Just had my TiVo box installed today, you can read my first impressions here. We'll have a full review in the June issue of the magazine, on sale May 10th.
Thanks Andy, We've now got proof that they actually exist 
Sounds like the TiVo service and the hardware could be a big step up on what we've got to suffer at the moment.
Did Mr Virgin Van Man (or even Virgin marketing dept) have any idea when us mere mortals can ever expect to get one? i.e. did he have lots of them in his van, or was yours a special?
Sounds like the TiVo service and the hardware could be a big step up on what we've got to suffer at the moment.Did Mr Virgin Van Man (or even Virgin marketing dept) have any idea when us mere mortals can ever expect to get one? i.e. did he have lots of them in his van, or was yours a special?
camac
Well-known member
Just read my Virgin Media magazine " Electric" for customers on the XL package, and it states that "Tivo will be available to customers from April 4th".
But in my experience don`t hold your breath
But in my experience don`t hold your breath
Latest email from Virgin:
"Hello Dean,
Now here’s something you don’t see everyday. You’ve got the chance to be one of the first to order our amazing 1TB TiVo® box before everyone else because you’re a Virgin Media customer and you pre-registered your interest in our TiVo service.
During the week beginning 11th April, we’ll be opening an exclusive pre-sale event just for you, so you can order Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo. We’ll email you the details on the day and you can be one of the first to get your hands on our latest kit before it goes on general sale.
Here’s the deal:
1TB TiVo box
£149.95 one-off activation fee exclusively for existing customers (everyone else pays £199.95)
£3 additional monthly fee with TV XL
Our exclusive pre-sale event for the 1TB box is only available to you. Think of it as a little ‘thank you’ from us for being a Virgin Media customer and for being one of the very first to register your interest in our TiVo service.
We’ll email you again during the week of 11th April to tell you more. If you’d like to take another look at what our TiVo service can do, head over to our Discover TiVo site for all the details.
Keep your eyes peeled on your inbox
The Virgin Media team
General: £40 installation fee applies. TiVo box remains property of Virgin Media. New 12-month minimum term contract applies. 1TB TiVo box: you must take, or upgrade to, TV XL to be eligible. If you cease to be an XL TV customer, we reserve the right to charge you the then applicable monthly TiVo charge (currently £8 for TV L or M+). TiVo is not available on TV M. Information about your TiVo use: By having the TiVo service and/or by using it you are providing your consent for us to use your viewing information to personalise your experience of the TiVo service (in addition to the other purposes set out in our privacy policy). We may share with third parties information about your use of the TiVo service in an aggregated form which will not personally identify you. This aggregated data may be used by those third parties for their marketing purposes (e.g. to improve their targeting of advertising based on user preferences)."
First off, who the hell is Dean!?!
Secondly, £149.99 "activation fee" plus £40 "installation fee". What exactly am I paying for with the installation if it cost's a further £149.99 to activate the bloody thing???
"TiVo box remains property of Virgin Media", fair enough if you aren't going to be charging £189.99 to get the thing in place, plus subscription fees on top of this... How many people do they really expect to pay that much for something they are not going to own???
I have got a complaint brewing with Virgin Media (for other matters, mainly being grossly overcharged) and I may well try the old "I'll cancel the whole lot, although if you give me a free TiVo box, I might just consider staying" trick... I doubt I'll get it for free, but it's worth a shot...
This whole TiVo launch from VM has been a farce from the start! I still want one of the boxes though as I want the extra functionality, but I'm not prepared to pay the sort of prices they're after for one!
"Hello Dean,
Now here’s something you don’t see everyday. You’ve got the chance to be one of the first to order our amazing 1TB TiVo® box before everyone else because you’re a Virgin Media customer and you pre-registered your interest in our TiVo service.
During the week beginning 11th April, we’ll be opening an exclusive pre-sale event just for you, so you can order Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo. We’ll email you the details on the day and you can be one of the first to get your hands on our latest kit before it goes on general sale.
