Is there a way to get the new Samsung V+ Box?

kraized · 15-03-2010, 13:53

Basically because I currently have an old silver V+ box, still branded as a TV Drive. Over the last year I have been having problems with it. HDMI picture keeps dropping out, won't record two HD channels at once (actually it says its recording but when you come to playback the recording has failed(. Plus the box is dog slow with channel changing and unresponsive with the remote. I've read the Samsung box is a lot faster. Won't VM just replace my current box with the newer black rebranded V+ box?

roger skillin · 15-03-2010, 13:58

I have just gone through this exact problem and now have a shiny new samsung box, for a start, if you are having problems with it then why havn't you reported a fault to VM?
I reported a similar fault and the engineer came round and did nothing and just told me to turn it off when not in use and it should be faster which in my experience is a very amateur thing to say and complete rubbish, however, i called back 2 weeks later to say i still had the same problem and that the samsung box was faster and as i'm paying why can't i get a replacement, they sent an engineer the following morning and he didn't say a thing, he just came in with a new box, installed it and left so i'm a happy bunny, try it

mgc_bb · 15-03-2010, 14:37

Hi, just call em up and report your box is faulty, failing recordings etc.

Then if you dont get a samsung, just ring back a week later and say the replacement is noisy/slow etc and your not happy, make a fuss see what happens.

Just keep calling till you get a samsung, dont put up the sa8300.

Worked for me after the second replacement

DaBoz · 18-03-2010, 16:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgc_bb

Just keep calling till you get a samsung, dont put up the sa8300.

Agreed! I have repeatedly reported problems with my silver V+ box (one of the originals) over the past couple of years, the most irritating is the sluggish response and frequent random freezings which sometimes recover and sometimes require a reboot. I've had engineers out 3 times and they never replace the box, only say "nothing wrong now, try rebooting next time".

Finally it got too much for me and I called Virgin Customer Services last night and said I want to leave to go to Sky. I'm not in a contract now, so asked for 30 days notice. At which point the rather excellent customer sales person (from Sheffield) set about the task of convincing me to stay. I told him I was perfectly happy with the Virgin service, but not the V+ HD box and the fact I keep getting fobbed off.

Tomorrow an engineer is coming with instructions to replace my box, and if I'm happy then they want to lock into a contract at a reduced monthly rate (saving £13/m).

I'll let you know if I get the new Samsung box. To be honest, I don't care what it is as long as it is reliable and responsive.

In summary, don't rest until you get the right result! We're customers in a competitive market - we have power!

Boz

V+ HD box (silver)
V box (small silver?)
XL TV package
M wireless broadband (10Mbit unlimited)
Talk Unlimited (free 24/7 UK calls)
Caller Display

cambridgemark · 18-03-2010, 16:59

I just called up with a list of problems which I repeated to the engineer when he arrived and he didn't even check the old box, just swapped it out for a Samsung.

roger skillin · 18-03-2010, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by cambridgemark

I just called up with a list of problems which I repeated to the engineer when he arrived and he didn't even check the old box, just swapped it out for a Samsung.

That's exactly what happened to me on the second visit

mgc_bb · 18-03-2010, 18:16

Same here

So it can be done!
Just keep trying mate.

Oh hang on, BIG TIP, make that list of faults, I mean write it all down on a piece of paper. That way when the 'engineer' turns up and asks what the trouble is pull out the list and start reading, lol. It was really funny and he soon said to me there is another model of box which is better. My reply was do you have one on your van. The answer was yes. JOB DONE!

Make out a list, it really does help, I would have forgotten more than a few things if it came from memory

Acidphire21 · 19-03-2010, 13:15

if you have failed recordings show these to the engineer too, mine randombly rebooted causing the recordings to fail showed him these he just un plugged the box and came back with a new shiney sammy one

DaBoz · 19-03-2010, 13:50

Two very friendly and helpful engineers turned up today and replaced my SA8300 with a new Samsung. They tested the line and it was fine, so problems were definitely the box. After fitting, they said leave it on for a few hours as it will reboot after as part of the new installation.

First impressions:

Menus and guide are exactly the same in appearance, good. It seems quicker through all the menus (especially recordings), although on-demand and tvguide obviously has some lag due to downloading content, but everything seems responsive and predictable. Picture quality seems same as before, possibly slightly better with the SD channels upscaling to my 720p TV, hard to tell.

The remote is exactly the same as the old remote, but black and with Virgin Media logos. This is a good thing, as I've heard bad comments about the quality of the new remote.

Box is nice and small, nice lights. Very very quiet. The old SA8300 hummed so loudly the vibrations through the TV cabinet could be heard upstairs!! I had to mount it on great thick pads to try and quiet it. Samsung is virtually silent, whether on or off.

One negative observation though - the 4:3 transmissions (e.g. some of the music channels and lower quality high number channels) are stretched on the HDMI output. This is different from the SA8300 which kept the aspect ration at 4:3 and put black bars down the sides. My TV does not auto size at all, so this is definitely the box, not my TV. This is frustrating, as I can't stand off ratio images.

Similarly, the menus, popup guide etc are also stretched to fit the screen. The SA8300 kept it 4:3 with black borders. I don't mind this so much, but it's such a shame the text is stretched instead of actually putting more text on the screen to fill the screen - especially with the TV guide, you could get another hour on screen. It's like putting a PC output of 1024x768 into a widescreen monitor - you should change the resolution to get more text on the screen, not stretch it to fit the screen.

Anyway, I'll give the new box a try over the weekend with recordings and ondemand, and if all is well I'll talk to VM about that reduced rate contract they promised!

Boz

mgc_bb · 19-03-2010, 14:43

Hi DaBoz,

The 4:3 wide issue is an easy fix, just go to the settings menu and adjust the resolution to 720 or 1080 but choose the ones that dont say wide at the end

DaBoz · 20-03-2010, 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgc_bb

The 4:3 wide issue is an easy fix, just go to the settings menu and adjust the resolution to 720 or 1080 but choose the ones that dont say wide at the end

Good grief! I got caught out by that with the old box too now I remember. All looks good, and I have to say the new Samsung is brilliant. Especially on recorded programs - they play instantly! Skipping is completely predictable.

Most of the menus too are quick, but still some lag with tv guide, but nothing bad.

Boz

kraized · 24-03-2010, 13:31

Well, now I've completely lost ITV1. :/

webrosc · 24-03-2010, 23:23

I spoke with an engineer in work today (work in a petrol station) an asked about swapping my box for a Samsung one, he's going to arrange for mine to be changed for me when he gets a chance, is all above board too (not a dodgy box) as he is needing my customer number etc