Coming to Virgin TV

[OLD BOY]

Does anyone have any information on the likely impact of IPTV when the platform is introduced next year? Will it simply bring us additional access to more channels (which itself will be welcome) or will it start to 'change the way we watch TV'?

It strikes me, this could be something or nothing, but if it is something, it could be REALLY something!

Anyone picking up anything from the inside?

[Media Boy]

All ''UKTV' channels are to rebranded IN October - Their new names are still TBC.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/11/television1

Info from Guardian.

[supremus]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Does anyone have any information on the likely impact of IPTV when the platform is introduced next year? Will it simply bring us additional access to more channels (which itself will be welcome) or will it start to 'change the way we watch TV'?

It strikes me, this could be something or nothing, but if it is something, it could be REALLY something!

Anyone picking up anything from the inside?

Virgin themselves barely seem to have even a vague idea of what the supposed IPTV switch might mean to any aspect of their service. What you can be sure of is that if Virgin say 2009, you can pencil in the bug-filled limited rollout for 2019 and the full even more bug-filled rollout for 2029.

[Felim_Doyle]

Originally Posted by TV Boy

All ''UKTV' channels are to rebranded IN October - Their new names are still TBC.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/11/television1

Info from Guardian.

Yippee! More Richard and Judy and one less UKTV <something> +1. Real progress. [Where's the 'tongue-in-cheek' emoticon?].

So, "following the successful repositioning of male-skewed service UKTV G2 as Dave last year" did your frequency of viewing increase dramatically?

[Media Boy]

Keep up-to-date on upcoming channel launches and other important events across the two platforms of Virgin TV - week 23 update

Updated every Thursday.

======== Coming up on Virgin TV & Other news and Info =======

Freeviews on Virgin TV right now:
No Channels this on an FREEVIEW on Virgin this week...

Date TBC:
Challenge Jackpot is to launch on Virgin Media Channel 154.

June:
24th. The full launch of NME Radio launches on Virgin Media Channel 975.

July:
STAR hope to launch both STAR One and maybe STAR Gold on Virgin Media by the 1st of July (NOTE: An deal have still to be signed so it may not happen.)

By Summer:
The Hits TV is to be rebranded to 4Music.

August:
An Virgin Media worker has started an rumoured that Virgin 1 HD is to launch this month.

September:
BBC Alba (BBC Craoladh nan Gaidheal) may launch on Virgin Media this month (only in Scotland).

October:
UKTV will launch a new "linear catch-up service for modern classics" channel, replacing one of their Timeshift channels.
UKTV Gold will be rebranded ''Gold'' on Virgin Channels 124 and 125.
UKTV Drama will be rebranded into a crime drama channel, possibly called ''Alibi'' on Virgin Channels 129 and 130.
UKTV are also expected drop the "UKTV" from UKTV Documentary, UKTV Food, UKTV Gardens, UKTV History, UKTV People and UKTV Style names.

November:
News will appear here soon...

December:
News will appear here soon...

Channels that will appear soon on Virgin Media (Been Confirmed by the Broadcaster, BARB or by Virgin Media.)
Nuts TV
Pop Girl
Channel 4 HD
Challenge Jackpot - now testing on some Boxes
JJB Sports TV - now testing on some Boxes

Will happen before 2009:
Virgin plan to remove all the Ex-ntl or Ex-Telewest channels so that Virgin Viewers can have the same lineup.
NASN and 'Virgin Radio' is to be rebranded.
New look 4oD starts on Virgin Media.

The following channels are rumoured to be coming to Virgin TV this year.
The National Geographic Channel +1*
Motors TV*
BBC TV Local Channels*
The History Channel +1*
Playhouse Disney +
True Movies 2
AnimeCentral
Cartoonito
TCM2
ESPN Classic
Bubble Hits
Al Jazeera English
ARY QTV and The Musik

* = Maybe coming to Ex-Telewest due to Ex-ntl viewers having them right now.

Other news
The Paranormal Channel plans to launch on Virgin within six months (Dated 7th of June 2008).
NBC Universal-backed kids' broadcaster KidsCo is rumoured to be in discussions with Virgin Media looking to launch a linear TV channel on their platform.
Liberty Global (Zone Horror owners) 'would consider' buying Virgin Media's television channels, it has said.
Virgin are rumoured to be in talks with the following broadcasters: ITV, Five & Sky.
Motors TV are says to be ''currently finalizing the renegotiation of they contract'' with Virgin Media.
No news in months: Film 24 and Chello Zone are both also rumoured to be in talks with Virgin.

