Canadian Broadband → Taking the plunge with VMedia

I've decided to take the plunge and sign up with VMedia. I was a long time customer with Rogers, before that Bell. I've been keeping a close eye on the forums and reviews for VMedia. I've noticed that for the most part generally, things are quiet in regards to issues. I tend to disregard most of the negative reviews given to VMedia because those reviewers have tended to join dslreports the same day they post the review which in my mind is very suspicious.

Rogers and Bell are very good ISP's and BDU's. But their services are expensive and punitive. I also believe in the future of IP delivered services.

So with that in mind I signed up last week for the service. It's been a bit of a slow start because I gave them the wrong address (dyslexia on my part ). Getting in touch with support requires patience. I've figured out, I think, that the best time to contact them in person is at the end of the day although I was successful just using email. Despite all that I still was able to secure my preferred install date.

I've purchased my VBox from Canada Computers, which will give me 2 months free service if I sign up through the Canada Computers VMedia web portal. I've also purchased a dsl modem for 15-1 service, Premium Basic TV as well as the upgraded remote control for the VBox. This will be a fresh install. I've been without wired Internet and TV for about 3 months.

I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

If more people would take the time to do the research into just what IPTV is today, and also what it isn't, there wouldn't be as many negative posts in these forums.

Both of the Ontario based IPTV providers have their own forums filled with feedback from customers, positive and negative. It doesn't take long to see the more common issues, and how the company ( and forum community ) responds to offer help.

Going with VMedia will not be the same experience as walking out of a Rogers store with a couple of 'NextBoxes' under your arm; your wallet will definitely feel the difference though. VMedia doesn't yet have a client-side PVR, but uses a limited ( OTA channels only ) cloud based solution that's not without its problems. The channel selection is good, but honestly, if I compare the cost to what I would pay Rogers for the channels I want, it only comes to a few dollars/month difference, considering the Rogers $75 'Extra' packages include TMN & HBO.

Being an internet based solution, if you insist on 365/24/7 availability of TV shows, you may be disappointed sometimes; having some back-up plan is a good idea. Just like with VOIP, you should also have a cellphone handy, a simple OTA antenna might be a good idea. One thing to note - even though the VBox has an XBMC app, when the internet is down, you can't even use your VBox to watch content stored on your own LAN media servers - strange but true.

All in all, I like the VMedia service, and don't want to sound negative. Just that in a few weeks, I don't want to read here from you complaining about what a POS the service is b/c a DDos attack made you miss your fav show.

It's a good thing that I'm relatively tech savvy. I understand what you're saying. And as someone who does technical support, it's frustrating to witness those who find the simplest technical challenge beyond their abilities, in their mind.

Plus I understand this is a new business with growing pains. But they're providing a service at less cost than the incumbents. thus the support service may not be up to what the incumbents provide.

Keep in mind that those incumbents are still making money from OTT (over the top) providers buy selling Bulk services and media content.

And yes you can get a similarity price TV package form Rogers for example, but not with the mix of specialty channels that VMedia offers. To get what I want from Rogers would cost much more than VMedia, hence the 30% savings. There's a reason why that specialty channel you really want is in another tier/package.

As far as back-up "PVR" are concerned I am running a media computer with xbmc installed. All my media is on there and I have the capability to watch shows that I miss easily. I do have a OTA antenna which mostly works. I'm looking forward to watching Hockey and football for the next few months.

FWIW my brother has had it for several months and is happy with it so far.

**UPDATE**
Well.... while browsing the VMedia forums, I discovered that VMedia will soon be pushing an update for the VBoxes making them hardware pvr's! This will only work with VBoxes with dual core processors. Those who own VBoxes with single core processors will be contacted for a free hardware upgrade. Once the update is pushed users will be able to connect a mass storage usb device and/or an SD card up to 32GB. It looks like users will be able to record anything they subscribe to. JOY!

I can only comment on Vmedia. The company I've been using for 15 months.

I'm very happy with the service. The basic covers eveything the Rogers basic covers for $10 less. A bonus. And I like the ala carte feature. My entire outay for television and internet is $84 a month. Dirt cheap for first class service.
The growing pains, are kind of behind vmedia. They've stabilized the service, and it appears that if there's problems with their service, it's inherited problems.

Installs are a pain for them, because they have to rely on a second party to install and provision. And they're (sub contractors from Cogeco or Rogers or) not always the most dedicated to making sure your service is up and running. As the installer told me last year "I don't work for vmedia, I work for Rogers. So you'll have to take it up with them" when my modem wouldn't provision. Small hiccup, but the installer couldn't have cared less if it was actually working because that might take more then 5 minutes to figure out. And his attention span cut off at 3.

