A quick update and a look at some newly added apps for the Virgin TV 360, including some new games. Correct as of December 2023.

DanceTV

A collection of live music channels that focus of different genres of dance music. Feeds include Deep House, Techno Warehouse, House Floor & EDM Mainstage. There is also a main channel that has a variety of dance music. These channels will play mixes from live events. I’ve yet to see traditional music videos on there, so you’ll have to stick with KISS and Clubland TV for those.

AppleTV+

We now have AppleTV+ which is Apple’s streaming TV service that features a few of their original shows. Virgin has really made a push to add further streaming services to their platform as additional subscriptions, and this will be important to the VirginT V Stream which is reliant on these services.

Games

Games have been reintroduced onto the service, and unlike the Tivo games they are currently free, though I suspect they will introduce adverts into them at some point like BT did with theirs.

Tetris

A favorite that you cannot go wrong with. It’s a little tricky with the remote, pressing OK will rotate the piece and pressing up or down will immediately drop the piece. This is very similar to the version featured on BT TV, in fact it’s the exact same game.

Hangman

A simple game of hangman where you have to guess the correct word. You can choose from a list of different categories (Professions, Animals, Fruits, Vegetables, etc).

brutal

Space Moodies

Another one of those games where you have to match three of the same colour.

Solitaire

Some card game I have no idea how to play, I’d imagine it’s the same as the Windows version.

Other Stuff

Fast channels are a bit disorganized, you do have a section of channels in the main EPG, but many reside in their own container apps.

One idea would be to organize them into existing EPG genre sections but make them distinct from actual channels. This would increase the visibility of the channels. For example, allocate 600-630 to traditional news channels (BBC/Sky/GB News) with 631-660 allocated for the FAST news channels. The same would apply for the music channels with (250-280 for MTV/NOW Music/Bauer channels) and 280-299 for Pluto’s music channels. This would make the channels more noticeable since they are tied into the EPG and since ITV and UKTV have embraced these services, it would make sense to do so.

Ofcom are looking into regulating these channels, as they are currently unmonitored since they are not classed as broadcast channels which might explain why Virgin have separated them for now. I expect them to act on this urgently since they really don’t want Infowars on our screens anytime soon, or anyone who dares to go against The Message.

There is also a question if FAST channels are sustainable – Possibly.

Whilst many are getting accustomed to Video On Demand (Streaming services) these make a lot of sense for serial drama’s and Sci-Fi shows, since many viewers will want to follow these series more sequentially, as each episode is often connected with each other in order to follow the overall plot. Reality and documentary shows however are different as the episodes are not always connected, and in the case for DIY shows they often feature a different set of people for each episode. Or in the case of Mythbusters or Brainiac, a different subject per episode. I guess cartoons and certain sitcoms could also fall into this.

TLDR: We need a central hub for these FAST channels, the main EPG might not be suitable due to possible Ofcom regulation.

An error screen that appears of the box cannot tune to a channel. This can happen if your signal levels are out of wack or if you just disconnect the RF cable. This will not affect the FAST channels in the guide and the box will continue to operate normally for many of the streaming apps or on-demand stuff. Recording can also be played back from the main TV box.