Getting V+ Installed today

[Pug]

Looking forward to all the ondemand sweetness. Got the £75 install with:

XL TV
M Broadband
free evening and weekend calls

for 2 months free, £30 3rd month and £39 for remaining months.

Anything special i need to ask of the install guy?

 

[Pug]

hehe, maybe i should have been more verbose in my opening post!

I want the HDMI connection, ability to record, etc etc, but as a plus the On demand (music videos mostly, as it goes)

didnt really get it for HD content, tho thats a plus, more because the freeview in our area is dire, and the dosgy starview box i have been using has finally done my nut in!

 

[Pug]

really?

thought they were free on XL?

yeah, thought they were:
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/dtv/ondemand/index.html

 

[Pug]

Yes - they changed the codes recently! All fine now though....so I've heard, off a mate, who knows a bloke who knows a bloke

they keep changing them regular now,, and the source i used to use to get them is getting more error prone. That coupled with the crappy TV Guide, as you say, a mate of a mate has had enough!

 

[Pug]

Watching Gadget show on Sunday morning and they were reviewing the V+ box, they mentioned they only have one HD channel and thats BBC HD shocking Suppose HD isn't a priority to you so its not too bad, they praised the on-demand stuff though.

not really the fault of the V+ tho is it? More no HD sources to broadcast - sky certainly wont give them theirs.

tbh, unless i'm mistaken, the £75 it costs is worth it for the "+" features alone, the extras are a gift really.

 

[Pug]

Thats not the case - the problem is that the V+ box is MPEG2 only, so there isnt enough bandwidth to stream multiple HD channels.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a78943/virgins-cable-service-bandwidth-constrained.html

Sky could turn around and give VM all the HD channels free of charge- and they still wouldnt be able to deliver them to viewers....

thats a bit of a shame then... Perhaps they'll convert to MP4 later? with new boxes released (new firmware? probs not)

Tho as i said, HD wasnt the deciding factor, i think both Sky and Virgins HD offerings are a bit of a waste at the mo - especially when i read somewhere that the extra HD movie channels are at a low bitrate, too low for good HD?

As for SBO, History, Rush and discovery - watch very little of these channels (in fact i dont watch TV much at all - which is why the recording and on demand will be a god send!

(If he ever arrives, Grrr!)

 

[Pug]

WTF? How are you getting the £75 deal for half the cost?

I am paying £85 a month for XL everything and a second normal box (which we don't even use)

i was told the deal should be about £54? Only 2Mb broadband and the limited phone package...

You'd really hate my brother then, he gets 2mb bband, unlimited anytime calls, and XL TV with a second box for £35 - lucky git.

 

[Pug]

well, day 1 and i'm completely ****** off with Virgin media.

They installed it all, TV doesnt work because the box wasnt registered, so i'll need to wait until sometime tomorrow (anytime throughout the day) can get it swapped out (the office shuts at 5.30, yet they do installs until 6? Riiiiiight)

Come to setup my bband, punch in my pin, and my surname. and nothing, no worky. This is because the surname they gave me is ssfhgfd, as opposed to Mr Pug

30 mins on hold and they finally change my account name over, and i can get it sorted. BBand now working. tho the irony of it was that the 5 welcome pages, with the video on page 1 introducing you kept buffering and wouldnt play lol

hope it gets better

 

[Pug]

Hope it works out for you, any chance you have checked the VM box out? How are you finding it?

cant use it, only the freeview channels. None of the XL, none of the OD and none of the V+ features.

a ****-up whereby the system wasnt registered(? or something) when it left the depot, and as they installed it after 5.30 couldnt get it registered over the ophone 'cos it was shut.

lol, all in all a **** start!

 

[Pug]

yes thanks matey - all in and done. On the whole i'm pleased, but i think it will take a wee while to fully appreciate it.

Little dissapointed as i (wrongly) assumed i'd be able to watch the 4OD stuff for free (for example never got into skins - so was gonna watch them all back now on OD - but they're 99p each.

but hey ho - pic is good, GUI is a little slow to respond, but theres lots of layers to it, so its all good