The selection with vmedia is excellent. Tech problems are handled on time, and GeorgeB on this forum is always a great guy to get your answers. Very professional.
And the bonus is a lot of channles are in HD without a tacked on price.

I'm going on 5 months with VMedia. I've got 30/5 cable, the smaller IPTV package and VOIP phone.

Cable has been virtually flawless. It's gone down maybe twice for just a few minutes and it was probably just local lines in my building or just outside.

IPTV is pretty good. I don't watch a lot of TV but I do watch evening news and sports/NFL/F1 on Sundays and Monday nights. There have been a few brief interruptions quickly sorted by VMedia but none has interfered with the games so far. Video quality is not exactly true HD but certainly watchable. I'd say visually about half way between OTA quality (which I still have/use) and old school analog cable on a CRT tv. The streams are 2Mbps using the H264 codec so there's some pixelation when there's a lot of movement/colors on the screen. I'd be happier if they either increased the stream speed to at least 3Mbps or started using the H265 codec but that would require an upgrade to a more robust CPU in the VBOX.

VOIP, after some startup hiccups, is working well although I still occasionally get some clicking during a call but it's not a show stopper.

Tech support needs some work. I've found using their forums to be the best way to get things fixed, followed by chat if it's a non-tech issue (billing etc)

Overall I give the company a solid 7.9 out of 10 and considering the price that's pretty damn good.

**UPDATE** Just received the DSL Modem/Router and enhanced remote control today. I had them shipped to my office. And surprise! the Modem isn't the SmartRG SR505N I was expecting. I've read that there have been issues with the SmartRG's not playing well with Bell's Acatel 7330 DSLAM's and this is VMedia's solution. The Modem is slickly packaged, just like the VBox. It's branded with the VMedia logo. Four port Modem/Wireless Router with two VoIP ports. I couldn't tell you if it's possible to run it in pass through mode, but I suspect it's possible. Comes with an instruction booklet, kinda small print, a little stand cables and power adaptor. It looks like this is a custom unit made for VMedia. Looking forward to the install. Since I signed up it'll be two weeks by the time I'm up a running this Saturday

I found this so strange that I had to test it. What I found is that I can stream content from my local server if the internet is down, much as I expected to be able to. However what I did find that surprised me is that if I reboot my router and WiFi is not available the VBox reboots itself. I didn't expect that.

My VBox is running F/W V1.8.55. If it's turned on while there is no internet connection, it sits on a screen "Looking for Internet". It eventually goes to "Internet Connection Failed" - and the only choice then is to retry, or check your settings. I cannot get to any apps menu.

If you're already viewing the app menu and then the internet goes down, you can still run the apps.

VMedia in their forum is currently asking users for their suggestions for improvements of the VBox. Allowing xmbc to run without an Internet connection sounds like a good one.

Allowing the VBox to be used offline in general. The box is a sitting duck if there is no internet- even if the rest of the LAN is fine. This would allow for offline viewing. Even if there was a TV problem on VMedia's end, you could still use it for Netflix etc.

Funny you should mention this, as I had this problem last week. Couldn't get my vmedia unit provisioned no matter what I tried. And the same firmware.
Making a long story short, I removed MAC from static IP on my DIR825, let it DHCP. Vmedia grabbed a fresh IP (lan side) and I just added it back to the static IP table of my router. Weird.
Usually all it took was turning the ethernet toggle on and off the vmedia software page, and it would refresh. This time it didn't. Not a big deal, but I kind of wonder if it's a problem with the Android 2.5.5

We have had the worst service experience of our lives with VMedia: »VMedia a miserable experience

I see you just joined yesterday. How about posting a review?
*edit* never mind. I found your post.

**UPDATE**
My DSL install when in without a hitch. I've subscribed to a 15/1 service. Download is slightly better than 15, upload is showing 6.6. I only did the test using speedtest.net. Got the VBOX working, haven't
spent too much time on the
various channels, Watching
hockey tonight. So far so
good. Picture looks good. I'll need to spend time with the system to see it performs over time.

Since you have chosen to spread your word this way, I thought it useful to make sure readers of this thread get some context, incase they don't bother to go to your link.

Here is what we responded to Schvenn's comments:

I apologize for the delay in responding but I wanted to get all the details.

