General : Changes to Virgin TV (2020)

[denphone]

Originally Posted by johnasimmons

Is the app only on the V6?

As far as l know it is.

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by johnasimmons

Is the app only on the V6?

No idea, but probably.

Given how slow it is on older streaming sticks it's probably for the best, My5 app is much nicer experience on V6.

---------- Post added at 09:17 ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 ----------

The Red Button prompt on Channel 5 still goes to old VM-hosted on-demand. Maybe a reboot is required to sort this.

For now I will just access via Apps&Games menus.

[Legendkiller2k]

Originally Posted by johnasimmons

Is the app only on the V6?

Imo mate you're prob better off getting a ROKU if you want the on demand services, ok it's another device but at least you'll have them.
The ROKU Express is £29.99 at moment.

[Media Boy UK]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

Challenge +1 was closed down early on VM. It was supposed to close at 6am, but a close down slate was being radiated by at least 5am. The Sky feed was still broadcasting at approximately 9am, so they still had access to the feed.

Sony Crime Channel will close at 6am on 10/6/20.

We can confirm at Challenge +1 was axe by Virgin Media UK at approximately 00.02am on Sunday Night.

---------- Post added at 14:41 ---------- Previous post was at 14:33 ----------

Originally Posted by cheekyangus

Interesting. Many thanks japitts.

I still have E4 HD and More4 HD last time I looked too, and they aren't normally on my TV tier, so maybe something is changing. There was that accidental email/website info release that mentioned All4 app alongside Pluto and My5 recently, maybe Channel 4 have a new VM deal?

If Channel 4 has signed an new deal with Virgin we feel the following changes may happen:

104. Channel 4 HD (London only)
104. Channel 4 (Outside London)
106. E4 to close for BBC Three HD to make the rumour relaunch
141. Channel 4 HD (Outside London)
142. Channel 4 +1
143. 4Seven to close but slot to be reuse for 4Seven HD
144. E4 HD
145. E4 +1
146. More4 HD
147. More4 +1.

[fox35]

Re My5 App..
Does the Search function on the V6 not search content in the apps? I was searching for Bad Lieutenant (1992 Harvey Keitel version) which I know is available in the Pluto Movies sub section of the My5 app, but the V6 is only listing the Amazon Prime for availability. Thought the V6 searched across all channels and apps for requested searches?

[figgyburn]

Agree with vincerooney about wolf blitzer being comedy gold on Cnn news.But the picture quality sucks big time.Surely Cnn cannot be asking for a huge sum of money to broadcast hd rather than sd on virgin?.Anybody know the viewing figures for these us/international news channels on virgin?.

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by fox35

Re My5 App..
Does the Search function on the V6 not search content in the apps? I was searching for Bad Lieutenant (1992 Harvey Keitel version) which I know is available in the Pluto Movies sub section of the My5 app, but the V6 is only listing the Amazon Prime for availability. Thought the V6 searched across all channels and apps for requested searches?

I haven't tried it yet, but maybe a reboot would fix the integration?

[Joedm45]

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k

Imo mate you're prob better off getting a ROKU if you want the on demand services, ok it's another device but at least you'll have them.
The ROKU Express is £29.99 at moment.

I jumped on the Roku train too, managed to get the Express for £20. Best £20 in tech I've spent for a long time, all main streamers and catch up services in one box.

Also, you can normally get the 4K Premiere for £30 too, my next investment when I get a 4K TV, if it doesn't have all the apps I need of course

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by fox35

Re My5 App..
Does the Search function on the V6 not search content in the apps? I was searching for Bad Lieutenant (1992 Harvey Keitel version) which I know is available in the Pluto Movies sub section of the My5 app, but the V6 is only listing the Amazon Prime for availability. Thought the V6 searched across all channels and apps for requested searches?

It does do so, where the app allows it. But there are technical reasons why it doesn't always work. For instance for the iPlayer app, the TiVo search can't see the boxset and archive content.

