SYDNEY: Foxtel’s iQ3 recorder facilitates users to watch all the Freeview digital free-to-air channels and also get Catch Up access.
If you’re paying for Foxtel then it’s certainly worth getting an iQ recorder to get the most from your subscription. It tends to be more reliable than most personal video recorders because it relies on Foxtel’s curated Electronic Program Guide rather than hotchpotch data embedded in the terrestrial free-to-air signal.
The iQ2 recorder is great for recording pay TV channels, but free-to-air support has always been hitting and missing depends on where you live and how you access Foxtel. That is set to change with Foxtel’s new iQ3 video recorder launched today and selling for $125 plus $25 for self-installation or $75 for a visit from a Foxtel technician.
The old iQ2 has rear jacks for connecting to the Foxtel wall socket, which runs to the pay TV cable in your street or the satellite dish on your roof. The new iQ3 adds a standard aerial input in the back, so it can connect to your aerial wall socket and pull free-to-air channels from the TV antenna on your roof such as Seven, Nine, Ten, ABC and SBS and their extra multi-channels, as well as regional networks like WIN depending on where you live.
This is great news for satellite subscribers and regional viewers annoyed by the fact that the Foxtel doesn’t retransmit some of the new Freeview channels such as 7mate and GEM, depending on where you live. This schism is very frustrating if you want your Foxtel recorder to be your one PVR to rule them all.
Now the new iQ3 can scan the airwaves for terrestrial free-to-air channels like 7mate and drop them into the onscreen guide alongside the pay TV channels. The iQ3 treats these Freeview channels like any other channel, letting you record them and create Series Links (although you’re now at the mercy of the networks’ hotchpotch programming metadata). There are two free-to-air tuners in the iQ3, so you can record one free-to-air channels while watching a second. You can also record three cable/satellite channels while watching a fourth.
If your home has access to both the terrestrial broadcast of a channel and Foxtel’s retransmission, you can select which source you prefer. This is useful if your free-to-air reception is terrible and you rely on Foxtel for a decent picture. Keep in mind the networks are pushing to charge Foxtel a retransmission fee for providing the Freeview channels over cable and satellite, so Foxtel may be looking to wean customers off these options.
The iQ3’s inclusion of built-in free-to-air tuners isn’t the only way Foxtel is expanding viewing options. The new box supports HTML5 apps and Foxtel is open to including free-to-air streaming Catch Up services such as ABC iView, says Foxtel’s director of product Mike Ivanchenko.
“Just because content doesn’t come from Foxtel doesn’t mean that you won’t see it on our box”, Ivanchenko says.
“When it comes to streaming services like YouTube and iView, you could eventually seem them on this box.”
Local streaming video features are also on the roadmap. The iQ3 cable box features eight tuners (10 in the satellite box) and Ivanchenko says they could be used with the two onboard transcending engines to stream video from the box to other devices around the home. There’s also potential for the iQ3 to act as a DLNA client for streaming video from a smartphone, computer or Network Attached Storage device.
