New TV Anywhere iOS app reveals V6 capabilities

Virgin Media updates its iOS TV Anywhere app over the weekend and in doing so, gave an early insight into the new TiVo V6 box’s streaming capabilities. If you check out the Help menu, you’ll find this:

ARE ALL RECORDED PROGRAMMES AVAILABLE TO WATCH OR DOWNLOAD ON THE APP?No. Some recorded shows cannot be streamed or downloaded to your mobile or tablet due to rights restrictions. Shows that can be downloaded will have the ‘Download’ button active. Shows that can be watched will have the option to ‘Watch on iPad’ when you select the ‘Watch Now’ button. If these buttons are greyed out then the show cannot be watched or downloaded. There may be some cases where you can stream a recording but not download it. If you cannot watch a show on your mobile or tablet, you will still be able to watch the recording on your TV.
HOW MANY PROGRAMMES CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT ONE TIME?You can download one show at a time. If you want to download more, we’ll pop them in a queue and they’ll start to download when the previous one is complete. When you select a show to be downloaded, you can choose the quality of the download – basic, medium or high. The lower the quality, the faster you can download it.
WILL PROGRAMMES STILL DOWNLOAD IF I CLOSE THE APP?No. You’ll need to keep the app open for the download to complete. If you close the app, the download will be paused. It will continue to download again when you open the app and are connected to your home WiFi.
WILL DOWNLOADS CONTINUE IF MY DEVICE AUTO LOCKS?When you’re downloading a recording, the app will prevent your device from auto locking. It’s a good idea to keep your device plugged into power when downloading though, so it has enough juice to last for the whole download.
HOW CAN I CHECK THE PROGRESS OF A SHOW DOWNLOADING?Go to My Shows and select the ‘On iPad’ or ‘On iPhone’ button in the middle of the screen. You can see the progress bar, MB and time remaining for the download. If the download is paused, you will see a downwards arrow. Just tap this to continue the download. You can press the pause symbol to pause the download
CAN I WATCH A SHOW WHILE IT IS BEING DOWNLOADED?Usually No. If the content provider has restricted the show, you’ll need to wait for the download to finish before you can start watching it. (Find the popcorn and get comfy on the sofa while you wait)
WHERE WILL MY DOWNLOADS APPEAR ONCE THEY’VE COMPLETED?You’ll find them in My Shows in the ‘On iPad’ or ‘On iPhone’ section. There will be an R symbol with a padlock when the download is complete and an egg timer will indicate that the show has been partially watched and will expire soon.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WATCH A DOWNLOADED RECORDING?Once you download a programme you will have a maximum of 30 days to watch it. Once you have started watching a programme you will usually have 48 hours to watch it before it expires. Sometimes expiry times vary between content providers.
HOW MANY TIMES CAN I DOWNLOAD THE SAME PROGRAMME?You can download a programme twice per household. If you download more than this, you’ll see an error message telling you that the show cannot be downloaded again. You can still watch this programme on your TV. The number of times a show can be downloaded can vary between content providers.
WILL I GET 48 HOURS TO WATCH MY DOWNLOAD IF I START WATCHING ONE DAY BEFORE THE CONTENT IS DUE TO EXPIRE?No. Downloads are only available to watch before they expire
CAN I WATCH A LIVE OR ON DEMAND SHOW WHILE A PROGRAMME IS BEING DOWNLOADED?No, you’ll need to download the programme first – or do it later.
HOW MUCH STORAGE SPACE WILL A DOWNLOAD TAKE UP?When you select a programme to download, you can choose the download quality – Basic, Medium or Best. The default is set to Medium.
Based on which quality you select, it will tell you how big the file is before you download it. To give you an idea, an hour show is around 450MB for basic quality and 1 GB for best.
If you don’t have enough space on your device, you’ll see an error message letting you know you’ve run out of space.
SKY CINEMA & SKY SPORTSIf you’re subscribed to Sky Cinema or Sky Sports, you can watch those on your tablet or mobile with the Sky Cinema or Sky Sports app. Just download the apps, then select the Virgin Media logo on the sign-in page, and sign in with your My Virgin Media username and password.
The Sky Cinema and Sky Sports apps are available in the Apple App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and Google Play for Android mobiles and tablets. You can also watch online via the Sky Cinema and Sky Sports websites.
You can find out more about the Sky Cinema and Sky Sports channels here
Other Sky live and on demand channels such as Sky 1, Sky 2, Sky Arts, Sky Living, Real Lives, Sky News and Sky Sports News HQ are available to watch on the TV Anywhere app or online, as long as you have them in your Virgin Media TV package.
DO I HAVE TO BE A VIRGIN MOBILE CUSTOMER TO USE THE VIRGIN TV ANYWHERE APP?No. You just need to be a Virgin TV customer.
DO I NEED A WIFI CONNECTION TO USE THE VIRGIN TV ANYWHERE?You need a WiFi connection to be able to watch live TV on the app, but on a 3/4G mobile connection, you can still manage your viewing, set recordings, browse the TV listings, delete recordings and more. To use the app at home as an advanced remote control or to watch or download some recordings (if you have a V6 box), your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch will need to be connected to the same router as your TiVo box.
CAN I USE VIRGIN TV ANYWHERE WHEN THE MY VIRGIN TV BOX IS SWITCHED OFF?If you have a V or V+ Box, you can use the app whether your set top box is on or off.
If you have a TiVo box, your app will still work when the box is in standby. However, it won’t work if it’s switched off. If you have a V6 box, you may also see this message if you’ve got your V6 box switched on but your Hub is switched off.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I LOSE OR CHANGE MY IPAD, IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH?If you lose or change your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, you’ll need to download the app again. You’ll need to register your new one if you want to watch live TV using the app.
If you’ve lost your device, we also recommend changing your My Virgin Media account password. That way no one else can use your device to manage your TiVo box without your authorisation.
WHAT CAN I DO IF I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE VIDEO QUALITY?For streaming a recording, live or VOD, the app automatically chooses the best quality based on the WiFi connection. The picture quality for downloaded recording can be chosen if you have a V6 box. If you’re still having problems, try chatting with some experts on the Virgin Media Community forum