New name ~ same service (note: I'm being polite here)

[K Man]

My TV Drive/V+ experience.

The week TV Drive became available in my region I got it (Early summer last year). Being an "early adopter" by nature and having a very good technical understanding I took to it like a fish to water.

The product in my opinion IS far superior to SKY's. However I have experienced and am experiencing multiple problems to which I feel nobody at Telewest/VirginMedia are preparred to either accept or indeed address. Here are the issues that I have had:

1. Slow navigation when using “Live TV” between 10 – 20 seconds when channel hopping
2. Picture freezing during Live TV the only way to resolve is to change channels which seems to refresh the feed or catch it up
3. Pixels appear intermittently
4. If the box goes to sleep it cannot be woken up in the mornings and you have to reboot to resolve but then you only get 2 -3 mins before it starts freezing and you have to repeat this many many times
5. We have tried turning the box to standby at night but that makes no difference, we experience exactly the same issues as above
6. Teleport is often not available giving various error codes, like 1061
7. TV Drive is often not available
8. Missing program information is quite a regular thing
9. When we do finally get the box to wake up in the mornings the channel information box sometimes stays on screen for ages and flashes Red, if we do get rid of it the whole picture flashes Red
10. It seems that between 23:45 and 00:45 (could be later but I usually give up and go to sleep or watch a DVD) that the functionality of the box just disappears completely. Whatever channel is being viewed is the only channel that can be watched. You can select other channel numbers but the box will not go to other channels
11. About 5 times a day we will hear a loud “white noise” type click which sounds to me like digital distortion and then the sound will disappear which then slowly builds back up - this has recently increased in frequency and in a 30 min program can happen up to 3 or 4 times. I am convinced it is something to do with the HDMi output but as I do not have any other HDMi devices I cannot "acid test" this. It doesn't do this via SCART or on my other TV. I'm very unhappy about this as my HD TV was purchased in OCT 06 and my warranty is running out slowly but surely. I am convinced that this is a signal thing but cannot get that confirmed.
12. We can be watching Live TV and without warning rhyme or reason we will get a flashing Red on screen message saying that TV Drive is unavailable and to reboot or restart the set top box – I have to stress this is without us even touching the remote.

Before we moved house back in Sept 06 we had about 5 boxes replaced because the engineers either cannot (due to time restraints) or will not (due to intelligence and product understanding) fault find the problems. When I call 150 I tell them my issues and try to stress that as an experienced "user" and as somebody who tech supports TV and Media companies with their hardware & software for a living it feels like the problems are either the feed (the signal coming down the pipe) or indeed a software/firmware problem. Am I listened to ?? NO!!! I get goofy engineers come out to my flat who scratch their arses for a couple of minutes drink my tea, use my toilet and who then say "we need to replace your box mate" - what a joke !!! How many boxes do I have to have replaced?? It's either so not the boxes - OR - if it is the boxes there seems to be a major freeking problem [cue David Bowie...Ground Control to Major Tom.........]

Since September and being in a new property I have had another 7 boxes swapped over. I have had reductions off my bill by way of apology but still no resolve. During a 6 week period I had over 10 engineers come out to me all with a different idea of what the problem was and each contradicting the last engineer. I honestly don't think that the engineers are up to speed with the TV Drive/V+ boxes just like the people on the phones. I now have some kind of antenuator (filter) contruction measuring about 5"s hanging off my cable modem as apparantly the signal was tooo strong!!!

I still do think that this product has the potential to be far superior to Sky's box. However, I am not pleased that this product had been rushed to market just so it can compete with Sky before it was ready. I do feel like I am Beta testing the product which I don't mind doing but I do recent paying full whack for this. I am providing Telewest/VirginMedia with a service and I think they are missing this point. Consumer feedback is surely the best way to improve products and move them forward!!!???

These problems can easily be fixed by firmware updates that could be performed once they have accepted and resoleved them. [hint]

The best thing Telewest/VirginMedia can do is to set up a specialist
TV Drive/V+ team who know the product dare I say use the product and can then support it's customers properly. For me to ring up and speak to some muppet who is reading from a script and has absolutely no technical understanding of the product is an insult. I have tried so many times by asking to speak to somebody who knows the TV Drive/V+ product but this seems to be impossible.

I have no complaints about my Telephone or my Broadband in fact I recommend it to my clients and am even a Telewest/VirginMedia Retailer - where it all seems to fall down is with the TV. Any company is only as good as it's staff irrespective of who the head honcho is. TeleWest have always been let down in this area in my opinion. I appreciate that these comments will more than likely attract scathing sneers from the employees of said company but sod it - it's a risk worth taking.

