Virgin Media Cancellation deals

Thegalwayman · 25-07-2016 1:03pm

They're a nightmare to deal with. Good luck

patch · 25-07-2016 1:56pm

The_Conductor wrote: »

Which speed/phone package?

Top speed broadband, afair x amount of international and national minutes.
All I really care about is the broadband but you have to take the phone..

tk123 · 28-07-2016 3:40pm

Wowzers I wasn't expecting them to be so rude. I called there because I wanted to drop multiroom and see if I could get a better deal - I'm paying €105 for 120mb BB/phone/TV. My dad's name is on the account but he called years ago to put me as the second contact when I took over paying the bill. I was never asked my name but told they could only speak to the account holder and she was quite rude about it and couldn't tell me why/when my name was taken off. TBH after that reception I AM actually thinking of cancelling completely now! Some way to treat a customer.

tharmor · 28-07-2016 3:51pm

tk123 wrote:

Wowzers I wasn't expecting them to be so rude. I called there because I wanted to drop multiroom and see if I could get a better deal - I'm paying â‚¬105 for 120mb BB/phone/TV. My dad's name is on the account but he called years ago to put me as the second contact when I took over paying the bill. I was never asked my name but told they could only speak to the account holder and she was quite rude about it and couldn't tell me why/when my name was taken off. TBH after that reception I AM actually thinking of cancelling completely now! Some way to treat a customer.

I would say try again...i had same issues first but they are the best in terms of services...could not find cheap deal anywhere else...

tk123 · 28-07-2016 3:53pm

tharmor wrote: »

I would say try again...i had same issues first but they are the best in terms of services...could not find cheap deal anywhere else...

They'd have my dad signed up for everything he's that clueless!! Or he'll call them guns blazing and have murder! :rolleyes: Posted on the reps page to see if that can help.

LeChienMefiant · 28-07-2016 3:54pm

tk123 wrote: »

Wowzers I wasn't expecting them to be so rude. I called there because I wanted to drop multiroom and see if I could get a better deal - I'm paying €105 for 120mb BB/phone/TV. My dad's name is on the account but he called years ago to put me as the second contact when I took over paying the bill. I was never asked my name but told they could only speak to the account holder and she was quite rude about it and couldn't tell me why/when my name was taken off. TBH after that reception I AM actually thinking of cancelling completely now! Some way to treat a customer.

Had exact same experience. Maybe they don't want the custom anymore.

tk123 · 28-07-2016 4:14pm

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

Had exact same experience. Maybe they don't want the custom anymore.

Reps are saying only the account holder can cancel.. but I just wanted to cancel multiroom because the 2nd box hasn't been turned on it about a year! Agent assumed I was cancelling and tbh she was that rude I got annoyed and said I'd call and get him to cancel then.

LeChienMefiant · 28-07-2016 5:41pm

tk123 wrote: »

Reps are saying only the account holder can cancel.. but I just wanted to cancel multiroom because the 2nd box hasn't been turned on it about a year! Agent assumed I was cancelling and tbh she was that rude I got annoyed and said I'd call and get him to cancel then.

I wasn't even trying to cancel, they had just lost my details off the account and wouldn't deal with me.

Dodge · 29-07-2016 10:59am

I'm going to cancel my TV with them but might stick with broadband if I can get a deal with them. Currently paying €40 a month for an old package as I didn't want to get into another contract

Anybody able to get a decent deal by removing one service but staying on with another?

(If that's confusing I currently have TV/Broadband and I'm looking for a deal on broadband only)

tk123 · 29-07-2016 12:03pm

Grrr we have to write to them now to get my name on the account! Because anyone could send an email - sure I could just write a letter now and sign it! PITA this is why I put off ringing them for MONTHS! I hope I don't get charged for changing the name?

68 lost souls · 29-07-2016 1:55pm

Got the call back earlier. 12 month contract first 6 motnhs half price and upgraded to the current offer of 240mb, 100 channels and anytime calls.

