Virgin 360 vs Sky Q

CinemaGuy45

Has anybody any experience of using the two of these platforms?

I am using Sky Q but I have to say the little bit of I have seen of the 360 box it looks pretty good.

With Sky for TV and Virgin for broadband would the 360 box and minis be a good substitute for Sky Q.

Live channel lists are not a big deal what is the On Demand section and Catch UP like on the 360 like?

Can you have Sky Sports and Cinema in HD on the minis also?

awec

The mini / multiroom boxes with Virgin are not completely wireless which seems like a big oversight to me.

Personally, given how absolutely abysmal Virgin's TV offering has been for years I would be reluctant to make any switch to any new product of theirs until other, more keen guinea pigs figure out if it actually is decent over a prolonged period of time.

Wabbit Ears

CinemaGuy45 wrote: »

Can you have Sky Sports and Cinema in HD on the minis also?

The minis have the same capabilities as the main box bar the Hard disk for recordings. all recordings are stored on the main box.

Delta2113

And the pause function is not as good as main box.

"- Press record and then do your pause on 360 boxes other than the main box - not ideal but a work around."

mackersdublin

The Plus/minus points for me are...

Virgin 360:
Plus
No additional price for HD channels, and it includes Virgin Media Sport HD and the 6 VM Sport Extra HD channels
Channel 4 HD
No need for a satellite dish

Minus
Very little 4K content, only 8 episodes of one programme
No BT Sport/Premier Sports or Eir Sport
Only 30 odd HD channels, with the additional option of buying Sky Sports and Sky Cinema in HD. Total HD channels: 56


Sky Q:
Plus
Much bigger selection of channels
Alot more HD channels (over 100 - which is nearly twice the amount), if you have a big TV, then SD channels can look pretty crap
4K content and the ability to record selected Sky Sports programming in 4K
All Sky Sports channels available in HD
BT Sport/Premier Sports and Eir Sport available to buy

Minus
HD is an extra cost
No Channel 4 HD, only available through "Other Channels"
It needs a satellite dish

galtee boy

The only CH4 region in HD is the London one, with presumably London area adverts. How come CH4 dont insist that it's the ROI version (sd) with ROI adverts that Virgin show , like they insist with Sky Ireland ?

CinemaGuy45

mackersdublin wrote: »

The Plus/minus points for me are...

Virgin 360:
Plus
No additional price for HD channels, and it includes Virgin Media Sport HD and the 6 VM Sport Extra HD channels
Channel 4 HD
No need for a satellite dish

Minus
Very little 4K content, only 8 episodes of one programme
No BT Sport/Premier Sports or Eir Sport
Only 30 odd HD channels, with the additional option of buying Sky Sports and Sky Cinema in HD. Total HD channels: 56


Sky Q:
Plus
Much bigger selection of channels
Alot more HD channels (over 100 - which is nearly twice the amount), if you have a big TV, then SD channels can look pretty crap
4K content and the ability to record selected Sky Sports programming in 4K
All Sky Sports channels available in HD
BT Sport/Premier Sports and Eir Sport available to buy

Minus
HD is an extra cost
No Channel 4 HD, only available through "Other Channels"
It needs a satellite dish

I am with Virgin for internet as the phone line in my area is rubbish up to 4Mb only.
I am with Sky for TV as up until now the Virgin TV boxes were rubbish.

In addition to what you are saying Sky has Netflix and Disney Plus built in while Virgin has Netflix and Prime built in.

For anybody looking for a bundle I suppose in an area with a good phone line or fibre Sky wound be a good option and in an area with bad line Virgin media with the 360 boxes would be a good option.

I am still in contract with Sky and Virgin and am happy with everything except the combined price.

Thanks for all the information what I take away from it is people looking for TV and internet should do a bit of research on what is in their area and how much they are willing to pay.

CinemaGuy45

galtee boy wrote: »

The only CH4 region in HD is the London one, with presumably London area adverts. How come CH4 dont insist that it's the ROI version (sd) with ROI adverts that Virgin show , like they insist with Sky Ireland ?

The odd time I watch anything of Channel 4 I use the catch up on Sky which is in HD with Irish adverts before the show.
Watching SD channels on big UHD TVs is a pain.

awec

mackersdublin wrote: »

The Plus/minus points for me are...

Virgin 360:
Plus
No additional price for HD channels, and it includes Virgin Media Sport HD and the 6 VM Sport Extra HD channels
Channel 4 HD
No need for a satellite dish

Minus
Very little 4K content, only 8 episodes of one programme
No BT Sport/Premier Sports or Eir Sport
Only 30 odd HD channels, with the additional option of buying Sky Sports and Sky Cinema in HD. Total HD channels: 56


Sky Q:
Plus
Much bigger selection of channels
Alot more HD channels (over 100 - which is nearly twice the amount), if you have a big TV, then SD channels can look pretty crap
4K content and the ability to record selected Sky Sports programming in 4K
All Sky Sports channels available in HD
BT Sport/Premier Sports and Eir Sport available to buy

Minus
HD is an extra cost
No Channel 4 HD, only available through "Other Channels"
It needs a satellite dish

HD is an extra cost but you also get access to the boxsets / on demand content with the HD pack.

