General : Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2015) Vol. 2

[Media Boy UK]

Originally Posted by spiderplant

But that must be based on some evidence? All I've seen is news of UPC Ireland rebranding.

No evidence just my own views.

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

The important thing to concentrate on is content, not channels. Watching broadcast channels will almost certainly decline with time and people will become used to choosing programmes from lists or from searches.

I am fascinated by the number of complaints made that there is not enough choice on VM. We have all the major channels and practically all the content we can expect. We are into dramas and manage to watch two hours worth per night (4 at weekends) and yet we have so much to watch that we can scarcely keep our recordings in check even with a 1TB box.

To demonstrate, here is a list of the drama series on our recordings that we currently still have to view:

Odyssey; Partners in Crime; The Trials of Jimmy Rose; The Last Ship; The Transporter; Defiance; The Strain; Necessary Roughness; Black Sails; Zoo; Crossing Lines; Dark Matter; Madam Secretary; The Scandalous Lady W; Life in Squares; Humans; Strike Back – The Legacy; The Interceptor; Wayward Pines; The Outcast; Sons of Liberty; The Syndicate; Black Work; Reckless; Ascension; Home Fires; Resurrection; The Blacklist; Stalker; 12 Monkeys; Critical; The Enfield Haunting; Safe House; The Mentalist; Poldark; Vera; Ordinary Lies; Code of a Killer; Banished; Crisis; Annihilation; Major Crimes; Wolf Hall; The Kindness of Strangers; Collision; Suspects; XIII; Homeland; The Missing; Legends; Tyrant; Chasing Shadows; Almost Human; Betrayal.

I am part way through some of these, but many of those shows I haven’t even started yet. Some were recorded mid way through last year. So this shows that if you are reasonably diligent in recording the programmes you want to see, and couple this with all the films, etc on demand, it is difficult to understand how you could possibly get through everything, even if you watch TV all day long and evenings too!

Of course, I am fortunate in being able to afford to pay for the XL pack and Sky Movies, but you would have to pay whichever platform you were on.

But it’s even better than I have set out here! Netflix is also on the Tivo. My list of TV series to watch on there are:

Narcos; Better Call Saul; Sense 8; Orphan Black; Identity Thief; Marco Polo; Spooks; The Bridge; Heartland; Borgia; Abduction; The Fixer; Continuum; The 4400; The Purge; Orange is the New Black; House of Cards; Lilyhammer; Bloodline; Damages.

This is not an exhaustive list of what I want to see on Netflix, but it’s as far as I’ve got in compiling my Netflix list.

So the next question is, what is missing? Well, the original Sky Atlantic programming, of course, and it appears that Sky will hold out as long as possible to keep this channel exclusively on their own platform. Given this, the only option available to VM viewers is to access these programmes through Now TV. The Roku streaming stick is the option I have chosen to access exclusive Sky programming on Sky Atlantic and ITV Encore.

My concern is that the scourge of exclusivity may spread to yet more platforms, and of course BT’s decision to do just this with their new AMC channel is a worrying development. Fears will be allayed if VM does gain access to this channel within the next few months, but there is still the fear that the likes of Amazon will continue to make exclusive TV series. Although I am fortunate in being able to access all available content I could wish for via Virgin, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV, I hope I have demonstrated that there is plenty of good programming available simply through Virgin.

However, to continually hanker after more channels for the sake of it, without regard to the content they offer, is pretty pointless. Spike and Tru TV offer nothing new and the cost of including these channels on the Virgin platform will only get passed off to us by way of increased costs. Better to hope they add Amazon Prime and Now TV to our Tivo apps and we would have access to pretty well all we could want.

Nowtv never going to happen they haven't even got the entertainment or sports on Youview, Amazon instant video may happen but not for a long time as rumours are circulating a new firetv will be announced at end of this month.
Here's what i think would be a good idea and this is only my opinion and not based on any rumours, there is a hell of a lot of content out there still to be picked up by a uk network "salem" being one of the most noticeable, vm could and should imo go after the content that hasn't been picked up and build up their on demand content this way, as i said there is quite a lot out there and i think it would give VM some serious kudos with their tv customer base if they did this.
Now the reality, VM will bid for channels silly ammounts they know will not get accepted and say "we tried but they didn't want to sell them to us"
i think VM are more interested now in their broadband product which itself is not to be laughed at as vms network is capable of well over 3gbs speeds i believe. This in turn would attract cable cutters who want good quality superfast broadband so they can watch on demand or stream live sports say from nowtv etc, vm are in a perfect position to offer cord cutters such as myself the quality, reliabilty and speed we desire, sadly VM have a awful habit of oversubscribing which makes their superfast network pointless, however they are working on this and i think give and take 3 or 4 years vms network will drastically improve and we'll be seeing speeds of over 1gbs quite widespread across the vm network, also i think they will start expanding too.
These are just my thoughts hope i didn't bore anyone lol.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by theone2k10

rumours are circulating a new firetv will be announced at end of this month.

