High-definition TV
High-definition television (HD TV) combines a high-resolution picture with Dolby digital surround sound to produce a fabulous TV experience.
HD makes TV look incredible, with intensely colourful and stunningly sharp images. Once you've experienced HD TV, going back to standard TV will be like going back to black and white!
HD channels on Virgin TV
Once you have one of our HD boxes activated for HD, you'll get channels like BBC HD, Channel 4 HD and ITV1 HD with all of our TV packages. Go for our TV XL package and you'll get even more, with channels like Living HD, National Geographic HD, FX HD and MTVN HD. If you fancy watching some sport we even have ESPN HD.
New: you can now get Sky Sports and Sky Movies in stunning HD as well, just in time for the new Barclays Premier Leageue season.
See our Sky Premium channels
And that's just for starters, Catch Up TV stores loads of your favourite programmes for up to 7 days, including 35 hours of HD content each week on the BBC iPlayer alone. And many of our TV and Movies On Demand are in HD, too.
What do I need to watch HD TV?
You’ll need an HD ready TV and one of our HD boxes. Our V HD Box comes as standard with all our TV packages. HD activation is optional and there's a charge of £49.
If you want to get the most out of your Virgin TV, choose a V+ HD Box: you can pause, rewind and record live TV, and watch all the HD channels in your package. There's always a £49 HD activation charge if you choose a V+ HD Box.
Finally you'll need an HDMI cable which we'll give to you free when you buy one of our HD boxes. Be sure to use the HDMI cable instead of your scart lead to receive brilliant HD TV and crystal-clear sound.
We provide a choice of 2 HD set top boxes:
V HD Box - HD ready
The V HD Box is our standard set top box. If you want to enjoy all that HD has to offer, you can choose to activate it for HD, either when you buy or later (there's a one-off cost of £49). And whether you activate it for HD or not, you'll always be able to access Catch Up TV and On Demand, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and 4oD whenever you like.
V+ HD Box
It does all that the V HD Box does, while also putting you in complete control of your HD viewing experience. Pause, rewind and record live TV and store up to 80 hours of your favourite programmes. You can even record two different channels while watching a third. And you won't be able to do that with a Sky+ HD box. There's a one-off HD activation cost of £49 when you buy a V+ HD Box.
Find out more about the V+ HD Box
Choose your TV package
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
|
With a V HD Box £6.50 a month* Plus a £49 one-off HD activation fee |
With a V HD Box £11 a month* Plus a £49 one-off HD activation fee |
With a V+ HD Box
Plus a £49 one-off HD activation fee
|
*Plus a Virgin phone line for £11.99 a month. These offers require you to pay by Direct Debit and use eBilling. |
||
Or build your own bundleFree installation worth up to £40 when you buy broadband, TV & phone online
Broadband
+
TV
+
Phone
Build your bundle
|
||
The Legal Stuff
Payment: If you prefer not to pay by Direct Debit and/or want to receive a paper bill, the monthly price for your Virgin phone line with these options is: phone line and non-Direct Debit payment handling: £16.99; phone line and paper bill: £13.24; phone line, non-Direct Debit payment handling and paper bill: £18.24 (£19.49 with mobile broadband paper bill). These prices include a £5 payment handling charge payable to Virgin Media Payments Ltd and/or a paper bill charge of £1.25. You must, at a minimum, take all services included in your bundle for your minimum contract term. If you change any part of your bundle, standard prices apply.
Service availability: Services available in Virgin Media cabled streets only. Subject to network capacity, 12-month minimum term contract. If you cancel during the minimum contract period you will incur an early disconnection fee.
Installation: Installation charges apply (starting from £40 for standard install and, subject to availability, from £20 for Quickstart self-install). Payment may be required in advance. All prices include VAT.
Free installation on broadband, TV and phone bundles: Available to new customers buying a bundle with all three cable services (broadband, TV and phone). You will receive a free installation, up to a maximum £40, via a credit applied to your first bill. Downgrading services in your bundle during the minimum period will attract a charge. Offer ends 31/10/10
HD: HD activation fee is £49 with all TV packages for all new Virgin TV customers (subject to status and credit checks). Standard installation fee (£40) remains payable. HD activation fee of £49 only applies to first HD Box. For second and subsequent HD Boxes, HD activation is charged at £75 per V+ HD Box, or £49 per V HD Box. V+ subscription is included with TV size XL or £5 a month with TV size M, TV size M+ (Starter) and TV size L. Existing customers who do not wish to keep their SD box must pay a £49 HD activation fee for a V HD/V+HD box. HD TV set required. V+ HD must be kept for your minimum contract term. V+ HD Box may differ to that depicted. V+ HD Box remains the property of Virgin Media. Channels may be subject to change, regional variations (HD roll-out due to complete summer 2010).