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Old 25-11-2020, 16:29   #226
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Old 25-11-2020, 17:36   #227
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

Sounds like Virgin have done the same as Sky - develop a new interface and leave out a lot of functions that people used.
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Old 25-11-2020, 18:09   #228
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Originally Posted by Raider999 View Post
Sounds like Virgin have done the same as Sky - develop a new interface and leave out a lot of functions that people used.
I've had Q since launch not really missed much from Sky+ and certainly wouldn't go back to it.
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Old 25-11-2020, 20:35   #229
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Originally Posted by Raider999 View Post
Sounds like Virgin have done the same as Sky - develop a new interface and leave out a lot of functions that people used.
Instead of paying Tivo for the "original" Tivo Inc licences, they will be paying Liberty Global a software licence instead. Of course with that comes different/removed functionality. It remains to be seen whether they are still paying Tivo for any of the ex-Rovi patent licences (I believe Skay have an agreement in this area) - VM and Rovi had quite a legal history that VM came out on top of.
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Old 25-11-2020, 20:52   #230
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

Rovi and TiVo are the same company now

---------- Post added at 19:52 ---------- Previous post was at 19:43 ----------

What I meant by that is the combined company may have different priorities around patent licences compared with the version that pre-LG Virgin Media had an issue with
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Old 25-11-2020, 20:55   #231
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Originally Posted by BenMcr View Post
Rovi and TiVo are the same company now
Yep, Rovi bought Tivo and took on the name. IIRC virgin have UK exclusivity to the ex-Tivo patents, whereas Sky have a non-exclusive agreement with Tivo for the Rovi patent licences.
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Old 28-11-2020, 00:05   #232
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

It's being assumed that, when the VM agreement expires, that ALL customers will have to have this 360 box.

https://www.avforums.com/threads/new...2324252/page-2

From the information i've collated, this means (please correct any errors or ommisions).

The downsides:

- You cannot record radio or select radio with a channel number.

- Upon changing the box or software on your existing box, you lose all your recordings.

- You lose all your series links. Any new Series Links created have to be done on each and every channel that you think the programme will be broadcast on; you cannot set it to check every channel as you can currently.

- There is no Wishlist function.

- Those with more than one V6 box can keep them, but I believe that new customers are limited to one box with a HDD and, therefore, 1TB of recording capacity.

- If you delete a programme because you've changed your mind or have watched it, it will record it again!

- You cannot recover deleted programmes.

-The TV channel will no longer store 90 minutes in the background while you watch a recorded program (although if you pause a live channel it will store up to 3 hours, but this 3 hours will be lost as soon as you watch a recorded program).

-The TV channel list only shows icons of channels, you can no longer change this to text, making channels hard to identify.

- The search function is no longer universal.

- You have to pay a further Netflix subscription if you want to see it on your TV.

- It's supposed to be free, but some are reporting that they have been charged a one off fee of £15.50.

The upsides:

- HDR capabiliy (but doesn't the V6 already have this capability)?

- A free box for multi room as standard (but this usually won't have a HDD).

Last edited by RichardCoulter; 28-11-2020 at 00:09. Reason: Spelling.
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Old 28-11-2020, 00:14   #233
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

Not sure what you mean by a further Netflix sub to see it on your TV??

I'm not paying anything different for Netflix than I was with my V6 and have access to it as normal across all three of my 360's (main and minis). I can "see it on my TVs" just fine (either using the 360 app or the TV built in app)
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Old 28-11-2020, 00:19   #234
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Originally Posted by paul0363 View Post
Not sure what you mean by a further Netflix sub to see it on your TV??

I'm not paying anything different for Netflix than I was with my V6 and have access to it as normal across all three of my 360's (main and minis). I can "see it on my TVs" just fine (both using the 360 app or the TV built in app)
It's been said by another forum member that he had to take out two subscriptions in order to watch Netflix on his TV as well as his other devices. Glad this isn't correct, especially considering that Sky are currently offering Netflix for £3.50 a month!

How come you ended up with three? Did you previously have two V6's and were then sent another box without a HDD, or is it possible to order extra boxes on top of the standard two? If so, how much extra did this cost?