Virgin on demand content is atrocious, or at least it was when I had their TV.

Edit: I can't find the boxset stuff on their hd package any more, so maybe they stopped including it?

mollser

Virgin 360's replay tv implementation is fantastic and surprisingly comprehensive (pretty much just BBC and the sky branded channels missing from it) and is the most used feature on our box. I may be mistaken but I don't think sky have the equivalent

CinemaGuy45

mollser wrote: »

Virgin 360's replay tv implementation is fantastic and surprisingly comprehensive (pretty much just BBC and the sky branded channels missing from it) and is the most used feature on our box. I may be mistaken but I don't think sky have the equivalent

No Sky do not have that feature.

JOL1

Has anyone managed to get a deal for existing customers to upgrade to 360 by contacting direct. I am considering leaving Virgin as old Horizon Tv box is glitchy

icdg

galtee boy wrote: »

The only CH4 region in HD is the London one, with presumably London area adverts. How come CH4 dont insist that it's the ROI version (sd) with ROI adverts that Virgin show , like they insist with Sky Ireland ?

Sky have a regulated EPG with strict rules as to how channels are placed that are published and they are required to follow. HD swap is only allowed if the HD and SD versions are identical. Hence why BBC Two HD is dumped down in the 300s.

VM’s EPG is unregulated, and they can pretty much put channels wherever they like. (Though if they moved the Irish terrestrials from the top I’m pretty sure there would be a move to regulate pretty quickly).

craggyrugby

JOL1 wrote: »

Has anyone managed to get a deal for existing customers to upgrade to 360 by contacting direct. I am considering leaving Virgin as old Horizon Tv box is glitchy

Yup, I signed up online and they replaced my Horizon box the next day by courier. There were a couple of glitches getting the new boxes setup, but only because a switch didn't get flipped to say that I had the new box.

It is definitely worth upgrading as 360 is light years better than the horizon box, and the wifi is better with the new box too, also saving a few bob a month as there is a deal on at the moment that saves €10 a month for 12 months.

paddyh117

JOL1 wrote: »

Has anyone managed to get a deal for existing customers to upgrade to 360 by contacting direct. I am considering leaving Virgin as old Horizon Tv box is glitchy

I rang them and spoke with loyalty, they would not budge on a deal so Cancelled the TV - I did manage to get €15 per month off broadband only so that's good i guess. Am getting Saorview/Freesat installed today to replace Virgin TV - I would have stayed if they had given a decent deal - have been a customer for 15+ years

seefin

paddyh117 wrote: »

I rang them and spoke with loyalty, they would not budge on a deal so Cancelled the TV - I did manage to get €15 per month off broadband only so that's good i guess. Am getting Saorview/Freesat installed today to replace Virgin TV - I would have stayed if they had given a decent deal - have been a customer for 15+ years

How much are you paying now for broadband? Contract is up soon so considering staying with virgin for broadband and sky basic for tv- calculate it will be €80 a month vs the 60 we're paying at moment for virgin tv and broadband. The horizon box is doing my head in though after years with sky tv.

Sultan of Bling

seefin wrote:

How much are you paying now for broadband? Contract is up soon so considering staying with virgin for broadband and sky basic for tv- calculate it will be €80 a month vs the 60 we're paying at moment for virgin tv and broadband. The horizon box is doing my head in though after years with sky tv.

Virgin have a new box now. Have you tried getting one of them?

Haven't used it myself as im not with virgin for tv but comments here have been largely positive.

seefin

Sultan of Bling wrote: »

Virgin have a new box now. Have you tried getting one of them?

Haven't used it myself as im not with virgin for tv but comments here have been largely positive.

it seems alot better but also more expensive?Currently paying 50 for broadband and only 10 for basic tv. Might be worth asking how much extra tp upgrade. Realistically i think will just move to sky for tv if get a deal for €25 a month . Im in awe at how crap the horizon box it and how virgin think its acceptable in current day

Delta2113

Virgin's mini boxes are fully compatible with 4K and Sky does not do Family Profiles.

pmct

paddyh117 wrote: »

I rang them and spoke with loyalty, they would not budge on a deal so Cancelled the TV - I did manage to get €15 per month off broadband only so that's good i guess. Am getting Saorview/Freesat installed today to replace Virgin TV - I would have stayed if they had given a decent deal - have been a customer for 15+ years

Same here I rang them last week as my contract was up and the most they would give was €10 off to keep tge equipment that I had already when I pointed out it was available 1/2 online I was told it was for new customers only so I left and am getting sky installed next week

seefin

pmct wrote: »

Same here I rang them last week as my contract was up and the most they would give was €10 off to keep tge equipment that I had already when I pointed out it was available 1/2 online I was told it was for new customers only so I left and am getting sky installed next week

Are sky doing tv installs? I rang a month ago and they said they aren't, only broadband

pmct

seefin wrote: »

Are sky doing tv installs? I rang a month ago and they said they aren't, only broadband

They are coming out this week to install the broadband and again on April the 1st to install the TV

galtee boy

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seefin wrote: »

Are sky doing tv installs? I rang a month ago and they said they aren't, only broadband

They are doing installs, they came to my sister last Thursday to install SkyQ.