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Virgin V +Box
by KennyG5000 After reviewing the Sky HD+ box I figured for completeness I should give my opinions on Virgin Media's more recent answer to this, the V+ Box. Obviously Virgin weren't going for points when it came to originality in naming this set-top box recorder, but there are plenty of novel features here you simply won't find with Sky. The first ... difference that should be mentioned is that when I was an existing Virgin Media customer (around 6 months ago) I was charged a one off installation fee of £99 to upgrade to a V+ Box from the standard free one that comes with the TV package. This was around 2 years ago, and things of course move forward; I believe Virgin are now backing there newer TiVo set top box and there is a similar 'installation fee' for this box meaning I think you get the V+ Box free if you now sign up to Virgin as a new customer (not sure about existing customers upgrading still mind). Information regarding this is, let's say, at little hazy on Virgin Media's website, meaning you have to log in as an existing customer to see what offer is available to you personally. So that's pricing out of the way, what do you actually get when you receive one of these shiny boxes from Virgin then? Well I'll come out and say straight away that I'm a huge fan of this set top box (see my other review for my direct comparison with the Sky HD+ box). I think Virgin Media have really nailed it with this one; they've basically taken all that was good about Sky's version of this and put in a few really nice improvements on what was already a solid performer. So you are going to find all of the features you are familiar with if you've had a Sky+ box before; namely I really well thought out and easy to navigate EPG (Electronic Program Guide) that holds data for the current 7 days (with nice easy options to jump forward 24 hours with the yellow button etc), the option to record any program with a single button click on the remote (with the ultra handy option of whether or not to record the entire series or just a single episode), and also two features you won't find on Sky, namely 'TV Choice' (now called just 'TV on Demand') and 'Catch up on Demand' (free to customers on the largest TV package). A nice plus for Virgin is on this box you can record two shows simultaneously and watch a third, yet on Sky only two shows can ever be recorded or watched at the same time. 'TV Choice' is a really brilliant service that fully utilizes the blazing hot download speeds that can be achieved through fibre-optic cable. Thus you have access to a huge back catalogue of TV shows and box sets, music events, sports programs; all handily sorted into clear categories for easy browsing. This service was comprehensive when I was last a Virgin Media customer (left Virgin December 2011), but now you can access a whopping 2600 hours of TV with this option, and I always found it brilliant to go through a whole series this way when there was (very often!) nothing decent to watch on the TV. Not to mention it appears since I left Virgin they have added Sky's 'Anytime' service, which is accessible for free. For those who don't know, Sky 'Anytime' is basically a selection of shows exclusively from Sky and it is disappointingly the only version of 'TV Choice' you get with Sky. The other service that Virgin offer you is 'Catch up on Demand', and this no less comprehensive. On this service you get shows from the last 7 days from just about all the channels you subscribe to, and it includes such luminaries as the 'BBC Iplayer', 'TV player' and '4 on demand'. So yes, that is a lot of TV and all of it will download a play just when you want it to (you could say I was a bit gutted that the house we moved to was not cabled!). Okay so that's the mainly great things about the V+ Box and the service that Virgin Media offers. As always though to balance things out there are a few negatives. The hard-drive that you get with the V+ is modest at 160 Gb (compared to the 250 Gb of user space provided on the Sky HD+ box). In reality this means you can't keep that much, especially if you are recording a few series in HD, so you are often juggling your recorded content and desperately trying to get through shows to make space (and avoid the dreaded 'critical' status!). To be fair it seems this has been addressed in the release of Virgin's TiVo service (which is a V+ box on steroids!) which has a staggering 1 Terra byte drive, but this will obviously cost you for installation and upgrade (as an aside TiVo can record three programs while you can watch a forth...but good luck finding four shows on simultaneously you actually want to see!). I also thought that at time we chose to upgrade we'd been loyal Virgin customers for four years, and it still cost us £99 to upgrade to a V+ box, which is probably not the most enlightened customer service policy. Also annoying was the numerous times that 'TV Choice' and 'TV on Demand' just weren't available when you chose to access them; I've had to call Virgin a number of occasions and it seems provision of these services can be a bit intermittent. The above points are only really minor gripes, and I really loved using this set top box and the TV service that Virgin Media offered. The comprehensive choice of TV available is overwhelming with 'TV on demand', meaning that if there's a dreary schedule of TV you can find quality shows here instantly and for free. It's this service and the more complete 'Catch up TV' that Virgin offer that I believe edges this box over what's on offer with the Sky HD+ box, but to be fair both offer a great choice of TV and the most hassle free television services that I've ever used. In short, a winner. Read the complete review |