The list of Channels THAT Virgin Media have worked on this week

Channels renamed//Re-launch/Move EPG:
No news this week...

New Channels added:
No news this week...

Channels removed from Virgin TV
No news this week...

New channels that are now testing on some Virgin Media boxes.
JJB Sports TV
Challenge Jackpot

======== Channels still to appear on Ex-Telewest =======

Virgin still have to sign deals for the following ex-NTL channels to appear on the ex-Telewest Network

NO. Channel Name
231. The National Geographic Channel +1
235. The History Channel +1
545. Motors TV
811. Zee Music
812. Alpha ETC Punjabi
833. Phoenix CNE
861. BBC One England
862. BBC One Scotland
863. BBC One Northern Ireland
864. BBC One Wales
865. BBC Two England
928. Radio: Magic
929. Radio: Q
930. Radio: BBC Radio Scotland
931. Radio: BBC Radio Wales
932. Radio: BBC Radio Ulster
934. Radio: BBC Radio nan Gaidheal
936. Radio: BBC Radio Cymru
962. Radio: The Hits
963. Radio: Kiss 100
964. Radio: Kerrang!
966. Radio: Smash Hits!

NOTE: EMap Radio channels: ( Magic, Q, The Hits, Kiss 100, Kerrang!, Smash Hits! ) have all been sold to H Bauer.

======== Virgin Media Electric! news =======

In this months ''Electric!' Virgin Media have make an list of channels that are on both networks but I noted the following Ex-ntl Radio channels in it.

NO. Channel name
929. Q Radio
935. Magic
962. The Hits
963. Kiss FM
964. Kerrang Radio
966. Smash Hits Radio

So it look to me like they are coming soon to Ex-Telewest.

======== Channels still to appear on Ex-ntl: =======

Virgin still have to sign deals for the following ex-Telewest channels to appear on the ex-NTL Network

NO. Channel Name
830. Deutsche Welle TV
911. Radio: BBC Radio 4 LW
917. Radio: RTE Radio 1
920. Radio: WRN Europe
971. Radio: Deutsche Welle Radio

TV Boy Thinks: Virgin will keep Bauer Radio Channels, BBC TV and Radio Channels, Nat Geo +1, Motors TV, History channel +1 and ZEE channels and drop the rest.

I know that some radio channels are on Ex-Telewest in some parts of the UK and they will stay but will need to move all the BBC Radio channels that are only on NTL to new channels numbers so that all the Virgin Networks (Ex-ntl and Ex-Telewest) viewers can have them.

==== Deals with broadcasters ===

When deals with broadcasters run out Virgin Media need to sign new one to keep that Channel on Virgin TV.

Here is an list of channel that Virgin may get when they old deal runs out with that broadcaster:

== Entertainment Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Sky One - BSkyB
Sky Two - BSkyB
Sky Three - BSkyB
Sci Fi +1 - NBC Universal Global Networks
ITV2 +1 - ITV Digital Channels Ltd
Channel 4 HD - Channel 4 Television Corporation
ITV HD - ITV Digital Channels Ltd
DMAX +1 - Discovery Networks Europe
Zone Reality +1 - Chello Zone
Zone Reality Extra - Chello Zone
Zone Romantica - Chello Zone
Paramount Comedy 2 +1 - Paramount UK Partnership
FX+ - Fox International Channels
Sky One HD - BSkyB
Five US +1 - Channel 5 Broadcasting
FIVER +1 - Channel 5 Broadcasting
ITV3 +1 - ITV Digital Channels Ltd
AnimeCentral - CSC Media Group
FX HD - Fox International Channels
Nuts TV - Turner Broadcasting System Europe
BET - Viacom ( MTV )

== Lifestyle and Culture Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Sky Real Lives - BSkyB
Sky Real Lives +1 - BSkyB
Sky Real Lives 2 - BSkyB
Discovery Home & Health +1 - Discovery Networks Europe
Sky Arts - BSkyB
Sky Arts HD - BSkyB

== Movies Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Sky Movies Premiere HD - BSkyB
Sky Movies Screen 1 HD - BSkyB
TCM 2 - Turner Broadcasting System Europe
Zone Thriller - Chello Zone
True Movies 2 - CSC Media Group
Sky Movies Screen 2 HD - BSkyB

