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Virgin V+ any good or pointless?

diondion
edited August 2009 in Local discussion
Does anyone round here have V+ or Sky+? Worth the fuss? Waste of time? I can't seem to find what channels have Virgin HD whereas Sky seem to have lots. Any ideas?
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  • IanIan
    edited 8:05PM
    I have V+. As a box it is slightly better than the Sky+ box in my opinion but the decision as to what platform to be on isn't just about that. I have bundled with broadband and didn't want a dish on my house.

    V+ isn't about the HD channels - it's about the three tuners, 80 hours of recordable hard drive with one touch and downloading films and tv programmes. You can record two programmes and watch a third. So basically if you either like a lot of TV, or like a lot of TV that happens to be on at the same time ... Also has pause live TV & rewind. Very useful if you miss something.

    I'd quite like HD for the sport, but not so much that I want to go through the pain of changing. Eventually something will happen on that I guess, but Virgin have made some odd decisions on content since they took the platform over. I think they are getting the hang of the fact that it is all about the content and we won't like it just because Richard Branson does their PR. Hence some HD content coming on.
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  • diondion
    edited 8:05PM
    I was thinking of going for Virgin as it is all bundled with broadband and TV and phone and I can't be doing with changing it or getting a dish either...
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  • mattmatt
    edited August 2009
    I've got an equivalent box of tricks for Freeview. Simply because I refuse to pay extra for TV. We get our broadband with Virgin. Record two things at once (dual tuner), watch a third (and even a fourth picture in picture should you desire. Customisable user interface, even write your own add-ons should you desire. Copy programs onto your computer over USB. Pause, rewind, watch a recording before it's finished etc. It's a Topfield 5800 and it's fantastic, if a little more expensive than other units. But then there's no recurring monthly fee. Also, you can pick up a decent dual tuner freeview PVR from Argos for less than £95 these days, too.
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  • DavidDavid
    edited 8:05PM
    I think Virgin makes sense if you're gonna use all the features. If you want a landline and broadband the bundles start to make a bit more financial sense. I like the on demand services (film and tv) and all of these things are outside of normal digital television. But if you're more of a casual tv watcher and have a BT line and broadband or the like already it's probably not worth it. And like matt says, if its the record/pause/rewind type stuff you want just for regular telly then there are other solutions without having to enter a contract with Virgin or Sky.
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  • injokeinjoke
    edited 8:05PM
    ivegotskyplusandilikesitcositrecordsthingsiliketowatchandicangooutanddothingsbutwatchthatstufflaterandthat'swellwicked
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  • injokeinjoke
    edited 8:05PM
    it seems i broked the thread though
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  • unaestheticunaesthetic
    edited 8:05PM
    matt what freeview box do you have? it sounds like a very nice one...
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  • tosscattosscat
    edited 8:05PM
    A Topfield 5800. Having concentration issues UA, or has Matty done a dirty edit?
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  • unaestheticunaesthetic
    edited 8:05PM
    issues. always with the issues...
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  • tosscattosscat
    edited 8:05PM
    Tissue issue.
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  • bennyfromtheblokbennyfromtheblok
    edited 8:05PM
    I LOVE Sky + and have phone and broadband in the same package so you can get the same bundled deal through them. The best thing is the series link whereby you set up a who series to be recorded which is great for things like The Wire, True Blood, Psychoville or whatever you like. My neighbour had Virgin and always complains about the broadband not working 100% and I've never had any problems with Sky. Although you can get Sky Sports and Sky 1 over Virgin this can become expensive and therefore cheaper to go with Sky.
    Happy viewing whatever you decide.
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  • rainbow_carnagerainbow_carnage
    edited 8:05PM
    We have a cheapo PVR that we got at Argos several years ago. It has a dual tuner. Does the job, but not particularly well. I'd like to be able to link it to the PC.

    Does anyone still have an aerial sitting on top of the TV? We do. It's a shit one. Also from Argos. Have a signal booster, too, but it doesn't appear to do anything. Thought about getting Virgin TV just for the reception, but a bit skint at the moment. Other than that, happy with Freeview.
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  • unaestheticunaesthetic
    edited 8:05PM
    r_c STOP are you sending that last post as a telegram? STOP
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  • DavidDavid
    edited 8:05PM
    Anyone tried [FreeSat?](http://www.freesat.co.uk/)
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  • ShaunGShaunG
    edited 8:05PM
    I know it's a slightly different thing, but I find EyeTV on my computer to be pretty useful for PVR-type things, using Freeview input. I would generally say that content-wise, Freeview is going to give you most of what's good, and then you can use a piece of kit to do the clever recording etc. Subscription service seems to me to be additional cost for little extra benefit.
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  • mattmatt
    edited 8:05PM
    I fitted an loft aerial that I bought in Maplins, the landlord refused to fit one because, and I quote, "everybody uses cable these days, don't they?". Not me, sir. [www.toppy.org.uk](http://www.toppy.org.uk) for loads of technobabble about my the PVR I have
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  • twinsparktwinspark
    edited 8:05PM
    Virgin is all good but their e-mail has a flaw - doesn't do Push e-mail so can't collect on Blackberry or iPhone!!! not funny after the hoo-ha of changing over from BT.
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  • wideboywideboy
    edited 8:05PM
    Matt, whats the usability like on the TopField PVR? My folks have a Humax and it's a bit poor in that respect. Am tempted to get Virgin+ myself, although the deal for new punters is £30/month for 10mb/45chan & V+/phone whereas for existing customers it's £45+/month! Pah.
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  • ShaunGShaunG
    edited 8:05PM
    @twinspark - couldn't you rig something up using a googlemail address that collects from your Virgin account? I know that works on a blackberry, don't know about iphone.
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  • mattmatt
    edited 8:05PM
    wideboy: the beuty if the topfield is that the UI is customizabke - you can make it work just how you'd like it to! I have mine set up with a custom EPG, quick keys to jump set amounts if time to skip adverts, keyword search to simulate serieslink (Sky+) and more. Of course, because of all this I'd only fully recommend it if you were comfortable with the initial fuss of configuration and setup. My folks have a humax, too. The topfield is much better.
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  • HarooseHaroose
    edited 8:05PM
    Loving my V+. Has changed the way we watch TV. I just watch what I want when I want. HD channels will increase over next yr. And no darn dish!
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  • mattmatt
    edited 8:05PM
    Welcome to the future, some may say you're a few years late ;)
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