Announcement could be today.

http://www.aftvnews.com/new-amazon-f...eptember-30th/

BTW Amazon HD streams are reportedly 10meg, which is the current limit of Tivo's modem. I'm pretty sure I read that it could be increased to 20meg if required.

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by passingbat

Announcement could be today.

http://www.aftvnews.com/new-amazon-f...eptember-30th/

I won't be buying new one yet as my old one is still going strong lol, but am very interested to see what they come up with as Apple was a let down and overpriced as usual lol.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by theone2k10

I won't be buying new one yet as my old one is still going strong lol, but am very interested to see what they come up with as Apple was a let down and overpriced as usual lol.

Even though I knew there was a new box imminent, I bought a second original one last week. Primarily because I had a half price code which runs out on Saturday and I figured that the new box wouldn't have enough compelling changes for my usage. Glad I bought last week as they ran out of stock this week.

[telegramsam]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

The important thing to concentrate on is content, not channels. Watching broadcast channels will almost certainly decline with time and people will become used to choosing programmes from lists or from searches.

I am fascinated by the number of complaints made that there is not enough choice on VM. We have all the major channels and practically all the content we can expect. We are into dramas and manage to watch two hours worth per night (4 at weekends) and yet we have so much to watch that we can scarcely keep our recordings in check even with a 1TB box.

To demonstrate, here is a list of the drama series on our recordings that we currently still have to view:

Odyssey; Partners in Crime; The Trials of Jimmy Rose; The Last Ship; The Transporter; Defiance; The Strain; Necessary Roughness; Black Sails; Zoo; Crossing Lines; Dark Matter; Madam Secretary; The Scandalous Lady W; Life in Squares; Humans; Strike Back – The Legacy; The Interceptor; Wayward Pines; The Outcast; Sons of Liberty; The Syndicate; Black Work; Reckless; Ascension; Home Fires; Resurrection; The Blacklist; Stalker; 12 Monkeys; Critical; The Enfield Haunting; Safe House; The Mentalist; Poldark; Vera; Ordinary Lies; Code of a Killer; Banished; Crisis; Annihilation; Major Crimes; Wolf Hall; The Kindness of Strangers; Collision; Suspects; XIII; Homeland; The Missing; Legends; Tyrant; Chasing Shadows; Almost Human; Betrayal.

I am part way through some of these, but many of those shows I haven’t even started yet. Some were recorded mid way through last year. So this shows that if you are reasonably diligent in recording the programmes you want to see, and couple this with all the films, etc on demand, it is difficult to understand how you could possibly get through everything, even if you watch TV all day long and evenings too!

Of course, I am fortunate in being able to afford to pay for the XL pack and Sky Movies, but you would have to pay whichever platform you were on.

But it’s even better than I have set out here! Netflix is also on the Tivo. My list of TV series to watch on there are:

Narcos; Better Call Saul; Sense 8; Orphan Black; Identity Thief; Marco Polo; Spooks; The Bridge; Heartland; Borgia; Abduction; The Fixer; Continuum; The 4400; The Purge; Orange is the New Black; House of Cards; Lilyhammer; Bloodline; Damages.

This is not an exhaustive list of what I want to see on Netflix, but it’s as far as I’ve got in compiling my Netflix list.

So the next question is, what is missing? Well, the original Sky Atlantic programming, of course, and it appears that Sky will hold out as long as possible to keep this channel exclusively on their own platform. Given this, the only option available to VM viewers is to access these programmes through Now TV. The Roku streaming stick is the option I have chosen to access exclusive Sky programming on Sky Atlantic and ITV Encore.

My concern is that the scourge of exclusivity may spread to yet more platforms, and of course BT’s decision to do just this with their new AMC channel is a worrying development. Fears will be allayed if VM does gain access to this channel within the next few months, but there is still the fear that the likes of Amazon will continue to make exclusive TV series. Although I am fortunate in being able to access all available content I could wish for via Virgin, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV, I hope I have demonstrated that there is plenty of good programming available simply through Virgin.

However, to continually hanker after more channels for the sake of it, without regard to the content they offer, is pretty pointless. Spike and Tru TV offer nothing new and the cost of including these channels on the Virgin platform will only get passed off to us by way of increased costs. Better to hope they add Amazon Prime and Now TV to our Tivo apps and we would have access to pretty well all we could want.

It would `do my head in¬ if i had that much tv programs still to watch! I currently have about 3 or 4 shows to watch all from Tuesday or Wednesday and its driving me mad that i haven`t time to watch them today! i watch about on average 7 hours tv per day,more when i`m off work. I do get your point though about having more than enough channels but I guess people just want a chance to watch some of the programs their mates are talking about on channels such as Sky Atlantic.

[Mad Max]

To be honest OB you need to get out more, anyone who has a list as long as the one below must be permanently glued to their armchair........




