Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

I would assume it's £6.50 normal additional box rental + £3 TiVo fee

This is the question; is the £3 TIVO fee per box or account? If they make it per box, it seems to me that VM are picking up bad habits from Sky.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by mersey70

I agree with that.

I just think VM need to take another look at their pricing structure, it's just too inflexible for me if they keep on saying they cannot afford to offer what a lot of people clearly want. An option to pay more, like with the Sky HD channels would be worth considering at least.

And the blanket inclusion of ESPN in XL is inflexible to, it is a premium channel and as such we should choose whether we want it or not. That way it could free up more money for basic, general HD channels which is what the XL package should be.

Premium channels should be an option for me, not just included whether you want it or not. No other premium channels are included.

I would go along with that and I watch ESPN a lot. If the £24.50 XL got me say another 7 or 8 HD channels I would gladly pay £9.00 for ESPN so long as ESPNA HD was included like on Sky.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by mersey70

And the blanket inclusion of ESPN in XL is inflexible to, it is a premium channel and as such we should choose whether we want it or not. That way it could free up more money for basic, general HD channels which is what the XL package should be.
.

I definitely agree with that.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by passingbat

I definitely agree with that.

Problem is it's set in stone now , can you imagine what would happen If they dropped the ESPN inclusion in the XL pack.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

I would go along with that and I watch ESPN a lot. If the £24.50 XL got me say another 7 or 8 HD channels I would gladly pay £9.00 for ESPN so long as ESPNA HD was included like on Sky.

If you think about it logically why should a premium sports channel be included in XL, it's basically forcing it on you whether you like it or not.

And forcing you to pay for it too as we know it isn't free.

It just seems very inflexible given they are saying they cannot afford certain general HD channels which is surely what the XL pack should be all about. I would guess ESPN must get at least a few quid each month off every XL customer.

Just my opinion though.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by mersey70

If you think about it logically why should a premium sports channel be included in XL, it's basically forcing it on you whether you like it or not.

And forcing you to pay for it too as we know it isn't free.

It just seems very inflexible given they are saying they cannot afford certain general HD channels which is surely what the XL pack should be all about.

Just my opinion though.

Totally agree and I am a sports fan , XL should be for channels like Sky Arts HD , SKy Atlantic HD , UNiversal HD , Nat Geo Wild HD etc.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Problem is it's set in stone now , can you imagine what would happen If they dropped the ESPN inclusion in the XL pack.

Just a few irrate sports fans?

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Totally agree and I am a sports fan , XL should be for channels like Sky Arts HD , SKy Atlantic HD , UNiversal HD , Nat Geo Wild HD etc.

Absolutely agree.

[alwaysabear]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

I would go along with that and I watch ESPN a lot. If the £24.50 XL got me say another 7 or 8 HD channels I would gladly pay £9.00 for ESPN so long as ESPNA HD was included like on Sky.

I would agree to that.

---------- Post added at 16:57 ---------- Previous post was at 16:50 ----------

Originally Posted by mersey70

If you think about it logically why should a premium sports channel be included in XL, it's basically forcing it on you whether you like it or not.

And forcing you to pay for it too as we know it isn't free.

It just seems very inflexible given they are saying they cannot afford certain general HD channels which is surely what the XL pack should be all about. I would guess ESPN must get at least a few quid each month off every XL customer.

Just my opinion though.

Up to about 18 months ago I paid £10 a month for NASN (now ESPN America) so that makes sence if we can get as many general HD channels on the XL package.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Problem is it's set in stone now , can you imagine what would happen If they dropped the ESPN inclusion in the XL pack.

Set in stone until the current agreement with VM ends, which I would imagine is also when ESPN would need to negotiate new premiership rights. If ESPN will more packages when the next bidding round comes along, I don't see it remaining in the XL package.

[Chad]

I remember reading somewhere that Virgin pay ESPN between £1.50 to £2.00 per month for each customer on the XL package. Can anyone confirm if this is true?

[OLDGOLD]

Originally Posted by mersey70

And although Sky (quite rightly in my opinion) market ESPN as a stand alone channel hence it isn't included for £55 a month they get shed loads more HD channels and a lot more channels in general for that £55. ESPN is a premium channel and as such we should choose whether we want it like we do with other premium channels, no others are included in XL.

VM should make ESPN a stand alone channel and introduce a different pricing structure for XL in my opinion which would allow for more basic HD channels.

Because I am tired of hearing them say 'we cannot afford it'. I am beginning to wonder if they cannot afford it because of all their debts. To be honest I don't care why, they need to look at their offer and fast. If they think a PVR is going to be their saving grace I think they are deluded if the US is anything to go by.

If it wasnt for catch up I would can VM now, I hate some of Sky's practices but i'm not sure I hate them as much as being at VM's beck and call on 'negotiations' that either take forever, or go nowhere.

Whilst I agree totally with what your saying, without TiVo VM need to seriously look at using Mpeg4 compression, or introducing some kind of hard drive upgrade service, because the current hard drives on V+HD boxes fill up way too quickly with HD broadcasts. Imagine how much of a struggle it would be with even more HD channels and more HD programmes to record.

Maybe, just maybe, that is one of the reasons why VM are putting so much emphasis on getting TiVo out there. Once TiVo has fully launched, perhaps we'll see a steady stream of new HD channels (I'm probably clutching at straws, but you've got to have hope! )

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by OLDGOLD

Whilst I agree totally with what your saying, without TiVo VM need to seriously look at using Mpeg4 compression, or introducing some kind of hard drive upgrade service, because the current hard drives on V+HD boxes fill up way too quickly with HD broadcasts. Imagine how much of a struggle it would be with even more HD channels and more HD programmes to record.

Maybe, just maybe, that is one of the reasons why VM are putting so much emphasis on getting TiVo out there. Once TiVo has fully launched, perhaps we'll see a steady stream of new HD channels (I'm probably clutching at straws, but you've got to have hope! )

More HD is planned for this new financial year, also TiVo is MPEG4 compatitble and I'm sure V-HD is too

[devilincarnate]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

More HD is planned for this new financial year, also TiVo is MPEG4 compatitble and I'm sure V-HD is too

Yes i think that this is true as i posted a long time ago that the boxes were backwards compatible?

[OLDGOLD]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

More HD is planned for this new financial year, also TiVo is MPEG4 compatitble and I'm sure V-HD is too

Compatible it may be, but VM aren't broadcasting MPEG4 yet are they? Or is this something that is in the pipeline?

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by OLDGOLD

Compatible it may be, but VM aren't broadcasting MPEG4 yet are they? Or is this something that is in the pipeline?

Once everyone is on TiVo (incl V-HD) VM will switch to MPEG4.