Saving 250 over the year for twice the service.

tk123 · 29-07-2016 9:10pm

Well we had a much better experience this evening - spoke to a nice agent to get my name put on the account etc etc then I waited on hold for 15 min and loyalty told me I was allowed to discuss the bill now but guess what? I can't change the bundle... my dad was gone to the shop so have to call them back again on Tues and do it all over again. **SIGH**

colm_mcm · 30-07-2016 9:36am

Dodge wrote: »

I'm going to cancel my TV with them but might stick with broadband if I can get a deal with them. Currently paying €40 a month for an old package as I didn't want to get into another contract

Anybody able to get a decent deal by removing one service but staying on with another?

(If that's confusing I currently have TV/Broadband and I'm looking for a deal on broadband only)

Can you list what exact products you have, and the individual prices for them, as per your bill

Do I read this as you're paying €40 for broadband plus whatever the to costs?

Keep in mind there is a recurring charge for broadband only without tv. Think it's €8-9 per month. If you cancel tv and keep the broadband at the speed it is now, there's no contract. If you go for an upgraded speed, you need to add home phone. By upgrading you're starting a new contract.
I would call them ref cancelling tv, and let them sell you phone, only on the basis of you getting an offer for 6 months like your friend got.

You may already have a phone line and not know. It would be listed on your bill.

clancger · 03-08-2016 3:20pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Yeah they take it back if you cancel tv. You'll need a mode, if you don't have one already.
While the tv is still active you still can bargain on a deal with all 3. Once it switches off they can't do you a deal with the tv.

I eventually got 9 months half price on mine. Was gonna go to Vodafone but this worked out better, shorter contract.

Hi Colm,
I also had a 9mth half price deal that expires the end of Aug. Did you have to go all the way through to cancel in order to get the 9mth deal, or just find the right person? Also, you started this 9mths deal just recently, right?

dodzy · 03-08-2016 3:39pm

Just coming off the back of 12mth continuous €43 for 240mb/Horizon MAX and the phone. Back to €89 now for 6mths. Oh the pain

tk123 · 03-08-2016 3:49pm

I can't face calling them after last week

Kintarō Hattori · 03-08-2016 8:32pm

So it turns out I'm not in contract anymore. Last time I spoke to them I wanted to drop TV but keep broadband and phone however the rep just wouldn't let that happen and I got the TV package so cheap I couldn't say no.

This time however I really do want to drop the TV package. I've never had Sky and they currently have a bundle with box sets, HD and a crappy free 32" TV for just €2.50 more than I'm currently paying with Virgin, so it's worth trying. I've never been a fan of the Horizon service anyway... more than once the box has wiped itself clean.

The bill is €89.99 for Limitless 240MB, Horizon Max and home phone. What do you reckon, time to give Sky TV a whirl?

dodzy · 04-08-2016 8:04am

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

So it turns out I'm not in contract anymore. Last time I spoke to them I wanted to drop TV but keep broadband and phone however the rep just wouldn't let that happen and I got the TV package so cheap I couldn't say no.

This time however I really do want to drop the TV package. I've never had Sky and they currently have a bundle with box sets, HD and a crappy free 32" TV for just €2.50 more than I'm currently paying with Virgin, so it's worth trying. I've never been a fan of the Horizon service anyway... more than once the box has wiped itself clean.

The bill is €89.99 for Limitless 240MB, Horizon Max and home phone. What do you reckon, time to give Sky TV a whirl?

The broadband is VMs krypton. Nothing else comes close. The horizon setup is sh1te though. Plenty of feedback given to them on fixed needed and tweaks to enhance user experience but feck all has been addressed. UI is just so slow it's a real pain. You've to hit multiple button sequences to carryout the simplest of tasks. Sky by comparison is a joy to use with zero lag. In an ideal world, I'd have the broadband from VM and the TV from sky.

