Virgin Media is dishing out a free UK upgrade - just press one button to try it

There's a big new upgrade coming to homes using Virgin Media's TV platform and it's aimed at making it much easier to find things to watch. The changes have been confirmed via a Virgin blog post with the telecoms company saying it's making its search fuction far more visual.

When currently looking for content to view, Virgin offers a standard list view, but that's about to change with the update displaying vivid images instead.

"We’re rolling out some helpful improvements to how you search on our Stream box and Virgin TV 360," Virgin confirmed.

"Gone are the boring search results that made it feel like you were cramming for an exam (and not a fun one).

"Instead, we’ve ditched the text lists and have updated our search function to show image results, making it quicker and easier to find what you want.

"Whether you’re typing out your search query or you’re using our super powerful voice search feature, you will now see visual tiles for the relevant results."

The update is being rolled out to devices including its 360 and Stream boxes, with the boost happening automatically.

Explaining more, Virgin said: "You won’t have to do anything special to our 360 or Stream boxes for this latest update to take place. It’ll happen as if by magic (we’ll press a button on our end)."

This upgrade should help users find things faster and it's worth a try if you've never used it before as it cuts down on the amount time spent flicking through channels.

Virgin's search function lets you look for a specific show or movie along with genres and even those starring in it.

Just hit the magnifying glass button on the remote and get typing – just a few letters is usually enough for Smart Search.

Alternatively, hold down the remote’s mic button and say the name of the show. You’ll see some options start to appear as you type or speak.

Here are a few things to try with your remote

• Type or say “John Wick” to find shows and movies related to John Wick

• Type or say “feel-good movies”

• Type or say “reality TV”

• Type or say “live sports tonight”