First of all, in reviewing the notes, you have had extensive dealings with our team, which has been supportive and helpful on these as well as other issues which you have not mentioned. So the general insinuations about their efforts, and the claim that they lied about anything, is insupportable.

With respect to the porting issue, our confirmation email states very clearly, in bold letters,

"DO NOT CANCEL YOUR CURRENT PHONE PROVIDER while we are porting your phone. The porting process will typically take care of that. The porting process will take about 2 -3 weeks and status updates will be posted on your 'My Account'."

There may have been a "fail" here, but it was not on VMedia's part.

With respect to usage, I have been told that it was made clear to you that the cut off was not related to usage, but rather a glitch, where the billing period was truncated, and you were cut off and billed early for the next succeeding period. It is my understanding as well that you have been made whole for any double billing. Let me know if that is not the case.

While we regret any inconveniences you may have suffered, in view of the extensive dealings we have had with you and the nature of the matters you have complained of, your tone and allegations are unfair, but you are entitled to your views.

While I don't have the IPTV service, just cable internet, I've been quite happy with the service from VMedia so far. I signed up with them after moving from one cable provider service area to another, so I figured I might as well change companies while I'm at it and save a few bucks. The connection was simple as I connected my cable modem myself and the connection was up and running the day before my official connection date.

Performance of the connection has been decent. During off peak times, I have no complaints at all. During peak times, generally 1800-2100 hrs I find speeds get somewhat spiky with some lag, but I suspect that's the fault of the cable company, not VMedia.

Anywho I'm happy with them so far.

The potential for coax cable node slow downs is the reason I choose FTTN DSL. I don't experience neighbourhood network congestion that cable users experience. That doesn't mean my connection will never slow down during peak times. It just means that if I slow down it won't start at the local level.

**UPDATE**
So I've been using VMedia's Internet and TV service for about a two weeks now, and I've been impressed so far. I’m running FTTN 15-1 dry DSL and Premium Basic TV at my home in midtown Toronto. I purchased my VBox from Computer Canada. I also purchased a DSL modem and enhanced remote control from VMedia which I had shipped to my work address. A total up-front cost, which includes Installation and shipping, came to $344.00. Because I signed up with Computer Canada I’m receiving two months of free service. What that really means is I get a fractional discount?, so for two months I pay a half of the cost of the third month. My monthly cost is $34.95 for Internet, 39.95 for TV and $8.00 Dry loop cost for a total of $82.90 before taxes.
I chose FTTN DSL so to eliminate the potential problems that can occur with coax cable neighbourhood node connections. So far the connection has been solid better that 15Mb/s down and about .77Mb/s up.

Despite my efforts to mess up the ordering process, gave the wrong address, sign up scheduling and install went without a hitch. The modem I received from VMedia was preconfigured; all I had to do was plug it in once the installer was done. VMedia does give instruction on how to configure the modem/router just in case you have to configure it yourself.

My communication with Sales and Support has been satisfactory. Phone calling is hit or miss, depending on the time of day, but instant messaging or email works well. Whether by phone or IM or email, the support staff has been courteous and friendly, and I appreciate that.

The DSL Internet although branded VMedia, uses Vianet as the provider. It works well so far, I can’t complain. The Modem/Router VMedia provided me is Branded with the VMedia logo, the router is full featured and includes four LAN ports and two VoIP ports and 300n wireless. It is a custom model made by Chinese company Kasda. This is a new modem for VMedia. A cool thing in the web interface of the modem is on the stats page you see upload and download measurement. I don’t know where the endpoint of the measurement is, but I think it’s a god representation of the actual connection speed to the provider before the Internet connection, thus giving you a good idea as to where slowness can occur.