Alter-Ego · 04-08-2016 9:16am

Has anybody had any luck switching to the €50 per month, 30 day rolling broadband contract as an existing customer?

Says it's only for new customers, but I'm currently on an old 120mb package paying €55pm. Don't fancy picking up a new contract.

okidoki987 · 04-08-2016 10:37am

I'd have the broadband from VM and the TV from sky.

Not cheap doing that.

okidoki987 · 04-08-2016 10:46am

Has anybody had any luck switching to the €50 per month, 30 day rolling broadband contract as an existing customer?

Says it's only for new customers, but I'm currently on an old 120mb package paying €55pm. Don't fancy picking up a new contract.

I'm sure if you threatened to cancel, they would let you change.

dodzy · 04-08-2016 11:51am

okidoki987 wrote: »

Not cheap doing that.

You left out "In an ideal world......"

That said, can't see why splitting the services (240mb BB & phone with VM and Sky variety for TV) between both would be much more than I'm currently paying.

dodzy · 04-08-2016 11:52am

Alter-Ego wrote: »

Has anybody had any luck switching to the €50 per month, 30 day rolling broadband contract as an existing customer?

Says it's only for new customers, but I'm currently on an old 120mb package paying €55pm. Don't fancy picking up a new contract.

What about this ?

Kintarō Hattori · 04-08-2016 1:54pm

dodzy wrote: »

You left out "In an ideal world......"

That said, can't see why splitting the services (240mb BB & phone with VM and Sky variety for TV) between both would be much more than I'm currently paying.

Well that's what I'm wondering. I'm currently paying €89.99 a month for 240MB broadband, phone and TV from Virgin. The TV package is around €35 per month whereas with Sky it'll be roughly €37.

Am I missing something? Why is it felt that to have BB from Virgin and TV from Sky would be expensive?

beauf · 04-08-2016 2:07pm

UPC TV used to be cheaper and Sky dearer if both have HD channels which used to be a lot more on SKY.

Not as much difference now.

Also VM should be able to replace boxes and remote s for free as you w own them they do. However in reality they'll charge you in other ways.

So again not a lot of difference.

dodzy · 04-08-2016 2:51pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Well that's what I'm wondering. I'm currently paying €89.99 a month for 240MB broadband, phone and TV from Virginia. The TV package is around €35 per month whereas with Sky it'll be roughly €37.

Am I missing something? Why is it felt that to have BB from Virgin and TV from Sky would be expensive?

Nope, the only thing you are missing is the discounts that you get once out of contract with VM. If you (as is the case with me) are on the 90€ pack, you will get 50% off for 6mths once your contract expires to draw you into another 12mths contract. With me I opted to leave the discount call until the last 6 mths of my 2015 contract and then called and got the same again for the first 6mths of my current contract, so in effect, Ive been paying 43€ for the last 12 consecutive months, which I'm sure you''ll agree is a pretty good deal. I'm tied till Jan and then I will make the call. But honestly, if the response of the VM horizon boxes and general user experience has not improved by then, i'll think strongly about waiving the discount in favour of splitting the services.

Kintarō Hattori · 04-08-2016 10:20pm

Well interesting stuff. Rang up the loyalty department, told them I wanted to keep broadband and phone but drop the TV. Was asked why, said I'd never tried Sky and wanted to as I was out of contract. OK then they said. No attempt to keep me onboard which I found interesting.

Sky it is so.

dodzy · 05-08-2016 7:26am

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Well interesting stuff. Rang up the loyalty department, told them I wanted to keep broadband and phone but drop the TV. Was asked why, said I'd never tried Sky and wanted to as I was out of contract. OK then they said. No attempt to keep me onboard which I found interesting.

Sky it is so.

