Virgin Media Big Bundles Breakdown

Charlotte Whyatt • 28 Sep 2016 Guides

Thinking about going for one of Virgin Media’s excellent Big Bundle deals but don’t know where to begin? Let our handy guide help you decide which one is just right for you. 

Virgin Media Player Bundle

Price: An 18-month contract, £12 a month for the first year then £26 a month after that. A Virgin phone line rental charge at £19 a month and a one off £14.99 activation fee. 

A simple, all-inclusive package of TV, broadband and phone with a free 500GB TiVo box and Virgin Media Hub 3.0 router makes the Player Bundle a great choice for anyone on a budget. Just don't expect a lot of choice on your TV. 

The Breakdown

TV - Freeview and the free 500GB TiVo box's ability to provide access to major streaming and catch-up services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer and YouTube combine to form a cheap alternative to some of Virgin's more all-inclusive (and expensive) TV offerings. 
Freeview's 70+ terrestrial channels offer a fairly wide selection of content but do fall down when it comes to film and children's TV. Without access to Sky Cinema, Film4 is really your only choice for quality feature length content and Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are noticeably absent.

Access to Netflix, via your TiVo box, and other streaming and catch-up services however allows for an easy and inexpensive way to remedy these gaps in content. Also on offer is access to Virgin's very own movie service where you are able to rent (not buy and keep) a film for £3.99, although it may just be better to use Netflix. Unfortunately, there isn't any way to view Virgin's TV box set library with the Player bundle. 

The TiVo box allows for the ability to pause and rewind live TV as well recording up to three shows at once. A hefty 500GB of storage means you can store up to 250 hours of recorded TV, excellent for a rainy weekend. 

Broadband - The SuperFibre 50 broadband offered in Virgin's Player Bundle runs at 50Mbps. This may not seem like a significant amount at first but surprisingly, a lot can actually be achieved with it. Helped by a great Wi-Fi hub, Virgin claim that SuperFibre 50 is able to run at an average of 4x faster than regular broadband, meaning you are able to simultaneously smoothly stream a film or TV show, surf the web on a laptop or a smartphone and play online on a games console without any major issues whatsoever.  

Phone - Annoyingly, there's no escaping the £19 a month for line rental but unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobile numbers could be a nice little addition if you find yourself often using a landline.  

Virgin Media Mix Bundle 

Price: An 18-month contract, £18 a month for the first year then £31 a month after that. A Virgin phone line rental charge at £19 a month and a one off £14.99 activation fee. 

An upgrade from the Player bundle with a phone, 150+ TV channels and unlimited downloads alongside SuperFibre 50 broadband, if you're going to make use of the extra features it's well worth spending that little bit extra. 

The Breakdown

TV - The Mix bundle makes a pretty big leap from the Player bundle's just 70+ terrestrial channels to a sizeable 150+ digital and terrestrial channels. 

Although this does result in a lot more choice, the best of these featured digital channels are probably Fox, MTV, Sky 1, Sky Living, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, E! and TLC. So if you can't see yourself settling down to really watch any of these, then it may just be best to stick with the simple Player bundle. 

Although the quality of featured children's TV has been given quite a boost with the inclusion of Cartoon Network and Boomerang, but still no Disney channel or Nickelodeon, movies is still an area that's lacking with again Film4 being really the only option for decent content. 

Again, the inclusion of the free 500GB TiVo box means easy access to Netflix and other streaming and catch-up services (excellent if you're a film fanatic) as well as the ability to pause and rewind live TV, record up to three shows at once and store up to 250 hours of recorded TV. 

Broadband - Still running at a hardy 50Mbps with the free Virgin Media Hub 3.0 router, the newest and best feature of the Mix bundle's broadband is unlimited downloads. Virgin has assured customers that 50Mbps is plenty fast enough to quickly download a full length HD film and it is also a clever way to expand your TV viewing ability. 

Phone -  Basically the same phone package as the Player bundle, you still receive unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobile numbers. 

Virgin Media Fun Bundle

Price: An 18-month contract, £18 a month for the first year then £31 a month after that. A Virgin phone line rental charge at £19 a month and a one off £14.99 activation fee. 

With a chunk of the 190+ channels being devoted to children's TV, including Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, as well as superfast VIVID 100 broadband capable of supporting many more devices than previous packages, the Fun bundle is ideal for families.