== Music Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Chart Show TV - CSC Media Group
The Vault - CSC Media Group
Flava - CSC Media Group
Bliss - CSC Media Group
Scuzz - CSC Media Group
Flaunt - CSC Media Group
NME TV - CSC Media Group

== Sport Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Sky Sports News - BSkyB
Sky Sports HD 1 - BSkyB
Sky Sports HD 2 - BSkyB
ESPN Classic - ESPN Inc. ( Disney )
Sky Sports HD 3 - BSkyB

== News Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Sky News - BSkyB

== Documentaries Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Discovery HD - Discovery Networks Europe
National Geographic Channel HD - NGC-UK Partnership
History Channel HD - A&E Television Networks
Discovery Science +1 - Discovery Networks Europe

== Kids Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Playhouse Disney + - Disney-ABC Television Group
Cartoonito - Turner Broadcasting System Europe
Tiny Pop +1 - CSC Media Group
Pop Girl - CSC Media Group
Kix! - CSC Media Group
Disney Cinemagic +1 - Disney-ABC Television Group
Pop Girl +1 - CSC Media Group

== Shopping Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
Best Direct + - Best Direct (International) Ltd.
Ideal Vitality - Ideal Shopping Direct plc
Sky Travel - BSkyB
Create & Craft - Ideal Shopping Direct plc
Screenshop 2 - sit-up Ltd. [Virgin Media Television]

== Religious Channels==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
GOD TV - The Angel Foundation
UCB TV - United Christian Broadcasters

== International Channels ==
Channel Name - Owner/parent company
STAR One - STAR TV (Asia)
QTV ARY - ARY Group
ARY One World - ARY Group
STAR Gold - STAR TV (Asia)

== Radio Channels ==
Channel Name
UCB Bible
UCB Talk
UCB Inspiration
RTÉ R1 Extra
Real Radio
BBC London 94.9
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ Lyric FM
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
Heat
MOJO

======= NON Virgin Media news =======

======= Pre-season Football Live on Setanta Sports =======

The confirmed line-up of pre season friendlies is as follows:

July:
8th. FC LUZERN VS MANCHESTER CITY
10th FC BASEL VS MANCHESTER CITY
19th. KAIZER CHIEFS VS MANCHESTER UNITED
20th. SPORTING LISBON VS SUNDERLAND
21st. ORLANDO PIRATES VS MANCHESTER UNITED
23rd. VITORIA DE SETUBAL VS SUNDERLAND
24th. HIBERNIAN VS BARCELONA
26th. DUNDEE UNITED VS BARCELONA
26th VODACOM CHALLENGE FINAL ( featuring MANCHESTER UNITED VS KAIZER CHIEFS or ORLANDO PIRATES )
28th. COBH RAMBLERS VS SUNDERLAND
28th. NORWICH CITY VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
30th. NOTTINGHAM FOREST VS SUNDERLAND

August:
9th. SHAMROCK ROVERS VS SUNDERLAND

Setanta will be announcing more matches over the next few weeks as the build up to the new season continues so watch this space!

Info from Setanta.com

======= Digital UK news =======


Digital UK Latest - last updated on the 1st of May 2008 at 11.30am

Transmitter news info:

November 2008
6th-20th. The Selkirk transmitter and its 11 relays, serving Scottish Borders starts switchover on 6 November 2008 and the process will be complete on 20 November 2008.

April 2009
8th & 22nd. The Beacon Hill transmitter group, serving Torbay and south Devon will switchover in two stages: stage one will be on April 8th and stage two on April 22nd 2009

May 2009
6 & 20th. The Stockland Hill transmitter group, serving Exeter, parts of Devon, Somerset and Dorset will switchover in two stages: stage one will be on May 6th and stage two May 20th 2009

April and June 2009
The Caldbeck transmitter and its 38 relays, serving Cumbria and South West Scotland switches between April and June 2009.
The Douglas transmitter area and its 9 relays, serving the Isle of Man switches between
April and June 2009.
The Kendal transmitter area and its 8 relays, serving the south lakes switches between April and June 2009.