Here’s the deal:
1TB TiVo box
£149.95 one-off activation fee exclusively for existing customers (everyone else pays £199.95)
£3 additional monthly fee with TV XL
Our exclusive pre-sale event for the 1TB box is only available to you. Think of it as a little ‘thank you’ from us for being a Virgin Media customer and for being one of the very first to register your interest in our TiVo service.
We’ll email you again during the week of 11th April to tell you more. If you’d like to take another look at what our TiVo service can do, head over to our Discover TiVo site for all the details.
Keep your eyes peeled on your inbox
The Virgin Media team
General: £40 installation fee applies. TiVo box remains property of Virgin Media. New 12-month minimum term contract applies. 1TB TiVo box: you must take, or upgrade to, TV XL to be eligible. If you cease to be an XL TV customer, we reserve the right to charge you the then applicable monthly TiVo charge (currently £8 for TV L or M+). TiVo is not available on TV M. Information about your TiVo use: By having the TiVo service and/or by using it you are providing your consent for us to use your viewing information to personalise your experience of the TiVo service (in addition to the other purposes set out in our privacy policy). We may share with third parties information about your use of the TiVo service in an aggregated form which will not personally identify you. This aggregated data may be used by those third parties for their marketing purposes (e.g. to improve their targeting of advertising based on user preferences)."
First off, who the hell is Dean!?!
Secondly, £149.99 "activation fee" plus £40 "installation fee". What exactly am I paying for with the installation if it cost's a further £149.99 to activate the bloody thing???
"TiVo box remains property of Virgin Media", fair enough if you aren't going to be charging £189.99 to get the thing in place, plus subscription fees on top of this... How many people do they really expect to pay that much for something they are not going to own???
I have got a complaint brewing with Virgin Media (for other matters, mainly being grossly overcharged) and I may well try the old "I'll cancel the whole lot, although if you give me a free TiVo box, I might just consider staying" trick... I doubt I'll get it for free, but it's worth a shot...
This whole TiVo launch from VM has been a farce from the start! I still want one of the boxes though as I want the extra functionality, but I'm not prepared to pay the sort of prices they're after for one!
Does the box still have the same single input from the wall? If so, I can't see how they can charge £40 installation fee when all they're doing is swapping the boxes over. I also thing the £149.95 "activation fee" is a bit steep. What exactly are they using this money for that the £40 installation fee wouldn't cover? I think they are just trying to mask the fact that they want the customers to cover the cost of the hardware, yet still keep ownership of the box... I really don't think this is the most ethical or honest way of them going about their business!
I think they should either sell the box to the customers and the customer takes ownership, or charge a subscription for the rental of the box. I strongly disagree with having to pay for both and owning nothing when I come to the end of my contract, or they bring out another box and I have to pay again for that...
P.S. Thanks for the initial review of the TiVo box Andy
I think they should either sell the box to the customers and the customer takes ownership, or charge a subscription for the rental of the box. I strongly disagree with having to pay for both and owning nothing when I come to the end of my contract, or they bring out another box and I have to pay again for that...
P.S. Thanks for the initial review of the TiVo box Andy
kena
Well-known member
I also received the above e-mail as a registered intersted customer and think the cost is a bit steep for something that belongs to them and ties you in for a 12 month contract with additional monthly fees. The plus side I suppose is if box breaks you call VM who will fix/replace bertter that Sky who will hit you for new box. But I'll pass the added convenience is not worth the cost (to me anyway)
I do agree that Sky are not the best when it comes to replacing faulty hardware. They do tend to offer free replacements when you threaten them with cancellation, but even then, they give you refurbished boxes which come with more issues than your original faulty box...
From my experience, the hardware supplied by Virgin is far superior to that of Sky, but I don't agree with having to pay over the odds for it and not having the benifit of ownership of said hardware.
From my experience, the hardware supplied by Virgin is far superior to that of Sky, but I don't agree with having to pay over the odds for it and not having the benifit of ownership of said hardware.
I got the email addressed to "Dean" too! Then followed by another apologising, but not giving any email address to correspond with - disgusting! They are treating their own customers with complete contempt.
Oy! Virgin Marketing Department - yer useless! Put your basketballs down, stop playing the playstation, and go to marketing school. Or maybe it's one poor soul in a shed, with a sinclair zx spectrum, and feeling overwhelmed? (In which case, nothing personal, but I suggest that you've not been given the resources to do your job properly).