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Virgin V +Box
by superness11 When I switched from Sky to Virgin media, the main reason I switched was because of the quality of the Virgin + box. Without bad mouthing Sky, I simply was not happy with their services and thought that it was time for a change. I think I ended up paying a connection fee for the set up but the subscription was discounted for three ... months. The box I received was the Virgin + HD box. The access to the HD channels is free compared to Sky where you pay a fee. ==Description== The Virgin + box is black and slim with a number of buttons on the front and a large easy to read LCD display. The set up comes with a small remote that is easy to use, with not too many buttons. The box operates a Personal Video Recorder and has a 160GB memory for you to record programmes and films on. It can store up to 80hrs of recorded programmes on it and record up to two channels whilst you are watching a third. This is fantastic as it can cause many family arguments deciding which programme should take the precedent and be recorded; now everyone is happy. It also has a series link facility so you can programme the machine to record an entire series rather than having to remember to record it weekly. It is probably one of the easiest to use recorders I have ever used. All you need to do is work your way through the seven day television guide on the menu and select anything you want to record. Once you have recorded your chosen programmes you can then navigate round the library and select the programme you want to watch. If a recorded programme is slightly late running due to a sports match over running for example, sometimes the box does not catch up with this knowledge and it misses the end of the programme. Rather than having to channel flick and watch some dreadful dross because there is nothing on, now I have a selection of programmes I actually want to watch! It really has changed my TV habits. ==Pause live TV== As the box has a memory, you are able to pause live television and allow the box to take over, this means that you can take that toilet break, make that cup of tea, answer the door and when your duty is over and you return to the telly, you can resume where you left off! Life no longer causes you to miss your programmes; you simply let it interrupt you! The quality of the recorded programmes is fantastic and you can rewind and fast forward programmes quickly and easily. ==Catch up== If you do not use the record facility or you want to browse some of the programmes that have been on television, you can hunt through the catch up 7 day TV service. This lists many programmes that were on TV on certain days and gives you a second chance to view them. Occasionally Virgin will miss certain programmes out or there is a two day delay in them being uploaded to catch up, for example I watched Shameless on catch up on one week, but the following week it did not have the next episode on. This hit and miss prompted me to always record programmes I desperately did not want to miss. ==Filmflex== You can chose to buy films from a menu called filmflex. These are usually about 3 pounds so they are quite expensive and you only get them for 24 hours. FilmFlex are going to start having 3D movies though which is cool however these will be £5.99. Ouch! ==Overall== I am pleased with the quality of this Virgin Service and I love the freedom the box offers. Now I never miss a thing! Read the complete review |
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Virgin V +Box
by killerpanda007 I do believe this is the best thing to come over from the states, The New tivo set top box is only available from Virgin and it rocks as far as technology goes, I will say TIVO will NOT be everyone cup of tea, but anybody who lives and loves technology you'll love it. tivo has 1tb hard drive, its own 10mb modem which allows you to ... go online using the apps which are available, like TWITTER, E-BAY, YOU TUBE, you have still got you great virgin services like tv choice on demand, but now they have well and truly in the 21st century with there technology, if you interact using a THUMBS UP / THUMBS DOWN system it learns what you like and shows these instead of the nations favourites, you can even search for your favourite actor/actress and it will list everything showing with them in. WOW!! what else can I say at the moment other than watch this space as ive heard some new apps are going to be added in the near future and I will be back to update you on the success / failure when they go live. I LOVE it Read the complete review |
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14 reviews Set Top Box / At last, you can take total control of what you watch and how you watch it. With a V+ HD Box, you can pause and rewind live TV and even record two programmes while you're watching a third. |
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