Potentially as the Channel 5 content is split between Virgin's On Demand service and the app it's not possible to have the search split in that way. Or that it will come once it's confirmed that everyone has the app on their V6 box.

[KingFry]

Originally Posted by Media Boy

We can confirm at Challenge +1 was axe by Virgin Media UK at approximately 00.02am on Sunday Night.

---------- Post added at 14:41 ---------- Previous post was at 14:33 ----------



If Channel 4 has signed an new deal with Virgin we feel the following changes may happen:

104. Channel 4 HD (London only)
104. Channel 4 (Outside London)
106. E4 to close for BBC Three HD to make the rumour relaunch
141. Channel 4 HD (Outside London)
142. Channel 4 +1
143. 4Seven to close but slot to be reuse for 4Seven HD
144. E4 HD
145. E4 +1
146. More4 HD
147. More4 +1.

C4 paid VM a lot of money to get E4 on channel 106. It won’t be going back to BBC3.

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by KingFry

C4 paid VM a lot of money to get E4 on channel 106. It won’t be going back to BBC3.

No contract is ever "for all time" and they left the old channel number free ever since, almost like they expected they may need to reverse it. It's not impossible.

[KingFry]

Originally Posted by cheekyangus

No contract is ever "for all time" and they left the old channel number free ever since, almost like they expected they may need to reverse it. It's not impossible.

Not impossible but it makes no business sense.

Why would they ‘need’ to reverse it? Because the BBC say ‘oops we screwed up can we have that prime channel number back we gave up years ago, which now hosts one of our main rivals who have paid you handsomely for it and you have no obligation whatsoever to hand back to us?’

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by KingFry

Not impossible but it makes no business sense.

Why would they ‘need’ to reverse it? Because the BBC say ‘oops we screwed up can we have that prime channel number back we gave up years ago, which now hosts one of our main rivals who have paid you handsomely for it and you have no obligation whatsoever to hand back to us?’

OFCOM ruled that certain PSB channels should have EPG prominence, and the rules come into force January 2021. If BBC3 returns it probably will qualify.
https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/07/how-...-you-find.html

[fox35]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

It does do so, where the app allows it. But there are technical reasons why it doesn't always work. For instance for the iPlayer app, the TiVo search can't see the boxset and archive content.

Potentially as the Channel 5 content is split between Virgin's On Demand service and the app it's not possible to have the search split in that way. Or that it will come once it's confirmed that everyone has the app on their V6 box.

So, if the whole search feature for content by program title, genre, etc does not apply accross searching the multiple stand alone apps, why does Netflix or Prime show in the search results and not in My5, iplayer etc? Have Netflix and Prime done a deal with VM to display their titles next to the linear channels in the tivo search results?

[BenMcr]

Both Netflix and Prime Video are on TiVo in multiple countries including the US, so if I had to guess, it's that they have working with TiVo to set up appropriate bits within their app for it to work.

Netflix has been around so long on TiVo that it has it's own part of the Settings menu!

I would think similar work will have been done when the iPlayer app came to Virgin Media, as part of the BBC's requirement that it was the only place to hold Catch Up for Connected devices. If they mandated that Virgin Media could only have the app on TiVo, the BBC would need to ensure TiVo could see content within the apps. But that's then the likely reason why newer features of iPlayer don't appear in the searches at the moment - original iPlayer was Catch Up only, so that's all TiVo sees.

However all of those apps, and the VM Store too, are 'clean' sources of content e.g. Netflix is it's own source of content. Whereas content that's in My5 exists both within the app itself and within VM On Demand and Catch Up, but only exists in that way on the V6.

So Virgin Media can't for instance, swap all On Demand for 5 across to the app as it's not on TiVo. But on the V6 if both the app and On Demand existed, you'd get two included sources of the same thing.

I've thought it's the same reason why the ITV app content doesn't yet show. Not only may you have the above, but you've also got the ITV / STV apps which will hold different content depending if you're in Scotland or not, which is another added complexity

I'm sure that once Virgin Media can work all this out with the broadcasters, then they'll appear properly. But that's a combination of work from both sides.