Quote:
Originally Posted by passingbat
For me, VM are far better than Sky on everything apart from TV channels. The three recordable tuners and Whishlists are that Tivo offers have become a 'must have' feature for me and to downgrade to the limited functionality of a Sky box would be unacceptable.
But I also want Sky atlantic, and would prefer to have more channels in HD, which means going to Sky.
Because VM have vastly increased their HD channels, I don't see HD as a significant problem now, as a very big proportion of the shows I record are in HD anyway.
That just leaves channel content. The only channel that I really want is Atlantic; I don't really care about the other channels that Sky have that VM haven't.
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I agree with you on Sky Atlantic. There are shows on there that are exclusive to the channel and it would be good to have these available on the TIVO. But you probably know my views on that by now.
However, I would like to challenge the general notion that comes up time and time again, that VM have 'a poor choice of channels'. They don't actually, we have the best of what is going, with just a few notable exceptions.
I was looking at the recordings I have made and I am absolutely spoiled for choice. If I just take the dramas and nothing else, I have the following to choose from at the moment:
Accused (4 episodes); The Best of Men; The Bletchley Circle; Burn Notice (8); Clinton (4); The Closer (20); Continuum (6); Dallas (7); DCI Banks (4); Downton Abbey; Flashpoint (14); Fringe; Game of Thrones (2); A Gifted Man (12); The Glades (8); Good Cop (4); Hatfields & McCoys; Homefront (6); Homeland (4);Hunted; The Killing (13); King (7); Last Resort; The Last Weekend (3); Leaving (3); Life on Mars USA (15); Line of Duty (5); Luther (3); Mandela (5); The Mentalist; Monroe (5); Mrs Biggs; Murder: Joint Enterprise; The Paradise (2); Perception (4); Person of Interest (9); Prime Suspect (14); Prisoners of War(10); The Reckoning (2); Revenge (12); The River (4); Room at the Top (2); Ruth Rendall's Thirteen Steps Down (2); Scandal (2); The Scapegoat; The Sculptress (2); Strike Back - Vengence (9); Unforgettable (4); Vera (3); White Collar (3).
These are all dramas that my wife and I (some of them my wife only!) really want to watch, so to us, this is quality viewing.
That is not to mention some films like Warhorse that I have recorded, documentaries, science programmes, general entertainment, etc, etc.
When you consider all the On Demand content, now with Sky Anytime added, there is a bewildering amount of stuff available to watch. This really doesn't sit well with the argument that we have a poor choice of channels. We may have fewer channels than Sky, but we have more viewable content available plus loads of music.
When people talk about the channels they don't have, channels like CBS Drama are quoted, and though it would be an OK channel to have, the bulk of its programming consists of things that have been on other channels in the past and no doubt will be again. Examples include CSI, Judge Judy (!); Judging Amy; JAG; Boston Legal; Cheers; and Dallas.
So if instead of being channels obsessed and we concentrate on content, which after all is important, you will see that VM is really quite well positioned to be able to brag about its jolly good TV service.
The deficiency is really quite small and it has resulted in my not being able to watch just two programmes that I really wanted to see - Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men. And that is down to Sky rather than Virgin Media, with their continuing campaign against people who subscribe to Sky but not via their satellite service. What a way for an organisation to treat its subscribers!