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Virgin Media TiVo vs V+HD - which box should I choose?

Our digital TV expert says...

Signing up to a Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) cable TV package will let you enjoy all the great features and catch-up TV the provider has to offer, Horace.

The cable TV giant’s brand new TiVo set-top box is a state-of-the-art digital TV receiver that has a built-in internet connection, a huge 1 Terabyte (1TB) of storage and even a reverse TV schedule so you can go back to the shows you've missed.

But with a price tag of £199.95 for new customers and £149.95 for existing customers looking to buy the 1TB box - which is also only available to XL TV customers at the moment - TiVo is costly.

Virgin Media is also launching a smaller 500GB TiVo box that will be available to all existing customers for a far cheaper £49.99 - though you'll also have to pay £3 a month on top of your existing subscription to use the service.

But is TiVo really worth the money? Watch the video below for a quick guide to the main differences between the new set-top box and Virgin Media’s V+HD box, then read my guide for more information…

TiVo or V+HD - costs?

Although the cost of the new 1TB box is quite high, existing customers can upgrade for the same cost as taking the V+HD box.

You also have the additional monthly fee to consider. While the V+HD service is free for XL TV customers, anyone signed up to the M+ or L packages have to pay an extra £5 a month.

But the TiVo service only costs £3 a month - though you have to pay this extra charge even as an XL customer.

This means that the overall cost of taking TiVo isn’t massively higher than the V+HD service - even though you'll be able to enjoy a whole host of extra features. And if you're an existing Virgin Media customer, you might even be able to save £2 a month by upgrading.

TiVo box features

On top of the usual features found on your set-top box, TiVo offers some unique services that keep it a cut above the rest:

• Internet-enabled - TiVo boxes come with their own dedicated 10Mb cable broadband connection, allowing you to watch online content at the touch of a button. And because the connection is dedicated for use by your TiVo box alone, it won’t affect your home broadband speeds.

• WishList - Whether you're obsessed with Andy Warhol art or a massive fan of ZZ Top tunes, setting up a TiVo WishList will make sure you never miss a thing. Once your WishList has been set up, anything featuring your chosen artist, actor or genre will automatically be recorded for you. For more information, read our guide to setting up a TiVo WishList.

• Discovery Bar - As you watch TV using your TiVo box, it will begin to learn what you like and will recommend programmes or movies that you might like in the Discovery Bar. It can even record and save them for you, ready for you to watch whenever you want.
  
  You can then give your recommendations a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down”. The more you rate shows, the more accurate your recommendations will become. Watch this video for a quick guide to the Discovery Bar:

• Apps - Watch clips on YouTube, play a game or even check your bids on eBay during the ad breaks. For more information, read our guide to TiVo apps and games.

• Reverse TV schedule - Scroll back through your TV schedule to “un-miss” your favourite shows from the past seven days.

HD TV with Virgin Media

Both the TiVo and the V+HD boxes allow you to watch telly in ultra-sharp high-definition (HD) if you've got a HD ready TV.

This means that images will be five times sharper and the crisp, clear sound will be delivered in Dolby Digital surround sound.

Both boxes are also 3D activated, so if you've got a 3D TV, you can also watch Virgin Media’s range of 3D pay-per-view films such as Step Up: 3D, Saw: The Final Chapter and Despicable Me.

Pause, rewind and record ‘live’ TV

The ability to pause, rewind and record “live” TV isn’t new - satellite rival Sky (www.sky.com) launched its Sky+ service back in 2001.

And while you can still do all these things with the V+HD box, the TiVo service takes this to the next level, with more storage and a triple tuner to let you do more with your TV at the same time.

• TV storage space - The V+HD box offers space for up to 80 hours of TV recordings, but the 1TB TiVo set-top box gives you a massive 500 hours of standard definition recording space - and even the smaller 500GB box lets you store up to 250 hours of your favourite TV.

• Multi-channel recording - Both the V+HD and the TiVo boxes come with triple tuners that allow you to record two different channels while you watch a third, ensuring that you never miss a thing.
  
  Sky+ on the other hand only offers a twin tuner, so you can only record one channel while you watch another.

Catch-up and on-demand TV

Virgin Media already offers a huge selection of on-demand and catch-up TV, with access to the BBC iPlayer, the ITV Player, Channel 4’s 4oD and more, all direct to your TV.

Coupled with the cable TV provider’s pioneering TV On Demand service, TiVo gives you access to over 4,600 hours of TV entertainment, movies, sports and music videos - more than any other digital on-demand TV service. And of course, you'll also be able to watch YouTube and other online content using TiVo’s dedicated broadband connection.

I hope that explains the differences between the two boxes Horace - choosing the TiVo box will future-proof your TV, however V+HD is more cost effective at the moment.

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