Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

Hi all, we have decided to knock Virgin TV on the head and are going back to terrestrial Freeview, through the aerial.

Our TV is quite old and although it has digi built in, I need a set top box in order to get the Freesat HD channels. This being the case, can I use my existing Virgin box or is it all encrypted, meaning I need to go out and buy a new set top box? Or is there a work around where by I can plug the aerial into the Virgin box, etc.

Thanks in advance.

~G

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

Virgin boxes are cable boxes and won't work on satellite or terrestrial at all. You'll need to buy a new box. You need a Freeview HD box to use with your aerial. Freesat requires a dish, not an aerial.

Also Virgin may well want their box back, depending on which model it is.

ps. Welcome to the forum!

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

and depending what other packages you have, you may not save money. i thought about doing the same, but you get a discount by having phone, internet and tv, so I moved to the cheapest tv package, so kept my discount.

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

Hi, thanks for that. That does make sense - of course! And thanks for the welcome.

Perhaps you can answer another Q: We have a 42" TV, do we need a Freeview HD box with a high res output to get a good picture? I see that Argos are selling a Bush set top box for £50, 'upscales to 1080i and 1080p.' I presume this relates to resolution 1080 pixels by 1080 pixels?
Our TV (a Sanyo) has specs of: 'Picture.1080p24 Support No.10000:1 .Full HD(1920x1080) Yes (1920x1080).' Not sure exactly what that all means but I'm thinking that the £50 would work well?

Thanks again.

~G

---------- Post added at 15:36 ---------- Previous post was at 15:27 ----------

Thanks for that. All we want to keep is the Broadband - so our saving is £40 PM.

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

The Bush box at argos appears to be FREESAT, not Freeview.

The Manhattan HD-T2 is the freeview - cheaper at John Lewis though

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

Be aware that both the above boxes lose their BBC iPlayer functionality this autumn.

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

It's also been posted that they will lose the ITV Hub too. Do you know anything about this nodrogd?

---------- Post added at 17:02 ---------- Previous post was at 16:59 ----------

I have a friend who cancelled Virgin, but still uses his box to watch the only channels that he watched anyway as they are among those broadcast unscrambled by Virgin Media- Radio 4, BBC News & BBC1.

None of the HD channels are broadcast unencrypted though.

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

Gazid, you seem to be using "Freesat" and "Freeview" interchangeably, or perhaps you're getting confused.

Which free service do you want: Freeview (via a terrestrial aerial) or Freesat (via a satellite dish)?

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

BBC iPlayer now no longer works. ITV Hub is still working fine.

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

BBC ceased servicing all devices using the MHEG version of iplayer last month. I'm surprised there were any boxes still on sale that were using it. Manufacturers have been aware for quite some time that this was happening.

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

They are very much still available:


http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-...36605-pdt.html

http://www.johnlewis.com/manhattan-p...ceiver/p631121

Re: Going from Virgin back to freeview
 

I bought a Freesat box from Sainsbury's and then found out about the iPlayer issue.

At first they tried to fob me off with nonsense (including saying that I couldn't have bought it from them because they don't sell them!!!).

After getting Trading Standards involved, they agreed to provide me with a complimentary Now TV box to retain access to the iPlayer.

They refused to stop advertising them on their website with the iPlayer logo too until I got the Advertising Standards Authority involved. They now no longer sell Freesat boxes.

---------- Post added at 21:36 ---------- Previous post was at 21:36 ----------

Thanks :)