Can someone explain Sky/Virgin TV to me?

BowdonUK said:
I thought Youview required an Internet connection?

The OP doesn't mention they have broadband. I would keep telling Virgin they are leaving then their retentions unit will make a proper offer. If that is still overrated then sign up to Sky as suggested. They will get the new customer deals.

The only issue I see is the Virgin phone line. Is it possible to move a number back to a non-virgin based service?
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Think it does for the guide features actually now you mention it, I'd never even contemplated that a home wouldn't have broadband :p

Had a quick look and it all the humax youview boxes are out of stock for some reason so second hand prices have gone up a bit. They all seem to be freeview play now but I've never used that, id assume it also requires an internet connection.
 
I'd echo other comments - terrestrial/ sat TV just needs to die a death now. With any smart TV you get a far better service with streaming, all from a single familiar remote control. No need for multiple ones as somebody else insinuated. We ditched Sky eight years ago as we were paying 700 quid a year for a whole lot of nothing. Haven't missed it at all in that time and have saved hundreds every year.

In terms of how to reduce costs if you are still tied to Sky or Virgin... that's super simple. Leave your contract when it expires, and that applies to any service you're tied to. One of two things will happen - they will call you and start heavily discounting packages, or you come back in as a new customer on a much better package. When we left Sky, we got monthly mail through the door for over two years begging for business, and each time with further discounts than the previous mail.

It's criminal that companies treat existing customers this way. They rely on folk doing nothing at the end of their contract as an excuse to overcharge. I go through this every two years with my mobile, and the contract deals they offer as an existing customer are at least £10 dearer than just cancelling and coming back in as a new customer. It's absolutely daft as it means I have to do a PAC code dance to keep my number without being completely ripped off. This year they offered me an "upgraded" handset that was faaaaaaaar worse spec than my existing one, and wanted to pay an extra tenner on top of the existing contract cost for their effort. Contract cancelled, new top tier phone en route, same monthly price, more data. Their loss.
 
I’ve never understood why anyone would pay for sky or virgin. How on earth do they get to charge you AND show you adverts?! Talk about double dipping!
 
mrochester said:
I’ve never understood why anyone would pay for sky or virgin. How on earth do they get to charge you AND show you adverts?! Talk about double dipping!
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By charging you less than it would cost without adverts?

Don't forget Netflix, Disney+ etc. are all overtop services requiring the internet. They had far fewer capital outlays compared to Virgin who had to dig the earth up and Sky who had to literally fly satellites into space.
 
Hellsmk2 said:
I'd echo other comments - terrestrial/ sat TV just needs to die a death now. With any smart TV you get a far better service with streaming, all from a single familiar remote control. No need for multiple ones as somebody else insinuated. We ditched Sky eight years ago as we were paying 700 quid a year for a whole lot of nothing. Haven't missed it at all in that time and have saved hundreds every year.

In terms of how to reduce costs if you are still tied to Sky or Virgin... that's super simple. Leave your contract when it expires, and that applies to any service you're tied to. One of two things will happen - they will call you and start heavily discounting packages, or you come back in as a new customer on a much better package. When we left Sky, we got monthly mail through the door for over two years begging for business, and each time with further discounts than the previous mail.

It's criminal that companies treat existing customers this way. They rely on folk doing nothing at the end of their contract as an excuse to overcharge. I go through this every two years with my mobile, and the contract deals they offer as an existing customer are at least £10 dearer than just cancelling and coming back in as a new customer. It's absolutely daft as it means I have to do a PAC code dance to keep my number without being completely ripped off. This year they offered me an "upgraded" handset that was faaaaaaaar worse spec than my existing one, and wanted to pay an extra tenner on top of the existing contract cost for their effort. Contract cancelled, new top tier phone en route, same monthly price, more data. Their loss.
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Go and tell someone who doesn’t have an internet connection or has a slow one, 5 meg or less that streaming is their only option now and the terrestrial signal will now be cut off.
 
dLockers said:
By charging you less than it would cost without adverts?

Don't forget Netflix, Disney+ etc. are all overtop services requiring the internet. They had far fewer capital outlays compared to Virgin who had to dig the earth up and Sky who had to literally fly satellites into space.
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People conveniently forget that Sky also self produces a huge amount of content. All that needs paid for. BT only started doing that with BT Sport, Virgin used to but sold up a decade or more ago to Sky. Netflix never used to produce their own content either. All that needs paid for!
 
