Foxtel ‘plug & play’ iQ5 ditches cable, satellite installation.
Sleek new set-top box embraces a streaming future, and can be set up in minutes.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Subscription
Foxtel has formally unveiled its new iQ5 streaming set top box as it moves further towards a cord-cutting, streaming company.
The smaller, sleek design is a plug & play device with no traditional cable or satellite installation required.
Set-up takes just minutes for the device which features detachable 1TB hard drive to record shows, 4K Ultra High Definition (where applicable), and software enhancements for personalisation, navigation and recommendations based on viewing preferences and history.
Third party apps include Vevo, joining Netflix, YouTube*, ABC iView and SBS On Demand later this month and the recently announced addition of Amazon Prime Video launching later this year to iQ3, iQ4 and now iQ5.
Patrick Delany, Foxtel Group CEO, said, “The launch of the Foxtel iQ5 is another major step in our evolution as Australia’s most dynamic streaming company.
“The iQ5 is another proof point for Foxtel as the all-in-one place heart of the contemporary Australian home. The iQ5 not only makes it easier for our existing 1.7 million customers to enjoy the best Foxtel has to offer, this streaming iQ opens up Foxtel’s premium experience to another group of Australians who could not access cable or didn’t want satellite.
“This latest innovation requires no install, so subscribers can simply plug in and start streaming the best Australian and international sport, acclaimed dramas, blockbuster movies along with our selection of 100 live channels.
“This is the ultimate streaming machine with even more of the best streaming apps with Vevo and the recently announced Amazon Prime Video, to become available on iQ3, iQ4 and iQ5 set top boxes in the coming months. They join the existing suite of apps available on Foxtel including Netflix, YouTube, YouTube Kids, ABC iView and SBS OnDemand.
“We believe the future of the premium Foxtel brand and the iQ5 together with a wider set of integrated apps confirms our strategy for Foxtel to be the Australian aggregator of the world’s best streaming content,” he said.
Foxtel indicates the iQ5 device will be available to select Foxtel subscribers from early September and more widely available later this year.
*YouTube and YouTube Kids is currently available on iQ4 and iQ5 set tops only.
20 Responses
There’s an irony of course that the future of Foxtel will rely on fast internet speeds like, um, the NBN was going to be until News Limited got involved to kill it off.
Not being a sports viewer I can’t find any reason why I’d want to pay for a subscription to Foxtel to receive this product. Might as well just turn Binge on and off like other streaming services and watch on another device.
The whole benefit of cable/satelite in my view is that there is no buffering or internet dropouts. Not really sure why you wouldn’t just drop Foxtel altogether and pick up a streaming service (Binge, Netflix, Disney+, etc.) if you were contemplating an iQ5
With the IQ5 you can technically use the box in any room of the house which has a TV. Wouldn’t it be great then if non-IQ5 subscribers could then get multi-room for free via Foxtel Go?
There’s no mention of iQ5’s technical specifications or whether it is fully upgradeable, especially when gaming becomes a growing part of the streaming universe, something that Netflix and possibly Disney+ is working towards. AV enthusiasts will be less than impressed by this ‘new’ device, especially if it does not have Dolby Vision and HDR10, now common for most high end TV’s. and let’s not forget some Dolby Atmos sound output which will need an HDMI2 port included as it would for future gaming specs. Whether Foxtel likes it or not they had to get into the streaming game, so if their new iQ5 was a close match to the recent Apple TV 4K for example,they would be getting somewhere close to wanting to be competitive. If the iQ5 was good enough Foxtel may even be able to sell it as a standalone entertainment hub, I bet no one at Foxtel thought about that.
The box is from Arris – same as the other iQ boxes. The box has an HDMI2 port.
Foxtel have said they intend the box to be sold at retail stores
Thankyou.
If only this country had ultra fast and reliable NBN… hmmmm….
Unless I’m missing something, this iQ5 is just a Foxtel Now box with a few more apps and a hard drive. And will suffer the same issue, particularly sub par picture quality and in built delays with any live streaming platform.
This makes it even more confusing.
How is this different to a Foxtel now box? If this is delivering content via the internet, the only difference is this has recording facility?
Australia’s internet connections aren’t strong enough in most places to support 4k streaming and honestly if they push me to stream – why will I keep my Foxtel subscription and not switch to Binge + Kayo?
All in all, Foxtel products are getting extremely confusing. There should be clear benefits of 1) Why should someone get IQ boxes? 2) Why should someone get a Foxtel now box and 3) Why should someone get Kayo + Binge instead.
Also if the hard drive is detachable does that mean we can transfer recordings onto a laptop?
No
Hoe will the tv signal get to the iq5? Surely not via internet ? What if people don’t have unlimited plans.
Then they can still use the iQ4, which requires a satellite dish on the roof. Foxtel have stated previously they are going off the HFC (cable) network by 2013.
Some areas will still have HFC cable for some years to come even though telcos and probably Foxtel will be pushing 5G, selling bundle deals which will eventually include offering Foxtel packages too. Not everyone will want 5G especially if they have a good high speed ethernet set up in their home.
Foxtel will be exiting cable in 2023
There is an antenna input on the back of the box. If you’re a satellite subscriber, you’ll get some FTA rebroadcast via satellite, the rest via your antenna. If you’re internet only, you get the FTA channels via your antenna.
Except when the fox installer put the IQ4 box in he cut my antenna, so I would stay locked into satellite only. I complained, but they refused to rectify it.
Really?, as someone who has been using Foxtel Now I am out of the loop, but I would presume the antennae cable you mention was just for the box and not your TV, you are entitled to watch terrestrial broadcasts the old fashioned way.
Foxtel Satellite doesn’t work when it’s raining or overcast storms so I’ve had to stream Foxtel Go from the iPad to the Apple TV to the actual TV to watch F1 last weekend. Such a struggle when they can just develop a Foxtel Go app on AppleTV (or Google, Fetch Amazon etc) and not have this roadblock. But they want to lock you to their set-top box when they can just become a streaming service and do the same thing on all streaming boxes.
This happened to us whenever rain was around and not the really heavy stuff that knocks out the signal. Had it checked and it was water in the LNB on your dish which had been there for many years. . Was replaced, problem solved.