Last edited by RichardCoulter; 28-11-2020 at 00:22.
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Old 28-11-2020, 00:28   #235
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
It's been said by another forum member that he had to take out two subscriptions in order to watch Netflix on his TV as well as his other devices. Glad this isn't correct, especially considering that Sky are currently offering Netflix for £3.50 a month!

How come you ended up with three? Did you previously have two V6's and were then sent another box without a HDD, or is it possible to order extra boxes on top of the standard two? If so, how much extra did this cost?
Richard, we watch Netflix on our Smart TV, my iPad Pro, my Android phone, my PC, the Fire Stick in our bedroom TV, the Fire Stick in the guest bedroom TV, my son’s TV in his flat, and my daughter’s TV in her lounge - no additional subscriptions required (they all have their own log-ins to my subscription).
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Old 28-11-2020, 00:41   #236
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
How come you ended up with three? Did you previously have two V6's and were then sent another box without a HDD, or is it possible to order extra boxes on top of the standard two? If so, how much extra did this cost?

I had 3 V6s on Ultimate Oomph and was invited to swap in the first round a couple of months back. I've now got a main 360 and 2 minis. The recording space wasn't an issue for us as we barely used the space on one of the V6's let alone 750 hours worth of HD across three! Profiles are a boon for us (each person can have their own list of channels ordered how they like and pause points in recordings are remembered per person) as we have two teenagers who watch their own stuff (and use catch up and streaming as recording is, according to them, "old fashoined"!!!).

Changing to the 360 platform didn't cost us any extra (and I don't pay the headline Oomph price even with three boxes as I negotiated a deal)

Despite what some others see as negatives we actually quite like the 360 (it's on a par with SkyQ which we had a few years back with the adavntage of 4K on all the boxes). The interface is less "clunky" than the V6 and while I don't use the voice control much the kids use it as their preferred method of controling the boxes (you can do *a lot* with voice - things like "go back xx mins" or "recordings" etc.)

I don't think one system is better than the other, they're just different. As I said, this isn't too different to SkyQ which is where Virgin's main competition lies. Some people will like it (we do) and some people won't - there's no pleasing everyone

Last edited by paul0363; 28-11-2020 at 00:47.
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Old 28-11-2020, 01:46   #237
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

I think that those who like to record everything (like me) won't like it, because most of the downsides are related to recording. Those who like to watch live TV or use streaming (popular with younger people) will probably find it better.

I believe that All4 and My5 are missing, as well as some apps that are on the V6, but i'm sure they'll come in time.

If I were happy to stream material, I personally wouldn't bother paying VM for TV. You might as well use Freesat and/or Freeview and dip in and out of Now TV as and when you need it for the pay and free channel VOD content with streaming sticks. Most people no longer use their landline, so that just leaves BB to pay for.

I can see why profiles would be useful for you though and voice control is great for some disabled and sight impaired people.

The no no for me is not being able to record radio. Does the 360 have QuickView, as this is one thing that I really like about the V6? If not, then VM lose their USP and it's time to move on.

I've been asking about Sky Q and you can record radio on it as it has a full EPG, but it doesn't have Series Links. One workaround is to set reoccurring recordings.

The thing is I am now in a 17 month contract. I'll be happy to honour this and possibly stay even longer, but it's now being said that all customers will have to go onto the 360 when the VM contract with TiVo ends. If this is during the next 17 months i'll have to get legal advice to see if I can get out of the contract by claiming that this amounts to a significant material change to what I signed up for, if this doesn't work i'll look into the consequences of cancelling the direct debit, breaching my contract and moving to Sky Q, but I doubt it will come to this tbh.
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Old 28-11-2020, 02:21   #238
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

The 360 doesn't have Quick View (not something I used on the V6 - didn't like watching things at the wrong speed!!).

SkyQ certainly had series links when we had it though (unless you mean just for radio??). I've never recorded radio on any platform so I couldn't tell you if it series linked radio or not.

As for All4 and My5 - the apps are missing but most of the catch up content is there (you can access it on most channels by scrolling back in the EPG or going to catch up and selecting All4/My5 from the drop down).