July/September 2009
Preseli transmitter area, serving south-west Wales will be converted between July and September 2009.
Carmel transmitter area, serving south Wales, will be converted between July and September 2009.
Kilvey Hill transmitter area, serving the Swansea area, will be converted between July and September 2009.
The Huntshaw Cross transmitter group, serving north Devon will switchover between July and September 2009
The Redruth transmitter group, serving west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will switchover between July and September 2009
The Caradon Hill transmitter group, serving east Cornwall and Devon, including Plymouth will switchover between July and September 2009

October/December 2009
The Winter Hill transmitter area, serving the entire Granada region and its dependent relays will all be converted between October and December 2009.
Llanddona transmitter area, serving north-west Wales, including Anglesey will be converted between October and December 2009.
Moel-Y-Parc transmitter area and Storeton Wales, serving north-east Wales, will be converted between October and December 2009.
Long Mountain transmitter area, serving east-central Wales, will be converted between October and December 2009.

January/March 2010
Blaenplwyf transmitter, serving west and central Wales, will be converted between
January and March 2010.
Wenvoe transmitter, serving south-east Wales, including Cardiff, will be converted between January and March 2010.

TBC
Switchover will start in the West TV region in 2010.
Switchover will start in the STV North TV region in 2010.
Switchover will start in the STV Central TV region in 2010 and will finish in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Central TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Yorkshire TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Anglia TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Meridian TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the London TV region in 2012
Switchover will start in the Tyne Tees TV region in 2012.
Switchover will start in the Ulster TV region in 2012.

WHY DO WE NEED TO SWITCHOVER?
Switchover is a complicated process, and needs to be done in stages so that everyone in the country will be ready for it.

The best way to check which TV region you are in is by seeing which ITV news service you receive or by going to Teletext page 106.

*The Channel Islands will be switching over to fully digital TV and this is currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2013. The actual dates for switchover in the Channel Islands are subject to negotiations with France.

Don’t worry; you'll get plenty of notice before services in your area are affected, and advice on what to do.

More info here: http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when

Info from DigitalUK.

======== Virgin Analogue TV news =======

Virgin will be starting the Analogue switch off soon. They will also upgrade some currently analogue areas to digital.

Virgin Media has initiated a scheme to shutdown it’s analogue Cable TV network..

Currently, around 200,000 Virgin subscribers only have analogue TV.

Virgin has begun a program of area by area upgrades, but this is a long term program and at this point in time, it is unknown how many areas actually will get upgrades. It is also possible that Virgin will not upgrade everyone in some areas.

Some customers will actually be forced off the network, but Virgin claim this will be a small number.

ANALOGUE UPDATE - MANCHESTER WYTHENSHAWE (from 5/6/08)

TV:

The following channels have left analogue service and are carrying a notice advising of these particular services being removed and that they are available on the digital service:

Channel 14: Discovery/Discovery RealTime/Bloomberg
Channel 24: CNN International
Channel 32: Movies 24
Channel 41: Animal Planet/Men & Motors

Channel 33: switched off (was carrying VM logo with Magic 1152 on sound)

BBC Radio 5 Live is on the sound track of channels 14, 32 and 41. There is no sound on 24.

Info from Jimbo, Cable Forum and Virgin Media.

NOTE: If you are on Analogue I need you to post any news you have on Channel being removed on this page or by pm me.

======== TV Boy thanks =======

And now for me to say thanks to the following regular Virgin contributors of this thread who give me some of my Information - tell me if you want your name removed.

They are:- paul hadley, harmitage, grabbi, JG3870, Jasmeet, buba3d, sakiblateef and Bob.

[Media Boy]

UKTV will rebrand all its channels in the next 12 months, kicking off by making UKTV Gold a comedy channel and launching an entertainment channel in October.

The broadcaster will restructure and expand its entertainment portfolio in the final three months of this year ahead of the factual channels early next year and lifestyle channels next spring.

The new entertainment channel will air Richard and Judy's new series in primetime and will also be a "linear catch-up service for modern classics", according to UKTV controller Matthew Littleford. Shows will include Mistresses and Larkrise to Candleford, plus movies.

It will go live on the Sky platform and Virgin Media in October.

The channel will be given a name this summer that will not include the UKTV brand.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2..._channels.html

Info from Broadcast now.

[cimt]

Wait, I thought Dave was the comedy channel? Damn all these repeats confuse me...

Is there any news of if they will actually create they own comedies?

[Media Boy]

Dave was started up just for Freeview as an Free to air Channel (not on Sky).

[Felim_Doyle]

The channel will be given a name this summer that will not include the UKTV brand, although using a first name, in the style of Dave, has been ruled out. It will sit alongside UKTV Gold in the slot currently occupied by Gold+1.

