What does the updated pricing for Virgin Media's TiVo mean for V+ HD?

The V+ HD PVR was originally launched as the TV Drive in UK cable franchise areas formerly served by Telewest, and was the first PVR released for Digital Cable in the UK.  At the time, NTL, the other major cable franchise, were still working on their own MPEG 4 PVR. Development work on that stopped when NTL merged with Telewest, with NTL embracing the existing TV Drive.

When NTL-Telewest re-branded to Virgin Media, the TV Drive was renamed to the V+ HD. Despite its many quirks (included the midnight slow-down), its continued to be a popular option for Virgin customers signing up to Digital Cable TV packs.

Until now.

This weekend's price restructuring for Virgin Media's TiVo puts the V+ HD in the odd position of being more expensive over time then the 500Gb version of TiVo for the 2 lowest-tier TV packs. Both boxes cost £49.95, both can be installed for free, but on the M+ and L packs, V+ HD costs an additional £5 per month, compared to the £3 extra per month with TiVo. On the top-tier XL pack, there is no additional monthly charge for V+ HD, compared to £3 per month with TiVo.

That before factoring in other TiVo advantages, like 500Gb of recording capacity compared to 160Gb on the V+ HD, along with advanced search options, Series links, Wishlists, Suggestions etc.

However, the trusty V+ HD still have a few aces up its sleeve, due to (for now) glaring gaps in TiVo's functionality compared to V+ HD. I've already mentioned the lack of reminders. Then there's the lack of Red Button Services, which have been much missed during Wimbledon. Lack of access to PPV events is another, with Virgin having to work quickly on an online booking option so customers could pay £14.95 to watch David Haye getting his arse kicked for 12 rounds. Still, an software update (or two) should fix those issues, and with Virgin advertising TiVo on TV, you suspect the V+ HD is entering its twilight era.

Its forthcoming retirement would push Virgin one step closer to switching all of its HD content (linear and VOD) from the MPEG 2 video codec to the more bandwidth efficient MPEG 4, which is used by every other Digital TV platform in the UK for delivering HD content. The TiVo boxes, along with the Samsung V+ HD and the V box, can handle MPEG 4, but the older Scientific Atlanta V+ HD/TV Drive boxes can't. When Virgin get all of their 3.7 million customers into MPEG 4 capable hardware (which won't be a quick process), they could switch to MPEG 4 for HD and potentially use the freed-up bandwidth for more channels.

Virgin Media TiVo launches channel page on YouTube

As part of Virgin Media's efforts to spread the word about a certain PVR, the cable company have their own TiVo channel page on YouTube where you can watch the TiVo help videos, like this one:

And of course, the adverts which are (or may have already) be coming to a TV near you, like this one:

The videos can also be located at Virgin Media's TiVo website.

Virgin Media slash installation fee and standardise service fee for TiVo; 1TB version now £99.95; 500Gb version now £49.95

One of these now gets you TiVoed

As Virgin Media begin their TV advertising campaign  for TiVo, they have boosted their efforts to obtain more TiVo customers by standardising the TiVo service fee across their TV packs, dropping the installation fee, and reducing the price of the 1TB version of TiVo.

Previously, customers on the M+ and L TV packs would pay an additional £8 per month for TiVo. From now, they only pay £3 per month - the same as XL customers. So, regardless of what TV pack a customer chooses, you pay an extra £3 per month for TiVo.

Also, the £40 installation fee (a topic of great debate on this and other blogs and forums), has been dropped. That means that new and existing customers can get a 500Gb TiVo for just £49.95, with free installation.

Meanwhile, the 1TB version of the next-generation PVR has been reduced. It was £150 for existing customers and £199 for new customers. Now, its just £99.95 for both existing and new customers. The requirement to have the TV XL pack in order to have the 1TB version of TiVo has also been removed - so 1TB of recording capacity is now also available to customers on M+ and L packs, as well as XL.

For more details, check out Virgin's re-designed TiVo website, which now includes help videos for different aspects of TiVo functionality. This blog's PVR comparison document will be updated shortly to reflect today's news.

Virgin Media begins advertising campaign for TiVo

Virgin Media Press release:

Virgin Media today unveiled the first advertising campaign for its next generation Virgin Media: TiVo® Service. Promising to be the best way to watch TV, ever, the TiVo service combines the live TV schedule with catch-up TV, a huge library of on-demand programming and popular web-based applications alongside a market-leading personal video recorder. With a simple way of finding great content and intelligent recommendations based on a household’s telly habits, the new service makes it easier than ever for Virgin Media customers to discover new types of entertainment they’ll love.