Nice one. You will not regret it. Worlds apart. And my guess is you won't be going back. Let us know what kind of deal you get.

cookie1977 · 05-08-2016 4:51pm

I'm still clinging to my 34.99 euro Fibre 120mb chat. Although I'm not in contract it's been creeping up in price slowly over the years. I was paying at one point 25 euro per month.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_AIdNq8kgjVYVF0YkJ4czJueFE/view?usp=sharing

tharmor · 05-08-2016 5:34pm

cookie1977 wrote:

I'm still clinging to my 34.99 euro Fibre 120mb chat. Although I'm not in contract it's been creeping up in price slowly over the years. I was paying at one point 25 euro per month.

Total cost for year 420 eur....

Call them get half price --- cost 120+240 = 360

cookie1977 · 05-08-2016 5:48pm

See I would but I get analogue TV too whereas a full upgrade I might lose that depending on the modem they send out?? I may call them.

colm_mcm · 05-08-2016 11:25pm

Analogue isn't dependant on you having a certain modem. It either comes in on the cable or it doesn't.
I think you'd be mad to change from €35 as you have no commitment beyond the next 30 days. That's the cheapest non promo price (unlimited fixed line) broadband pack out there

The_Conductor · 06-08-2016 7:31am

They're slowly turning off analogue anyway- its only a matter of time.

cookie1977 · 06-08-2016 9:08am

colm_mcm wrote: »

Analogue isn't dependant on you having a certain modem. It either comes in on the cable or it doesn't.
I think you'd be mad to change from 35 as you have no commitment beyond the next 30 days. That's the cheapest non promo price (unlimited fixed line) broadband pack out there

That's my feeling alright. And the 120mb is more than enough for me at present. When vodafone ring (or even virgin trying to recontract me for that matter) trying to offer me a deal they cannot get over the 35 euro for broadband, analogue tv and phone.

The_Conductor wrote: »

They're slowly turning off analogue anyway- its only a matter of time.

8 years and counting...

shnaek · 06-08-2016 11:42am

cookie1977 wrote: »

That's my feeling alright. And the 120mb is more than enough for me at present. When vodafone ring (or even virgin trying to recontract me for that matter) trying to offer me a deal they cannot get over the 35 euro for broadband, analogue tv and phone.

8 years and counting...

We had that deal too, but one day they just started billing us €90, totally out of the blue. They said we'd been on a promotion and the promotion was over. I argued with them saying that much of a price increase was crazy. But they wouldn't relent. So I cancelled. Presume they were trying to get rid of us because we were paying so little.

bk · 06-08-2016 12:36pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

8 years and counting...

Well they already turned it off in Cork and a few other Southern areas a few years ago (Cork use to use "scrambled" analouge which why it was so easy for them to turn it off).

Liberty Global, the parent company of Virgin Media has switched off anaolgue service in most of their other European markets (Germany, etc.) over the past 3 years.

It is now only a matter of time before they do it here too. Analogue TV service is super wasteful use of space, space that they will likely need to offer more broadband and HD channels in future.

colm_mcm · 06-08-2016 1:35pm

shnaek wrote: »

We had that deal too, but one day they just started billing us €90, totally out of the blue. They said we'd been on a promotion and the promotion was over. I argued with them saying that much of a price increase was crazy. But they wouldn't relent. So I cancelled. Presume they were trying to get rid of us because we were paying so little.

different deal. what you had was a promotional price for 6/9/12 months on an 18 month contract but what the other poster has is a very rare package that was only sold for a week or so back in 2013 where it was €27 a month for unlimited. no tv. not for a few months, thats just hiw much it was. no idea why they did that but they pulled it almost instantly.
the price crept up over the years with the annual price increases but it's still quite cheap at €35

2RockMountain · 06-08-2016 4:41pm

The_Conductor wrote: »

They're slowly turning off analogue anyway- its only a matter of time.

Are they informing customers or doing this in a planned way? The analogue service to the rest of the house is the main reason I haven't switched and put in a Freesat box or similar. Can I expect advance notice if they take it away?

bk · 06-08-2016 4:53pm

2RockMountain wrote: »

Are they informing customers or doing this in a planned way? The analogue service to the rest of the house is the main reason I haven't switched and put in a Freesat box or similar. Can I expect advance notice if they take it away?

