Digital TV Guides

Virgin Media TiVo

Updated: Tuesday 3 April, 2012

By Editorial

Heard about Virgin Media’s latest TV service TiVo? Get the new set-top box from the cable TV and watch all your favourite shows. Here's everything you need to know:

What is TiVo?

TiVo is a brand of set-top box with the functionality of a personal video recorder (PVR) - letting its users pause, rewind, fast forward and record TV at the touch of a button.

What makes it different from other on-demand TV services, is the set-top box’s internet connectivity. Thanks to this you can access a whole host of internet TV content, including LoveFilm movies and YouTube clips.

As well as being both HD ready and 3D ready, the TiVo-powered set-top box gives users a whopping 1 TeraByte (1TB) of storage, so you can record up to 120 hours of full high-definition (HD) programmes and films, or a staggering 500 hours worth in standard definition.

The new TiVo box from Virgin Media

When coupled with Virgin Media’s pioneering TV On Demand service, the new TiVo service will give viewers access to over 4,600 hours of TV entertainment, movies, sports and music videos - more than any other digital TV providers’ on-demand TV service.

Virgin Media has made hundreds of hours of HD and 3D entertainment available through TiVo, on top of its usual catch-up TV from the terrestrial broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4. And because everything is available at the touch of a button, you’re never be short of things to watch.

How does TiVo with Virgin Media work?

Unlike other on-demand services, the new set-top box features its own dedicated internal modem. This is able to deliver HD video and other online services without affecting your regular broadband connection.

Ultimately, it means that customers with the new Virgin Media TiVo-powered service can download and watch hours of HD films and content in minutes rather than hours, and without having to sacrifice other online activities.

Because rival on-demand services, such as BT Vision from BT, rely on just one central broadband connection, (usually via an ADSL copper wire line) it is often difficult for families to watch online TV and do other things like gaming and surfing the internet, at the same time because speeds are too slow.

Virgin Media says a typical family using TiVo alongside its 50Mb broadband connection, however, should be able to “enjoy a seamless experience with incredible connectivity, allowing the whole family to watch, surf, and play, all at the same time without compromise.”

TiVo video guides:

Virgin Media packages and bundles

Virgin Media offers a broad range of cable TV packages, which bundle your broadband and home phone services too. Compare popular Virgin Media packages below, and click GO for more information:

Virgin Media TV packages

Company	Package Name	Channels	Broadband	Home Phone
	TV: M+	65 channels including Virgin 1, Sky1, LIVING and many more
	TV: L	100 channels including Virgin 1, Sky1, Comedy Central, Bravo and many more
	TV: XL	160 channels including Virgin 1, Sky1, ESPN, Disney Channel and many more
	TV: L + Broadband: 30Mb + Phone: M	100 channels including Virgin 1, Sky1, Comedy Central, Bravo and many more

To join Virgin Media, visit www.virginmedia.com, or if you are an existing customer looking to upgrade to TiVo, visit www.virginmedia.com/existing.

Other on-demand options

While TiVo is definitely a contender for the title of best on-demand TV service, there are other options available. Sky’s (www.sky.com) new video-on-demand TV service, Sky Anytime+, rivals both of the existing Virgin Media and BT Vision on-demand platforms, for example.

Other free-to-view internet TV services, such as SeeSaw and FetchTV are also available, and offer a library of on-demand content from major UK broadcasters, such as the BBC and Channel 4, as well as programmes and films on a pay-per-view basis.

If you’re interested in watching TV on-demand, compare digital TV packages using the Digitalchoices.co.uk price comparison tool and find out more about installation costs and package prices.