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VMedia, IPTV Provider Discussions

102K views 171 replies 52 participants last post by  Tridus 
#1 ·
VMedia, a new IPTV provider, is launching today: www.vmedia.ca

Anyone knows more about it?
 
#3 ·
Hi I know quite a bit more about it, or should especially since I along with our team have been up all night getting the website ready for the launch, among a million other things. I am still acquainting myself with DH's business promotion rules, so I won't get into too much, but we will be up and running very shortly(we um reset the clock a bit...)
 
#8 ·
Seems to be a bit of negativity in the G&M comments section about this service, including some from Hugh himself, which I don't get - don't we want to encourage competition in this space, if only to drive some innovation?

RE: lack of a-la-carte choices - Isn't this more a factor of CRTC rules than anything else? VMedia's site says that they are planning "UChoose" and "standalone" offers by mid-May.

RE: no HD package - from VMedia site - Every channel that we offer which comes in HD, we deliver in HD. All SD channels at launch which have HD versions will be converted to HD by mid-May.

RE: Expensive hardware - $60 to purchase a set-top box. Priced a Rogers box for purchase lately? There's an option to rent it for $6/mo but in 10 months I've bought it. How often do you change TV providers? I don't want to watch TV on my computer, I want to watch it on my TV, so some type of set-top box is expected.
 
#10 ·
Simple for me, no PVR, no sale.

Even if you can live without a PVR, how about this from their FAQ.

Do I need a separate VBox for each TV and is there an additional fee?
A VBox is required for each TV set to enable content delivery and all the interactive features. There is a fee of $6.95 for each additional TV set because of the added data usage.
If you have three tv's then you are going to pay $14 a month on top of the prices on the website.

With three TV's the premium basic would be $53.95 per month plus $14 a month equals $68. If you got the kids and sports package then that would be another $24 a month. $92 bucks a month for something that uses up all your internet bandwidth?
 
#14 ·
It's only cheaper than traditional cable TV in certain instances. If you're accustomed to the mid to high end tiers with your cable provider, you'll likely find Vmedia to be more expensive.

The channels are delivered live, and you must subscribe to Vmedia's internet in order to get their IPTV service, which happens to be unlimited.
 
#13 ·
I like how they put basic to $0 a month though. To the person who said will this be available in BC, it would probably take them a long time to bring it to BC since they are not only new but a small provider. It's also cool how you can run apps that came from the Google Play store.
 
#16 ·
George and Alexei from VMedia were kind enough to give me a tour of the VMedia facilities in Toronto last weekend and talk to me about their business.

I've posted some of my observations on their technology and the challenges they face on my blog. Hopefully it will be helpful for those thinking of subscribing to their IPTV service.

Article link: VMedia Launches IPTV Service
 
#17 ·
Thanks for looking into this,interesting article.I tried to get them on the phone last week but kept getting cut off mid-conversation from their call centre.
I would potentially be interested in their sports only package,but would want TSN included in this, which seems to be in the basic package which I DONT want.
 
#19 ·
The unfortunate problem in the end is that this is still structured a lot like a standard BDU. You need to get the basic package before you can get what you actually want.

Until the CRTC modernizes the regulations, we're going to be stuck with the same old same old.
 
#22 ·
If you just want the sports channels, VMedia would be $25 + $13/$14/$18 depending on which sports package minimally suits your needs.

With Bell Satellite, the cheapest you can get TSN, TSN2, Sportsnet, and The Score is in the $78.77/month "Better" package. Even in a Bell bundle, that package is $68.95 once the 6 month promo price of $50.95 is gone.

With Rogers you have to get their $73.71 VIP package, or if you want TSN & TSN2 in HD you have to get their HD VIP at $83.76. If you can live with just TSN, TSN2, & Sportsnet (in HD), it looks like Rogers lets you get Digital Basic and then add the HD Specialty Pack for a total of $45.44. Still, that's more than the $39 you'd pay VMedia for their closest equivalent package, and you'd have The Score, Golf Channel, RDS, NHL Network, and CBS Sports Network too.
 
#23 ·
Congrats and a welcome addition.

Suggestion : get out of the hardware business , all you need to be is a service a la Netflix
There are millions of streaming boxes out there that you can provide your service to.
It should at least be an option for potential customers.
Good luck!
 
#24 ·
Suggestion : get out of the hardware business , all you need to be is a service a la Netflix
There are millions of streaming boxes out there that you can provide your service to.
They can't do this legally. The service HAS to be on a private network and not over the Internet.
 
#26 ·
Preview VMedia's UChoose channels

I know that DH prefers to keep promotional posts to a minimum, but there has been a lot of interest in what VMedia's UChoose standalone and pick a pack options look like. Their launch has been delayed for about six weeks, but we are pretty confident they will be operational by July 2.

We were planning on announcing a preview of the UChoose options on Monday, but it looks like the cat is out of the bag based on posts elsewhere. One of our erstwhile followers figured out the back entry so now we want everyone to know.

The channels, and their package options, can be seen by going to our site and hitting the grey Get Started button in the upper right corner. Then hit button No. 2, which will take you to our TV options. You'll see the new UChoose button, hit that for the various options.

Please remember it is not live yet, hitting any logo will take you to a dead link, but everything seems good to go as previously discussed by July 2. Thanks very much for your continued interest.
 
#27 ·
Pricing looks good. Here's what you need to do.

(1) Drop TSN, Much, YTV, CBCNews, CTVNews, and any other non mandatory channel from the basic package and make them Uchoose as well. That should make the basic package even cheaper. Make basic just the locals, US nets, and other mandatory stuff. I've heard that Bell and the boys price things to make this unattractive. That TSN is pretty cheap as part of basic, and crazy expensive in a package or option. I'd still like to see this happen anyway. Let the sports fans pay for the sports.

(2) Come to Nova Scotia, so that there is real competition here. Prices are still nuts with BTV/SD/Eastlink as the only choices.

Mark
 
#29 ·
VMedia launches Premium Basic Plus. Finally!

I am very pleased to let you know that VMedia has launched our Premium Basic Plus package. It includes all of our over 40 Basic channels as well as an additional 16 must-have channels including SportsnetHD, SportsnetOneHD, DiscoveryHD, AMCHD, CNN, A&EHD, Turner Classic Movies(TCM), BravoHD, SHOWCASEHD and MUCHMUsicHD. In all, our Premium Basic Plus includes over 40 HD channels - no equipment upgrades or upcharges at all.

More details are available on our blog at www.vmedia.ca/blog.

Our UCHoose Store will be open for business next week, details to follow.
 
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