There has been no news or rumours on this yet and it may well be years before they decide to do it. It all depends on how badly they need extra space for Digital TV and Broadband.

Going by what happened in other Liberty Global markets, there would likely inform customers at least a year in advance and would likely have an alternative service for customers like yourself.

For instance in the other LGI markets, they left decrypted the top 50 or so digital TV channels, so you could tune them in on multiroom TV's either with the TV's built in DVB-C tuner (more common in Europe then Ireland) or a separate set top box that you bought yourself, all for free (for existing customers).

So the switch over ended up being great news for most people, they ended up going from 20 or so "free" analogue channels, to 50 or so "free" digital channels with superior picture quality.

Not saying that will happen in Ireland, we just don't know, but I suspect they might do something similiar given the direction that the market is going.

cookie1977 · 06-08-2016 5:06pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

shnaek wrote: »

We had that deal too, but one day they just started billing us 90, totally out of the blue. They said we'd been on a promotion and the promotion was over. I argued with them saying that much of a price increase was crazy. But they wouldn't relent. So I cancelled. Presume they were trying to get rid of us because we were paying so little.

different deal. what you had was a promotional price for 6/9/12 months on an 18 month contract but what the other poster has is a very rare package that was only sold for a week or so back in 2013 where it was 27 a month for unlimited. no tv. not for a few months, thats just hiw much it was. no idea why they did that but they pulled it almost instantly.
the price crept up over the years with the annual price increases but it's still quite cheap at 35

This is correct. I had threatened to leave back then and i was put through to a girl in retentions. She offered me a deal for 25 euro on a one year contract and stated the discount was permanent and not linked to the contract. Once the contract finished we stayed on the 25 euro plan but through the standard increases it has crept up from 25 to 27.99 then to 29.99 and now earlier this year to 34.99. I kept a recording of the call just in case.

2RockMountain · 06-08-2016 5:11pm

bk wrote: »

There has been no news or rumours on this yet and it may well be years before they decide to do it. It all depends on how badly they need extra space for Digital TV and Broadband.

Going by what happened in other Liberty Global markets, there would likely inform customers at least a year in advance and would likely have an alternative service for customers like yourself.

For instance in the other LGI markets, they left decrypted the top 50 or so digital TV channels, so you could tune them in on multiroom TV's either with the TV's built in DVB-C tuner (more common in Europe then Ireland) or a separate set top box that you bought yourself, all for free (for existing customers).

So the switch over ended up being great news for most people, they ended up going from 20 or so "free" analogue channels, to 50 or so "free" digital channels with superior picture quality.

Not saying that will happen in Ireland, we just don't know, but I suspect they might do something similiar given the direction that the market is going.

Thanks for the clarification. It's really a wiring issue for us, with the analogue wired to two other points. So I'd have to go lifting floorboards and skirtings to replace it, which I'd prefer not to do tbh. Unless there is some wireless Chromecast type device that I could use to broadcast wirelessly to a TV?

colm_mcm · 06-08-2016 7:05pm

2RockMountain wrote: »

Are they informing customers or doing this in a planned way? The analogue service to the rest of the house is the main reason I haven't switched and put in a Freesat box or similar. Can I expect advance notice if they take it away?

If you're actually paying for analogue extra points or a main point, they would contact you in advance of it engine, but If you're just "stealing" it, like a lot of people, they probably wouldn't be writing to you.

bk · 07-08-2016 9:11am

2RockMountain wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification. It's really a wiring issue for us, with the analogue wired to two other points. So I'd have to go lifting floorboards and skirtings to replace it, which I'd prefer not to do tbh. Unless there is some wireless Chromecast type device that I could use to broadcast wirelessly to a TV?

Well worst case scenario you could get digital multiroom from Virgin in each of those rooms, you wouldn't need to replace the cables, it works fine with existing cabling, however I agree it is very expensive at €11 for multiroom!

