last longer ie not being affected by tempruate like normal hard disj. you wont notice the differnec eif you open the v+ or skyhd box up they look the same to normal hdd but the itnernals are different

---------- Post added at 18:43 ---------- Previous post was at 18:41 ----------

the last tiem i spoek to my source they suggest nov/dec with hopes for to launch when itv3/4 laucnh on sky i am hoping it is means i cna watch rangers man utd in hd :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Do you know when BBC ALBA will launch (For the Saturday night SPL game)?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I assume you mean no charge for recording features on XL as VM already charge £5 a month for non XL customers.

I thought the Tivo model was to charge a monthly fee, cable companies in the US like Comcast charge extra for it. As Tivo are not manufacturing the kit I assumed a monthly sub was a given although I guess they also make money from licensing the software.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

The general thing I'm hearing is all channels launching together . ITV 3 & 4 HD launch on the 15th November so hopefully we could get them then. Are there still test channels up ? Mersey 70 usually knows if there are test channels on.

---------- Post added at 18:52 ---------- Previous post was at 18:50 ----------

Yes meant PVR functions are free on Sky HD box so long as you take at least 1 Sky mix.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

There is nothing testing that would indicate any new channel launches right now.

Please note my Samsung TV has a cable tuner built in, I don't have or approve of dodgy equipment!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

Once again, the hard drives in the V+ are Western digital caviar greens, they are consumer level drives. The exact same model numbers you can buy from any etailer.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I made enquiries recently about RTÉ International TV coming to Virgin Media and this was the response from RTÉ:-

Links:-

RTÉ Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster
RTÉ Player: Catch up with your favourite TV programmes online

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

If the ITV HD Channel was to launch on November 15th they will be testing by now.

The latest I have is talks are still ''Ongoing'' with Virgin and ITV.

---------- Post added at 19:05 ---------- Previous post was at 19:02 ----------

The RTE TV channel only broadcast on Cable in Ireland.

But the RTE Radio 1 broadcast in old Telewest areas of Virgin Media.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

1Tb version of the "PVR" HDD drive here for £51:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179332...edium=products

So if you were a company buying this in bulk it would cost even less. Of course if you had the free base version of Sky+ HD you could also buy one of these and install it yourself. Sorry for the off topic post!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

My PCs are on all of the time and I expect the drives to last a lot more than 24 months. Some of my older hardware has drives that are at least 12 years old and still working fine!

At the millennium, one of my major clients chose to power down all of its servers and reboot after midnight. My other clients chose to leave their servers running. After the reboot, a number of drives (only about six, as I recall, out of hundreds in multiple RAID arrays) failed because the heads stuck to the landing zone on the platters due to the build-up of grime forced onto the LZ by centrifugal force over many years of running. These would have mostly been top spec. SCSI drives in Sun servers and high end IDE drives in HP or Compaq machines not low end consumer drives in desktop PCs.

---------- Post added at 19:55 ---------- Previous post was at 19:42 ----------

I was referring specifically to "RTÉ International" the proposed television channel which has been "Coming soon ..." to cable, DTT and satellite viewers in the UK for years.

Links:-

RTÉ International
RTÉ International: It’s coming sooner than we think

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

#

there abig difference in the old hard disk and the new ones and it down the platter and how they rea and write, dnt forgot back then you are probally talk ide33 or ide 100 now oyoua re talkign sata 3000 tehre a vast differnece int eh speed and or factors new drives fail within 2 years you can get them lastign 5 years or 3 monhts but genreally it 2 years that wh comanies use raid and they dnt byuy the disk at the same tiem they stagger them so it mostly only one will fail if you are really paranoid you go with RAID60

but the drives are different and if you tkae it back to when they where out the PVR drive was dearer same now but not by much as the above user pointed out but we dnt knwo the hard disk geting used

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2010) Vol. IV
 

I'm sorry Andrew but that is complete nonsense. Nearly all new hard drives that i know of come with at least a 3 year warrenty and many come with 5 years now. Whilst I agree that hard drives errors do seem to be more frequent these days it just wouldn't make any business sense to produce drives that lasted on average 2 years and bunle them with 3 year warrenties.

I would guess that Virgin will be using either WD Green Cavier or consumer Seagate drives in the PVR's, both resonable drives and fully capable.

The "PVR" drives you talk of are more than likely enterprise drives which whilst they are good, most businesses we deal with would not see it as cost effective to use them. It would terefore make no sense for Virgin to be using them.

Aside from that I'm very excited about the Tivo box, I just hope Virgin get it right, Tivo and 100mbit internet would be an ideal christmas present.....