Service Removal:

ID 1340 Tiny Pop -  Placeholder - End of Service.

- Removed after preserving recordings for 93 days.

- Any recordings made from this channel will no longer be playable.

- Was TSID 4 SID 412 on traditional cable boxes.

 

 

Channel Closure - SD Service:

Channel 603  -  ID 1385 Sky News  -  Placeholder - Inactive.

- Placeholder flag added.

- Hide flags changed removing the channel from the EPG. Hide2 flag removed.

- Moved to a placeholder EPG Slot on channel 1857.

- Customers with boxes supporting HD/SD channel number swaps, carrying Sky News on channel 602, will find that this has been replaced by Sky News HD.

The placeholder flag should preserve any recordings for a short period following a channel closure.

Replaced on the EPG by a Channel Update closure slate.

As the End of Service flag has not been added by Virgin TV, the annotation has automatically updated to "Inactive".

 

 

Channel Closure - Information Slate:

ID 2057 Channel Update  -  Information Slate.

- Change of EPG slot from channel 140 to channel 603.

- Change of Genre from Entertainment to News.

- Hide flags changed making the information slate visible on the EPG on channel 603. Hide1 flag removed.

Information slate advising viewers of the closure of the standard definition version of Sky News and redirecting viewers to the high definition version on channel 602.

 

It was noted, several days ago, that the Channel Update service had been restored. 

On this occasion, Virgin TV had not configured the video stream, seemingly keen for the details of this change not to be released in advance.

 

 

Change of Subscription Packs:

Channel 602  -  ID 1801 Sky News HD

- Subscription pack codes were added for M / Player / Mixit and above for traditional cable boxes.

- Subscription pack codes were added for the inclusive channel / basic package for Stream devices.

- Subscription pack codes were removed for the Essential Entertainment package for Stream devices.

Making the HD channel available to customers previously only able to view the SD version. 

Previously available with the legacy Mix pack and above, all legacy personal picks, Maxit, and Stream Essential Entertainment.

 

 

New Service - Change of Genre: 

ID 2349 Aaj Tak  -  Internal Networks Only.

- Change of genre from International to News.

 

Temporary Rebrand:

- 1 movie channel with a promotional rebrand.

 

 

Observation:

The slate carried on ID 2057 Channel Update has replaced the video feed on ID 1385 Sky News (VPID 2101). ID 1385 is now on channel 1857 and out of the range of the EPG of traditional boxes. 

 

It is known that update slates have been problematic for Stream devices, which have sometimes been left with a frozen video feed rather than a closure slate, so this could be some sort of compromise. 

 

Note that devices with IP based EPGs such as Stream and TV360 allocate their own channel numbers and don't have to use the channel number allocated in the SI data. 

 

If this is a compromise for displaying slates on multiple devices, it is worth noting that this method also works for older devices. In fact, it was the preferred method of displaying slates some time ago, before Channel Update services became Virgin TV's preferred method.