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johny007g

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#255853 3-Sep-2019 16:11
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got email this morning neon changing pricing

 

"We’re shaking things up on NEON and streamlining to one all-inclusive subscription:

 

TV + Movies for $13.95 per month

 

This means we will no longer be offering the TV package. Instead, for just $1.96 more a month, you'll enjoy access to our movies and the TV shows you love. 

 

The best part? You can start watching movies now, on us. And on your next billing date after 4 October, you'll be moved on to our TV + Movies package for $13.95 per month (unless you're on a special promo code). "





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lNomNoml
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  #2310025 3-Sep-2019 16:31
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So Spark is pulling at straws trying to stay relevant when they are a few years late?




CYaBro
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  #2310027 3-Sep-2019 16:34
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lNomNoml:

 

So Spark is pulling at straws trying to stay relevant when they are a few years late?

 

 

 

 

You mean Sky?

 

And still no Apple TV app so we won't be signing up.





Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.


DjShadow
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  #2310029 3-Sep-2019 16:36
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CYaBro:

 

lNomNoml:

 

So Spark is pulling at straws trying to stay relevant when they are a few years late?

 

 

 

 

You mean Sky?

 

And still no Apple TV app so we won't be signing up.

 

 

Was just looking at their website supported devices, no Apple TV or LG TV apps.




jonathan18
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  #2310030 3-Sep-2019 16:38
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And, I bet, still no full HD or 4K, and still no discrete surround audio?!


rugrat
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  #2310031 3-Sep-2019 16:49
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Instead of improving the service, they’re lowering the price.

For action stuff like full HD and 5.1.

A good price for the content available, but if they upped the sound, device support, picture they could get $20 easy for the full package.

sidefx
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  #2310240 3-Sep-2019 18:37
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rugrat:
A good price for the content available, but if they upped the sound, device support, picture they could get $20 easy for the full package.

 

 

 

Truth.  Honestly it boggles the mind. I would have been happy to pay $20 a month for neon to watch GoT.. but with no xbox one app or surround sound support (and from what I've heard pretty crap support for full HD)  no way was I gonna pay that much for it. 





"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there."         | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
              - Richard Feynman


sen8or
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  #2310321 3-Sep-2019 21:18
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No complaints at their movie selection and pricing although was high, I actually pay more for HBONow once currency is converted, but, price is only one consideration, quality of service trumps price anyday. No 5.1, no appleTV app, mediocre pic quality, no money from me, I'll continue to parallel import my bytes of entertainment 


 
 
 
 

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quickymart
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  #2310328 3-Sep-2019 21:40
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Good to see Sky are trying something different. How long until it makes a change to their subscriber numbers?


openmedia
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  #2310350 3-Sep-2019 23:05
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So have they finally produces a decent Android TV App?

 

 





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.


Kiwifruta
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  #2310372 4-Sep-2019 07:10
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Thanks for posting this. I'll look at dropping US Netflix for Neon. There are recent movies that I would have played $8 each for on Google Play movies otherwise.


tdgeek
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  #2310379 4-Sep-2019 07:25
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quickymart:

 

Good to see Sky are trying something different. How long until it makes a change to their subscriber numbers?

 

 

From the day SkySportNow was released. And maybe a little from this move. Subscribers are just part of it as they will lose revenue from those that ditch Sky for SSN with no change to subscribers, but gain a subscriber and revenue when the many that ditched Sky, in the past, come back to SSN. Id say there will be a solid number for both, but the latter needs to outweigh the former revenue wise, need to wait for the next financial result announcement.


openmedia
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  #2310385 4-Sep-2019 08:16
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It looks like there is an Android TV APK - has anyone here tried it

 

Looks like the lack of 1080p with 5.1 audio is still an issue.





Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.


Dairyxox
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  #2310580 4-Sep-2019 12:58
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I'm disappointed they've chosen to stick with the existing service at a cut-price.

 

I tried really hard to get Neon to work when Game of Thrones last season was released, but it was always horribly inconsistent. For a few days I got some "hd" (more like dvd) quality on a few shows (NOT GoT), for the rest of the month it was horribly pixelated (320x240 type) quality. Even then I couldn't get through an entire episode of anything without the odd hitch or pause.

 

I talked to their helpdesk a few times (tried tracert's pings etc), never got a decent result. Asked for a refund, and got fobbed off (I'll raise it with my manager - never heard back from again).

 

I even brought a brand new appleTV 4 to test with. No improvement. I'm on Orcon 100/20 fibre, and mostly used ethernet connection. Every other VOD service works flawlessly. Tried apple tv, laptops, new iphones, ipads they all had issues. The laptop using flash player had better quality, but the motion/judder was shocking and made me feel sick.

 

Funnily enough - I tried neon years ago with 2degrees broadband and it worked much better then.


rugrat
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  #2310588 4-Sep-2019 13:13
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I last used over a year ago. Worked flawlessly for me.

 

Air played to Apple TV and did Chrome cast. Preferred Chrome Cast as doesn't tie up device.

 

I got judder with both to start with but changed them to 50 Hz and then it worked without the judder.

 

Even though Apple TV set to match frame rate automatically setting the default to 50 Hz made a difference, TVNZ and other NZ services through Apple TV were the same.


dclegg
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  #2310595 4-Sep-2019 13:23
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I was quite keen on this, as we currently pay USD$14.95 for HBO (approx NZD $23). This looked like it'd be a cheaper replacement. 

I signed up for the "trial" last night (aside: I nearly didn't, due to it insisting on needing a credit card, and putting the onus on me to cancel), and the one thing that really struck me was the vast difference in sound quality. My AV receiver usually does a pretty good job of adapting 2.0 sound sources to produce something reasonably acceptable. But with Neon, it seemed to only be using the centre speaker.

Using different sound profiles on my A/V receiver, I can get it to use the front/rear speakers and sub, but this then comes at the expense of the centre speaker. 

So yeah, the picture quality was pretty good, but audio is a significant downgrade. I also didn't like that their response to my question about an Apple TV app was "We'll let you know when we have something to report". Couldn't even confirm if one was in the works. At this stage, I'm thinking I'll be parallel importing this content again once the trial finishes.


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