Virgin Media’s next-generation set-top box, previewed in InGear a year ago, has finally become available in Britain. And it has lived up to its promise: it’s the most sophisticated piece of hardware you can connect to your television.
The new box, designed by Virgin in conjunction with TiVo, the US company that first developed the technology to “live pause” television, contains a hard drive of 1 terabyte capacity — enough to hold about 500 hours of standard-definition programming. It also has three digital tuners, so you could be recording three different channels while watching a fourth, saved show.
But it’s the electronic programme guide (EPG) that really breaks new ground. Like the EPGs for Freeview and Sky set-top boxes, you can search up to seven days in advance to choose shows and even entire series to record. But in case you missed a show, this new box also lets you search seven days into the past. As long as the show you missed is available via the BBC’s iPlayer or Virgin’s own Catch Up service — which archives most of the big series on the major channels — you can be watching it in seconds.
Select “more info” and you get a full cast listing. Select an actor’s name and you can see what else they’ve been in, view trailers and extras on YouTube and, if available, start watching other shows and films in which they have appeared. The box also houses apps for Facebook, eBay and Twitter, and lets you play a selection of simple games on your TV.
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This is all possible because the new box is connected to Virgin’s cable internet network — and therein lies a potential problem: if your house is not in a cabled area (and that’s half the country) one of these boxes is no good to you.
Other disadvantages include a creaky, lightweight remote control that lacks a qwerty keypad (which means updating your Facebook status will be a long-winded and frustrating affair) and a waiting list of more than 50,000 people hoping to get their hands on the new equipment before you do.