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Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box
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Old 02-10-2021, 22:01   #1
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Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

I'm wondering why TV only customers are only allowed to have the old Tivo boxes and why VM will force you to have their internet service if you want a more modern box, such as the V6 or the 360. Is it simply a business decision or might there be other reasons?
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Old 02-10-2021, 22:08   #2
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

V6 and TV 360 require Virgin Media broadband to work. TiVo has its own broadband connection.
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Old 03-10-2021, 00:54   #3
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

No rush to get rid of my old Tivo box. As well as it's independent broadband connection , it's supplementary scart output is useful.
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Old 03-10-2021, 09:47   #4
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

V6 and 360 require VM residential broadband to be able to access all the necessary servers on VM's internal network. They don't even work properly on VM Business broadband.
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Old 13-10-2021, 16:35   #5
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

how come?

As said, the Tivo boxes have its own broadband connection which surely uses the VM network so I don't understand why nothing ever gets added for customers who have a Tivo box, and only have TV from Virgin Media.
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Old 13-10-2021, 17:30   #6
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

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Originally Posted by Rillington View Post
how come?

As said, the Tivo boxes have its own broadband connection which surely uses the VM network so I don't understand why nothing ever gets added for customers who have a Tivo box, and only have TV from Virgin Media.
The TiVo is past it's best use date. It's full. Nothing more sinister than that.
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Old 13-10-2021, 17:31   #7
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

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Originally Posted by Rillington View Post
how come?

As said, the Tivo boxes have its own broadband connection which surely uses the VM network so I don't understand why nothing ever gets added for customers who have a Tivo box, and only have TV from Virgin Media.
They are old and maxed out on resources, there's a limit to how far you can develop old tech.
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Old 13-10-2021, 18:18   #8
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

It’s only a matter of time before the old TiVos are retired. They are no longer fit for purpose.
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Old 14-10-2021, 00:24   #9
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

What's the expected lifespan of a set top box spec? I'm guessing it's probably different for a consumer-bought unit compared to VM's business model where they have to purchase and supply millions of units to customers.

The Tivo was launched around 2010 and was never the snappiest, but the plum update in 2015/16(?) slowed it down even further - it was painfully slow at performing some tasks as a result. Was it a case a VM choosing a poor spec from the get go, or did Tivo's software advance more than was initially anticipated? Or maybe a bit of both, or maybe norther of those?!
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Old 14-10-2021, 00:35   #10
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

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Originally Posted by OLD BOY View Post
It’s only a matter of time before the old TiVos are retired. They are no longer fit for purpose.
According to who?
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Old 14-10-2021, 08:25   #11
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

Quote:
Originally Posted by Inactive Digital View Post
What's the expected lifespan of a set top box spec? I'm guessing it's probably different for a consumer-bought unit compared to VM's business model where they have to purchase and supply millions of units to customers.

The Tivo was launched around 2010 and was never the snappiest, but the plum update in 2015/16(?) slowed it down even further - it was painfully slow at performing some tasks as a result. Was it a case a VM choosing a poor spec from the get go, or did Tivo's software advance more than was initially anticipated? Or maybe a bit of both, or maybe norther of those?!
When I had TiVo it was slow and turgid. It never worked properly for me and I never managed to get multi-room working. The V6 was a breath of fresh air in terms of speed and functionality. I find the 360 snappier still, a little low on features at present, but what it does it does well.
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Old 14-10-2021, 15:50   #12
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

Quote:
Originally Posted by Inactive Digital View Post
The Tivo was launched around 2010 and was never the snappiest, but the plum update in 2015/16(?) slowed it down even further - it was painfully slow at performing some tasks as a result. Was it a case a VM choosing a poor spec from the get go, or did Tivo's software advance more than was initially anticipated? Or maybe a bit of both, or maybe norther of those?!
The main problem was the TiVo was specced to run Flash. But a few years later Flash had an unexpectedly swift demise and got replaced by Haxe and HTML5, which are more memory-hungry.

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According to who?
TiVo isn't going anywhere any time soon. It is needed for people who have no broadband, no HDMI, or want more than 3 TV boxes.
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Old 14-10-2021, 18:36   #13
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

Thank you Spiderplant, and that's good to know.
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Old 15-10-2021, 15:45   #14
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rillington View Post
how come?

As said, the Tivo boxes have its own broadband connection which surely uses the VM network so I don't understand why nothing ever gets added for customers who have a Tivo box, and only have TV from Virgin Media.
It's worth mentioning the modem inside the Tivo units are DOCSIS 1.1 spec, not 3.1 or 3 that Virgin are trying to push on their network, and were limited to 10Mb when Tivo was first introduced. Which could explain why the V6 lacks an internal cable modem, since every digital cable box featured one (Except for the ntl pace Di4001, which used DAVIC instead)
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Old 15-10-2021, 16:48   #15
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Re: Why TV only customers are only allowed to have an old Tivo box

What's DOCSIS?

And 10mb is more than fast enough for streaming as it is said that you need a 2mb connection to stream effectively. I find that YouTube streams video perfectly well.
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