Virgin TV360

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[removes GBX from trial list]

An installer told me they are planing to release the box to the general public next month(April). He said there is a new modem been released as well.

Bodan wrote: »

An installer told me they are planing to release the box to the general public next month(April). He said there is a new modem been released as well.

-Earliest be out is June -maybe later due to Coronavirus.

Got talking to a VM engineer today and asked him when to expect the rollout. He said early July but the trials would be starting soon.

Calibos wrote: »

Got a call from Virgin today about the trial to arrange an engineer installation appointment but told her I'd prefer a self instal which she was happy to switch me to. She said I'll get an email when the box ships next week sometime.

Finally some movement, would love to trial it myself, but I handed back my horizon box a good while back.

towger wrote: »

Is the V6 purely for TV or is it also the router like Horizon is ?

I'd imagine they learned the hard way that it's best to keep them separate. But not 100% sure... anyone?

I never had a problem with the Wi-Fi from the Horizon box but I eventually caved in and took the external BB router so that I wouldn't have any delays in getting the new box.

Are there still people out there getting their Wi-Fi from the Horizon unit?

Hi ya wrote: »

have it in about 2 weeks much quicker interface menu much better scrolls through very quickly

To be fair my father had an 11 year old bush set top box that was quicker than the horizon box.
The horizon box is junk. Rubbish plain and simple.
Missed recordings, sound disappearing, lag on interface. I could go on but I won't as I'm with sky now and it actually works...all the time.

If you take the Horizon box out of Eco mode, it's a lot better.
VM engineer showed me. Boots now in 2-3 seconds, alot more responsive.

Really disappointed I didnt get selected for the trial. I have bitched and moaned enough about it over the years!!!

If you google Virgin Media 360 quite a bit of info comes up on it. Here is the official VM Link https://www.virginmedia.ie/virgintv360support/

Also see this video of it in action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjJwiaG4Ij0

Calibos wrote: »

Just got a call from Virgin that my install is tomorrow. Asked for self instal but they changed it back to engineer install because we are still on a Cisco 3925 Modem/router. That was through choice As I have it bridged to an ASUS router for 10 years and it still did the job of a modem reliably. Presumably the V6 box needs 360mbits+ for the on demand stuff and our Cisco 3925 and 250mnit BB package dont cut the mustard any more.

Would I be right in saying that the new modem is bridgeable? The Engineer wont bridge it for me will he. i’ll have to do that myself after he leaves? Also will I be on IP6 now and have to Ring to ask to be put back on IP4?

Im not sure why you would sign up for a trial when you clearly have a non-standard, non-supported setup. Engineer will leave and you'll just go and change everything, bridge the modem and all sorts of shannigans and then you're absolutely useless for testing purposes.

Hogzy wrote: »

Really disappointed I didnt get selected for the trial. I have bitched and moaned enough about it over the years!!!

If you google Virgin Media 360 quite a bit of info comes up on it. Here is the official VM Link https://www.virginmedia.ie/virgintv360support/

Also see this video of it in action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjJwiaG4Ij0

Thanks for the link. Just noticed that they are infact doing 360 Mini boxes. ie. Like Sky Q Mini's. I remember when this question was asked/talked about on the old UPC/Virgin Forum that the answer was there was just one type of V6 box and if you wanted it in multi-rooms you got multply large V6 boxes.....or that thats the way multiroom was done with the V6 in the UK where it was already in customers hands. Anyway, I'm glad to see its just one main box and minis for the rest as only one of my TV locations has an equipment rack that can easily and aesthetically accomadate the larger V6 box, The mini boxes will be a much better physical and aesthetic fit at my other TV locations.

Main box only has a hard drive so all your recordings go on this box. Advantages and one disadvantage if main box fails.

Mini boxes still need a coaxial cable feed for linear tv.

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

Sure, WOW, much tech, very internets, cool story bro.

Whooooosh....

Wink wink was to indicate I was taking the piss with/of my own self aggrandisement..while at the same time countering your argument that I am useless as a triallist. I’m sure your sarcastic wit makes you lots of friends. ;)

and does it broadcast 4k HDR? Sky Q box just rolled out HDR this week

Shamrock 64 wrote: »

Looking forward to it,was hoping for hdmi CEC but not a big problem, running it through an AV amp,can still use an optical cable for surround sound.Thanks for the reply.

Be careful what you wish for...

Install went without a hitch on all my older HD Plasma TV's but black screen with intermittant quick flashes of glitchy image on my 4K LED via a 10 year old HDMI cable buried in wall. Installer thought it was his first Dud 360 mini so got another from the van. Same thing. Took the HDMI Dolby Atmos amp out of the loop. Same thing. We both agreed there was something unique about this room/cabling/setup in this room that was the issue. It then occured to me that maybe CEC was the issue in some way as I'd heard it can cause more problems than it solves sometimes. Installer clicked his fingers and agreed when I suggested that. However trying to disable CEC/Simplink in the TV menu didn't seem to do anything and the problem was still there. It was late in the day and installer said he'd be back with higher level tech the next day as this would be a teaching experience for them anyway (ie half the point of the trial is to iron out install bugs/scenarios) before the roll out to customers.

After he was gone I tried some other cables. A 5M HMDI cable of slightly newer vintage than the one buried in the wall plugged into the TV's HDMI 2 port worked and at least allowed me to go into the Media Box menu and tell it to Display 1080p instead of Auto. That didn't solve the inwall cable connected to HDMI 1 port on the TV though. Then it occured to me to swap the in wall cable to HDMI port 2 and Bingo!!

