Virgin Media's On Demand error - beware

MrN_2

If you're trying to decide which company to go with for your Digital TV package, you should know all the facts.

I'm with Virgin Media. Their broadband is great - fast and, for the most part, reliable. But their TV still needs a little work. They have an On Demand service, which lets you watch previously broadcast programmes - "watch what you want, when you want" is how they promote it.

However, you can't actually do that. When network demand exceeds capability (i.e. between 8pm and 12pm), then you get an error message. If you want to know more about it, just Google 'Virgin error 9132' or go to the Virgin complaints forum and search for 9132.

The error is especially prevalent if you want to watch HD programmes on catch up. Now, Virgin say this part of the TV package is free. Which is crafty, as it's the reason many people subscribe. And by saying it's free, they're absolving themselves of all responsibility when it doesn't work - which between 8pm and 12pm, it usually doesn't.

So if you're subscribing to Virgin for On Demand, think carefully, unless you plan to watch during the day.

Happy viewing.

Mark_In_Hampshire

I'm not that experienced with VOD as we haven't lived somewhere cabled for years but two points:

1. When last at my parents house (house-sitting) I watched quite a bit of the On Demand stuff. Once, it did come up with the error you mention (Friday night around 7pm I think, not hard to see why that might be at that time) but only once, second try it was fine, perhaps some areas have much heavier demand than others (like the broadband)?

2. As far as the Sale of Goods Act goes, something "free" is an inducement and is subject to the same "merchantable quality" tests as the paid-for items. Not sure if they get out of this because it's a "service" however.

dojoman

Had my Tivo boxes since beginning of November and never had a problem with the OD content, HD or otherwise.

lilac_lady

I get a "not available" message now and again but it soon comes back into service. I like the Virgin On Demand service as you don't need to record much.

thor

I'm with lilac_lady about virgin on demand. Every so often it does have a bit of a turn but it eventually gets sorted. Over the last year or so it has been virtually flawless. I think it depends on where you live though.

daveyjp

8pm to 12pm is 28 hours. Has it ever worked?

MrN_2

Sorry, I meant to type 8pm-12am. That's an approximation though.

Interesting point about Virgin still being obligated to provide a high quality of service, even though On Demand is considered to be free on the XL package.

I can see that some people have experienced a better quality of service, which is good. Nevertheless, a large number of people appear to have problems with a consistent 9132 error. And Virgin have done nothing but lie about it - the common excuse being "We're working on it today, and it'll be fixed by 5pm tomorrow".

I like the rest of their service, but it really falls down with the way they're handling this.

lilac_lady

Maybe there's a difference between area receptions for OD?

Nilrem

lilac_lady wrote: »

Maybe there's a difference between area receptions for OD?

It's probably a capacity issue in the local area/on the UBR you're connected to.

We used to have the odd issue with OD, but haven't had one for ages since, from memory they did a bunch of upgrades and turned off the old analogue signals (which freed up a lot of bandwidth for OD and data).

Usually waiting a couple of minutes tends to sort out OD problems even at peak hours.

MrN_2

Nope, it's quite severe. We waited a couple of minutes, then tried to access a program 15 times in a row. And this is how it always is.

I accept that some people have reasonable access to it. My point is that isn't the case for everyone.

It is a demand issue. But it's one that's kept quite, which I think is unfair to new customers. Which is why I posted here - only fair that it's taken into consideration.

mazza111

Any time I use it and it's not available after the 2nd try, I usually find a reboot of the box fixes it. Where it doesn't is when the service really isn't available, which is very rare in my area anyhoo.