New Smart TV - how does this interact with Virgin V+ cable set top box

littlerock

V+ box has some builtin HD capacity but not enough for reasonable storage use so I also have a DVD recorder player. I looked at Blu Rays but it seemed they cannot record from tv (some licensing issues?) If you can recommend one that does, please go ahead.

These are the outputs on the one I have in mind (LG42LF652V)
- HDMI 2.0 x 3
- SCART x 1
- Component input x 1
- Composite input x 1
- USB 2.0 x 3

Also RF In
Full Scart
Composite In (CVBS + Audio)
Component in (Y,Pb,Pr) + Audio
Digital Audio Out (Coaxial/ Optical)
PC Audio Input
LAN
RS-232C (Control / SVC)
Headphone out

Wi-Fi Ready / Built-in
WiFi Direct
Simplink
Simultaneous Audio

Recording
Time Shift (live playback)
Watch & Record
External Input Record
Scheduled Recording
External Hard Drive
External Input watch & record, Smart function using & record
RF/Composite

It does not say what the External Hard Drive capacity is - or does this mean I need to connect my own External HD for recording

VisionMan

Point of note - due to licencing and HDCP encryption its not possible to record HD content for export to a third party device, though SD should be fine.

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/HDCP

Conversely, export directly from a TV to a HDD is permitted on many devices but is only playable on the TV it was recorded on and from. So once the TV is toast, so are the recordings on the HDD.

littlerock

OK murk is lifting slightly. According to Virgin you can connect your smart tv to the V+ box via its HDMI port and view just as before. But of course it will not be using the smart function (ie direct internet access etc>0 For that I need to connect the smart tv to the Virgin router.

Leaving aside how many spare ports I have on the Virgin router, (home office with several pcs) it is upstairs. But from what I can make out, Virgin will not allow you to have two routers on one connection. How do people manage with smart tv in one room and home office somewhere else in the house?

(For the record, the the cable connection for the router and for the tv enters the house at separate points, one downstairs and one upstairs. I suspect there is a splitter on the cable somewhere where it enters the house and the upstairs cable up the outer wall and enters under the upstairs window ledge. It was all done years ago when it was still Blueyonder and I cannot recall exactly how it was set up.)

Double_V

The more you have the better.

I have 6-7 devices with HDMIs. But they all feed into my A/V amplifier (8 inputs and then from amp I got one main output into TV.
I just change the source through remote on my amp which ever device I want to use.

littlerock

Following other links here, where I am discussing options for adding a smart tv to my network, I have hit a specific problem and wonder if anyone else has same issue.

My current tv and V+ box are in one room downstairs and my home office with router is in another room upstairs. (I think the cable must have been split originally when it was Blue Yonder.) Now I want to upgrade to a smart tv and use its full range of functions.

But to do that I have to plug it into the router which is upstairs where I have three pcs cabled up to it via ethernet. The obvious solution is to rent another router from Virgin for for downstairs.

I just spoke to Virgin and it is a maximum of one router per household, even if you are prepared to pay for the second one. I asked how other people with home offices/studies. The response was "we don't have any demand for that."

How do you manage? Is there a workaround?

VisionMan

Double_V wrote: »

The more you have the better.

I have 6-7 devices with HDMIs. But they all feed into my A/V amplifier (8 inputs and then from amp I got one main output into TV.
I just change the source through remote on my amp which ever device I want to use.

Agree. I've never had a Cinema system before and the amp has proved to be a godsend as a HDMI switcher, with only 1 HDMI out required to the TV.

Nick_C

How about getting a powerline adapter? Its a very reasonable £47, it will extend your WiFi range, and you can plug an ethernet cable into it.

http://store.virginmedia.com/discover/broadband/your-broadband/powerline/extending-your-network.html

anna42hmr

as Nick_C has suggested home plugs/power line adapters are really useful, also if you have a decent wi-fi from the main router, you could always just choose a smart tv with wifi connectivity rather than just ethernet connectivity.

As well as the power line from virgin linked above, there are a number of adapters of available on amazon which may give more options, some which allow 2/3/4 ethernets to be plugged in to the same one, as well as ones which also have a socket in them (so that you don't use the availability of the socket itself). such as:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Configuration-Smartphone/dp/B00DHB2T44/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1452265041&sr=8-7&keywords=homeplug

and http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-PA8030P-Passthrough-Powerline-Configuration/dp/B00X59GJGC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1452265041&sr=8-8&keywords=homeplug

Nick_C

Personally, I don't have a smart TV, but since adding a powerline booster my Roku stick is working perfectly now on the TV in the bedroom. I have solid internal walls, and the WiFi was patchy before.

anna42hmr

Nick_C wrote: »

Personally, I don't have a smart TV, but since adding a powerline booster my Roku stick is working perfectly now on the TV in the bedroom. I have solid internal walls, and the WiFi was patchy before.

I agree if wifi is patchy home plugs are great, i have started using them in the past few months to improve my connectivity (i have a low broadband speed due to location i am due the max speeds available in area) and has improved especially during peak periods when others are using the same wi-fi channels etc and slowing it down further.