My V+ box experience

[brabazon]

OK, back in business, connections hadn't been tightened sufficiently! Today's engineer admitted minimal training and learning as they go along!

[K Man]

My TV Drive/V+ experience.

The week TV Drive became available in my region I got it (Early summer last year). Being an "early adopter" by nature and having a very good technical understanding I took to it like a fish to water.

The product in my opinion IS far superior to SKY's. However I have experienced and am experiencing multiple problems to which I feel nobody at Telewest/VirginMedia are preparred to either accept or indeed address. Here's the issues that I have had:

1. Slow navigation when using “Live TV� between 10 – 20 seconds when channel hopping
2. Picture freezing during Live TV the only way to resolve is to change channels which seems to refresh the feed or catch it up
3. Pixels appear intermittently
4. If the box goes to sleep it cannot be woken up in the mornings and you have to reboot to resolve but then you only get 2 -3 mins before it starts freezing and you have to repeat this many many times
5. We have tried turning the box to standby at night but that makes no difference, we experience exactly the same issues as above
6. Teleport is often not available giving various error codes, like 1061
7. TV Drive is often not available
8. Missing program information is quite a regular thing
9. When we do finally get the box to wake up in the mornings the channel information box sometimes stays on screen for ages and flashes Red, if we do get rid of it the whole picture flashes Red
10. It seems that between 23:45 and 00:45 (could be later but I usually give up and go to sleep or watch a DVD) that the functionality of the box just disappears completely. Whatever channel is being viewed is the only channel that can be watched. You can select other channel numbers but the box will not go to other channels
11. About 5 times a day we will hear a loud “white noise� type click which sounds to me like digital distortion and then the sound will disappear which then slowly builds back up - this has recently increased in frequency and in a 30 min program can happen up to 3 or 4 times. I am convinced it is something to do with the HDMi output but as I do not have any other HDMi devices I cannot "acid test" this. It doesn't do this via SCART or on my other TV. I'm very unhappy about this as my HD TV was purchased in OCT 06 and my warranty is running out slowly but surely. I am convinced that this is a signal thing but cannot get that confirmed.
12. We can be watching Live TV and without warning rhyme or reason we will get a flashing Red on screen message saying that TV Drive is unavailable and to reboot or restart the set top box – I have to stress this is without us even touching the remote.

Before we moved back in Sept 06 we had about 5 boxes replaced because the engineers either cannot (due to time restraints) or will not (due to intelligence and product understanding) fault find the problems. When I call 150 I tell them my isues and try to stress that as an experienced "user" and as somebody who tech supports TV and Media companies with their hardware & software for a living it feels like the problems are either the feed (the signal coming down the pipe) or indeed a software/firmware problem. Am I listened to ?? NO!!! I get goofy engineers come out to my flat scratch their arses for a couple of minutes who then say "we need to replace your box mate" - what a joke !!!

Since September and being in a new property have had another 7 boxes swapped over. I have had reductions off my bill by way of apology but still no resolve. During a 6 week period I had over 10 engineers come out to me all with a different idea of what the problem was and each contradicting the last engineer. I honestly don't think that the engineers are up to speed with the TV Drive/V+ boxes just like the people on the phones.

I still do think that this product has the potential to be far superior to Sky's box. However, I am not pleased that this product had been rushed to market just so it can compete with Sky before it was ready. I do feel like I am Beta testing the product which I don't mind doing but I do recent paying full whack for this. I am providing Telewest/VirginMedia with a service and I think they are missing this point. Consumer feedback is surely the best way to improve products and move them forward!!!???

These problems can easily be fixed by firmware updates that could be performed once they have accepted and resoleved them.

The best thing Telewest/VirginMedia can do is to set up a specialist
TV Drive/V+ team who know the product dare I say use the product and can then support it's customers. For me to ring up and speak to some muppet who is reading from a script and has absolutely no technical understanding of the product is an insult. I have tried so many times by asking to speak to somebody who knows the TV Drive/V+ product but this seems to be impossible.

How I am left feeling about VirginMedia is, New name same B u l l s h i t

Will they sort it out?? Do they care ?? Does anybody in the company understand the product ??

I really don't know - but I'm getting a pretty clear idea. I am learning to live with my issues and treat them as little idiosyncrasies as Telewest/VirginMedia seem to be inadequate in solving my issues.

With all that said and done, when it does work it is fantastic no doubt about it.

I think the only way forward for Telewest/VirginMedia is to run a consumer feedback program and keep developing their product based on this. Could end up being a White Elephant otherwise.