Vodafone TV retirement plan: September 2022

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#2829768 10-Dec-2021 08:32

mattwnz:

The thing is that Vodafone provided the best streaming freeview product in NZ and filled a hole in the market, and they should be commended for that. It shows that Freeview need to do something, as the market is calling for such a device with quality TV streams which is reliable.

I can't understand why Freeview don't just produce an Apple TV app. It seems like an obvious solution to me.

ukoda

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#2829791 10-Dec-2021 09:20

alasta:

I can't understand why Freeview don't just produce an Apple TV app. It seems like an obvious solution to me.

Same could be said for a decent Android app. They seem way more focused on selling low quality hardware than providing a decent free app.

ajw

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#2829794 10-Dec-2021 09:25

@sansom

Does VF still intend to keep the Doccsis 3.1 cable network operational especially as Doccsis 4.0 is being rolled out overseas.

MikeB4

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#2829795 10-Dec-2021 09:26

Freeview NZ is not a business in the strict sense but a consortium of interested parties. Without knowing their financials it's hard to tell but i imagine their funding is very limited. Producing and maintaining a device or application is probably beyond their fiscal means.

freitasm

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#2829796 10-Dec-2021 09:27

ajw:

@sansom

Does VF still intend to keep the Doccsis 3.1 cable network operational especially as Doccsis 4.0 is being rolled out overseas.

He just mentioned a page or so ago they are repurposing the spectrum freed up by T-Box.

I guess anything beyond these immediate plans wouldn't be disclosed.

MikeB4

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#2829797 10-Dec-2021 09:28

ajw:

@sansom

Does VF still intend to keep the Doccsis 3.1 cable network operational especially as Doccsis 4.0 is being rolled out overseas.

Given their recent massive investment into their network I would say yes. However it's Vodafone anything is possible.

01EG

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#2829798 10-Dec-2021 09:29

ajw:

@sansom

Does VF still intend to keep the Doccsis 3.1 cable network operational especially as Doccsis 4.0 is being rolled out overseas.

sansom:

Yes, I'm also leading the team doing the full upgrade of all HFC customer cable modems to DOCSIS 3.1. We're almost there, only about 50 to go. The benefit of shutting down the Tbox TV on that network was that we've been able to re-farm all the TV spectrum so that all the cable spectrum is available for carrying internet traffic.

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siva992

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#2829801 10-Dec-2021 09:32

Anyone still waiting on using the voice search feature tho? 😂

openmedia

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#2829818 10-Dec-2021 09:59

Senecio:

sbiddle:

For those only using the box for watching Freeview there are plenty of replacement options - both off the shelf and DIY. With virtually every Freeview channel available as a HLS stream it's a 10 min job to turn an old PC or Android box into something for watching and/or recording live TV.

The difference is that the VTV box provided a 1080p stream of the freeview channels where as the legal streams are normally provided in 720p or worse. Also the difference in WAF is night and day between the VTV box and a PC/Android box.

I only have 1 VTV Gen 2 box and I've had it since launch back in Oct 2019. By the time it becomes obsolete I feel I would have gotten my $99 of value out of it. If I get a refund it would just be a bonus. I'm more concerned about adding to the e-waste issue unnecessarily than getting a refund. Would be a different story if bought more recently or had I paid full RRP.

I have some relatives with the VTV boxes who don't have UHF and don't want to go back to Sky/Satellite. A reliable streaming offering that supports recording would be excellent.

At present with Kodi or MythTV I can get a reasonable HLS stream of TVNZ (720p), MaoriTV (1080p25) and Prime (1080p50) but TV3/Bravo etc are still 576p.

Even EdgeTV and Breeze are 720p25

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.

Apsattv

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#2829833 10-Dec-2021 10:47

Its up to viewers to push tv3/discovery to upgrade their stream quality.

TVNZ needs to up their game as well.

quickymart

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#2829839 10-Dec-2021 10:57

openmedia:

Even EdgeTV and Breeze are 720p25

Expect those to probably close down in the next few months.

Apsattv

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#2829965 10-Dec-2021 13:47

I had saved a bunch of .bin firmwares from the Vodafone unit but can't find them , I may have deleted them, most of the urls for their apps are still working though. Been a long time since looked at it (i used kali linux via virtualbox to snoop the device traffic) the streams themselves were extractable but encrypted with playready DRM unfortunately including the Freeviiew ones.

I would love to see the hardware reused in some way even if it was a dumbed down version without app support but retaining the high quality vodafone streams of the Freeview channels.

Is it possible some sort of thread can be setup to discuss a modification of the box firmware to support a basic TV+EPG service? I know the TIVO has its own little community.

sansom

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#2829973 10-Dec-2021 14:20

ajw:

@sansom

Does VF still intend to keep the Doccsis 3.1 cable network operational especially as Doccsis 4.0 is being rolled out overseas.

Yes, we've just spent many $$$ upgrading all customers' modems to 3.1. Docsis4.0 can co-exist with 3.1, so no need to retire that if we were to roll out 4.0.

[Edit: get the plural possessive apostrophe in the right place Hamish!]

Hamish

mattwnz

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#2829975 10-Dec-2021 14:22

eracode:

mattwnz:

The thing is that Vodafone provided the best streaming freeview product in NZ and filled a hole in the market, and they should be commended for that. It shows that Freeview need to do something, as the market is calling for such a device with quality TV streams which is reliable.

Won’t the new Sky box meet this criterion - albeit that the Freeview streams probably won’t be free?

I guess Dish would claim this for their two boxes too.

It would, but the whole point of 'freeview' is that it is free. Sky have always provided free to air channels but at a cost, except for igloo for a short time.

The product freeview promoted on their website doesn't appear to be reliable (at least not the 1st gen product I used which is still shown on their site ), and they don't appear to use the high quality streams that the VTV has. Vodafone have done a great job with their product.

profrink

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#2829976 10-Dec-2021 14:23

Incredibly frustrating news. Cringing at the thought of having to inform a grandparent that we'll have to change things again, especially after issues experienced with the recent T-Box switch.

While it could have been better, VTV was probably still the best all in one box for NZ TV services on the market.

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