UKTV Gold will be renamed Gold by the end of the year and air the likes of Fawlty Towers, Only Fools & Horses and Little Britain. Littleford said the broadcaster had resisted a more radical name change because the flagship channel resonated with many viewers. "Gold has always had classic comedy on it and our viewers know it for that," he said.

So why not call the new one 'Richard & Judy Gold' so you can easily identify it in the EPG and avoid it accordingly?

More importantly, should UKTV Gold be renamed 'Del Boy draped in Gold', 'Basil', 'Cybil' or 'Manuel'?

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2002/0..._fawlty_memory

[Arthurgray50@blu]

Message for TV Boy, l have gone through all the channels on VM and have noticed, that there are so many EPG numbers, vacant, so l cannot understand, that if there are channels waiting to go onto VM, why they don't fill this channels up. have you got any answers, regards

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Just because there is a space in the numbering it doesnt mean there is the capacity to fill them up.

[Felim_Doyle]

Originally Posted by Wicked_and_Crazy

Just because there is a space in the numbering it doesnt mean there is the capacity to fill them up.

And by 'capacity' you mean bandwidth. There's only so much you can squeeze down a piece of 75 Ohm co-ax.

[Arthurgray50@blu]

Hi Wicked and Crazy, If that is the case, then why are the channel numbers on the EPG, when l had the VM installed, l was told by CS, that there was enough space for up to a thousand channels, via the fibre optic cable, we were told by them also, that by having all this, they could have much more on VM. too me this is making the false advertising, as if the epg cannot be filled by new channels, then they should not be there.

[Felim_Doyle]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

Hi Wicked and Crazy, If that is the case, then why are the channel numbers on the EPG, when l had the VM installed, l was told by CS, that there was enough space for up to a thousand channels, via the fibre optic cable, we were told by them also, that by having all this, they could have much more on VM. too me this is making the false advertising, as if the epg cannot be filled by new channels, then they should not be there.

Okay, I'm no expert, so I over-simplified for brevity. There are a number of factors that affect the number of channels.

Starting at the customer's end, the amount of memory in the Set-Top-Box limits the size of the EPG that can be stored. I believe that Sky are currently concerned that they may have filled their older STBs to capacity and so are wary about adding new channels as a result. I'm not sure of the situation with VM but there are some older boxes than mine out there and these may be near saturation already. However, cable is slightly different being a two way interactive system and so the whole EPG may not need to be stored in the STB at once. Comments?

Then there is the physical cable into the residence, currently standard 75 Ohm TV co-ax, which has finite capacity for the analogue channels (being phased out), linear digital channels, TV On Demand and Broadband, especially over longer cable runs. The fibre optic currently only comes as far as the green box on the street corner but is delivering the TV and Broadband for everyone on that circuit, so it does carry a lot but can carry more.

As analogue is phased out, more capacity for digital channels becomes available. I'm not sure of the ratio but I think you can fit about eight digital channels in the space of one analogue channel. Anyone know for sure?

Then there is the circuitry in the green street corner box and the head end back at VM's distribution centre. A grey area for me so, experts, please elaborate. Additional or replacement higher spec. equipment may be required to boost current capacity. In the future, IPTV, which delivers TV using the Internet Protocol, promises better more efficient use of the bandwidth but requires a massive overhaul (in reallity replacement) of the existing infrastructure.

Currently my STB is showing 290 channels and 28 streams. I'm guessing that the limitation here is the number of streams but I'm not sure how the two correlate. Please feel free to jump in and expand on this.

Comments, corrections and additions welcome.

[sherer]

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

Hi Wicked and Crazy, If that is the case, then why are the channel numbers on the EPG, when l had the VM installed, l was told by CS, that there was enough space for up to a thousand channels, via the fibre optic cable, we were told by them also, that by having all this, they could have much more on VM. too me this is making the false advertising, as if the epg cannot be filled by new channels, then they should not be there.

just because there are gaps in the EPG doesn't mean it can be filled by a new channel it is just part of the way VM have grouped channels together.

i.e 100 for entertainment then it jumps to 200 for the documentary and lifestyle channels, 300 for music, 400 for films , 500 sport , 600 news

It makes sense to know that certain types start at certain numbers hence the jumps, I think Sky do a similar thing.

Not sure what you mean by if they can't be filled they shouldn't be there.

Unfortunately it seems you had an engineer do the typical lying to you which happens far too often