T-Box introduces new free features including Apps and Weather
Filed under: broadband, consumer, entertainment, gadgets and gizmos, lifestyle, movies, networks, Picasa, T-Box, technology
We know the Telstra T-Box is a great device and what is really exciting is the ability to make it even better by updating it with new features.
In recent times for example we’ve introduced the capability to pay for BigPond Movies on your Telstra bill and the option to connect T-Box to a Wi-Fi network without a password using Wi-Fi Protected Setup.
We’ve also been busy responding to your feedback by improving the way T-Box performs. For example we’ve improved remote control pairing, optimised the BigPond Movies service and improved the reliability of the broadband connection to the T-Box via Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
Today we’re bringing new features to the T-Box including a new Applications menu that includes free games and Picasa, as well as an on-screen weather icon.
Picasa is an application from Google that enables you to organise and share photos from your computer. And with the new T-Box Picasa app, customers will be able to log into their photo albums and share them on the big screen instead of crowding around the computer. Consider it as a modern day slide show.
We’re also adding a selection of free games to T-Box. From launch there will be eight titles to choose from including the puzzle game ‘Rockswap Adventures’ and a maths game called ‘add it up’. The games are free to use and do not count towards your download. We plan to add new games in the future so stay tuned for more news!
We know our customers also love to keep across weather updates so we’re bringing a weather icon to the Main Menu of your T-Box. You can change the weather postcode location by visiting telstra.com/tboxsetup, login and follow the instructions.
Click here to head to the FAQs that detail what you need to do to set up these great new free features on your T-Box.
We will be regularly introducing new features and improvements based on your feedback – so let us know what else you would like to see on your T-Box.
Related links:
g,day telstra are you any closer on fixing the bugs in the software? set a manual record this time and it did nothing at all and now it is starting to turn it self off after just turning it on in the morning like the first box,i was hoping you may have fix these small problems if you are not closer how long do you thing it will be?
I found the same problem with two T-boxes. I had to connect via the S-Video port to stop this from happening. While it was connected via HDMI, it kept doing it.
Hope this helps
Hi,
we love the T-box but would like to see in the future the ability to be able to record more than 1 program at a time, as in popular timeslots there is always more than 1 program we would like to record or series record.
is this a possibility in the future.
thanks.
i am starting to get annoyed again ,i am on my 2nd t-box went to record a program by EPG yesterday checked my settings, and it did nothing. all i had when i checked it was a box with blue back ground in it.Has telstra,s daniel stopped reading this page? what is the point of having a PVR that does not do what it should.i am normally a patient man but have not had any reply from this page and if i ring the support line they will go through the turn on and reset options. which i have done. Dont get me wrong i like the tbox but i want one that is guarantted to work the way it should.do we have to go to the ombudsman to get all these smaller problems fixed
Hi Tony, Glad to hear the tech person was able to get this all fixed for you over the phone this afternoon. Brendan
Hi there,
Am about to receive my new T-Box but do wish it had the ability to record 2 channels at the same time. (Like Foxtel IQ has been doing for many years now.) Any chance you can bring this out as an update as I believe it already has 2 tuners which should make this possible.
Well, well, well….another crappy bigpond channel has been delivered again to my T-box. I watch free tv with ads, why would i want another two channels advertising products in the form of a shopping channel. I hate all of these channels on my t-box – I ask myself why i bother. I cannot hide them permanently. And another fault…the information about each program fails to stay on the second page…keeps switching back to page 1. It seems everytime my hard drive is checked….another problem arises on the t-box.
Does anybody care at Bigpond?????
I agree the shopping channels are a big waste of time. I don’t watch them, and I wonder if they had thought of even surveying end users as to what they would watch. I have a feeling it’s an income stream, though (someone is paying for it).
I have no issues with the other channels. I particulkarly use the entertainment streaming, and the NFL and V8′s.
I actually can’t recal meeting anyone who actually loves to watch shopping channels, bnut I guess there must be such, otherwise they wouldn’t make any money.
Hi am just wondering if you would be able to put subtilies for the hearing imparied for the bigpond movies as im hearing imparied and when i hire from the dvd store they have subtilies and i thought that the bigpond movies would be subtilies but its not as i cant hear very well as wear an hearing aids and am fully deaf and read lips and i would be very happy if they could put subtilies on the bigpond movies and hope to see that very soon.
Thank you
Hello Catherine. We are working on developing this function because we know it is important to our customers.
hi all is foxtel adsl2+ coming to t- box ? i have t-box not bad but needs more content like foxtel. and when . dose it matter where you are ( area) i am not in foxtel area and dont have cable? should that matter .
I am wondering if more apps will become available? Particularly games apps. I also wonder if it is possible to remove the sport apps, they will not get used.
Thanks
Many of the same issues I have with my T-Box are in the comments listed. Were can I find the Telstra responses to these comments?
I’d like to know this as well.
