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Foxtel blunder cuts up Dexter

Foxtel customers last night had their service interrupted for up to 30 minutes during prime time because of a software update.

Foxtel sent a software update to set-top boxes around 9:12pm last night, which interrupted viewing for between 15 minutes and half an hour.

As a result customers missed large portions of prime time shows and Foxtel iQ subscribers lost them completely. Users were either greeted with a message saying the service was updating or a blank screen.

“Due to a system issue last night subscribers’ service was temporarily affected by a software update,” a Foxtel spokeswoman said.

“This meant subscribers may have needed to come out of standby mode on their set-top unit once the update finished to restore service. We apologise for any inconvenience.”

IT worker Gavin Adams was watching the second last (and dynamite) episode of Dexter when the show suddenly cut out about two-thirds of the way through. Criminal!

“Foxtel do system updates on the set-top box devices, but the expectation is that they’re normally done between two or four in the morning or the wee hours where you’re not really affecting the majority of customers,” Adams said.

“The main thing is that it certainly wasn’t advertised or anything like that as being an urgent update required, and then to do it nationwide at a quarter past nine when everyone is watching their shows in prime time, I think that’s what irked a lot of people.”

Some Foxtel iQ users said they lost their IQ settings.

So far there is no advice on this blunder on Patrick Delany’s HD blog which would be an ideal spot to address this.

Did you have your service interrupted last night?

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

12 Responses

  1. Okay, here is an obvious question that Foxtel needs to answer – who the hell does a software update on a computer program during the busiest usage time That would be like walking into a bank at lunchtime and the banker saying – sorry, we are down because we are doing an system update !!!! Surely, this could have been done overnight – most people leave their Foxtel box on or even if they didn’t, software update installers are smart enough to do the update the next time the Foxtel box is turned on. Its the difference between pushing an update to the box or the box pulling the update from Foxtel the next time it is turned on. Its not new technology nor hard technology to get right

    Someone at Foxtel hasn’t read IT Implementation for Dummies !!! and someone should have their butts kicked over it

  2. OMG I thought I was the only one it happened too..and right in the middle of Biggest loser.Not only did it cut off… IQ wiped the first hour of Biggest Loser I had taped too..I just got Foxtel that day so I was pretty peeved that they did it at ‘primetime’…leave that stuff to the wee hours of the morning…

  3. Thanks a lot foxtel I was watching the biggest looser on HD and taping one of my favorite shows Ramsey’s kitchen nightmares on my foxtel IQ but thanks to your balls up I missed last nights episode of kitchen nightmares completely what a stupid idea to do an update during primetime surely you could have done it early morning

  4. Dexter? meh, It’s on again and again.

    I was watching Ramsay on Nine, with about a half-hour delay. So we watched the first ten minutes, then Foxtel cut out. When it came back, the IQ had lost the entire first half and was recording it live!

    Dexter, as someone points out, will be on again and again. But Ramsay won’t be. (Though, admittedly, Nine are flogging him like crazy so there’s plenty more bombast on Tuesdays and Wednesdays)

  5. Foxtel viewers weren’t the only ones affected. The Optus Pay TV service was also hit by the update, at the same time. Service was out for about 5 mins.

  6. I missed a portion of Dexter because of it, and was pretty confused by why they would update in primetime.
    Even though the message indicated it may take 30 mins, it actually was less than 10, and I still got to see the end of the episode.

    In any matter, Showcase repeats the episode all week until next Thursday, so it’s not a massive issue. The same can’t be said for all shows on other channels, however.

  7. My IQ went off at about 9:15pm. I knew what it was so i turned it back on straight away. Lost 2 recordings. Not good enough Foxtel. It shoule be done in the middle of the night!

  8. My satellite Foxtel STB (from 2004 might I add) in Brisbane decided to update itself at 9:15 last night. Foxtel, give us the reason why it did what it did!

  9. yes, service was out for about 20 mins, and im running straight home after work now to check all my series link : )
    These things happen, I imagine someone got a bit of a kick up the backside for it this morning though.
    Oh, and the guy that missed “Dexter” I wouldnt worry to much, I imagine it will be show again about 12 times in the next week..ahh..the beauty of Pay TV!

  10. Our service cut out exactly as described, right as they got to the crucial final three on The Biggest Loser. It took about 15 minutes to update the software and come back on-line.
    I had been recording the show using IQ and the recording started straight back up as soon as the update was complete but the first part of the show was deleted and it started a fresh. Annoying as all I wanted to see was the before and after shots of the contestants and this was the exact bit it missed.

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