<s>
V+	B-Device
(	O
previously	O
known	O
as	O
TVDrive	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
set-top	O
box	O
for	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
's	O
Virgin	O
TV	O
service	O
,	O
which	O
provides	O
personal	B-Application
video	I-Application
recording	I-Application
(	O
PVR	O
)	O
and	O
high	B-Device
definition	I-Device
(	O
HD	O
)	O
functionality	O
to	O
customers	O
who	O
subscribe	O
to	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virgin	O
TV	O
have	O
taken	O
a	O
different	O
approach	O
from	O
rival	O
Sky	O
's	O
Sky+	O
and	O
later	O
Sky+	O
HD	O
services	O
,	O
by	O
implementing	O
a	O
rental	O
scheme	O
for	O
the	O
V+	B-Device
Box	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
V+	B-Device
set-top	O
box	O
is	O
technically	O
on	O
lease	O
,	O
still	O
owned	O
by	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
,	O
who	O
provide	O
technical	O
support	O
for	O
it	O
free	O
of	O
charge	O
if	O
a	O
problem	O
occurs	O
for	O
the	O
life	O
of	O
a	O
contract	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Should	O
the	O
customer	O
downgrade	O
from	O
the	O
V+	B-Device
service	O
,	O
the	O
recording	O
functions	O
of	O
the	O
V+	B-Device
box	I-Device
and	O
access	O
to	O
all	O
high	B-Device
definition	I-Device
channels	O
and	O
on	O
demand	O
content	O
will	O
be	O
blocked	O
,	O
effectively	O
acting	O
as	O
a	O
standard	O
V	O
Box	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
Q1	O
2010	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
939,900	O
V+	B-Device
customers	O
,	O
representing	O
25%	O
of	O
all	O
Virgin	O
TV	O
subscribers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
V+	B-Device
Box	I-Device
derives	O
from	O
Telewest	O
's	O
silver	O
TVDrive	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
initially	O
only	O
available	O
to	O
Telewest	O
cable	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
merger	O
between	O
NTL	O
and	O
Telewest	O
,	O
the	O
TVDrive	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
to	O
NTL	O
cable	O
customers	O
in	O
the	O
Teesside	O
and	O
Glasgow	O
areas	O
on	O
16	O
November	O
2006	O
,	O
in	O
turn	O
NTL	O
ceased	O
development	O
of	O
their	O
MPEG-4	B-Algorithm
compatible	O
HD	O
PVR	O
,	O
the	O
Scientific-Atlanta	O
Explorer	O
8450DVB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2007	O
,	O
NTL:Telewest	O
began	O
renting	O
the	O
set-top	O
box	O
nationwide	O
and	O
since	O
the	O
licensing	O
of	O
the	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
name	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
officially	O
available	O
in	O
all	O
areas	O
with	O
the	O
new	O
V+	B-Device
branding	O
and	O
the	O
colour	O
changed	O
from	O
silver	O
to	O
black	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
24	O
November	O
2009	O
,	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
entered	O
into	O
a	O
strategic	O
partnership	O
with	O
TiVo	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
the	O
mutually	O
exclusive	O
agreement	O
,	O
TiVo	B-Application
developed	O
a	O
converged	O
television	O
and	O
broadband	O
interactive	O
interface	O
to	O
power	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
's	O
next	O
generation	O
,	O
high	B-Device
definition	I-Device
set-top	O
boxes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TiVo	B-Application
became	O
the	O
exclusive	O
provider	O
of	O
middleware	O
and	O
user	O
interface	O
software	O
for	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
's	O
next	O
generation	O
set-top	O
boxes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virgin	O
Media	O
became	O
the	O
exclusive	O
distributor	O
of	O
TiVo	B-Application
services	O
and	O
technology	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virgin	O
Media	O
first	O
TiVo	B-Application
co-branded	O
product	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
February	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
V+	B-Device
is	O
only	O
carried	O
as	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
faulty	O
V+	B-Device
boxes	I-Device
,	O
or	O
sometimes	O
offered	O
as	O
a	O
secondary	O
set-top	O
box	O
in	O
the	O
home	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
being	O
phased	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
Virgin	O
TV	O
units	O
supported	O
nowadays	O
are	O
the	O
TiVo	B-Application
and	O
the	O
V6	O
box	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
newest	O
360	O
and	O
360	O
Mini	O
boxes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
V6	O
unit	O
was	O
the	O
last	O
model	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
TiVo	B-Application
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
(	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
newest	O
360-based	O
boxes	O
)	O
only	O
supports	O
a	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
connection	O
to	O
a	O
TV	O
set	O
(	O
the	O
SCART	B-Protocol
port	O
is	O
disabled	O
and	O
not	O
supported	O
)	O
and	O
it	O
requires	O
a	O
valid	O
Virgin	O
Media	O
broadband	O
connection	O
via	O
Ethernet	O
or	O
Wi-Fi	O
(	O
unlike	O
the	O
original	O
TiVo	B-Application
which	O
featured	O
a	O
built-in	O
data	O
modem	O
for	O
interactive	O
features	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
these	O
conditions	O
are	O
not	O
met	O
,	O
an	O
original	O
TiVo	B-Application
must	O
be	O
installed	O
