If you want a no-brainer TV recording device, you’ve got two choices right now in Australia: the Foxtel iQ or the TiVo. Now Telstra is throwing its hat into the ring with the planned release of its own device, branded the T-Box.
Telstra announced the T-Box yesterday (along with its long-expected Melbourne cable upgrade, but it’s not going to be widely available until next year at the earliest. Nick at Gizmodo has all the specs, but the essential details are that it houses a twin tuner plus a connection to Telstra’s cable network, meaning you can watch unmetered content from the BigPond movie and TV franchises.
Telstra has a share in Foxtel, but the T-Box might be seen as a precautionary measure just in case it’s forced to sell that at some point (which is possible depending on how the NBN negotiations go). The biggest objection is probably having to sign up with BigPond to use the service, which inevitably means a higher bill. But I’m curious what readers think. Does this appeal, or would you rather stick with one of the existing alternatives or build your own custom recording system? Let us know in the comments.
Bruce
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 9:50 AMThe PlayTV add-on for Sony PS3 is due for release this month and will be a “no-brainer” too.
Angus Kidman
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 9:55 AMGood point Bruce — the PlayTV got announced so long ago I’d forgotten it was finally due to arrive! (A similar fate might well befall the T-Box . . .)
AnthonyP
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:28 AMYou are all forgeting that you need to be on the Telstra Cable network! There are large areas of Melbourne that do not have a cable runs.
FTTH is really the only solution.
kenny
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:37 AMFrom telstra?
I’d rather pass, dont wanna give them a cent of my hard earned money. besides, you’d probably need to have their overprices bigpond service. so it’s a no brainer.
obenihk
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 12:59 PMI’ve been with Telstra Cable for a year now and even though I have unmetered access to BigPond TV I can’t find anything remotely interesting in the content they’re currently serving up. If it really wants to compete against Foxtel, Telstra will need to bridge the huge gulf of difference in content quality.
astrogirl
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 1:39 PMEh… given the pricing that Telstra have for everything else I wouldn’t touch this with a barge pole.
Ian
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 2:10 PMLucky if you can get it – but I’d rather see cable get rolled out to more homes that are outside major capital cities…
Spread the cheer a little wider please!!
Quinten Van Der Werf
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 5:46 PMNo way I would send more money to Telstra than I have to. I was trapped with Bigpond for a short while and have had horrendous dealings with both Telstra and Bigpond customer support. Apart from their stupidly overpriced services, their support is the worst. I’ve been burnt so many times from them that I hate that company with a vengeance. Unfortunately I live in the 3% of Australia where Telstra is our only choice for mobile coverage.
Matt
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 10:49 PMI live in a regional area and I dont get mobile coverage at my home. if i stand on my roof i might get a telstra signal. but the phone system here is shot too. ADSL works but its still crappy