Hellsmk2 said:
I'd echo other comments - terrestrial/ sat TV just needs to die a death now. With any smart TV you get a far better service with streaming, all from a single familiar remote control. No need for multiple ones as somebody else insinuated.
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I said multiple disparate interfaces and remote controls.

The second part is true depending on your TV. I know because I have one, Samsung doesn't keep updating their apps, so a couple years after "support ends" you find that none of your apps work or will update anymore.

So you end up needing a Roku/FireStick/whatever.

In any case it's simply a fact that all the various provider interfaces are wildly different, and for somebody who doesn't like "tech" to begin with, learning one interface (Sky's) is as much as you can reasonably expect.
 
Where's psychosonny? He needs to pop in and sell a 70 year old a NAS and a VPN subscription :D

(Am of course jesting if he should actually make an appearance)

I transferred from Sky to Virgin after years of being a Sky customer, as they offered me 200mbs broadband, a sim card for my wife, a base telly package (that happens to include a few channels like Sky Witness and Sky One) with V6 box (that lets you do all the telly recording) for £36 a month after cashback. I couldn't get it any cheaper anywhere else, and couldn't get the broadband that cheap on its own at that speed.

Sometimes it makes sense to just get the telly package anyway.

Objectively, Sky's interface is MILES better than Virgin's, and their series link functionality is really clunky and full of confusing terminology compared to Sky. It's like they've tried to shoehorn Video+ from days gone by in to a digital box.

After my 12 month contract with Virgin expires, I'll probably try and get sky telly and virgin broadband, just because sky can't match Virgin's speed in my area.

If I ditched the telly box, I'd miss the ability to rewind live telly, and record live telly that isn't on catchup / won't be on any streaming services for a while.
 
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FoxEye said:
Yes, iPlayer, Netflix, Prime and all the others exist. All with their disparate interfaces and multiple remotes.

Try getting someone who really hates technology and gizmos to switch inputs on the TV, switch to the other remote, open the correct app, find a programme to watch..
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I am so lucky, I have a Smart TV with one remote. I can click an app icon the same as selecting a channel on a programme guide.

If I want the correct app, Netflix for example, I click an Icon with Netflix on it - amazing eh.
 
Clearcut said:
I am so lucky, I have a Smart TV with one remote. I can click an app icon the same as selecting a channel on a programme guide.

If I want the correct app, Netflix for example, I click an Icon with Netflix on it - amazing eh.
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The people who think it's "oh so simple" have clearly never encountered a person for whom it is completely unfathomable.

And actually, when you start digging around in these (many, disparate) UIs with a very critical UX hat on, you find often they are riddled with inconsistency and things that only "make sense" when you've grown up with them and understand their idiosyncrasies.

Having tried (and failed) to teach someone who hates "tech" to do the most basic things, you realise that it really is an alien world to those who don't have the required mindset to make sense of it.

What you and I take for granted, is akin to the most complicated quantum equation ever conceived, to such people.

That's why we're keeping Sky. Because the basics have been learned over many, many years, and the thought of learning multiple new UIs is terrifying.
 
FoxEye said:
The people who think it's "oh so simple" have clearly never encountered a person for whom it is completely unfathomable.

And actually, when you start digging around in these (many, disparate) UIs with a very critical UX hat on, you find often they are riddled with inconsistency and things that only "make sense" when you've grown up with them and understand their idiosyncrasies.

Having tried (and failed) to teach someone who hates "tech" to do the most basic things, you realise that it really is an alien world to those who don't have the required mindset to make sense of it.

What you and I take for granted, is akin to the most complicated quantum equation ever conceived, to such people.

