Catch Up - Disappointing

corgi74 · 10-01-2011, 10:27

I had Virgin fitted on the 27/11 after being with Sky for almost 10 years. I went with Virgin for the on demand and broadband service and although I am more than happy with the broadband, in my opinion the on demand and TV service in general leaves a lot to be desired.
The selection and range of on demand channels is poor and the programmes available are not what I was expecting. My in laws have recently signed up for BT Vision and the range and quality of the on demand available is fantastic compared to Virgin. The BBC channel actually has a decent selection of programmes available and the HBO channel is excellent. In addition to this the CBS and ABC channels are also very good and increase what is already a superior range of channels and programmes.
If I had known this before I signed up I would probably have still done it as I am enjoying the increase in broadband speed over my old AOL service but as on demand is such a selling point for Virgin then I think they should at least offer a decent range of programmes other than 50 episodes of Nothing to Declare.

Also don't get me started on the V+ HD box!! I have a Scientific Atlanta box and it is awful. You can make a cup of tea between selecting a channel and it actually changing. The Sky HD box was so much better and a lot more intuitive to use.

I'm not unhappy with Virgin as such, just a bit disappointed it isn't as good as it could and arguably should be.

nialli · 10-01-2011, 11:14

Here's a website that lists all of the VOD available on Virgin Media

HBO programming was extensive on Virgin VOD but disappeared when Sky signed exclusivity deals with HBO for the new Sky Atlantic channel - it disappears from BT Vision this month too. Virgin have introduced some Universal box sets (Heroes, 30 Rock, House etc) to compensate to some degree.

Unlike BT Vision, VM has HD on demand too.

Shame you got an SA V+, the Samsung box is far superior in my experience.

muppetman11 · 10-01-2011, 11:45

Got to say I partly agree with corgi74 the choice is poor and hard to find (hopefully TIVO will sort this ) . I had BT Vision and the quality and layout of OD was far superior.

Doug P · 10-01-2011, 15:01

BT Vision vastly inferior in other departments though.

basicfags · 10-01-2011, 15:04

i have a sammy box which sometimes drives me up the wall waiting for on demand to show something. also i agree the on demand stuff is mainly rubbish i tried watchin 2 series of the sopranos and never saw the last episodes of either because it had been removed. the range of hd stuff is poor and it seems to be mostly populated with stuff thats been on the telly in the last couple of weeks, rather than whole series like the sopranos for example.

what really annoys though is for example only having the first 6 or so episodes of a series available at one time, and releasing hd versions of series a month after releasing it in normal def. can't figure out what benefit that gives a customer.

why can't they just stick up a whole of series of the sopranos / true blood etc in hd as well as normal d and leave them up for 6 months or so.

muppetman11 · 10-01-2011, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug P

BT Vision vastly inferior in other departments though.

You are correct like very little HD and broadband dependant but the content and layout is way better, and as BT customers speeds increase over the coming years so will the HD VOD.

corgi74 · 10-01-2011, 15:39

To be honest I'm not that fussed about on demand HD stuff. It would be nice to have more choice of SD. I'm not a fan but BT Vision had every episode of Only Fools & Horses on demand over xmas. We had Doctor Who series 2, Catherine Tate and Balamory and the rest of the same BBC programmes that was on it when I signed up.
Also BT have the free on demand movie channels for gold customers. Yes the films aren't the latest releases but as picturebox is included and that's Â£5 a month on Virgin it's a good deal. The Warner film channel in particular has some good ones on.

DC_FC79 · 10-01-2011, 22:43

The on demand stuff has kind of baffled me for example the sopranos i dont think it started from series 1(unless i missed it) but it started with series 2, curb your enthusiasm as on there at 1 point but again i dont think it was on in series order

deathtrap3000 · 10-01-2011, 23:54

Going to be getting rid of the virgin broadband and phoneline and just keep the tv package as im gonna get broadband and phone from bt instead. Best of both worlds that way in tv respect.

mersey70 · 11-01-2011, 02:33

It just goes to show that every platform has it's pluses and minuses. In my opinion no one is better than the other, it's all down to what programmes interest you.

It's too late now but the OP should have threatened to cancel under the 28 day guarantee if the box is really that bad, are the SA boxes generally that bad? There does seem a lot of posts on this subject though.

