New installation - what kit will I see inside my house?

[StoneAgeMan]

I've ordered a TV+BB+Tele bundle (3 for £30) from VM, to be installed next week. I currently have a Stone Age set-up (TV from a roof-top aerial too poor to pick up Freeview, Dial-Up internet on BT landline that has to compete with a telephone), so I am not sure what to expect.

I have wandered the forum looking for some kind of introductory thread that will fill me in. Can someone point me in the right direction? Pictures would be nice ;)

I'm wondering about what will plug into what. Will I be needing any cables? will I need to make a space for a masive set-top box? How far from the AC Mains will the cable entry point need to be?

Through reading some of the threads I can anticipate some of the possible pitfalls (Number not ported from BT smoothly, not enough manuals for the STB, delays or faults discovered during install, appointments that prove difficult to meet), but to be honest, most of them just seem like those inevitable yet frustrating mini-disasters that the old, weary and sanguine amongst us have come to expect from such arrangements. I just want to make sure that I can be as prepared as I can be.

[zing_deleted]

Well you should get a hole drilled and a white box installed to the wall. from this you will get a cable split 2 ways one way to your set top box which will connect via scart to your tv (the box isnt huge about the size of a dvd player maybe not so long)the other split to your modem (this is assuming the modem is on the same floor . You could possibly get another cable box upstairs depending on how you have the install. Also you will get a telephone socket box similar to the bt box.
The modem connects to your pc via ethernet and you have to set that up .This also all depends on if they give you a modem or run the net through the set top box but I doubt they are doing that now. Some of this information is out of date but im sure its not much different :)

:welcome: to the forum

[StoneAgeMan]

Thanks Zinglebarb, that's just what I needed.

Now I know that, it is time to go further down the "ethernet" path... particularly the "you have to set that up" bit ;)

[Paul K]

If you are connecting via ethernet there is very little to set up, you plug in, connect, power up and then browse a certain web address to register the modem against your account properly. Make sure you don't have a proxy specified in yoru browser and that it is set to not dial a connection and the rest should be a breeze.

[zing_deleted]

The cd will set up all that for you anyway :)

[Paul K]

CD? Do people still run that? ;)

[zing_deleted]

lol I run one the other day its changed a bit since I last used one easier not to install the bloat too so its more user freindly than it was :)

[StoneAgeMan]

This is all getting a lot clearer for me, thanks. I have some more questions, that I'll get to tomorrow, but thanks for this. It really helps.

[StoneAgeMan]

Okay, a few more questions if you'd be so kind;

There is an old "Cable & Wireless" box on my skirting board, from the days before the street was cabled for TV. Is this likely to still be active and used to provide my telephone service (it doesn't have a recognisable phone socket, more like a socket for co-ax). It is at least 6 years old.

If the cable TV and Broadband come in through the wall and terminate in a box on the wall, what kind of distance can I expect to get from the modem or the STB? Is it a length of cable that gets trimmed for purpose or a ready-made length?

I have a Lap-top and a Desk top PC, but I'm not sure I want a permanent connection for the Laptop, will I be able to swap it over with the main PC at will, or does it need to be a connection that is configured at the time of the installation? The laptop has a problem at the moment and it isn't very healthy (it refuses to install new Software and tells me I need to have an Admin password), so I don't think it will be a nice straightforward install if I involve that one. Can I share the BB connection at some later date?

[papasmurf]

If you are getting a new telephone service from VM, they will fit a new VM master socket.

The co-ax is routed as long as needed then terminated with a connector, basically, it will be as long as you want it.

Swapping the PC and laptop is no problem, but the cable modem will have to re-train to the new item every time you swap, and you will have to power off the modem, takes about a minute or two.

If you want to share at a later date, the easiest way would be to use a hub then connect via cat-5, or you could always go the wireless route, lots of threads around on here about how to do both.

[StoneAgeMan]

Thanks PapaSmurf
Sorry for the delay in replying.
I had my Installation adventure yesterday and I honestly can't stop smiling.

Perhaps because I am from the Stone Age, perhaps because I did my homework, perhaps because Virgin are a good firm, perhaps all these things...
but a large part of it comes down to the character and skill of the Installer. who answered my questions, complied with my requests and helped me overcome some of my particular difficulties admirably.

Reading the whiny whingey complaining posts that normally fill a forum like this (not knocking anyone, I fully understand the validity of using a forum for that kind of "venting"), one could be forgiven for thinking that every install ended up a nightmare. Whilst mine was a headache for me (my wife is poorly and there are absolutely no visitors ever allowed in the house, ever, at all, for any reason - usually), the difficulties were overcome with relative ease and my unusual requests were taken in his stride.

My thanks to everyone who helped me out. I shall probably be back with more questions as I become more familiar with the service... but for now. it is time to explore the 21st century :)