My theory is that HDMI Port 1 on the TV has CEC but HDMI port 2 doesn't. The in-wall cable is old enough not to support 4K bandwidth but CEC on the TV was telling the Media box to send 4K (and overriding 1080p setting when I changed it) Cable couldn't pass it. Switching the cable to HDMI port 2 without CEC meant no signal from the TV telling MediaBox to send 4K and thus it defaulted to my 1080p setting which the in-wall HDMI 1.2?? cable can and did support with the Horizon Box.

Don't care about 4K content anyway at 55" screen size at current viewing distance and getting to use the cable buried in the Chimney breast for aesthetics is preferable to me so not being able to send 4K from the box to this TV on the Chimney Breast as my setup current stands is not a problem for me at all. I'll only be interested in 4K content when I upgrade the 1080p projector in the same room to a 4K one when they come down in price and that is not reliant on an old HDMI 1.2 cable buried in a wall as the projector hidden on a different shelf can be connected to the Atmos Amp and Mediabox via HDMI 2.0+ cables every step of the way. Come to think of it, when I implement that aspect of the setup and build the appropriate cabinetry, I'll have 4K to the 4KTV anyway (though it might be a 4K OLED at that point and not a Cheapish LG 4K 55" LED) Plan to move the TV location off the Chimney Breast to the wall I currently project onto and build a longer Faux Radiator cabinet to house new low profile front L/C/R speakers and Sub and an Electric Projection screen that rises out the top of the Faux Radiator cabinet in front of the TV. ie. 5m HDMI 2.0 to the TV can be chased in behind replaced skirting board and hidden most of the way inside the faux rad cabinet. An extension of the empty radiator cabinet idea I already half implemented if only to have somewhere to hold my Centre speaker close to the screen. LOL



Also self diagnosed my Bridged HUB 3.0 speedtesting at 95mbits which installer and higher level tech were going to investigate the next day.Why 90-100mbit everytime I asked myself after they went. Eureka!! HUB Bridged to my Asus router and onto my 24 port switch and home network must have been negotiating at 100mbit network speeds instead of Gigabit. Swapped the ethernet cable between the HUB 3.0 and myh Asus Router and Bingo!SPeedTest now showing my usual 250mbit download.

Texted back installer that he only needed to come back to collect our old 4 STB's which will probably be Tuesday as we both forgot it was a BH weekend.

Yeah, I'm useless as a Trialist alright! LOL. :rolleyes:

;)

Shamrock 64 wrote: »

That was a right mess, very frustrating,glad you got it sorted out,so far no problems with my equipment using HDMI CEC through an Onkyo amp,if there's none on the new box then il use as normal with V6 going to hdmi1 ontv with optical cable to amp for surround sound.Hdmi 2 runs a 4k Blu Ray Player and an Android box with CEC no problems thank god.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a right mess. 3 out of the 4 box installs went without a hitch, Hub was bridged to my Asus router in seconds and Internet back up and running quickly. It was one of my own Ethernet cables that was dodgy causing it to negotiate at 100mbit. My own 10 year old HDMI 1.2 (??) in-wall cable causing the hiccup with the final box install. I wasn't stressed or frustrated by it because I knew we'd figure it out. We just ran out of time that day because mine was the last install of the day. Its not like I had to take a day off work even if he did have to come back the next day. Work is next door so I could come in to him whenever he visited again.

I have 3 of the boxes on wired Ethernet connections. Every room has 2x CT100/RG6 Coax and 2x Ethernet. However one room with a TV has a big old Wardrobe infront of wall plate and I wasn't about to empty it and move it to plug in an ethernet cable for that box so we set it up with the KODI boxes ethernet cable and I did the WIFI setup later and swapped the ethernet back to the KODI box. One of my Wireless Access points is in the room below so the signal strengh was full bars and the Media boxes network diagnostics showed excellent signal strength/speed and a big green tick mark beside UltraHD.

He had worried he was going to have to replace all the COAX in the house from the TAP but was thrilled to find out I had CT100/RG6 from a Side Attic Central point near the TAP outside to every room in the house. Ironically, it was the 2010 UPC installed COAX from the TAP to my 2010 internal COAX cabling that was below spec for the new boxes.

Loving the new Mediaboxes BTW and plan to max out multiroom and get another 2 mini's. Installer said a max of 6 boxes are supported. (1x Main and 5xMini's) which is more than SKY but I guess thats because Virgin Mini's need a COAX as well as network connection whereas SKY Q is sending everything over the network.

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Same, every time they sent out a survey i would go to town on them about how bad the TV box is. They don't care at all

Sometimes a critic and sometimes a defender of them on the UPC/Virgin Customer Interaction forum on boards and expressed interest in the trial over there several times. Don't recall ever PM'ing my Account details to the Reps for that reason specifically, though I guess they could have done a User name search and gotten my account number from an unrelated old query and put a flag on my account to offer me a Trial when they started. That said, IIRC I officially applied for the trial via a link in a Promotional email that I received from Virgin on March 4th. Did I receive that email because I'd expressed interest in the trial on the CI forum here on boards or did everyone get that Trial email early March and I was just lucky to be selected and it was coincidental that I had expressed interest last year.

Yes over WiFi be fine once you have a good wifi signal. Linear Tv is via coax on all boxes.