The V+ Box derives from Telewest's silver TVDrive, and was initially only available to Telewest cable customers. The TVDrive began roll-out on 1 December 2005 on a commercial pilot basis before a full launch in March 2006, becoming the first HD service in the UK. Due to the merger between NTL and Telewest, the TVDrive was made available to NTL cable customers in the Teesside and Glasgow areas on 16 November 2006, in turn NTL ceased development of their MPEG-4 compatible HD PVR, the Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 8450DVB. In January 2007, NTL:Telewest began renting the set-top box nationwide and since the licensing of the Virgin Media name, it became officially available in all areas with the new V+ branding and the colour changed from silver to black.