How I am left feeling about VirginMedia is, New name, same Bull shizzle

Will they sort it out?? Do they care ?? Does anybody in the company understand the product ??

I really don't know - but I am getting a pretty clear idea. I am learning to live with my issues and treat them as little idiosyncrasies as Telewest/VirginMedia seem to be inadequate in solving my issues. They are kind of like putting up with all the annoying things I don't like about my gurlfriend because 80% of the time she doesn't annoy me and the sex is great.

With all that said and done, when it does work it is fantastic no doubt about it.

I think the only way forward for Telewest/VirginMedia is to run a consumer feedback program and keep developing their product based on this feedback. Could end up being a White Elephant otherwise.

[busboy125]

Here, Here. Totally agree

[NTLVictim]

"I appreciate that these comments will more than likely attract scathing sneers from the employees of said company but sod it - it's a risk worth taking."

Welcome to the club, son....

[bonzoe]

Changing the name is EASY, changing the service will not be as easy or as quick, unfortunately.
The whole mindset has to be changed, I think that the people in CS do try to help, but their hands are tied by what the system will allow them to do.

[K Man]

These post are very useful....

Thanks to reading other postings on these boards, I've just changed my package to the VIP and although it's £9.00 per month more I will save money and get more channels - not to mention a 10MB coneection to Broadband (that'll make my international crib playing on Freeverse more enjoyable).

Hopefully VM will eventually get their act together with the V+ side of things and they'll atguable have the best product bundle on the market hands down!!

[RedDragon]

Unfortunately scratching my **** and swapping the STB is about all I can do in the time allowed. There is so much more to the digital signal than it's strength but the meters that would allow us to investigate properly were taken from us a while ago and replaced with the most basic and cheap meter available. Maybe with the increase of VOD services someone will realise we need the time and equipment to provide a first time fix, untill then, keep the kettle boiled mate.:0

[Nedkelly]

As Red dragon has said theres not mch we can do as they took our good test meters off us and gave cheap ones .So as for the tv drive yes it has problems we pass these on so hopefully those people who have the power and will pull there finger out and sort the fimware But we all know how long that will take with the company they dont like to do things fast .If everyone rang in and complained i wonder what they would do ? Would they listen no they would sent out a tech .

[K Man]

I understand and appreciate the difficulties that you techie fellas have - honest I do. There needs to be a Telephone version of you guys who can identify who needs a call out and who doesn't.

Many years ago I used to pull '715' fibre-optic cable for distances of up to 2 miles with a gang in the Woking area then I would go and wire up the nodes. I remeber even then (1996/7) there was the same kind of trouble with the cable companies. In effect the would give you inadequate tools and unrealistic time scales to do the job AND only pay you by the job too - so if one job took you all day or the same amount of time to 3 other jobs you'd only get paid for that one job. I understand that many of the incentives to do a good job have been removed and in order to make a living from what you do corners DO get cut. I empathise completely.

Saying that, out of the multitude of Engineers that have visited me I'd say 5 of them new what they were doing, the rest didn't seem to either have a clue or give a damn. That goes back to my ealier point " any company is only as good as it's employees.

I work in an environment where I get calls from users all day. I try to identify the problem first and see if it can be supported by phone first. I see this also of a way of educating my clients/customers to think about why they're ringing me first. I will ask them various questions to help me eliminate simple issues which could be causing a problem and ove out from there. If it's more technical than I can handle I'll get an engineer on the phone to my clients, failing that and only if it's a last resort I'll send an engineer out on site to resolve. My engineers are a valuable resource and I can't have them all running around chasing their tails all day for things that can be solved over the phone or indeed by clients themselves.

Perhaps a more detailed user guide from VirginMedia containing a basic
on-screen maintenance guide would be a good idea. Maybe even write a script into the software so the usrs can download the latest firmware themselves - a simple "software update" option.

I now know this from personal experience but apparantly the boxes do update themselves in the early hours of the morning if switched to standby, but where does it say that or has this been advised to all customers?? Before I was told this I never knew and left my V+ box on all night which can create some issues. There should be a section for the user to do basic maitenance themselves just like with computers. Like a disc optimisation, defrag, software update and other aspects that would save the resources of VM's engineers. We all do it with our own computers why not with these boxes, afterall it's just another computer isn't it ??

The responsibility ultimately lies with the employers to provide adequate tools and realistic working conditions. If they don't we end up with one of two things (or a mixture of both):

1. All the skilled engineers leave for work elsewhere or change careers and those that do stay feel trapped by family/financial commitments and resent their work
2. We get left with engineers whose skills are sub-standard and don't really give a hoot

I'm not sugesting that there aren't any conscientious engineers out there because there are, I've had a couple at my place. On the whole VM have to recognise that they are perpetrating the issues that many of it's customers experience both in CS and with it's engineers by not providing the right ethos, attitude and environment for it's staff to in turn provide a satisfactory front end to it's customers - who pay the money.