To demonstrate, here is a list of the drama series on our recordings that we currently still have to view:

Odyssey; Partners in Crime; The Trials of Jimmy Rose; The Last Ship; The Transporter; Defiance; The Strain; Necessary Roughness; Black Sails; Zoo; Crossing Lines; Dark Matter; Madam Secretary; The Scandalous Lady W; Life in Squares; Humans; Strike Back – The Legacy; The Interceptor; Wayward Pines; The Outcast; Sons of Liberty; The Syndicate; Black Work; Reckless; Ascension; Home Fires; Resurrection; The Blacklist; Stalker; 12 Monkeys; Critical; The Enfield Haunting; Safe House; The Mentalist; Poldark; Vera; Ordinary Lies; Code of a Killer; Banished; Crisis; Annihilation; Major Crimes; Wolf Hall; The Kindness of Strangers; Collision; Suspects; XIII; Homeland; The Missing; Legends; Tyrant; Chasing Shadows; Almost Human; Betrayal.

[muppetman11]

For someone who doesn't watch anything off the Sky channels there seems to be a considerable amount of recordings made on them.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

To be honest OB you need to get out more, anyone who has a list as long as the one below must be permanently glued to their armchair........




To demonstrate, here is a list of the drama series on our recordings that we currently still have to view:

Odyssey; Partners in Crime; The Trials of Jimmy Rose; The Last Ship; The Transporter; Defiance; The Strain; Necessary Roughness; Black Sails; Zoo; Crossing Lines; Dark Matter; Madam Secretary; The Scandalous Lady W; Life in Squares; Humans; Strike Back – The Legacy; The Interceptor; Wayward Pines; The Outcast; Sons of Liberty; The Syndicate; Black Work; Reckless; Ascension; Home Fires; Resurrection; The Blacklist; Stalker; 12 Monkeys; Critical; The Enfield Haunting; Safe House; The Mentalist; Poldark; Vera; Ordinary Lies; Code of a Killer; Banished; Crisis; Annihilation; Major Crimes; Wolf Hall; The Kindness of Strangers; Collision; Suspects; XIII; Homeland; The Missing; Legends; Tyrant; Chasing Shadows; Almost Human; Betrayal.

I think it's precisely that I'm not glued to my armchair that my list is so long! I try to cram all of my viewing into the evenings (after 8pm). I have a golden rule never to watch TV during the day time (unless there's a big live news story on)!

---------- Post added at 11:01 ---------- Previous post was at 10:52 ----------

Originally Posted by muppetman11

For someone who doesn't watch anything off the Sky channels there seems to be a considerable amount of recordings made on them.

I never said that I don't watch anything off the Sky channels!

I did say a while ago that I watched a lot less from Sky 1 than I used to. At one time I was recording two or three programmes per week from that channel, but it's hardly anything now. Just the occasional programme like The Last Ship.

The only thing on there from Sky 2 is XIII, and that's only because I missed the first showing of that series some years ago.

I am currently watching quite a lot from Sky Atlantic (via Now TV on my Roku). It's a good channel, actually and is not 'over-rated' as some would say.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

For someone who doesn't watch anything off the Sky channels there seems to be a considerable amount of recordings made on them.

To be perfectly honest apart from the Sky Atlantic channel Sky's series on many of its other channels are absolute rubbish in my opinion as name me one which is any good.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by denphone

To be perfectly honest apart from the Sky Atlantic channel Sky's series on many of its other channels are absolute rubbish in my opinion as name me one which is any good.

I'm pretty sure last time I looked the Sky Entertainment channels had a greater reach than its competing pay tv channels so clearly not everyone agrees with you , it's all about personal choice I watch quite a bit across their 3 entertainment channels clearly you don't.

[DaMac]

Originally Posted by denphone

To be perfectly honest apart from the Sky Atlantic channel Sky's series on many of its other channels are absolute rubbish in my opinion as name me one which is any good.

The Blacklist?

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by denphone

To be perfectly honest apart from the Sky Atlantic channel Sky's series on many of its other channels are absolute rubbish in my opinion as name me one which is any good.

Sky have always had more than their fair share of rubbish on their channels, Den. It has always been the case that you have to scroll a long way through the schedules to find something worth watching.

The worrying thing is that there are even fewer 'gems' to find these days, except on SA. In fairness, there are a couple of programmes on Sky 1 this week that I am recording - Zoo and The Last Ship, although I'm not yet sure whether Zoo will be good as I've not watched it yet.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by denphone

To be perfectly honest apart from the Sky Atlantic channel Sky's series on many of its other channels are absolute rubbish in my opinion as name me one which is any good.

Arrow, Madam Secretary, the Flash, Strike Back and Nashville (turned into a horrible soap opera, but the music is good). That is just current shows.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

I'm pretty sure last time I looked the Sky Entertainment channels had a greater reach than its competing pay tv channels so clearly not everyone agrees with you , it's all about personal choice I watch quite a bit across their 3 entertainment channels clearly you don't.

l don't because many of their shows are simply unappealing MM but each to their own tastes and opinions.