Oy! Virgin Marketing Department - yer useless! Put your basketballs down, stop playing the playstation, and go to marketing school. Or maybe it's one poor soul in a shed, with a sinclair zx spectrum, and feeling overwhelmed? (In which case, nothing personal, but I suggest that you've not been given the resources to do your job properly).
Just to come back in to let you know I've been reading everyones comments. I've been trying to make something of all this but I can't. If you look in on the various sites the ones who have plenty to say in support of VirginMedia are those that received the TiVo's on cheap/free offers. You know the types, those who are vocal. I can't help but think this was intentional. So VM use them as pleased customers.
All the while a big block of customers are being taken for fools. As you've seen in this latest email this super offer now includes another £40 for installation which others up to now haven't paid. There are many complaints about this so we will see if they come out and say thats not what they mean. I think maybe now the costs are stacking up because they didn't expect early interest being such large numbers. So many are saying they won't have it with this installation charge.
They have a real thing to spin now. You see now what I was getting at in the earlier post. As I said I won't bother with it unless they offer us a better deal, we'll see what transpires.
All the while a big block of customers are being taken for fools. As you've seen in this latest email this super offer now includes another £40 for installation which others up to now haven't paid. There are many complaints about this so we will see if they come out and say thats not what they mean. I think maybe now the costs are stacking up because they didn't expect early interest being such large numbers. So many are saying they won't have it with this installation charge.
They have a real thing to spin now. You see now what I was getting at in the earlier post. As I said I won't bother with it unless they offer us a better deal, we'll see what transpires.
Well they have come up with the goods sort of speak. Free install as long as you book your install in April. + for VIP50/VIP100 the cost of the Tivo service is also covered. So you get it for £149. Not bad at all in my estimation. This is what a lot of us expected.
I shall go for it at this price.
This is of course for existing customers.
If they haven't altered it yet=New Customers £199 + £40 install +£3 a month for Tivo service.
I shall go for it at this price.
This is of course for existing customers.
If they haven't altered it yet=New Customers £199 + £40 install +£3 a month for Tivo service.
My situation is slightly different in that I am combining upgrading to TiVo with amalgamating all my services with one provider (VM). Sky is getting ditched as it was getting expensive having TV from Sky with Broadband from Virgin. The deciding factor was that the best Sky could offer re speed was 3.5MB. no contest. I will be paying installation as they are going to have to run the cable to my TV.
It is a bit off that we are being charged up front costs + rental. It should really be one or t'other.
PS - I just found the Dean email thing funny
Also - it is blinking hard work cancelling Sky. By the end I was reduced to saying " I want to cancel" over and over again.
It is a bit off that we are being charged up front costs + rental. It should really be one or t'other.
PS - I just found the Dean email thing funny
Also - it is blinking hard work cancelling Sky. By the end I was reduced to saying " I want to cancel" over and over again.
At last!!! Just ordered my Virgin TiVo (x2) today, as have two tvs in the shack (well, every room should have one, no?).
The email that Dean got a few weeks ago said that we'd get an email this week, so thinking that I wouldn't get Dean's email this time round, I phoned them up, and amazingly the Virgin man (not sure "Ryan" was a celt though) said yes. Got the install booked for two weeks time.
Interestingly, no matter how many you get, will still only cost £3 extra per month (not £6 for two), though still have to pay the £149 each for the boxes (free install). Considering you're getting two extra dedicated 10mb lines included, that's not bad really?
The email that Dean got a few weeks ago said that we'd get an email this week, so thinking that I wouldn't get Dean's email this time round, I phoned them up, and amazingly the Virgin man (not sure "Ryan" was a celt though) said yes. Got the install booked for two weeks time.
Interestingly, no matter how many you get, will still only cost £3 extra per month (not £6 for two), though still have to pay the £149 each for the boxes (free install). Considering you're getting two extra dedicated 10mb lines included, that's not bad really?
