Virgin Media Upgrades TiVO TV Boxes with New Features

Customers Virgin Media, specifically those who take one of their cable broadband and TV bundles with a TiVo set-top-box, may be pleased to know that the provider has today begun to roll-out a new firmware update for its kit that adds new features to help search, find and save content on the service.

The update itself, which is automatic, should take a “few weeks” to reach all of Virgin’s TiVo equipped subscribers. David Bouchier, Chief Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: “This update gives our box an even more intuitive intelligence while, crucially, retaining many of the familiar features we know our customers love.”

Highlight of the New Features

* Smart Search

Found in on demand and catch up menus right at the top, it requires only the first letter of the programme title and the box does the rest to find the shows you love.

* Series Link+

This is all about bringing programmes together, no matter where they sit. By setting a Series Link+ for a particular programme Virgin Media’s TiVo box will not only record the entire series but will also find all of the related episodes available on demand and on platforms such as Netflix. All of these episodes will be put into one handy folder (My Shows) ready to watch whenever.

* Fewer lists, less text, more images

On demand programmes will now appear as image-based tiles and subtle changes such as changing channel names to channel logos help to improve the functionality and access to the best programmes.

* Continue watching

For years Virgin Media customers have been able to continue where they left off on their recordings; this feature will now apply to all on demand TV too.

* Bookmarking

Sifting through hours and hours of different boxsets and movies can be a tough task, but saving programmes and movies has now got much easier. Virgin Media customers can easily bookmark any programme whether it’s on normal TV, on demand or on Netflix. These programmes will all be put in a handy folder and in My Shows so that viewers can more easily get to the TV they love.

The new update comes as Virgin Media are continuing to make changes to their TV service this year, not least in terms of an improved user interface, exclusive programming and all of this should soon be followed by a new 4K capable set-top-box (aka – the V6). No doubt we can expect lots of references to fast cars or big engines with the V6 and they’ll probably fit Usain Bolt in there somewhere.