If they were to decrypt some of the digital channels like they did in other markets, then you could continue to use those cables, you would just need to get a cheap DVB-C tuner box for each TV.

As for wireless type devices, Sky's new Sky Q service is pretty much built around this concept. You have one wired main box (usually on the main TV) and then "mini" boxes that stream the TV wirelessly from the main box. Seems to work well.

Virign's Horizon box actually has the same ability (streaming to mini boxes), they sell it in other European countries, though for some reason they haven't launched it in Ireland yet. With Sky Q recently launching, I expect they will introduce it soon in order to remain competitive.

The_Conductor · 07-08-2016 9:28am

Are none of the DVB-C streams decrypted here at all?
How would the move to C2 which they're supposed to be deploying here- impact on this? Are there C2 streams decrypted in other markets?
Sorry about all the questions.
I currently only take internet and phone- and use a Humax freesat box for everything else. If I could decode a basic array of channels- without taking out a subscription- it would be a nice bonus.

bk · 07-08-2016 9:52am

The_Conductor wrote: »

Are none of the DVB-C streams decrypted here at all?

No, they are all encrypted at the moment, quite different to most other EU cable markets.

The_Conductor wrote: »

How would the move to C2 which they're supposed to be deploying here- impact on this? Are there C2 streams decrypted in other markets?

I haven't heard any rumours of Virgin or Liberty Global moving to C2. In fact quite the opposite, in the past they have said they have no plans to move to C2 at all.

I think C2 is largely dead, despite being standardised back in 2009, I know of no cable companies rolling it out beyond trials.

It makes sense, moving to C2 would require them replacing all their digital set top boxes at great expense, for very little gain. They would save far more space by simply switching off the analogue TV service, then they would gain from switching to C2.

Instead I think most cable companies are going to skip right over DVB-C2 and instead move to a hybrid DVB-C/IPTV platform. Basically transmit the top 25 or so channels via DVB-C while "transmitting" all the other less popular channels via IPTV, but doing so in a way that is completely transparent to the customer (both DVB-C and IPTV channels mixed in the EPG).

Eventually they will likely go full IPTV.

The_Conductor wrote: »

Sorry about all the questions.
I currently only take internet and phone- and use a Humax freesat box for everything else. If I could decode a basic array of channels- without taking out a subscription- it would be a nice bonus.

I've a similar setup, but with a Linux FTA satellite box instead. The Humax is a great box and setup, you are just missing the Irish channels.

cookie1977 · 07-08-2016 10:00am

I think we're moving completely to IPTV. If you look at some of the deals being done in the US and of course the success of netflix that's were people want it to go.:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/hulu-is-developing-a-cable-style-online-tv-service-1462150982

If analogue goes for me I'm getting a small PC and using a VPN to access tv from around the world.

2RockMountain · 07-08-2016 12:46pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

If you're actually paying for analogue extra points or a main point, they would contact you in advance of it engine, but If you're just "stealing" it, like a lot of people, they probably wouldn't be writing to you.

I'm pretty sure that there was no concept of charging for multi-room when we got wired up initially, 20 years ago or more. Cablelink, as it was then, delivered the cable to the wall, and you did what you like with it inside the house. I've probably never told them that I use analogue in other rooms, but I've certainly never told them that I don't use analogue either.

bk wrote: »

Well worst case scenario you could get digital multiroom from Virgin in each of those rooms, you wouldn't need to replace the cables, it works fine with existing cabling, however I agree it is very expensive at €11 for multiroom!

As for wireless type devices, Sky's new Sky Q service is pretty much built around this concept. You have one wired main box (usually on the main TV) and then "mini" boxes that stream the TV wirelessly from the main box. Seems to work well.

Virign's Horizon box actually has the same ability (streaming to mini boxes), they sell it in other European countries, though for some reason they haven't launched it in Ireland yet. With Sky Q recently launching, I expect they will introduce it soon in order to remain competitive.