Hello LA. You can call the dedicated T-Box support team on 1300 136 841. They can answer your questions or offer assistance.
Hi there all … i am not a very technical person…one thing i love about the t-box, is the ease at recording a program compared to my other lg dvd recorder. i used to have the availability to record to memory, disc and able to upload and download dvds…headache. i know the t-box has problems. lets just hope that when telstra comes up with a new improved replacement, we all get to try the new one at no cost. you think???????
Is the date set for the release of program update to be able to delete Foxtel channels from Tbox?
Brendan,
Why does my Tbox keeps loosing connectivity with the Modem (Wireless)? When the technician was installing the modem, he said that the range is more than enough.
When I called the TBox help desk they said I should install a range extender.
Now, a Telstra technisian has installed my modem and assured me of adequate range, then I get told to fork out over a hudred bucks for the extender. Is that fair? or ethical? or business savey? Doesn’t Telstra want my business after the initial contract is over?
Hi Moji, Can I have your account number and a contact number please? You can use this form to send me your details. I’ll have someone investigate and give you call. Brendan
got an email yesterday about t-box updates and it mentioned channnel 919 Bigpond Live i went to have a look at it at about 700pm and there was a program called “Cash Call” not for me so i went back at about 830pm and all there was was a still picture advertising “Cash Call ” at 700pm i left a message on the Facebook page and a very helpful person rang me up but could not find much information on it either, what is the story of this channel as the emailed mention something would be on it is it part of cable network or the Foxtel on T-box we cant get in adelaide?? yet
hi
just found this posting saying there should be 8 games in the application section but i only have 7. i do not have the ‘Rockswap Adventures’.
does anybody have the 8?
when i watch a rented movie thru bigpond movies …. why isnt it in 5.1 surround ……
if it isnt 5.1 why isnt it ….. and when is it going to be … ……… cmon in this day and age …. get with the times ……
Dump bigpond movies and join Quickflix. Much cheaper than Bigpond movies and with a bit of forward planning you can get 2-3 dvds per week. Plenty of plan options and no postage charges for returns. They also have REAL UP TO DATE new releases. 1 am on the $20.00/ month plan which gives you unlimited dvds. Do the maths and compare to Bigponds $6.00 per movie (old ones at that and they expire to soon). Will Telstra ever listen to customers or just the standard reply to call the help(less) desk. No I have no connection with Quickflix.
Hi,
I was reading through so much of the negative comments about the T-Box, and to be honest, I don’t understand why everyone is that unhappy with the device. Yes, I did have issues with it, i.e. the wi-fi streaming of the bigpond channels, but the new software update has sorted that. But future improvements/suggestions for new features to make it a true contender against Pay TV should be;
1. ABC iView at a minimum but also the other catch up TV channels (this would negate the need for two PVR tuners)
2. Digital Radio capacity,
3. Development of other Bigpond Channels (i.e. a documentaries channel, comedy, etc.)
Again, no real complaints, but I really think that the T-Box has the potential to be a fantastic device for those that are not persuaded by the rouse of Pay TV in this country. (i.e. 50 channels of garbage for $120.00 a month? not worth it in my opinion…)
Aitcho were do you thing TEL comes in Foxtel i thing Telstra owns half of it. any more info on channel 919 on T-Box that i mentionen in a earlier post??
Tony,
Mate, I know what you are saying, and did acknowledge that Foxtel was a conglomeration of a few corporate media organisations. But my point was that the T-Box probably just needs to tap into a few already free VoD avenues to remain competitive with Pay TV. Telstra are not stupid, they are attracting two socio-economic demographics by providing entertainment media via both Foxtel and through their own IPTV service. I personally, having been a customer of both, would gladly go with the T-Box over Pay TV anytime, as I could not justify the expense for the quality of programming i was receiving. The T-Box offers a lot for very little outlay.
Ive had TBox for a while now foxtel connected product ok a few little issues but all good.Could you please advise if I want to connect a home theatre system to the T Box.Which connection from the T Box do I Use
Hi James, I suggest you give the dedicated T-Box support team a call. 1300 136 841. They can answer that for you and advise you on a configuration. Brendan
Dear Brendan,
I did call got an offshore operator who had no idea started asking me about my modem and it should be connected to the modem.It states in the T BOX MANUEL that you can connect it a home theatre system if you have an operator and a direct number I can deal direct with great if not the old story applies.
Hi James, Depends what you have in your home theatre system but:
• You can connect the HDMI out of the T-Box to a HDMI control panel if necessary.
• You can connect the digital audio out to a home theatre audio system if required.
Once again, rural and country people have to wait till last to get the benefits of Foxtel on T-box. I would have thought that servicing rural and country people with services that city people take for granted would be a priority. I live in a small rural country town, and I had to pay for a very expensive plan to have two way satellite broadband while I was waiting for my local exchange to be upgraded for ADSL. Then I had to wait again before the upgrade to ADSL2+. It was the same story with Digital Television, and for the benefit of our city friends, digital radio is only a dream. Do I really have to go into the mobile phone coverage story? Also let me just say that the NBN is once again only a dream. We see all the stories about these services in the news on television (if we can get reception) and can only hope that we will still be alive before they reach us.
