Virgin Media recently announced the latest version of its set-top box, the long-awaited Virgin TV V6 , which replaces the firm's TiVo offering and looks to give Sky Q a run for its money.
The refreshed Virgin box has been built around apps, and is all about the “connected entertainment” mantra. A natural progression, Virgin says, from the old ways of cable TV. Moving away from the antiquated ways of separating apps for each service, Virgin Media is streamlining everything into one handy place with the V6 box.
It sports some pretty nifty features, too, including 4K/HDR playback across Netflix and YouTube and enhanced search capabilities, allowing you to search across all television such as catch-up and on-demand services, as well as Netflix.
Want to know more, such as how and when you can get your hands on one? We are here to help. Here's everything you need to know about Virgin's upcoming V6 set-top box...
1. When is it out?
Virgin have said the box will land in the living rooms of existing customers "before the end of 2016", but new customers will have to wait a little longer. Virgin said the TV box will be with them sometime in January 2017.
2. How much will it cost?
It will cost £99.95 for Virgin customers on a " Mix Bundle " or higher, while new and existing " Full House " and " VIP " customers will be able to get the box for a promotional price of £49.95.
3. What are the main features?
At its core of the Virgin TV V6 box's revamp is the company’s smallest and fastest TV box to date. Half the size of the TiVo box Virgin currently offers, its bland-looking square box is packed with some neat extras. You can record up to six programmes at once while watching a seventh now – something we know Sky Q will be offering next year.
4. What are the improvements over TiVo?
The current TiVo experience is clunky, but the V6 has been given a speed boost. The interface is less cluttered and transitions between pages and apps are more smooth.
5. Will there be 4K support?
You can expect to see 4K support via your typical cable TV offerings and streaming services. But if you want to record 4K TV shows, expect the meagre 1TB of storage to fill up fast. By comparison, Sky Q’s 2TB box can fit around 200 hours of HD TV. Of course, you can always download shows and watch them on the go with the improved TV Anywhere app.
6. What is the new remote like?
The new remote looks near-identical to the TV remote of old. It’s weighty and a little smaller, but its confusing dumbbell-like design will still have you holding it upside down. The new dedicated universal search button helps you look for shows from all streaming services you have linked to the box. It’s also ditched IR for RF, so it will work even when the new box is hidden away in a cupboard. It beeps if you lose it, too.
7. Is there multi-room support?
Multi-room viewing is also a possibility with the V6 – you can watch stuff in other rooms with either another V6 box, an old TiVo box or a mobile device. Unlike with Sky Q’s multi-room offering, there’s no Wi-Fi pairing, so you’ll have to install another V6 box to take advantage of this.
Check out our hands-on review for a more in-depth look at the V6.
