Vodafone TV = Data usage tripled???

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K8Toledo

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#287153 9-Jun-2021 23:38

My friend owns a 2014 Samsung SmartTV. While visiting a VF store last week she was sold a VFTV (RSP= Spark). Since then her data usage has tripled.

She only watches Netflix & TVNZ On Demand, other than the VFTV box nothing else changed. What's going on here?

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#2721557 10-Jun-2021 02:31

Really old TV is probably playing lower quality streams, so I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase since the vodafone live streams seem to be very good quality.

If they sold someone who is on a capped plan a vodafone TV then thats a crap thing to do, but as people should be on unlimited and this isnt exactly massive usage.

Richard rich.ms

K8Toledo

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#2721558 10-Jun-2021 03:17

richms:

Really old TV is probably playing lower quality streams, so I wouldn't be surprised to see an increase since the vodafone live streams seem to be very good quality.

If they sold someone who is on a capped plan a vodafone TV then thats a crap thing to do, but as people should be on unlimited and this isnt exactly massive usage.

My friend Vanessa is on Spark Metro 4G w/ 350GB cap (I used to live w/ her) :) She popped into VF Whangerai after locking herself out of her iPhone (originally bought from VF).

Naturally with 2FA the sales staff couldn't help -but they did manage to sell her a VF TV. When I asked why she didn't call me to unlock the phone - "because you always tell me how you hate working with Apple devices" lol

The TV isn't that old...... It's a 2014 Samsung 55"....... when I lived there we used my Chromecast Gen3 to stream H264 1080p content instead of Samsung's built in Chromecast app.

Also I noticed Sky Sport 1 available would this require a subscription? Would she be better off with Chromecast + Google TV?

A feature she really likes is changing TVNZ channels with the VF remote. How does this work are the buttons mapped to TVNZ On Demand apps?

freitasm

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#2721561 10-Jun-2021 04:35

Vodafone TV is a streaming box. Even the "live TV' is streaming.

If she leaves the box on all the time, even with the TV off, it will be streaming...

The feature she likes tells me both you and your friend don't realise it is the box streaming.

Spyware

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#2721564 10-Jun-2021 06:44

Mine use 2 TB/month left on continuously on an HD channel.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

K8Toledo

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#2721566 10-Jun-2021 07:03

freitasm: Vodafone TV is a streaming box. Even the "live TV' is streaming.

If she leaves the box on all the time, even with the TV off, it will be streaming...

The feature she likes tells me both you and your friend don't realise it is the box streaming.

Unsure if she turns off the box or TV, I'll ask. As for changing TV channels with remote how is this implemented on VF box - can we somehow add same functionality to her TV?

Linux

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#2721567 10-Jun-2021 07:15

Connecting the VTV to the internet and not a TV aerial in sight was not a big enough hint this thing is going to use internet traffic to work?

sbiddle

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#2721573 10-Jun-2021 07:48

K8Toledo:

freitasm: Vodafone TV is a streaming box. Even the "live TV' is streaming.

If she leaves the box on all the time, even with the TV off, it will be streaming...

The feature she likes tells me both you and your friend don't realise it is the box streaming.

Unsure if she turns off the box or TV, I'll ask. As for changing TV channels with remote how is this implemented on VF box - can we somehow add same functionality to her TV?

If you don't turn the box off it's just going to be sitting there streaming whatever TV channel you were watching last.

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freitasm

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#2721576 10-Jun-2021 07:59

@K8Toledo:

Unsure if she turns off the box or TV, I'll ask.

The box runs a custom Linux that basically just streams the content from the Live TV providers. STREAM - The box does not have an antenna. It's constantly streaming.

It offers apps as well - Netflix, Neon, Prime, Three and TVNZ on Demand.

The only time the box is not streaming is when sitting on a menu in one of these apps or when it is off.

If the box is on then basically it is streaming and 300 GB a month won't be enough.

@K8Toledo:

As for changing TV channels with remote how is this implemented on VF box - can we somehow add same functionality to her TV?

There is no way to add that functionality to the TV. Completely different systems.

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#2721580 10-Jun-2021 08:32

Hey mate. Return the Vodafone TV box if she stays on a capped internet plan. It is not suitable unless you have unlimited full stop.

Expect to use 2000gb per month under normal usage.

alasta

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#2721583 10-Jun-2021 08:42

jjnz1: Hey mate. Return the Vodafone TV box if she stays on a capped internet plan. It is not suitable unless you have unlimited full stop.

Expect to use 2000gb per month under normal usage.

I got rid of my VTV because of all the weird glitches, but I use my Apple TV on average for about 45 minutes per day. I have a 240Gb monthly cap, and I use less than 100Gb per month including my non TV related Internet use.

I think it's a safe bet that the problem here is that the user is turning off the TV but leaving the VTV box streaming while the TV is off.

Linux

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#2721585 10-Jun-2021 08:46

I use about 700GB per month and it is used everyday

K8Toledo

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#2722588 10-Jun-2021 09:59

Linux: Connecting the VTV to the internet and not a TV aerial in sight was not a big enough hint this thing is going to use internet traffic to work?

No kidding? Try reading my post again.

The house has neither a Sky dish or UHF antenna, everything is streamed or delivered on demand. Until last week the built in Netflix/YouTube/TVNZ apps on her TV were used to access media.

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#2723596 10-Jun-2021 10:52

She is a candidate for fibre then, not 4G.

freitasm

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#2723598 10-Jun-2021 10:54

@K8Toledo:

Linux: Connecting the VTV to the internet and not a TV aerial in sight was not a big enough hint this thing is going to use internet traffic to work?

No kidding? Try reading my post again.

The house has neither a Sky dish or UHF antenna, everything is streamed or delivered on demand. Until last week the built in Netflix/YouTube/TVNZ apps on her TV were used to access media.

The difference now is that with the TV everything was on-demand.

With the Vodafone TV box some content is on-demand but "live TV" is a constant stream so unless your friend turn off the box it will be using data - even if the TV is off.

Until your friend understands this and change plans, the Vodafone TV is not for her.

gbwelly

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#2723657 10-Jun-2021 11:33

freitasm:

The difference now is that with the TV everything was on-demand.

With the Vodafone TV box some content is on-demand but "live TV" is a constant stream so unless your friend turn off the box it will be using data - even if the TV is off.

Until your friend understands this and change plans, the Vodafone TV is not for her.

I don't own one, but is it possible to stop live TV on the Vodafone TV unit, before turning off the TV?

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