Virgin Media’s multi-million pound ad campaign is fronted by Marc Warren, star of Hustle and Mad Dogs. Created by DDB UK, the campaign involves TV, digital, print, retail, experiential and social media, beginning today with three ten-second TV spots and a raft of print ads which highlight the hugely positive reception the Virgin Media: TiVo Service has enjoyed since it launched in December 2010. The campaign continues on Saturday with Marc Warren featuring in three 30-second TV spots, exploring the TiVo service’s simple solutions to the increasingly complex choices facing viewers today. Set against a clean, white backdrop, Marc is faced with a carousel of spinning TVs, catapulted screens and falling TVs, before demonstrating the TiVo service’s ability to search through a wide choice of programmes to find your favourite shows quicker than ever; avoiding clashes by recording three shows whilst watching a fourth; and making sure you never miss the start of your favourite series by setting a WishListTM, providing the viewer with the ultimate control of their TV.

Nigel Gilbert, chief marketing officer, Virgin Media, said: “Virgin Media is leading a much-anticipated revolution in the way people enjoy their favourite shows and our new advertising campaign is focused simply on the great stuff on offer from our new TiVo box. We know the features and functions our customers have already fallen in love with and are making the most of a fully integrated campaign to cut through the noise and highlight these stand-out attributes. We’re inviting people to take a look at our brilliant new service and interact with TiVo’s iconic ‘thumbs up’ and ‘thumbs down’ buttons online to discover even more.”

Guy Bradbury, creative director at DDB UK said “We’ve developed a campaign with the necessary depth for Virgin Media’s new TiVo service. The campaign sign-off of ‘We think it’s the best way to watch TV, but what do you think?’ invites the audience to interact with the campaign, showing the confidence Virgin Media has to engage with consumers which comes from the game changing nature of the Virgin Media: TiVo Service itself.”

From Saturday, Virgin Media’s campaign will invite people to visit www.virginmedia.com/tivo to explore an interactive video journey and discover more of the TiVo service’s next generation features for themselves. From a 1TB hard drive, able to record up to 500 hours of content, the ability to scroll back in time and through the past seven days on the EPG and the ability to rate shows with thumbs up and thumbs down buttons and receive recommendations based on a viewer’s preferences, visitors to www.virginmedia.com/tivo can interact with the site and give their favourite Virgin Media: TiVo Service feature a big thumbs up.

Virgin Media's iPad TiVo App really is Coming Soon

Remember that iPad app which I've mentioned again and again on this blog? Well, work is indeed underway on the app, as first revealed today by TechRadar:

It should (hopefully) have all the features from the existing app, including the ability to control multiple TiVos in your home. There's no word on an Android version, but since that's busy taking over the world, surely a Android TiVo App will follow......right, Virgin?

Meanwhile, Virgin Media TiVo customers with an iPad should look watch this video (again) and just replace the blue background for Virgin Red:

Quickie Reviews Roundup for Virgin Media's TiVo

From Neowin:

We have been very pleased with both the TiVo box and the Virgin Media service in general. The box works perfectly and the menus and content are easy to access as well as fast to use. Picture quality has been very good throughout; especially pleasing is the SD upscaling, which feels like a step up from Sky’s HD service. Sound is another area in which the TiVo box outclasses Sky; the HDMI Dolby Digital 5.1 is far better quality to our ears than the optical only Sky HD box and even improves basic 2.1/2.0 content too.

Virgin TiVo is a great step up for the company and we really hope that they keep improving the service with new channels as well as fixing some of the small niggling issues that are within the TiVo software. If they do, they could be doing some great things for the future of TV in the UK.

From SeenIt:

The TiVo looks very nice, is generally speedy and is packed with potential – the Games & Apps feature allows for future enhancements which could see the TiVo become the centre of a home’s entertainment world.

But as product being sold right now it should be measured on what it actually does, not what it might do in a few weeks or months. And on that basis it falls short of expectations.

Thought it has good points and obvious potential, there’s no getting away from the fact that this is a product awaiting software updates to implement features most users would expect as standard.

From PcPro:

Largely, however, the TiVo is a resounding success. It’s more responsive than the Virgin V+ box and generally easier to use. It’s far more powerful, packed with clever features and boasts more capacity. The only criticism we have is over the “activation” pricing of the 1TB box – £150 is way too expensive for a box you’ll never own, particularly as Virgin Media is asking you to spend an extra £3 per month after that.

So that just leaves the 500GB box at £50, and we’d say at this price it’s worth an upgrade. For anyone who’s struggled with the clunky interface of the V+ box and cursed its restrictive capacity, it will come as a breath of fresh air, a shaft of sunlight after a summer thunderstorm. We urge you to order one as soon as you can.

iPhone and Android control apps: Coming soon to Virgin Media's TiVo?

The Zatz Not Funny! site (and CEPro) report that TiVo plan to launch control apps for both the iPhone and Android. The apps would (hopefully) feature most of the options available from the existing iPad App, which will hopefully be coming soon for Virgin Media's Tivo later this year.



The arrival of such apps for Apple's iPhone and Goggle's Android phones and tablets would offer a cheaper remote option than Apple's iPad for Virgin Media customers.