Technology
What if there was a device that put all your TV content in one place? You might never leave the sofa again.
What if there was a device that put all your TV content in one
place? You might never leave the sofa again.
The angst over Spark Sport’s video-streaming performance during the Rugby World Cup served one purpose – it got people thinking about the future of internet TV. For many, getting their TV fix involves switching between Sky’s satellite set-top box and a clutch of streaming apps on a different box or the screen itself. What would be handy is one platform to rule them all, aggregating the free and premium options in an easy-to-navigate interface.
The nearest thing to that is Vodafone TV. The second generation of the puck-sized device, which looks similar to an Apple TV, went on sale just as the rugby kicked off in September. It didn’t have the Spark Sport app and got a little lost in the streaming noise.
It still doesn’t have Spark Sport, but it has enough other entertainment options to be compelling. Crucially, you don’t have to be a Vodafone broadband subscriber to use it. It works over any optical-fibre connection and, with all of your TV coming via the internet, you’ll probably need an uncapped data plan.
What you get is a box that delivers all Freeview channels and access to the Sky channels, Sky’s on-demand service, as well as TVNZ OnDemand, Three On Demand, Netflix, Neon, Lightbox and a few others – YouTube, Stuff Play and iHeartRadio among them.
You obviously need to pay to receive the Sky channels, which are charged at the same rate that Sky would bill if you had its set-top box. You’ll also need subscriptions to get the content from the big streaming players.
Vodafone TV’s strength is the way in which it presents all of these options in one user interface, with the Sky and Freeview channels integrated into a slick programming guide. Suggestions from the streaming services you are paying for are also displayed via the interface, giving you an easy way to dive into shows you might want to watch and discover new content.
You can “record” up to 500 hours of TV and jump back up to three days to play content you’ve missed, a feature that works for 90% of the content from Freeview and Sky. In fact, what you are doing when you hit record is bookmarking a programme in Vodafone’s online library, which then streams your selection to you from the ubiquitous “cloud”.
With a good-quality internet connection, the Vodafone TV experience is fantastic. Setting it up takes less than 10 minutes, including choosing the Sky packages you want to subscribe to via Vodafone’s website and logging into your video-streaming accounts.
The streaming quality is excellent. You can use it over Wi-Fi, but I plugged the gadget directly into my router with an ethernet cable to ensure a solid connection. There’s a slight lag flicking between channels using the Vodafone TV remote, but the feed appears crisp and I’ve had only one streaming interruption in weeks of use.
There are, however, a few caveats. It will appeal most to those who want Sky channels in their entertainment mix. For a Freeview-streaming app alternative, I’d recommend the Dish TV SmartVu gadget ($139). The interface and ondemand access are much better than via Sky’s ageing box. It doesn’t have the breadth of apps of other media devices – it lacks music streaming, for instance – and a few other omissions, such as the ability to display subtitles, need to be sorted out.
The ability to set programmes to record via the Vodafone TV smartphone and tablet app, and to watch them on those devices, is under development.
It’s a surprise that Vodafone TV is available to subscribers to the telco’s internet-service-provider rivals. But with Sky’s streaming plans set to make its bulky set-top boxes obsolete, Vodafone has put itself in the box seat to appeal to TV viewers with a smart device at a reasonable price.
You get all Freeview channels, and access to Sky’s channels and on-demand content and a host of other streaming services.