Help! Virgin Media has taken over my TV!

Andyjenk · 13-04-2007, 20:18

I have a Pace box which has been updated with Virgin Media's new software.

Now, when I do anything using my TV remote (such as changing the volume or the TV aspect ratio) a big black box pops up saying "Sorry, that service is not available, press enter to continue". I then have to use the VM (NTL) remote to clear it! Has anybody else got this problem or know how to get rid of it? My TV is a 32" Technosonic LCD.

Any help would be appreciated as it is driving me potty.

Thanks

virginmedia · 13-04-2007, 20:32

This is strange.

Maybe you should give 151 faults a call.

Alien · 13-04-2007, 21:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andyjenk

Any help would be appreciated as it is driving me potty.

Same thing happened with my old Pace box & my Thompson TV [that makes 3 brands of TV it happens with now by my count, can't remember what the other 1 is though]. The only solution is to get a different [not Pace] STB. It doesn't do it with my V+ & AFAIK it doesn't do it with Samsung boxes either.

Unless of course they fix the firmware for the Pace boxes.

Andyjenk · 14-04-2007, 20:54

I've tried the NTL/VirginMedia "cure-all" of unplugging the box and plugging it in again. Sometimes I just get a message asking me to wait while the box is powered up. This message stays on permanently (10+ minutes). Sometimes I get contol of my TV without the STB detecting my remote, but then I only get the base channels (not even Channel 5!). The rest of the time I get all my subscribed channels (except Sky!) BUT the STB detects and objects to ever action I take with my TV remote. I'll just have to try Faults again.

Alien · 14-04-2007, 21:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andyjenk

BUT the STB detects and objects to ever action I take with my TV remote.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alien

The only solution is to get a different [not Pace] STB.

Andyjenk · 29-04-2007, 15:49

To update this thread:-

A VM engineer came and replace the STB with another Pace (without the Analogue passthrough!). It solve the immediate problem but probably because the new box had early NTL software inside. Response to the remote is cr*p and I need to reset it frequently. This seems to result in a new "NTL upgrade" each time I switch it back on. Last night I tried to record HIGNFY only to find I had recorded 40 minutes of "Sorry for interrupting your viewing, we are upgrading your box. This should only take a short while." Grrrr.

I have asked "Customer Service" (laugh) to send the VM upgrade so I can see if the fault reccurs, but they seem unable to do so. I am NOT going to rearrange the channels to my preferred order only to find that an hour later (AGAIN) VM has overriden my selection.

I now have a new fault where randomly the box drops down a channel number. I reported it after it happened and I had recorded half the wrong channel and they were going to send an engineer around. It then stopped happening so I cancelled the appointment. Now, after last night's so-called upgrade, it did it again. I am not at all happy with VM, and I didn't even watch the Sky channels which were removed!

(Is it racist to prefer a UK based call centre staffed with people who know enough English to understand what you say to them?)

Andyjenk · 15-05-2007, 13:04

Further Update:

Woke up this morning to find the TV downstairs blaring away. Last week the engineer fitted a new Pace box (with VM software) and still was getting the black box message. Today it has gone!

(Yesterday I e-mailed VM to ask why they did not just ignore any signal not generatable by the Pace Remote Handset and now they have!) Coincidence?

They could have saved me months of frustration by doing this in the first place.