Need advice re Cable tv!

Chickenbrain2009

Sorry to be a pain! I excuse myself by saying I am a pensioner! I have virgin cable tv and want to be able to watch it upstairs in bed. This is because I regularly fall asleep in front of the telly and wake up at 3 am freezing cold! I cant get freeview where I live. In any case I want to be able to see cable channels. What is the cheapest way of doing this, do I have to buy something and if so what?:A

iSaving

Are you with Virgin?

I'm assuming you don't want to get a second cable box?

You can obviously cable upstairs to the other TV you wish to use and then install a "Magic Eye" type device to let you remotely control the box downstairs. If the thought of running cables fills you with dread, and you don't want to call someone in to do it, you can get "wireless senders" which can stream the output from your cable box wirelessly to a receiver connected to the upstairs TV. These aren't necessarily cheap and don't work very well at distance or through stone (or thick brick) walls. These methods also mean anyone watching TV downstairs needs to watch the same channel as upstairs.

Chickenbrain2009

Thanks,
Yes I am with Virgin. I assume I can look at these devices somewhere like Argos?

I dont really want a second cable box and there is only me in the house, so it doesnt matter that downstairs is the same as upstairs!

iSaving

Yes, Argos sell them - these are the sorts of things you're looking for:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5347926.htm (Cheapest at £34.99)

But you should be able to find them in other electrical retailers. Just bear in mind cheapest may not be as high quality as the others, so depending on distance/house build type you may need to stump up a bit more for a higher quality sender.

Just in the interests of clarity, I believe Virgin only charge £6.50 extra a month for a second box with free installation/activation. So just something to consider. Obviously this works out much more expensive longer term - but may be a better option if you're not able to spend out £50+ on a decent sender device.

hawkeye9999

Which Virgin Box, do you have and how is it connected to your TV downstairs.

We looked at this last year and as our main box was connected via a hdmi cable to the TV the scart socket was diabled on the Virgin Box

Chickenbrain2009

Er sorry, this last comment has gone over my head, does it mean I cant use whatever is being suggested? Thanks

Pam

iSaving

My understanding is the SCART socket is only disabled if a HDMi cable is plugged in? But you're right to flag it!

iSaving

Do you have a High Definition Box and Television Pam? If not, that's not an issue.

hawkeye9999

When you watch Virgin on your TV, do which channel on the TV are you selecting;

SCART, HDMI

Fifer

Another option if the OP has a wifi network and a laptop, PC, iPhone or an iPad, is Virgin TV Anywhere. An Android version is supposed to be available in early 2013 too.

Chickenbrain2009

No, I dont have a high definition box or tv, I think I went upmarket when I got a flatscreen one for free with my mobile about two years ago!

Pam