I've ordered mine this morning, I will see how it goes and may be get rid of my sky HD subscription alltogether.
camac
Well-known member
I am getting the Tivo box installed in a couple of weeks and at present have a Samsung V+ H.D. box and i am on the XL package . When the Tivo box is installed does the old box remain mine or will "The Virgin Man" take it with him ? In other words who owns the box ? Cheers.
Pretty sure the box is part of the rental (ie , not owned by you) - upside is if there is a problem then they will replace foc
camac
Well-known member
Just had a very nice (without any prompting) phone call from "Mr Virgin Media" man asking if as i was one of the first to order the Tivo Box, i would like to install the V+HD box (that they are removing to install the Tivo box) in another room in my house free of charge!!!!!! and wait for it,for no additional monthly charge !!!!!!
If Virgin keep this up I will need to change my opinion of them.
Thanks Mr Branson.
If Virgin keep this up I will need to change my opinion of them.
Thanks Mr Branson.
I am sure in a month or two they will be offering it free.
I still cant understand why anyone would want to pay 150.00 for a box that isnt yours.
So lets say something better comes along and you want to leave next year, you have just wasted 150.00.
At least if you buy a 1tb sky box, which you can get for 150.00 its yours and you can sell it, which they do fetch a premium on fleabay
I still cant understand why anyone would want to pay 150.00 for a box that isnt yours.
So lets say something better comes along and you want to leave next year, you have just wasted 150.00.
At least if you buy a 1tb sky box, which you can get for 150.00 its yours and you can sell it, which they do fetch a premium on fleabay
i've had my tivo installed tuesday,a lot of cool features but the picture quality is not as good as the v+. as to the "keep your existing box for free" i've read that it's a random offer so some might get it some don't. i'm generally pleased but hope that virgin will release firmware update to improve p q!
Just had two Virgin TiVo boxes installed this morning - looking excellent!! A major improvement over the V+HD in terms of menu screens, responsiveness etc . No discernable difference in picture quality.
Both boxes installed in approx 30 mins combined - no change in the wires needed - a big relief as the cables go under the floor in one of the rooms.
A great feature is that if you delete something it goes into a "bin" like on Windows. ie not permanently deleted, until the box needs to free up space. This could save me from the multiple injuries inflicted by Mrs C when I've thought everyone had watched something, and deleted it to make some space for the footie.
The search function, even by actor name, is looking very promising - tells you when next films etc are being shown with the actor in, and simple press to record.
Both boxes installed in approx 30 mins combined - no change in the wires needed - a big relief as the cables go under the floor in one of the rooms.
A great feature is that if you delete something it goes into a "bin" like on Windows. ie not permanently deleted, until the box needs to free up space. This could save me from the multiple injuries inflicted by Mrs C when I've thought everyone had watched something, and deleted it to make some space for the footie.
The search function, even by actor name, is looking very promising - tells you when next films etc are being shown with the actor in, and simple press to record.
camac
Well-known member
Getting mine installed tomorrow (Wed), my concern is the P.Q. as one post said picture quality was not as good and one said there was no difference. Just would`nt like to pay the premium for Tivo only to discover the p.q. was`nt as good as v+hd .
Anybody else who has had it installed have an opinion on p.q.
Anybody else who has had it installed have an opinion on p.q.
Sounds great, can't wait for mine to be installed on Thursday, may even be able to reduce or remove my sky package.
camac
Well-known member
Had the Tivo box installed today, Major leap forward in terms of navigating menus and response time. One of my concerns was p.q. and to my untrained eye i can`t see any difference, so no leap forward there, but no worse. It will take (me) a bit of time to get used to all the additional features over the V+hd box, but the extra features make it worthwhile. All in all, very happy with it.
Only downside is that my Harmony One does`nt seem to recognise the tivo box but I am able to use the settings for the v+hd box, maybe it will just take time for Logitech to get it on the database.
One Happy Bunny.
Only downside is that my Harmony One does`nt seem to recognise the tivo box but I am able to use the settings for the v+hd box, maybe it will just take time for Logitech to get it on the database.
One Happy Bunny.
Just had mone installed. Ive gone into the video output settings and it says 1080p not supported and that I can only set it to 1080i. I would have thought an up to date box would support 1080p for full HD?
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