The Breakdown 

TV - The extra channels that boost the Fun Bundle's total up to 190+ can mostly be found under the children's and factual or lifestyle header. Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Nicktoons, Cartoonito, Discovery Channel, ID, Animal Planet and the Food Network are just some of the more popular channels you'll now be able to find within their respective category.  

Sports and movies are two areas still quite lacking for content but entertainment, which give or take a few minor channels is effectively the same as under the Mix bundle, comes packed with a nice variety of good channels. 

As with the other packages, the free 500GB TiVo box grants you access to streaming and catch-up services. 

Broadband - The VIVID 100 broadband is where the Fun bundle really starts to shine. Upping the speed to 100Mbps makes this broadband unbelievably quick and so ideal for a family where the total number of smart devices will be a lot higher. Keeping the unlimited downloads from the Mix bundle allows everyone in the household to take full advantage of this much higher speed 

Phone - Effectively the same phone package as the Player and Mix bundles, you still receive unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobile numbers. 

Virgin Media Full House Bundle

Price: An 18-month contract, £35 a month for the first year then £57 a month after that. A Virgin phone line rental charge at £19 a month and a one off £14.99 activation fee. 

If the Fun bundle isn't quite enough for you, the 245+ channels, 200Mbps broadband capable of supporting more than ten devices comfortably and access to Virgin's huge library of U.S and U.K box sets should be. 

The Breakdown

TV -  With a massive 245+ channels, the Full House bundle comes equipped with essentially every channel, bar Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, you could ask for. The Entertainment, Kids and Factual or Lifestyle groupings have a ridiculously huge amount of choice with all kinds of great content. 

Even with a lack of the major Sky Sports channels, the inclusion of BT Sport 1,2,3 in both standard and high definition should be enough to keep even the most dedicated of fans happy. 

Perhaps the biggest and most exciting addition to the Fun bundle however is the ability to now access Virgin's huge on-demand library of box sets. Featuring everything from the U.S and U.K's biggest hits to their more underrated gems, combining this with the easy access to streaming and catch-up services gifted by the free 500GB TiVo box will award you with a basically never ending stream of content. 

Broadband - Leaping up yet again, the Full House bundle's VIVID 200 runs at a frankly amazing 200Mbps. With broadband this fast you are basically free to download as much as you want (and actually encouraged to by Virgin with the unlimited downloads feature), stream as much as you want and play as much as you want in as higher a definition as possible. 

Phone - Still the same phone package as before, you still receive unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines and Virgin mobile numbers.

Virgin Media V.I.P Bundle 

Price: An 18-month contract, £68.50 a month for the first year then £101 a month after that. A Virgin phone line rental charge at £19 a month and a one off £14.99 activation fee. 

Virgin's ultimate media bundle, 245+ channels complete with Sky Cinema and Sky Sports, unlimited access to Virgin's extensive box set library, unlimited landline calls to any other landline or mobile and access through the free 500GB TiVo box to catch-up and streaming services. The VIVID 200 broadband however is exactly the same as what you'd find within the Full House bundle. So unless you've got a serious need for those extra movie and sport channels or find yourself constantly using a landline, you're probably bet offer going for the Full House bundle. 

The Breakdown 

TV -  The ultimate selection of TV. 245+ channels catering to every type of programme, the eventual inclusion of all the different Sky Sports and Sky Cinema channels and access to Virgin's extensive library of box sets, which alone consists of thousands of hours of TV, means that you should never ever want for anything to watch ever again. 

The biggest benefit to having Sky Cinema is the fact that they often get newer content quicker than say Netflix or any other streaming service. But, by taking advantage of the unlimited downloads feature on a computer or tablet it's easy to eliminate the need for these channels. If you're not too bothered about the latest movies (or sports) and are happy to use the streaming services via the TiVo box, it's definitely worth opting for the cheaper Full House package. 

Broadband - Exactly same as is what is offered by the Full house bundle. Incredibly fast VIVID 200Mbps broadband which is easily able to support ten or more devices, the simultaneous streaming and downloading of content in 4k and online gaming.

Phone - A significant upgrade from the phone service offered by all of Virgin's other bundles, Talk More Anytime gives you unlimited anytime calls to U.K landlines, any U.K mobile no matter what network they're with, 0845 and 0870 numbers.