General : Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2013) Vol. 1.

[spiderplant]

Originally Posted by Kirk64

ITV 2/3/4 HD Dolby Digital 2.0 ITV 1 HD LPCM anyone know why they have not upgraded ITV 1 HD audio yet?

Possibly the processing for ITV(1)HD is more complex because it is regionalised. It may also be using older equipment as it has been around much longer

[Joedm45]

Regarding the free HD debate I think of it like this:

Customer A has an all singing HD TV and subscribes to XL TV
Customer B has an old CRT TV and also subscribes to XL TV.
End result is both would pay the same to VM, hence HD is free

[speedski]

Originally Posted by Superblade7

Virgin can still market the fact that they give HD for free. The XL pack contains about 60+ extra channels than the L pack only about a third of which are HD. You also get some HD channels with M+ and L too. So whichever TV pack you choose, you get HD channels for no additional cost to that pack.

If you wish to have a wider channel selection which includes more HD then yes you do have to pay more for the XL pack but you do not (with the exception of Sky Premium HD) have to pay any additional fee solely for HD.

I'm sure this argument will run and run as everyone has differing opinions but if VM were falsely advertising free HD then I'm sure the ASA would have come knocking long before now!

Thing is. If you get the SD channel in your bundle. But the HD channel is in a higher bundle then how can you say you are giving HD for FREE?

You can't. Virgin is not free HD when the SD and HD variants of the SAME channel are not in the same bundles.

---------- Post added at 13:15 ---------- Previous post was at 13:14 ----------

Originally Posted by Joedm45

Regarding the free HD debate I think of it like this:

Customer A has an all singing HD TV and subscribes to XL TV
Customer B has an old CRT TV and also subscribes to XL TV.
End result is both would pay the same to VM, hence HD is free

Thats a really pointless comparison - you're talking equipment, not service.

[toady]

I choose XL for the extra channels, the HD channels were a bonus for me without additional cost

[harry_hitch]

Originally Posted by Joedm45

Regarding the free HD debate I think of it like this:

Customer A has an all singing HD TV and subscribes to XL TV
Customer B has an old CRT TV and also subscribes to XL TV.
End result is both would pay the same to VM, hence HD is free

Very good point!!!

[Superblade7]

Originally Posted by speedski

Thing is. If you get the SD channel in your bundle. But the HD channel is in a higher bundle then how can you say you are giving HD for FREE?

You can't. Virgin is not free HD when the SD and HD variants of the SAME channels are not in the same bundles.[COLOR="Silver"]

Virgin provide three TV packs which contain various channels. Depending on what channels you want, you choose the appropriate one to meet your needs. The SD and HD variants of a channel are two individual channels and Virgin can choose which packs each one is put into. The more channels you want, the more you have to pay. Yes, the HD charges are factored into the cost of the packs but at no point will you or any VM customer pay any extra charges for HD channels alone (again with the exception on Sky Premium HD) and hence they can advertise them as 'free' within your chosen pack. So yes you do pay for them, but as part of the price for the pack you choose.

Sky on the other hand charge an additional £10.25 for their customers to obtain the HD variants of the majority of channels. So you have an advertised additional fee with Sky.

So either way you do pay for HD, I'll agree with you on that. However, VM do nothing wrong by advertising that HD is 'free' with you chosen TV pack.

[gba93]

Originally Posted by Superblade7

So either way you do pay for HD, I'll agree with you on that. However, VM do nothing wrong by advertising that HD is 'free' with you chosen TV pack.

It's just down to whether you consider something is "Free" if it is at no extra cost

[Chad]

Originally Posted by Joedm45

Regarding the free HD debate I think of it like this:

Customer A has an all singing HD TV and subscribes to XL TV
Customer B has an old CRT TV and also subscribes to XL TV.
End result is both would pay the same to VM, hence HD is free

Customer B would be better on the L package as he / she is paying for a package which includes the cost of 36 HD channels they can't actually watch. Well actually I suppose it's only 30 HD channels as 6 of them are included in M+ upwards.