It's not the distributor to the set-top-box that I need to be wireless. I need the set-top-box to the TV to be wireless. We have two TVs really nicely wired into the wall, with the analogue cable feeds and the power lead running behind the walls. Call me fussy, but I really, really don't want to have an ugly lead hanging out of the wall.

shnaek · 07-08-2016 1:01pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

different deal. what you had was a promotional price for 6/9/12 months on an 18 month contract but what the other poster has is a very rare package that was only sold for a week or so back in 2013 where it was €27 a month for unlimited. no tv. not for a few months, thats just hiw much it was. no idea why they did that but they pulled it almost instantly.
the price crept up over the years with the annual price increases but it's still quite cheap at €35

Nope, we had it 9 years.

shnaek · 07-08-2016 1:05pm

cookie1977 wrote: »

This is correct. I had threatened to leave back then and i was put through to a girl in retentions. She offered me a deal for 25 euro on a one year contract and stated the discount was permanent and not linked to the contract. Once the contract finished we stayed on the 25 euro plan but through the standard increases it has crept up from 25 to 27.99 then to 29.99 and now earlier this year to 34.99. I kept a recording of the call just in case.

Yeah, they did that with us too on the 8th year. Said the discount was permanent too. I should have recorded the call myself. They completely denied it when they sent the 90 bill, said they'd never offer a permanent discount. So I cancelled, but I still had to pay the 90 bill, and another 90 the next month because of the 30 day notice. They refunded the days in the next month that I didn't use. I finished up with them then and have just tethered my phone since. I was never a really heavy user.

bk · 07-08-2016 1:20pm

2RockMountain wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that there was no concept of charging for multi-room when we got wired up initially, 20 years ago or more. Cablelink, as it was then, delivered the cable to the wall, and you did what you like with it inside the house. I've probably never told them that I use analogue in other rooms, but I've certainly never told them that I don't use analogue either.

True and you can be sure that Virgin knows that this "free" multiroom is the reason why many people stay with them for their TV service which is otherwise inferior to Sky and an added bonus and differentiator to their broadband customers.

I think they know very well that they will lose an awful lot of TV and broadband subs if this "free" multiroom TV goes away. I think this is why they have kept it around for so long and why they will likely do something like decrypt some of the digital channels when it eventually goes away.

2RockMountain wrote: »

It's not the distributor to the set-top-box that I need to be wireless. I need the set-top-box to the TV to be wireless. We have two TVs really nicely wired into the wall, with the analogue cable feeds and the power lead running behind the walls. Call me fussy, but I really, really don't want to have an ugly lead hanging out of the wall.

Ah, I see.

I believe the current Virgin multiroom boxes still have a Scart out connection, which you can then get adaptor that converts the SCART out signal into an RF signal that you could thus send up the existing coax cable to your TV. Your TV would then display whatever channel is showing on the digital STB (though in lower SD picture quality).

If Virgin do end up decrypting some of the digital channels, then it will be easy to find a DVB-C tuner box with rf out, many already exist.

Alternatively if you change to Sky or FTA sat or Freesat, they all have RF out that would work too.

Another option might be wireless HDMI adaptors might be an option. Or alternatively you could stick a step top box to the back of the TV, though power to it might be an issue.

Could you pull the existing cable out and replace it with a HDMI cable, sometimes it is possible to do this without opening the wall?

I suspect some day Sky and Virgin will shrink their multiroom mini boxes to some sort of chromecast type stick eventually, but it might take a few years.

To be honest, it might just be cheaper and easier to open your wall and put a HDMI cable in their, it actually isn't that big of a job and you will benefit from getting HD. If you do decide to do this, make sure to put conduit with pull strings in the wall, so that you can easily change the cables in future without opening the wall again, good general advice.

Having said all that, I wouldn't worry about it for now, unless you want to go HD today, it might be years before they turn off analogue.

Virgin Media Cancellation deals

Comments