As a BT Vision customer before joining VM I can honestly say without any bias that I felt their on demand offer overall was considerably better content wise than VM's (as long as you don't mind SD), let's be clear though the majority of VM's is SD too. Of course OD is what you are predominantly paying for with BT Vision so it should be better. A little bit of HD was available but you had to download it, and I think it was PPV.

However their linear content was vastly inferior to VM as of course it is mainly just freeview.

Take you pick I suppose, both are good in my opinion it just depends what you want.

Peter_ · 11-01-2011, 02:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by mersey70

It's too late now but you should have threatened to cancel under the 28 guarantee if the box is really that bad, are the SA boxes generally that bad? There does seem a lot of posts on this subject though.

I have had a SA for nearly 3 years with no issues with regards recording, changing channels and find the speed of reaction to be fine.

I also have used both the SA and the Samsung in work as we have a multitude of these machines set up for diagnostics and have found little to choose between the two, and our machines get a lot of use.

Also as I work for the company do you not think that I would be at the head of the queue if my machine was a turkey.

My wife's sister has two SA machines as well and they also have no issues.

Personally I think a lot of the fuss is because people want the latest machine regardless of what their present machine can do.

mersey70 · 11-01-2011, 02:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masque

I have had a SA for nearly 3 years with no issues with regards recording, changing channels and find the speed of reaction to be fine.

I also have used both the SA and the Samsung in work as we have a multitude of these machines set up for diagnostics and have found little to choose between the two, and our machines get a lot of use.

Also as I work for the company do you not think that I would be at the head of the queue if my machine was a turkey.

My wife's sister has two SA machines as well and they also have no issues.

Personally I think a lot of the fuss is because people want the latest machine regardless of what their present machine can do.

Personally I don't think it is unreasonable for a customer who only joined VM in November 2010 to expect the latest available kit.

Or maybe it is!

pauldavies83 · 11-01-2011, 09:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masque

I have had a SA for nearly 3 years with no issues with regards recording, changing channels and find the speed of reaction to be fine.

I also have used both the SA and the Samsung in work as we have a multitude of these machines set up for diagnostics and have found little to choose between the two, and our machines get a lot of use.

Also as I work for the company do you not think that I would be at the head of the queue if my machine was a turkey.

My wife's sister has two SA machines as well and they also have no issues.

Personally I think a lot of the fuss is because people want the latest machine regardless of what their present machine can do.

Exactly, you work for the company, so your not going to start slagging off the equipment that loads of people know is outdated and poor performing.

Leave that to us.

It's a matter of expectations - I expect my channel to change in less than 3 -4 seconds. I expect to be able to press a button and not have to be told "just a minute". Maybe these expectations are unreasonable, but I don't think they are.

And I couldn't care less what the latest machine is - I still use a 8 year old iMac at home.

---------- Post added at 08:21 ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by mersey70

[/U]
Personally I don't think it is unreasonable for a customer who only joined VM in November 2010 to expect the latest available kit.

But there lies another "advantage" of "renting" your equipment - they don't include that in their literature

mersey70 · 11-01-2011, 09:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauldavies83

Exactly, you work for the company, so your not going to start slagging off the equipment that loads of people know is outdated and poor performing.

Leave that to us.

It's a matter of expectations - I expect my channel to change in less than 3 -4 seconds. I expect to be able to press a button and not have to be told "just a minute". Maybe these expectations are unreasonable, but I don't think they are.

And I couldn't care less what the latest machine is - I still use a 8 year old iMac at home.

---------- Post added at 08:21 ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 ----------

But there lies another "advantage" of "renting" your equipment - they don't include that in their literature

You are just making a fuss obviously!!

Seriously though I cannot personally comment on the SA's performance, I wouldn't have accepted one purely because you cannot record radio with it.

Out of interest I wonder when the SA V+ ceased production, if indeed it has?

Peter_ · 11-01-2011, 10:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by pauldavies83

Exactly, you work for the company, so your not going to start slagging off the equipment that loads of people know is outdated and poor performing.

If my box was not performing I would be the first on the phone but obviously you only skimmed my post because why should I a member of staff suffer from poor equipment.