That's one more thing that I forgot to mention about the 360 - a lot (but not yet all) channels allow you to catch up simply by scrolling back in the EPG. For example if you miss the news on Channel 4 (or Bake Off or whatever) you can simply scroll back and select the programme and it will play from the begining (solves the issue on most channels of a programme not buffering on the disc whilst watching a recording) - you can then scroll through/pause/rewind etc. as normal. Channel 4 catch up is also in HD (All4 was only SD IIRC). You can scroll back for about a month dependent on the channel. The BBC is the exception in that scrolling back and selecting pushes you to iPlayer.

Also the icons instead of text - the icons are pretty big. We've had no issues telling what the channels are!

As for SKyQ - it has its own idiosyncrasies. The one that irked me was that you could not control how 4:3 content was handled on SD channels - everything was in "stretch-o-vision" with the black bars removed (HD channels tend to be pillar boxed at source for 4:3). All the Virgin boxes (including the 360) allow you the option of pillar boxing and keeping the aspect ratio correct or stretching to fill the screen.

However, at the end of the day, it's all down to personal choice and what system fits your needs better. As I said in my previous post, no current platform is "better" than another, they're just different and suit different people with different needs. You just need to choose the one that's the closest match to your own particular set of requirements

Last edited by paul0363; 28-11-2020 at 02:28.
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Old 28-11-2020, 03:27   #239
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

Quote:
Originally Posted by paul0363 View Post
The 360 doesn't have Quick View (not something I used on the V6 - didn't like watching things at the wrong speed!!).

SkyQ certainly had series links when we had it though (unless you mean just for radio??). I've never recorded radio on any platform so I couldn't tell you if it series linked radio or not.

As for All4 and My5 - the apps are missing but most of the catch up content is there (you can access it on most channels by scrolling back in the EPG or going to catch up and selecting All4/My5 from the drop down).

That's one more thing that I forgot to mention about the 360 - a lot (but not yet all) channels allow you to catch up simply by scrolling back in the EPG. For example if you miss the news on Channel 4 (or Bake Off or whatever) you can simply scroll back and select the programme and it will play from the begining (solves the issue on most channels of a programme not buffering on the disc whilst watching a recording) - you can then scroll through/pause/rewind etc. as normal. Channel 4 catch up is also in HD (All4 was only SD IIRC). You can scroll back for about a month dependent on the channel. The BBC is the exception in that scrolling back and selecting pushes you to iPlayer.

Also the icons instead of text - the icons are pretty big. We've had no issues telling what the channels are!

As for SKyQ - it has its own idiosyncrasies. The one that irked me was that you could not control how 4:3 content was handled on SD channels - everything was in "stretch-o-vision" with the black bars removed (HD channels tend to be pillar boxed at source for 4:3). All the Virgin boxes (including the 360) allow you the option of pillar boxing and keeping the aspect ratio correct or stretching to fill the screen.

However, at the end of the day, it's all down to personal choice and what system fits your needs better. As I said in my previous post, no current platform is "better" than another, they're just different and suit different people with different needs. You just need to choose the one that's the closest match to your own particular set of requirements
Exactly right. Thanks for letting me know about Quickview, i'm definitely moving to Sky Q then, no matter what they offer me to stay as 360 isn't for me.

Does anyone know for definite when the TiVo contract with VM ends?

According to this, a new contract was signed about 3 years ago. A four year contract would be cutting it a bit fine to put everyone onto 360, so I bet it ends after five years in October 2022. My contract will end in about May 2022, so i'll have to either pay full price for five months or go to Sky five months early.

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2017...ews-tivo-deal/
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Old 28-11-2020, 08:59   #240
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Re: Virgin TV 360 users (Horizon)

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Originally Posted by Inactive Digital View Post
Instead of paying Tivo for the "original" Tivo Inc licences, they will be paying Liberty Global a software licence instead.
Why would VM pay Liberty Global? Virgin Media IS Liberty Global. Liberty Global PAY Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
Virgin Media is just the brand name LG chose to continue to use under licence from the Virgin Group in the the UK and Eire. As discussed earlier, LG will also still have to pay TiVo/ROVI for elements of patented tech used in its Horizon software, similarly to Sky for software within its Sky+/Q and nearly all other PVR manufacturers which all use TiVo patents.
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