That's why we're keeping Sky. Because the basics have been learned over many, many years, and the thought of learning multiple new UIs is terrifying.
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I'm with you. Skys interface is way more idiot proof than Netflix, iPlayer etc etc etc. It is also hugely familiar.
 
mrochester said:
I’ve never understood why anyone would pay for sky or virgin. How on earth do they get to charge you AND show you adverts?! Talk about double dipping!
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I can't remember the last time I saw an advert because my wife records everything.
The only thing we watch live is the News and I watch live football.
 
shifty_uk said:
Why on earth would someone pay Virgin for Freeview?
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  • The on demand services
  • To get around bad signal
  • Because they are used to the interface (which is improved with 360 but still naff compared to Sky IMO). For older and/or less tech-savvy people I think this is something that is probably under-estimated on a forum like this. When my dad replaced his PVR it was quite painful talking him through the switch over, he's the sort of person that always gets used to some weird niche feature of a product and then gets frustrated when something new comes along that doesn't have it, or it's accessed in a different way. Some people aren't really wired to learn "patterns" (navigation principles etc) that can be applied across a broad range of similar products, so whilst most of us can just pick up any random remote controller and figure out how to use a service in a couple of minutes by exploring the menus for a setting we expect to be there, for some people it's like they are starting from scratch every time.
  • Because they have recorded programmes on their existing boxes
  • So they can watch on multiple devices
  • So they can download content to watch offline on mobile devices (guessing here, dunno if it's supported on the low end products)
  • Because they don't have an HD Freeview PVR (not saying Virgin contract is better value, but some people seem to favour monthly subscriptions over CapEx)
  • Possibly some rewards programme or whatever(?)
  • etc etc.
Not saying these reasons are that appealing to most people (including myself), but they are reasons.
 
Jean-F said:
I watch Newsnight, PBS documentaries, France 24 and occasionally Al Jazeera, my wife likes travel shows, like “A Place in the Sun”, or BBC News and that cop show, and that suits us.
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You can get all those things on Freesat bar the cop show and not pay anything it has more channels than Freeview as well
 
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You're not paying for freeview. What's actually happening is that your are renting the PVR box so you can record. Freeview PVRs are absolute poo, but they still cost £150? so if the contract is 18 months (£150/18=£12.50). The kicker though, is if you ever decide to cancel you have to return the equipment.
You are basically paying to rent a PVR.

Humax do the aura android freeview PVR.....it's rubbish.
 
TheOracle said:
You're not paying for freeview. What's actually happening is that your are renting the PVR box so you can record. Freeview PVRs are absolute poo, but they still cost £150? so if the contract is 18 months (£150/18=£12.50). The kicker though, is if you ever decide to cancel you have to return the equipment.
You are basically paying to rent a PVR.

Humax do the aura android freeview PVR.....it's rubbish.
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Our TIVO box and basic subscription actually took £1 a month of our bill :)
From the days of Cable & Wireless we were only signed up to broadband and landline so when I rang up for a good deal he did a few things and then noticed we hadn't got TV.
I told him I wasn't bothered but he informed me if we ticked that box the bill would come down £1 a month plus we'll get the box free.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Our TIVO box and basic subscription actually took £1 a month of our bill :)
From the days of Cable & Wireless we were only signed up to broadband and landline so when I rang up for a good deal he did a few things and then noticed we hadn't got TV.
I told him I wasn't bothered but he informed me if we ticked that box the bill would come down £1 a month plus we'll get the box free.
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Can't argue with that
 
Humax Freesat PVR works well enough and aside from the initial outlay its free. Smart TV is ok as far as its goes but its far from idiot proof the UI itsn't the friendliest thing to use you find the tiny button then navigate through a scrolling menu then there are more options my mother/stepfather its beyond them anything more than simple channel buttons on the remote and they're lost. Theres also the issue of the TV not being supported after a few years so its buy a new one just to keep up even when its perfectly functional otherwise
 
Blackjack Davy said:
Humax Freesat PVR works well enough and aside from the initial outlay its free. Smart TV is ok as far as its goes but its far from idiot proof the UI itsn't the friendliest thing to use you find the tiny button then navigate through a scrolling menu then there are more options my mother/stepfather its beyond them anything more than simple channel buttons on the remote and they're lost. Theres also the issue of the TV not being supported after a few years so its buy a new one just to keep up even when its perfectly functional otherwise
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Easier just to buy a Firestick 4K, it was as though it's made for the job, I've just bought quite a nice Smart TV and although it's brilliant it's easier just to put the Firestick on.
What I've found is that the APPs on the TV aren't proper to the ones you can get on Android.
I'm lucky to have been a satellite enthusiast for decades and I now just use my wonderful VU+ Solo2 for Freesat and I can control it all from my PC which is a great way to work.
 
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