Virgin Media Review

Virgin Media is currently the only provider of digital cable TV in the UK. As Virgin Media deliver multiple services through their fibre optic network - voice calls and high speed broadband as well as digital TV - you can save money by signing up for several services at once. Just paying the monthly rental on a Virgin Phone line for example sees you getting the Virgin Media TV M pakcage for free. As fibre optic cable is required to deliver digital TV to the home, all Virgin Media customers pay line rental on the cable itself no matter what combination of services they sign up for. Additionally, you'll have to live in a cabled area in order to be able to receive Virgin Media TV.

Virgin Media's digital TV packages are grouped into four separate subscriptions, M, M+, L and XL. The M package gives you access to 45 digital TV channels including Dave, Sky3 and Film4 and is free when taken with a Virgin Phone line for £11.99 a month. For an extra £5.50 a month, the M package can be upgraded to M+, which adds another 20 channels including Sky1, LIVING, and Movies 24. The L TV package gives you 100 channels including MTV One and the Discovery Channel and costs £11 a month with a Virgin Phone line. The premium XL package costs £23 a month with a Virgin Phone line and gives you access to 160 digital TV channels.

Virgin Media TV XL also comes with Virgin TV Choice On Demand, which gives you thousands of your favourite shows and series, to watch whenever you want. All Virgin Media TV packages come with Catch Up TV - a catch-up service which allows you to watch programmes from the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and more that have been broadcast over the last seven days.

All Virgin Media TV packages come with the V Box set top box which provides access to Virgin Media TV channels. Also available is the V+ HD Box, a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) which allows you to watch one programme whilst recording two others, pause and rewind live TV and enjoy programmes in pin sharp crystal clear high definition (HD) picture and surround sound. The V+ HD Box costs £75, and customers on Virgin Media TV M, M+ or L pay an additional £5 a month on top of their Virgin Media TV package. This fee is waived for Virgin Media TV XL subscribers, but the one-off £75 set up fee remains.

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Virgin Media TiVo

What is TiVo?

TiVo is a model of digital set-top box that has gained popularity through its extensive and innovative selection of features. It is designed to offer TV viewers a tailored and original experience through a unique rating function, quick search and browse options and built-in internet connectivity.

It has become the set-top box market leader in the USA, and is now making its way into homes throughout the UK, courtesy of Virgin Media. The cable TV provider has a detailed library of on demand content, including thousands of TV shows and movies available at the touch of a button. A partnership with TiVo gives Virgin Media the chance to improve the usability of its catch-up and on demand selection of programmes, whilst also offering its customers access to social networking websites and streamed video clips from YouTube all on their home TV.

What are the Virgin Media TiVo features?

• Control – The Virgin Media TiVo box includes the popular pause, rewind and record functions that let you watch back the best bits or save a programme for later.

• Memory – Choose between a 500GB model, which can store 250 hours of standard definition content or 50 hours of HD, or the 1TB version, which records up to 500 hours of standard definition programming or 100 hours of HD.

• Multi-programme storage – This set-top box will let you record 3 different programmes at the same time, whilst watching another one that you recorded earlier.

• Search and browse – Virgin Media customers can have access to thousands of hours of catch-up TV and on demand content, as well as hundreds of TV channels. The search and browse functions of the TiVo box make it easy to find the things you want to watch. This option also lets you find out more about the actors you like, and which other programmes or movies they have worked on.

• Wishlist™ - The TiVo box will record every episode of a programme that you put into your Wishlist, including Christmas specials. It is like Series Link, but automatically records any other series of your chosen show, as well as one-off episodes.

• Suggestions – You’re given the option to rate shows with a green Thumbs Up or a red Thumbs Down. This gives your TiVo box an accurate idea of the types of shows you like, and it uses this collated information to make suggestions to you about other programmes you may not have tried yet, but might actually enjoy.

• HD TV – Providing you have an HD-ready TV, you can watch HD channels at no extra cost with Virgin Media, and the TiVo box is already HD-enabled.

• Web-connected – Virgin Media TiVo gives you access through your TV to YouTube videos, bidding website eBay and social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, so you can update your status, check out photos or see what your friends are up to. The box comes with its own fibre optic broadband connection, so it won’t affect your home’s internet service.

How do I get Virgin Media TiVo?

If you are a new Virgin Media customer, then you can add the box when you are building your Virgin Media package. There are 2 boxes to choose from, with one offering twice the recording capacity. Prices can vary, but the 1TB box will be more expensive than the 500GB edition. You may also find that Virgin Media is offering a deal or money off when you include a TiVo box as part of a bundle offer. The offers from subscription-based digital TV providers change regularly, so follow our links to the site to find out more.

Existing customers can upgrade by visiting virginmedia.com.