If Virgin dropped all 36 HD channels from the XL package, but the subscription price to XL to remained exactly the same, would you honestly be happy with this?

[denphone]

Nice to see the old boys club is still in good working order.

[speedski]

Originally Posted by Superblade7

Virgin provide three TV packs which contain various channels. Depending on what channels you want, you choose the appropriate one to meet your needs. The SD and HD variants of a channel are two individual channels and Virgin can choose which packs each one is put into. The more channels you want, the more you have to pay. Yes, the HD charges are factored into the cost of the packs but at no point will you or any VM customer pay any extra charges for HD channels alone (again with the exception on Sky Premium HD) and hence they can advertise them as 'free' within your chosen pack. So yes you do pay for them, but as part of the price for the pack you choose.

Sky on the other hand charge an additional £10.25 for their customers to obtain the HD variants of the majority of channels. So you have an advertised additional fee with Sky.

So either way you do pay for HD, I'll agree with you on that. However, VM do nothing wrong by advertising that HD is 'free' with you chosen TV pack.

Sorry, but SD and HD is not a different channel in the way Virgin sell the free HD message. They say you don't pay for HD on Virgin, which is no longer true - in order to get the HD version of a channel your pack comes with you need to buy a (much) more expensive pack.

Therefore HD is a cost - pure and simple.

I can see Virgin dropping the free HD message now given Sky's upcoming package changes.

i will say this, Virgin must be bleeding customers at the moment with the amount of 50% off sky codes around - come close of liberty takeover it would be very interesting to see just how many customers virgin are losing (alot are doing what I did though, keeping Virgin TV as part of a bundle because they are never going to give up the fiber BB - so to the stats it looks like VM's customer base is consistent, but the ARPU must be dropping, my addition of Sky saw my overall cost drop and my monthly Virgin bill go from £115 to £30.

[Chad]

Originally Posted by denphone

Nice to see the old boys club is still in good working order.

You're a pretty honest straight shooting guy Den. If Virgin dropped all 36 HD channels from the XL package, but the subscription price to XL to remained exactly the same, would you be a happy bunny?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Chad

You're a pretty honest straight shooting guy Den. If Virgin dropped all 36 HD channels from the XL package, but the subscription price to XL to remained exactly the same, would you be a happy bunny?

Its all just friendly banter Chad but to answer your question the answer is

[Chad]

Originally Posted by speedski

Virgin must be bleeding customers at the moment with the amount of 50% off sky codes around.

I took advantage of the 50% deal for 12 months. It's a great offer.

I will add however that Virgin have sent me a few great offers in the post in the last month offering 50% off for 6 months. This includes TiVo and a free V+HD box in a second room. I do miss having 2 recordable boxes. If Virgin keep on adding new channels, and offer me the same deal later in the year when my SKY contract ends, I would not have too much of a problem coming back to Virgin. My wife however might not enjoy losing SKY Atlantic or E! in HD. I would also miss SKY Atlantic however I do enjoy having extra money to spend each month

---------- Post added at 15:24 ---------- Previous post was at 15:23 ----------

Originally Posted by denphone

Its all just friendly banter Chad but to answer your question the answer is

Of course my TiVo loving chum

[denphone]

Originally Posted by speedski

i will say this, Virgin must be bleeding customers at the moment with the amount of 50% off sky codes around - come close of liberty takeover it would be very interesting to see just how many customers virgin are losing (alot are doing what I did though, keeping Virgin TV as part of a bundle because they are never going to give up the fiber BB - so to the stats it looks like VM's customer base is consistent, but the ARPU must be dropping, my addition of Sky saw my overall cost drop and my monthly Virgin bill go from £115 to £30.

Actually Virgin continues to increase its customers TV additions and l cannot see that changing

[speedski]

Originally Posted by denphone

Actually Virgin continues to increase its customers TV additions and l cannot see that changing

At the same ARPU though?

I don't see it, especially with the number of people who have downscaled Virgin (keeping an element) but saving money with the alternatives.

I do think Sky are contract grabbing at the moment, ahead of the full BT launch and the potential for VM to have much more (debt ridden) funding from Liberty...