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New Iq Box Next Year


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On Media Week today, Foxtel CEO Kim Williams revealed that there will be a new IQ box released next year around September.

He said that it will have broadcast input (I'm presuming FTA) and that IP will be enabled a couple of months later. It is currently being put up for tender that's why is will take a while.

If the new box does have a FTA input then it will be an excellent idea and will mean that everyone in Australia with Foxtel will finally be able to have the FTA's and give the PVR's a good run for their money.

Now all we need is for Foxtel to activate the USBs on the IQ's so we can attach our own hard drives for more storage.

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The FTA input is probably like Austar's Mystar... just accepts a FTA terrestrial antenna, so it will only be useful for those who have terrestrial digital FTA reception, which is a long way short of everyone in Australia with Foxtel. eg: remote WA and even many in metro areas with no terrestrial reception due to non-existant building cabling, terrain, etc.

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The FTA input is probably like Austar's Mystar... just accepts a FTA terrestrial antenna, so it will only be useful for those who have terrestrial digital FTA reception, which is a long way short of everyone in Australia with Foxtel. eg: remote WA and even many in metro areas with no terrestrial reception due to non-existant building cabling, terrain, etc.

There's no reason why Foxtel/Austar can't map the VAST channels to the line-up for those viewers. It wouldn't be hard to do as the VAST channels are already up on the same satellite, they just need to simul-crypt in NDS and map the channels into Foxtel channel numbers 001-099.

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There's no reason why Foxtel/Austar can't map the VAST channels to the line-up for those viewers. It wouldn't be hard to do as the VAST channels are already up on the same satellite, they just need to simul-crypt in NDS and map the channels into Foxtel channel numbers 001-099.

Thats a real big call my friend. As a VAST subscriber, I'm absolutely astounded how this service is totally "locked in" with no ability to use third party boxes (which was permitted under AURORA) or indeed capacity of the UEC VAST receiver to take other services. What you are suggesting makes absolute common sense so it is therefore immediately ruled out under the current anal retentive broadcasting bureaucracy.

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Now if Foxtel were able to send out CAM modules and a card and let us choose our own boxes that would be cool. Noticed that many of the European and US gear (TV, Recorders) have the ability for a CAM to be inserted and use that boxes internal tuners do the channel tuning. Would mean 1 less remote and the ability in the EPG not to show what you don't subscribe to.

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The FTA input is probably like Austar's Mystar... just accepts a FTA terrestrial antenna, so it will only be useful for those who have terrestrial digital FTA reception, which is a long way short of everyone in Australia with Foxtel. eg: remote WA and even many in metro areas with no terrestrial reception due to non-existant building cabling, terrain, etc.

Its probably at least partially in response to the FTAs ludcrious demand for pay TV to pay them for carriage of their services - ie, if the FTAs insist upon their silly position Foxtel can simply side-step the entire issue of re-transmission. Which ever genuis in the FTA camp thought up this latest grab for money really didn't think it through very well.

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