This is my opinion built on experience from the last 10 years as a customer. Apologies if I upset anybody who feels they are an exception to this but be honest with me and tell me if I'm wrong. I can accept that my area might be an anomaly to the rest of the country - but I get the feeling it's not.

I am prepared to bear with VM while they do some housekeeping and give them the opportunity to provide me with the best home entertainment and customer satisfaction in the UK - let's see how it pans out.

[Honeymonster]

I think the bottom line with the V+ box is its firmware is still bug ridden and hence it ain't ever going to be fixed by a field service engineer, regardlesss of the equipment he has at his disposal. Someone somewhere needs to extract their digit and get this fixed, it isn't rocket science.

[info4u]

I would say your problem lays in 2 parts

1) The stb memory may be affected causing the delay between channel changes, Im pretty sure you have already been advised this but restart the STB by giving 20 seconds between switching back on from the mains.

2) Low signal strength
This is the reason why your getting freezing pictures, this has nothing to do with the box its self if its causing intermittent sound and imaging.
Adjusting the scart socket will not do anything since your getting pixelated images.

Solutions available
Call 151 for an engeneer (earliest is always 2 days from the day of the call), but this will vary on the demand for technicians in your area.
This is for Sales, Collections, special requests (Such as moving a box to another room) and fault repairs.
So if your told there is no technicians until X date for example 5 days later from the call, this means there could also be request for installs and moving boxes and not solely down to faults.

However if your not happy with the dates available, you can ask for the representative to call operations (Who deal with direct contact with technicians and availability).
99% of the time what is already shown on the computer screens is what is available however on some circumstances they are able to obtain a technician from a neighbouring area or squeeze in 1 additional visit.

The technician will then check the signal levels coming into the property and may adjust the reading on the STB its self.

RESTART THE STB BY UNPLUGING FROM THE MAINS
HOLD DOWN THE UP AND DOWN BUTTONS TOGETHER
POWER BACK UP
AND HOLD THE BUTTONS UNTIL A BLUE MAINTENENCE SCREEN APPEARS
About page 7-9 you will see the signal strength screen
Using your remote you can change the signal being read

ALL SHOULD SHOW OK and in GREEN
AMBER = SOSO
RED = POOR SIGNAL

As this is constant keep an eye on it for at least 2 minutes before adjusting and saving your settings

Goto the COLD RESET screen and press TV, your box will reset and all should load back up
IF NO JOY then it is more technical then just changing the signal being read.

HOWEVER! IMPORTANT!!!

I dont recomend you do this unless your 100% sure, since if you muck this up and a technician comes out and finds you have tampered with the signal, they will then see this as your own doing and will charge you £25 or what ever the cost now is under Virgin Media's prices (£25.00 when Telewest)

There are some teething problems with the software they use on the boxes which is slowly being ironed out

Hope this helps you out

You do not need to take out the card and whipe it since that will not have an affect on channel changes or crackling images, if it was the CARD it would show a message box saying your card may be faulty or your not subscribed to this channel

[K Man]

WOW!!!

What a sterling insight and very useful information. Obviously not from the
V+ 101 for beginners class - this stuff is purely for intermediate folk who have a grip on tech.

Cheers Info4U top man!!!

[Nikesh]

info4u - You are just too helpful!!!!

Originally Posted by Honeymonster

I think the bottom line with the V+ box is its firmware is still bug ridden and hence it ain't ever going to be fixed by a field service engineer, regardlesss of the equipment he has at his disposal. Someone somewhere needs to extract their digit and get this fixed, it isn't rocket science.

Might help to fasten a rocket to the v+ box!
But never mind the equiment is free, just get another one!

[info4u]

Sorry just to make an amedment to that post that charge for self inflicted repairs is £75.00 not £25.00 (sorry)

I left the company 2 months ago, enjoyed working there but moved on now to Insurance firm.

Any Q's I will gladly help but please bare in mind that changes that do take effect since I left in Jan 2007 I wont be aware of, therefore my information is helpful within limits

PS thanks for the feedback, its appreciated

[andygrif]

Originally Posted by bonzoe

Changing the name is EASY, changing the service will not be as easy or as quick, unfortunately.
The whole mindset has to be changed, I think that the people in CS do try to help, but their hands are tied by what the system will allow them to do.

Perhaps they should have approached it from another angle then...sort the CS out then rebrand as Virgin. It's difficult to tell people that things are all different now, when clearly the same issues remain.