# So is the S3 VM box everything we S1 owners dreamed of?



## Hustiniano (Nov 4, 2002)

I still run my S1 TiVo working brilliantly with AltEPG( thank you to all you guys who did that!) 

I have to admit that I am also a sky subscriber with a 1TB Hd box. I have hated the interface from the start and my wife sit there every night criticising the sky box compared to our trusty old TiVo.. 

Why do I have sky? To get hd is the answer. I subscribe only to the basic sky package and do not watch any premium content.. The only sky channel we do occasionally watch is sky Atlantic but only in SD as we don't pay the £10 a month to get all the extra HD channels.. Just the basic Hd channels are fine for us. 

So should I switch to virgin and get the s3 box ? Is there a thread from all the people on this forum that I have come to trust over the last 9 years that gives the lowdown on the new s3 box. Is it everything we have dreamed of as the upgrade from our s1 boxes?


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## sjp (Oct 22, 2001)

i'm very happy with mine but Sky Atlantic aint on VM yet so, if you're as sad as i am, you'll be keeping a £20 Sky sub going.

some of the the 500gb boxes seem to be a bit flakey, wiping everything from settings to recordings but i guess you'd be going for the 1tb.

the epg is possibly a bit less reliable than we've been used to and the reporting tool (and I mean tool in every sense of the word) is a little secretive, you post your concerns and they go off to VM and Tribune without the rest of us getting to see what others are finding - not the community experience we're used to with our sticky post (and that fine chap Ozsat of course).

the 26 hour gap between dialups err, connections is a bit odd, indexing is a bit faster but there's still that annoying "wait a bit" for everything to be fully available.

subject to your TV you may get some level of HDMI hassle, i'm OK with my LCD LG but some folks are having more serious problems.

have a look at http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/TiVo/bd-p/Tivo but don't get too worried, it's not half as bad as some folks are making it out to be (IMHO of course).


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Oh, and it's technically actually a Series 4


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## Brangdon (Feb 9, 2001)

It's not everything I dreamed of. It's even slower, there are several backwards steps in features (eg not being able to delete channels, a poorer EPG), and it lacks the polish and attention to detail of series 1.

However, I'd still recommend it. Three tuners, 1Tb and HD, plus the basics of series 1 (wish lists, season passes, suggestions etc), plus a few extra bells and whistles (like folders, apps).


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## Pine Cladding (Aug 4, 2001)

No, not all I dreamed of for an S1 replacement; but it's not far off


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## howardmicks (Feb 13, 2011)

Save yer money matey and stay were you are,Constant prob`s with epg,Vm seem to have given up on getting new content and the £3 per month charge is a rip off.I to also have sky on a half price deal and soon as my 12 month is up with vm (after 7 years being a customer) i am moving everything over unless there is a vast improvement but im not expecting it


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## countjocular (Aug 28, 2002)

Is there anything like Tivoweb on the vm box?


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

howardmicks said:


> ....Constant prob`s with epg...


Not sure about "constant". "Some" is more accurate.



> ...Vm seem to have given up on getting new content...


Not necessarily true but certainly not a Tivo-specific issue.



> ...and the £3 per month charge is a rip off.


Yes. Having to pay for a service. How terrible


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## Tony Hoyle (Apr 1, 2002)

countjocular said:


> Is there anything like Tivoweb on the vm box?


No, unless you count VMs web EPG. There were encouraging noises about enabling the LAN side of the tivo so we could have some of the features they take for granted in the US, like syncing between two tivos, but those seem to have gone quiet.


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## Major dude (Oct 28, 2002)

For me ii is a closer run thing than you would think.

Sky HD v Virgin media TiVo that's easy, I would go for VM TiVo everytime.....

but S1 TiVo v VM TiVo is much more difficult.

Okay 3 Tuners and HD via HDMI is a major step forward and some familiar features remain of the old S1 interface but the VM TiVo does crash more often. There was a major problem with the EPG which took three days to sort out but I for one do not like the predominantly dark red colour of the menu screens.

I would get a demo in your local VM store and have a play if they let you before deciding.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Major dude said:


> There was a major problem with the EPG which took *three days* to sort out ...


It was actually reported and fixed *within 36 hours*. The thread is around here somewhere to prove it.


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## Ernie_C (Feb 20, 2011)

cwaring said:


> It was actually reported and fixed *within 36 hours*. The thread is around here somewhere to prove it.


...at a weekend as well! Try getting that sort of service from your GP at the weekend.


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## sjp (Oct 22, 2001)

Ernie_C said:


> ...at a weekend as well! Try getting that sort of service from your GP at the weekend.


actually, our GP subs out to a weekend GP clinic service at the local hospital. had the wife in there 90 minutes after talking to whoever answered the weekend phone service.

but i know what you mean


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