General What would stop you cutting the cord? - Page 3

steveh · 25-07-2015, 09:24

The rise of IPTV services is an issue for Sky too. The new companies can move faster than the incumbents, they have better designed, smarter and easier to use applications, they're buying up content that would have traditionally gone to pay TV and (for now at least) they're at a significantly lower price point designed to attract new customers. Sky have anticipated this with Now TV, but Virgin have yet to do anything - instead they're pushing up their prices to even higher levels.

Virgin have the advantage of their own wired network, deals with many content providers and an insight into the viewing habits of their customers which could enable them to provide a truly smart box that tailored your viewing to the content from all the services and content providers they work with. Maybe they have something to launch in the autumn, but increasingly it seems like they're just happy to milk the base and that the innovation that happened around the time they first became Virgin Media was a one-off thing.

pengedragon · 25-07-2015, 11:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by pengedragon

Impossible to get through to retentions last night, wonder how many people are having similar conversations with them

Will try again this morning

was offered 50 meg bb and weekend calls for 25 including line rental, seemed happy for me to move the tv

said i still wanted to cancel and the guy asked if i'd accept a call from a specialist team at 10 am to discuss my options

not heard anything yet

kandinsky · 25-07-2015, 11:32

Well I am cutting the cord at the end of this month after over 20 years with Virgin/NTL.
I am suffering from the Mark Knopfler / Bruce Springsteen syndrome and can get most of what I want elsewhere for cheaper without all the dross you have to trail through on the epg.
Using a Firestick, Chromecast, and 2 Humax/Bt boxes with 500gb HDDs I picked up on Gumtree for £20 each I am sorted. These boxes also pickup Now TV and Netflix over the Virgin Broadband I am keeping. Virgin offered me 50mb broadband and landline for £19-50 a month which was a no brainer. Wanted more for just the broadband on its own.
Along with KODI and fusion loaded you can find just about anything you want.
I had the old style analogue TIVOS as well and when Virgin got the new Tivo I was one of the first to take it it up. But now its just slowly grinding to a halt. It is ridiculous the time you have to wait between pressing a button and something happenning. I can see Virgin copywriting the the little purple ring of waitiness so no one else can use it..... maybe they have already and are just getting their moneys worth out of it. I never thought I would get rid of my Tivo but there you go, times change and so does technology. I think Virgin need to pull their socks up or their business model is going to fall flat on its face and they will get left further and further behind as the streaming services take over.

Superblade7 · 25-07-2015, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveh

The rise of IPTV services is an issue for Sky too. The new companies can move faster than the incumbents, they have better designed, smarter and easier to use applications, they're buying up content that would have traditionally gone to pay TV and (for now at least) they're at a significantly lower price point designed to attract new customers. Sky have anticipated this with Now TV, but Virgin have yet to do anything - instead they're pushing up their prices to even higher levels.

Virgin have the advantage of their own wired network, deals with many content providers and an insight into the viewing habits of their customers which could enable them to provide a truly smart box that tailored your viewing to the content from all the services and content providers they work with. Maybe they have something to launch in the autumn, but increasingly it seems like they're just happy to milk the base and that the innovation that happened around the time they first became Virgin Media was a one-off thing.

The major problem for VM is that they sold off the majority of their content which would make it difficult for them to offer a streaming service at a reasonable price. And you've only got to look at TV Anywhere (well anywhere you can get WiFi) to see VM are playing catch up.

I've recently switched to Sky and Sky Go is light years ahead where you can watch both live streaming and on demand on WiFi, 3G or 4G. Awesome service.

Mad Max · 25-07-2015, 16:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by denphone

They must be losing money hand over fist with some of their offers but it must work as their overall profits still seem to rise.

I don't think that they are losing money at all Den, their infrastructure seems to be in place, so extra customers for them will always boost their profits..

jobbie8 · 25-07-2015, 23:34

Tried to use YouTube via TiVo tonight but again it was stuttering every minute or so. Switched to Chromecast, streamed brilliantly. We are so used to streaming now the TiVo's day's are numbered. I actually paid money to get TiVo when it first launched. What a shame it didn't keep up.

theone2k10 · 26-07-2015, 00:23

You can now get mini pcs that sit under tvs like a firetv box etc for around £99 thesedays they are perfect for anyone wanting to cut the cord, i'm currently keeping a eye on the new intel pc sticks which are going to cost between £80 and £150 depending if you want 1gb ram and linux or 2gb ram and windows amongst other things.

tassiekev · 26-07-2015, 07:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by theone2k10

You can now get mini pcs that sit under tvs like a firetv box etc for around £99 thesedays they are perfect for anyone wanting to cut the cord, i'm currently keeping a eye on the new intel pc sticks which are going to cost between £80 and £150 depending if you want 1gb ram and linux or 2gb ram and windows amongst other things.

Got my eye on this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/JUSTOP-Windo.../dp/B00ZFQQIK0

theone2k10 · 26-07-2015, 12:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by tassiekev

Got my eye on this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/JUSTOP-Windo.../dp/B00ZFQQIK0

I like that, very tempted to buy one now but must resist as got far too many streaming devices but as my pc is slowly dying and i only use it for media this would be ideal replacement as use my laptop for everyday browsing, email, football manager etc. Think i will buy it when i get paid in 2 weeks

tassiekev · 26-07-2015, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by theone2k10

I like that, very tempted to buy one now but must resist as got far too many streaming devices but as my pc is slowly dying and i only use it for media this would be ideal replacement as use my laptop for everyday browsing, email, football manager etc. Think i will buy it when i get paid in 2 weeks

Me too, Acer RL100 is slowly dying but I do love my toys.

pengedragon · 28-07-2015, 17:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by pengedragon

i've signed up for tv from sky and broadband from bt online tonight so i think the cord cutting has been done

i'll call virgin tomorrow and see how much they value my custom after 10 years

the answer is quite a lot

more than happy to stick around for another 12 months, didnt really want to leave anyway

theone2k10 · 28-07-2015, 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by tassiekev

Me too, Acer RL100 is slowly dying but I do love my toys.

The pipo x7 is something else worth looking at too hearing very good reviews on it on various fb pages. http://dealsprime.com/pipo-x7-window...mYnBoC0HHw_wcB

tassiekev · 28-07-2015, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by theone2k10

The pipo x7 is something else worth looking at too hearing very good reviews on it on various fb pages. http://dealsprime.com/pipo-x7-window...mYnBoC0HHw_wcB

Interesting, do you have to pay duty/VAT on that? - it appears to come from China.

theone2k10 · 28-07-2015, 20:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by tassiekev

Interesting, do you have to pay duty/VAT on that? - it appears to come from China.

There are uk sellers on ebay, which if i decide to get one is where i'll buy from as get the ebay buyer protection.
The intel sticks should be out soon too £89 for linux, 1gb ram and 16gb storage or £150 for windows 8.1/10, 2gb ram and 32gb storage.

muppetman11 · 29-07-2015, 10:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by denphone

They must be losing money hand over fist with some of their offers but it must work as their overall profits still seem to rise.

Deceiving isn't it.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...-germany-italy