and	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
V+	B-Device
Boxes	I-Device
have	O
three	O
video	O
tuners	B-Device
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
record	O
two	O
programmes	O
to	O
the	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
while	O
watching	O
a	O
live	O
programme	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
paused	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
V+'s	O
main	O
competitor	O
on	O
the	O
British	O
market	O
,	O
the	O
Sky+	O
HD	O
box	O
,	O
has	O
two	O
tuners	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
set-top	O
boxes	O
support	O
720p	O
and	O
1080i	O
high	B-Device
definition	I-Device
video	O
via	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
and	O
component	O
output	O
and	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
upscaling	O
SD	B-Device
video	I-Device
to	O
HD	O
resolutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
copying	O
of	O
some	O
programmes	O
may	O
be	O
restricted	O
by	O
using	O
HDCP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
set-top	O
boxes	O
also	O
support	O
Dolby	O
Digital	O
5.1	O
surround	O
sound	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
currently	O
broadcast	O
on	O
some	O
HD	O
channels	O
and	O
video	B-Application
on	I-Application
demand	I-Application
(	O
VOD	O
)	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
set-top	O
boxes	O
support	O
DVB-C	B-Device
transmission	O
using	O
MPEG-2	B-Algorithm
compression	O
,	O
the	O
standard	O
used	O
by	O
Virgin	O
for	O
both	O
SD	B-Device
and	O
HD	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
only	O
two	O
models	O
of	O
V+	B-Device
have	O
been	O
released	O
,	O
the	O
original	O
Scientific-Atlanta	O
Explorer	O
8300DVB	O
and	O
the	O
newer	O
Samsung	O
SMT-H3110	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
3	O
March	O
2009	O
on	O
a	O
trial	O
basis	O
followed	O
by	O
a	O
full	O
launch	O
on	O
3	O
August	O
2009	O
after	O
a	O
1-year	O
delay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
have	O
been	O
five	O
remote	O
control	O
models	O
,	O
starting	O
with	O
the	O
type	O
7	O
which	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
the	O
type	O
8	O
during	O
the	O
V+	B-Device
branding	O
exercise	O
;	O
both	O
are	O
manufactured	O
by	O
Philips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
22	O
March	O
2010	O
,	O
Ruwido	O
announced	O
that	O
Virgin	O
had	O
gone	O
for	O
Ruwido	O
's	O
'	O
Unified	O
 '	O
remote	O
control	O
for	O
their	O
new	O
type	O
11	O
and	O
12	O
:	O
only	O
the	O
latter	O
is	O
available	O
with	O
the	O
V+	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Explorer	O
8300DVB	O
set-top	O
box	O
from	O
Scientific-Atlanta	O
,	O
uses	O
two	O
250	O
MIPS	O
32-bit	O
RISC	B-Architecture
processors	I-Architecture
,	O
4	O
tuners	B-Device
(	O
3	O
video	O
,	O
1	O
data	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
DOCSIS	O
1.x	O
cable	O
modem	O
,	O
a	O
full	O
graphics	O
engine	O
,	O
2	O
HD	O
and	O
SD	B-Device
video	I-Device
decoders	O
,	O
dual	O
audio	O
decoders	O
and	O
contains	O
one	O
Western	O
Digital	O
or	O
Maxtor	O
160GB	O
PATA	B-Protocol
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
capable	O
of	O
storing	O
up	O
to	O
20	O
hours	O
of	O
HD	O
Content	O
or	O
up	O
to	O
80	O
hours	O
of	O
SD	B-Device
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
connectivity	O
the	O
Explorer	O
8300DVB	O
box	O
has	O
1	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
output	O
,	O
1	O
YPbPr	O
HD	O
Component	O
output	O
,	O
2	O
Scart	B-Protocol
Outputs	O
,	O
1	O
optical	B-Protocol
audio	I-Protocol
output	O
,	O
1	O
dual	O
channel	O
analogue	O
phono	B-Protocol
output	O
and	O
an	O
RF	B-Protocol
input	O
and	O
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
an	O
Ethernet	O
socket	O
for	O
Internet	O
access	O
,	O
a	O
powered	O
USB	B-Protocol
port	O
and	O
an	O
eSATA	O
port	O
which	O
are	O
currently	O
disabled	O
but	O
may	O
be	O
enabled	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
for	O
external	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SMT-H3110	O
set-top	O
box	O
from	O
Samsung	O
Electronics	O
,	O
has	O
1	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
output	O
,	O
2	O
Scart	B-Protocol
Outputs	O
and	O
1	O
optical	B-Protocol
audio	I-Protocol
output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
an	O
Ethernet	O
socket	O
for	O
Internet	O
access	O
,	O
a	O
powered	O
USB	B-Protocol
port	O
,	O
an	O
exhaust	O
fan	O
at	O
the	O
rear	O
and	O
a	O
Western	O
Digital	O
160GB	O
SATA	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
capable	O
of	O
storing	O
up	O
to	O
20	O
hours	O
of	O
HD	O
Content	O
or	O
up	O
to	O
80	O
hours	O
of	O
SD	B-Device
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
Explorer	O
8300DVB	O
,	O
the	O
on-screen	O
display	O
and	O
subtitles	O
are	O
output	O
on	O
the	O
VCR	O
Scart	B-Protocol
,	O
when	O
set	O
to	O
standard	B-Device
definition	I-Device
it	O
is	O
impossible	O
to	O
watch	O
another	O
channel	O
during	O
the	O
archiving	O
process	O
and	O
there	O
is	O
also	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
record	O
radio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MPEG-4	B-Algorithm
compatibility	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
included	O
for	O
future	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
