General : Changes to Virgin TV (2020)

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by jfman

Suspect that'll be some time off while they 'trial' it on an opt in basis.

@OB certainly I'll let folk know what I think of it. I'll caveat it now though I quite like the V6.

Cheers.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by jfman

Suspect that'll be some time off while they 'trial' it on an opt in basis.

@OB certainly I'll let folk know what I think of it. I'll caveat it now though I quite like the V6.

Me, too - my main issues with it are the lack of space for recordings (although this is less of a problem these days, admittedly) and the dated-looking UI.

I like the initial look at the Horizon UI, but not so keen on the downsides I have picked up.

This assessment from the Virgin Media Community Forum may help (courtesy Neil FB):

“At first, I didn't see that it handled recorded programmes very well but I was being led astray by pretty pictures. I could only 'see' 3 or 4 recordings until I pressed OK when the red bar is on Saved. Then you see a list similar to the V6 system.

And that is a key point about the menu system! Pressing OK when an item is highlighted with the red bar opens up deeper menus.

Another tip discovered with the remote is to press keys more or less at random and see what happens, especially the OK key. For example, when you have finished watching a recording, press OK twice to get a menu that allows you to delete it.

When watching a programme, the < and > arrows next to OK will move the recording back and forward. Hold them to move back and forth. Also pressing > once skips forward 30 seconds.

The new system is well integrated with catch-up services with most main providers. You don't seem to need an app (except for BBC iplayer?). You can flip back through the Guide to select a programme. And Watch Lists can be useful if you want to catch something without having recorded it.

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5...user-id/619349 had a comment about subtitles. If you set up a profile, you can permanently enable subtitles across all channels for that user.

Radio stations In the new box, radio is downgraded. You cannot record radio or select radio with a channel number. There is a separate menu which does remember your choices. I used to listened to the 'radio' via the box but lately (before I got the new VM box) I have used an LG smart speaker, so not really noticed this change.

I have had some issues with audio syncing. The 360 box does have an adjuster within the settings. But I haven't felt I have got it right just yet. This will be dependent on the 360 and TV audio setup combination so you mileage may vary.

I still don't like the remote (I don't use voice control). Placing the Mute button so far from the volume control doesn't feel right.“

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by denphone

l would say not having the series links are very problematical and then there are no wishlists either which some of us use quite a lot as another problem...

The more l hear about it the more l prefer the V6.

Can't see any reason to change over .So glad I have not been offered it! And I am no fan of the v6 so that says alot

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Itshim

Can't see any reason to change over .So glad I have not been offered it! And I am no fan of the v6 so that says alot

You don’t have to take it if offered it! They are just looking for guinea pigs - oops, sorry, Beta testers- for the time being.

[RichardCoulter]

VM has cleared out the HD services from TSID 24 and squeezed them in with the existing services on TSID 23.

This is likely to impact picture quality, but the upside is that they will probably use up less space on the HDD.

JJ20X says that the word on the street is that this is expected to continue.

https://www.forumbox.co.uk/forum/thr...ork/?pageNo=89

[jfman]

“The word on the street” well yes that’s not particularly insight. If you can squeeze in more channels and nobody notices then they’ll rationally do it to make more way for broadband.

Incidentally wasn’t it you that said Virgin Media was “full” when they had about 2 HD channels?

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

VM has cleared out the HD services from TSID 24 and squeezed them in with the existing services on TSID 23.

This is likely to impact picture quality, but the upside is that they will probably use up less space on the HDD.

JJ20X says that the word on the street is that this is expected to continue.

https://www.forumbox.co.uk/forum/thr...ork/?pageNo=89

TSid23 was them continuing. They've done it before, as I later realised and subsequently had to add to my earlier post.

[heavyside]

There is not a lot wrong with the current V6 IMO although the user interface is well past its use by date. All4 is not yet available as an app on the 360 but I have stopped using that on the V6 to view the excellent Walter Presents programmes since I bought a large OLED set because of the very poor picture quality (SD only). I am tempted by the 360 upgrade.

[cupcakes aka dd]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

VM has cleared out the HD services from TSID 24 and squeezed them in with the existing services on TSID 23.

This is likely to impact picture quality, but the upside is that they will probably use up less space on the HDD.

JJ20X says that the word on the street is that this is expected to continue.

https://www.forumbox.co.uk/forum/thr...ork/?pageNo=89

I don’t want my picture quality impacted. I didn’t research for 6 months then purchase then fiddle with the settings for another 6 months to have the quality degraded.

[spiderplant]

Originally Posted by cupcakes aka dd

I don’t want my picture quality impacted

I wouldn't worry. We've been making these changes since mid-October, including on some pretty high-profile channels, and I have seen no reports about degraded picture quality.

[SonicMaster]

Originally Posted by ozsat

Not only will you loose all your Series Links etc - the new series link system is currently only working on a per channel basis. It also records repeats if you delete the episode once you've watch it.

There are no wishlists either.

So to record something like live Premier League Football - you have to create a new series link on every channel it records on.

Hmmm, sounds more like a downgrade than an upgrade.

Other than a more modern looking interface, I'm not sure why I would want to move to 360.

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

You don’t have to take it if offered it! They are just looking for guinea pigs - oops, sorry, Beta testers- for the time being.

I understand that just glad I didn't have to make that choice. Looking hard at getting SKY out of contract this week.

---------- Post added at 18:32 ---------- Previous post was at 18:28 ----------

Originally Posted by SonicMaster

Hmmm, sounds more like a downgrade than an upgrade.

Other than a more modern looking interface, I'm not sure why I would want to move to 360.

Totally agree . What is the real gain for v6 users given the high lighted downs.

[fox35]

Well now that VM are planning on ditching TiVo next year, so to push the Horizon/360, does that clear the way for TiVo to re-enter the UK market with a new stand alone product similar to the US? I would gladly ditch VM TV for one of these...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4it4TeQX7rU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB7d785IrNM

[BenMcr]

Who said Virgin Media were ditching TiVo next year?

There are still going to be many existing customers with TiVo based boxes installed for years.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by spiderplant

I wouldn't worry. We've been making these changes since mid-October, including on some pretty high-profile channels, and I have seen no reports about degraded picture quality.

Without risking getting into any trouble, are you able to confirm that the rumours about further changes like this are in the pipeline? Has there been any technical changes to offset the decrease in capacity for the affected channels?

To be fair, Freeview have been doing this for years, though they have also used more modern and efficient encoders with the passage of time.