The VBox for television service also works well. Only once I had an issue with it which I eventually figured out. The VBox is a dual processor unit, very responsive, changing channels is quick, the on screen interface is slick although I found, sometimes the channel guide information sparse. The VBox runs a version of Android operating system. Android App installs are possible on the VBOX however the selection of apps to install is managed. That said, I installed xbmc on my unit, very cool! Speaking of xbmc, the first time I tried it, the app changed my audio settings, when I when back to TV there was no audio. It took me about 20 min to figure out that one, no big deal.
Video quality on the whole is very good. Streaming is done using 1280 x 720p H.264 video at a 2.5 Mbps bitrate, Stereo audio only. I did find some anomalies when viewing certain scenes at this streaming level. As an example, there was a local CBC News promo running that showing a full screen of live crickets. That’s constant movement on the screen. The effect was blurry video. I would notice if there was fast movement in a large portion of the screen things would get blurry or the background would break up in blocks. This was observed sometimes with fast camera action in hockey games. Now that wasn’t the effect all the time, I found some channels to be very good with fast action. For instance I found the suite of CTV channels to be of varying quality which I found curious. Most of the TSN channels show well. So I’m guessing, depending on how VMedia is getting their video feeds, the quality of the source will have an impact on the end result for us watching at home, or VMedia may be managing streaming rates for some channels. I’ve compared my local CBC OTA feed with Vmedia’s CBC feed and right away I noticed how brighter and color balanced the OTA feed is. That could be a direct result of the limitation of the streaming level coming from VMedia. Or it could be the result of my un-calibrated HDMI input. Quality from where I sit, I’ve decided, is about the same. I also observed that from time to time audio and video sync would be off. In my experience so far, not enough to seek technical help. But I’ve noticed when VMedia customers have a serious sync issues they post the problem in VMedia’s technical forum and the problem is looked after.
Cloud TV

When you turn on the VBox for the first time you are asked for verification to turn on the Cloud TV recording service, you can also set up what channels you wish to record. You can only record local channels and the recordings are stored for 7 days. I tried it once. I recorded a newscast on CityTV and it works well. Right now scheduling recordings based on the program schedule is impossible because you can’t see the schedule beyond the current time that you watching. You can do recurrent recordings or you can just record the whole days programing on individual channels. This service is only available for FTA channels.
This may all prove to be moot since VMedia will be soon pushing an update to VBoxes turning them into PVR’s. All the user will need to do is attach a usb hard drive or SD storage card to their VBox. My understanding is the OS update is being tested right now.

VMedia has also released a remote control app for Android devices. It allows you to control the VBox functions or multiple VBoxes. That and the enhanced remote control gives you excellent options.

I’m really enjoying my VMedia services. The idea that I can get quality TV and unlimited Internet at such a reasonable price is nirvana to me. It’s not perfect, but for a start-up I think their way ahead of the curve more than Bell or Rogers where when they first built out their networks. I expect more great things from VMedia because it appears that’s how they roll.

Hi giggabotch, thanks very much for your detailed review. Just one clarification, our DSL internet is definitely direct from Bell, VianetTV is an associated company and we share a pool of IP addresses, so I am assuming that it came up on a speed test.We are glad you joined us, and hope to keep rolling with you.

(George I had to post this here because this site doesn't allow me to IM you for 8 hours after my account creation. By that time the process to switch to Bell would have already begun, so I will post this now in hopes you can respond.)

Hi George,

I am a proud supporter of Vmedia but lately I have not been so confident in my support. Lately my parents whom I just switched over for DSL 10/1 and the Unlimited World Home Phone service is experiencing a very bad experience and will be beginning the process of switching back to Bell. While I hate that idea I wanted to see if there is something you could do as I believe that the front line staff are unfortunately ill prepared to even answer some of my questions regarding the fair usage policy, some didn't even know that the maximum was 5000 mins. Which to me an unlimited plan shouldn't have.
Either way, I saw your response to this incident (»Review of VMedia by Schvenn) and I was wondering if our account might be experiencing the same double billing issue which I presumed happened when the switch from the temporary line to the ported line, for which we have the same situation.
Please let me know if this is the case or if there is anything Vmedia could do to turn the line back on. As of now the savings I have realized from switching from Bell to Vmedia has been sucked into a Skype account purchasing Skype credits to facilitate the daily calls to Poland my father desperately needs to keep in touch with his frail mother, my grandmother. Which by the way is non-commercial use, as I have stated to your representatives multiple times. To add it all up, with Bell we had a 3rd party long distance provider that set a 2000 min limit per month and yet we have never gone over that limit but with Vmedia's 5000 mins, we have?
In the end Bell made us unhappy, but at least they provided the service we paid for and that trumps any savings that we could realize.
Sincerely

Ejaaz Idris

Hi Ejaaz I am very sorry to hear about this problem, especially coming at such a difficult time for your family.Generally speaking, we keep ongoing track of calls and try to determine whether the calling time abides with fair usage rules. In this case there were alot of minutes used in a very short time, and our system kicked in to determine reasons. Having said that there are of course unusual circumstances where people make calls to a destination for substantial time per day that is of course ordinary course in the circumstances, and non-commercial, but generally the sensitivity is to avoid having people make commercial use of our residential service. Please let me look into this and follow up with you tomorrow.

Hi George, Thank you for looking into this. I look forward to your response. - Ejaaz