19-08-2014, 10:34
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#1
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Virgin Media Staff
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Manchester
Services: 360 x2, Maxit TV, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema. Gig1
Posts: 17,929
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How Virgin TV works
How Virgin Media's TV service works by The Regsiter
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08...r_to_the_sofa/
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Leading UK cable network operator Virgin Media has allowed The Register exclusive access to its broadcast operation, which delivers TV, movies and other services over its Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial (HFC) network to millions of customers throughout the UK.
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19-08-2014, 11:09
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#2
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Born again teenager.
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Manchester. (VM area 20)
Age: 77
Services: Maxit TV, M250 Fibre BB.
Phone-Anytime Chatter
Posts: 13,838
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Thanks for the link Ben. It lost me about halfway down page 2 but seeing all the kit VM use was an eye opener.
__________________
"I intend to live forever, or die trying" - Groucho Marx..... "but whilst I do I shall do so disgracefully." Jo Glynne
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19-08-2014, 14:01
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#3
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cf.mega poster
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 9,015
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Re: How Virgin TV works
What an excellent article.
Those of you who think launching channels involves "just pressing a button", please take note. 
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19-08-2014, 14:23
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#4
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Still alive and fighting
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: In the land of beyond and beyond.
Services: XL BB, 3 360 boxes , XL TV.
Posts: 56,638
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Yes there are a few of those on this forum.  
__________________
“The only lesson you can learn from history is that it repeats itself”
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19-08-2014, 14:33
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#5
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cf.addict
Join Date: Feb 2010
Services: VM TV, Broadband, Phone and Mobile
Posts: 231
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Interesting read, thanks for posting.
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19-08-2014, 14:40
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#6
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Inactive
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Biggleswade
Age: 41
Services: VM Vivid 200
VM XL TV & Sky Sports
VM Phone
Posts: 895
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Great read, and the sheer amount of hardware just to get TV to our doors is quite staggering, much more than I was expecting really.
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19-08-2014, 16:35
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#7
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cf.addict
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Oldham
Age: 58
Services: Sky Fibre Max Broadband, Sky Telephone, Sky Q 2TB
Posts: 247
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Very interesting thanks a lot
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19-08-2014, 18:56
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#8
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Smeghead
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Glasgow
Age: 44
Services: Sky Q 2Tb, Sky Q mini, boxsets and Sports & Movies HD, Sky Fibre unlimited
Posts: 14,519
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stop It
Great read, and the sheer amount of hardware just to get TV to our doors is quite staggering, much more than I was expecting really.
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Makes you realise how much effort actually goes in to running the network and maintaining it.
Never mind upgrading it or adding new channels.
__________________
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 | 32GB DDR5 6000 | RADEON 7900XT | WD 2TB NVME
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19-08-2014, 22:59
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#9
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Inactive
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: North East lincolnshire
Age: 49
Services: V6 & Tivo SH3 on 300mb and 200mb and a telephone
Posts: 2,715
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Great post and see some of the kit i work with
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20-08-2014, 01:48
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#10
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cf.geek
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Waterlooville
Services: 125Mb VM BB. Prime, XBMC. Paramount+, Netflix, D+
Posts: 919
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Re: How Virgin TV works
With this bit on page 5
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“Given how we carve up that spectrum today, you can allocate about 300 SD channels and probably around 60-70 for HD. Broadly speaking our content is MPEG2 and we have the ability in the future to move to MPEG4, and get the efficiencies that come with that.”
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Is he saying that's the maximum VM could output today, without changing to MPEG4?
If so, how close are we to that?
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20-08-2014, 09:13
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#11
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cf.mega poster
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 9,015
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnathome
Is he saying that's the maximum VM could output today, without changing to MPEG4?
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Yes. But there are also other options apart from changing MPEG4, as he alludes to a bit further down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnathome
If so, how close are we to that?
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Currently at about 270 SD and 60 HD.
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20-08-2014, 09:52
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#12
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Inactive
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Guildford, Surrey
Services: VM TVM HD, BBL, phone; BT phone; Freeview.
Posts: 982
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Wow - and that's only part 1!
Thanks Ben
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20-08-2014, 10:08
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#13
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Virgin Media Staff
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Manchester
Services: 360 x2, Maxit TV, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema. Gig1
Posts: 17,929
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pauls9
and that's only part 1!
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Currently debating to myself whether part two is going to be about Virgin Media, or whether The Register are going to trying to do a per platform feature e.g. part 1 is VM, part 2 is Sky, part 3 is Freeview
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20-08-2014, 10:16
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#14
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Inactive
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 272
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Re: How Virgin TV works
So everything taken off satellite is reencoded?
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20-08-2014, 10:36
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#15
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Inactive
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Sompting, West Sussex
Age: 61
Services: 1TB Tivo, "Big Kahuna"
Posts: 419
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Re: How Virgin TV works
Enjoyed reading that ...
didn't understand a word of it, but enjoyed it!
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