Virgin Media TV changes

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  • Some more HD moves happened overnight, similar to before. Again noticed as I lost Favourited channels, then looked on DigitalBitRate. This time its Premier Sports 1 HD, E! HD and Paramount HD.

    Looking at DBR after the last move I have come to think these aren't necessarily just changes to have more HD on each multiplex, as the the last changes seemed to already have been on a multiplex with more than the previous average HD streams before they were moved.

    I think Freesports HD has probably also moved as that's what got me looking in the first place, having been unFavourited. I swear when I looked this morning DBR had Freesports HD and not E! HD, but as I write it doesn't show what I thought I'd seen earlier. 8o

  • Some more HD moves happened overnight, similar to before. Again noticed as I lost Favourited channels, then looked on DigitalBitRate. This time its Premier Sports 1 HD, E! HD and Paramount HD.

    Looking at DBR after the last move I have come to think these aren't necessarily just changes to have more HD on each multiplex, as the the last changes seemed to already have been on a multiplex with more than the previous average HD streams before they were moved.

    I think Freesports HD has probably also moved as that's what got me looking in the first place, having been unFavourited. I swear when I looked this morning DBR had Freesports HD and not E! HD, but as I write it doesn't show what I thought I'd seen earlier. 8o

    What else do you think is going on?

  • What else do you think is going on?

    I think VM are fine tuning the balancing of the multiplexes.

    Say, for example, you are planning on having 14 channels on one multiplex, you may have thought you had chosen a grouping that worked well together, but then decide after a week or two it's having a bad effect on the quality of service. So you remove a few channels, putting them elsewhere, to a new grouping that works better together.

    Usually the best results come from having channels with relatively static video (e.g. News or Shopping) and use those to offset those with a lot of action (e.g. Movies or Sport).

    I think VM maybe thought some of their previous moves weren't as successful as they'd like, so are shuffling ones they had already put into supersized HD multiplexes into some of the new supersized multiplexes. So basically they are progressing with moving HD channels onto the new encoders and supersized multiplexes, whilst trying to perfect those they had already done where they think it's necessary.

    My interpretation. I could be wrong. 8)

  • Virgin Media has announced a new entertainment TV service...but it’s not for its existing TV customers.

    It sounds to me as if it’s some sort of limited TV aggregation service like Roku, for broadband customers only, but there are precious few details so far.

    https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021…nt-service.html

    [EXTRACT]

    Cable broadband and TV provider Virgin Media UK has revealed plans to launch a new Entertainment Service, which will apparently bring lots of different streaming services “together into one place.” Oddly, the trial for this is currently only open to those with a broadband-only service (no TV or phone) on their network and a HUB 3 or 4 router.

  • Virgin Media has announced a new entertainment TV service...but it’s not for its existing TV customers.

    It sounds to me as if it’s some sort of limited TV aggregation service like Roku, for broadband customers only, but there are precious few details so far.

    https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021…nt-service.html

    [EXTRACT]

    Cable broadband and TV provider Virgin Media UK has revealed plans to launch a new Entertainment Service, which will apparently bring lots of different streaming services “together into one place.” Oddly, the trial for this is currently only open to those with a broadband-only service (no TV or phone) on their network and a HUB 3 or 4 router.

    Interesting.

    Reminds me of when VM ventured outside their Cable areas for the broadband and came up with a VM-branded Freeview box as part of it.

  • Sounds to me like they're trying to make their BB offering look better, but not to TV customers in case it encourages them to drop their TV package.

    I think they know they have lots of Broadband-only customers who aren't interested in linear broadcast channels and only watch On-Demand apps, they probably can tell by network traffic, so they want to appeal to them by bundling many of them in a convenient package.

  • Ironic seeing as the networks often started as TV only, then phone was added and finally broadband.

    As phone services move over to VOIP (and landlines are now little used) & if the TV side is abandoned, the newest service looks to become the saviour of the cable industry.

  • I think they know they have lots of Broadband-only customers who aren't interested in linear broadcast channels and only watch On-Demand apps, they probably can tell by network traffic, so they want to appeal to them by bundling many of them in a convenient package.

    Maybe it's a pilot to provide TV in a much different way and ultimately pull out of traditional broadcasting altogether? Not in the short term though as they wouldn't be bothering with TV360.

  • Maybe it's a pilot to provide TV in a much different way and ultimately pull out of traditional broadcasting altogether? Not in the short term though as they wouldn't be bothering with TV360.

    I think you are on the right lines, in that Virgin may move over to provide all their TV offerings via apps. This is why I am puzzled as to why they are dragging their feet with giving us the ones that are missing.

    I don't think they will pull out of TV altogether, although that is just what I think and it's not based on anything other than my feeling that they stand to lose customers if they abandoned TV. I would have thought that it would be easier and cheaper for them just to give us the streamers all in one place, and forget about the TV channels, except perhaps the Freeview stuff while that still exists in its present form.

    I would like to see the following additional streamers added to Virgin's offering without undue delay:

    Disney +

    Apple +

    Discovery +

    Acorn

    Britbox

    If they take the decision to scrap the pay-tv channels, you can add Now to that list as well!

  • I wonder if this is testing off the VM EPG now? I miss jj20x & his contributions 🤐

    https://amp.mediamole.co.uk/entertainment/…iew_445153.html

    The only activity DigitalBitRate is showing is VM moving about HD channels, presumably the continuation of adding new encoders and having more HD services per multiplex.

    They've not even started, it's just a static screen on Freeview. Services have had static screens for months before, some never even made it to the air in the end.

  • Cheeky, in jj's absence, do you think you could keep an eye on that site for us VM news junkies and post anything major happening?

    We don't need any minor stuff, just anything major like new tests? thanks!

    Sure. I check at least every 2-3 days anyway. JJ's information was from a different source so it won't be that level, not that I would necessarily understand what I was looking at. ^^

    JJ20X could see things that are hidden from DBR, or at least not mentioned (as far as I can see).

    The problem at the moment is VM are moving a lot of existing stuff about on the network and, to my interpretation at least, they are using 5 digit service numbers to do it before they go live, and unless I go deep into each of these, and there are 20+ , I might miss a stray word or two that give a clue to what they are, as there are usually no screengrabs. So what is probably existing services could have the odd totally new one amongst them.

    Many of these moves label as New on DBR, so it makes it difficult.

    I'll try my best though. 8)

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