I do understand that corporations have to fund these projects and therefore need a large customer base before moving into less profitable areas such as the country areas. But my argument has always been to service areas in both cities and rural areas which do not have the desired coverage for services first. That way you get a happy customer group in both city and country. Why service the Metro areas when they already have foxtel, ADSL2+ and 4G mobile coverage.
So come on Telstra, do the right thing by your rural and country customers and connect Foxtel to T-Box in our areas first so we can enjoy some of the services our city friends already have.
My T-box works just fine. I obtained it (inc Foxtel) under an offer prior to the RWC, and added in my home phone line for the value. I have it on a wired connection to BP cable. The T-box seems to be a clever way of delivering the services that I wanted.
The only beef I have is that BP cable tends to freeze for a couple of minutes a few times a night, but that affects my other computers as well, so it’s not T-box related.
I like receiving the odd upgrade and extra/tweaked apps – makes me feel like I’m getting added value for no extra $$.
Features I’d like to see are ABC iView (& SBS etc) as well as a plain old browser interface so that I can search with Google. Oh yes, and the ability for me to connect my wireless mini keyboard to type stuff into Google.
In summary, I’m glad I have it – the T-box is very easy to use.
Like a lot of other people on this blog I want iView, I am thinking of purchasing a sony blue ray player mainly for that purpose. Telstra has been discussing including iView with the ABC as far back as May 2010. So far as far as I can see, not a peep from them. I have no issues with the Tbox performance, and although I think the remote is cheap and nasty it works.
A lot of media players and the smart tv’s are including iView in their offerings, Telstra must be losing future customers by the hundreds, this seems such a small thing and so many people want it. It is a huge selling point for internet media and TBox is going to left behind.
I agree, there seems to be a demand for iView, but then people will want all the rest as well (Prime, Ten etc), but since this would be metered content, it should suit Telstra, and people would use it up.
I am hearing impaired and recently purchased the t-box for the subtitles options, if I had been aware prior of the lack of subtitles in bigpond movies I would not have done so. Very dissapointed.
Hi Annie, I’ve asked one of our teams to get in touch to discuss with you.
I am also interested in this for my children.
Thanks
Ahh the standard reply from Telstra- call the help (should be Helpless) desk. As can be seen from comments this is generally a poor, cheap and low quality product. Telstra seem not to care for the T-Box customers, they just want to get the numbers up ($$$$$). As I have stated before if you want real new release movies join Quickflix. A new and much improved T-Box with more features as requested by many comments/suggestions is long overdue. If it happens will exisiting T-Box customers receive a free replacement unit as a sign of good customer service? Sorry I forgot that this is Telstra and we have a better chance of winning Lotto or watching pigs fly. We only use ours to record (when IT decides to do so). Had enough of this pile of junck, but at least we have a new doorstop!
Wierd. Have installed 3 T-Boxes with freinds and families. Not one has ever had a problem, and they all keep going and going.
Could be that their networks were setup by me. I do know that there are failures, but I’ll bet dollars to bricks there will be a proportion of “NFF” returns, since I’ve seen many in my time in IT….
As for nrew release movies – (ahem) torrents. (I didn’t say that, and I wasn’t here, and I would never encourage anyone) Netfilx has it’s share of issues, and complaints.
Also, and on a serious note, Netflix uses up your bandwidth, because it’s metered by ISP’s. That will change, I imagine.
G’day Brendan,
Has there been any thought into the future of the Bigpond Internet Channels? Only reason I ask is that after the winter sports seasons finish, 3 of the channels and 2 of the applications become tiresome and repetitive. Not complaining of their availability, as I am sure these are a selling point during both the NRL and AFL seasons. However, is there any scope to develop and produce other channels such as a cricket, golf, tennis, etc? I am not as naive to think that Telstra could turn this on overnight, as it is acknowledged that there is corporate broadcasting and sponsorship agreements that would have to be delicately traversed to enable this. But like most customers of Telstra products, I enjoy that Telstra are constantly trying to further develop their products for the future.
Hi Alexander. We are always looking at ways to offer more for our customers. Although you only mention sport, our T-Box customers will receive the premier episode of Homeland for an exclusive viewing window ahead of its season launch on Network Ten in 2012.
Hi Brendan,
How will we be able to watch this?
Will it be provided via BigPond Video or on a T-Box channel or will we have to pay for the episode via BigPond Movies?
Also will it be available via BigPond TV on a Samsung Smart TV?
Thanks Brendan for your reply,
That is good to hear that Telstra are looking at keeping its T-Box customers happy by providing further enhancements to the programming and indeed the device.
The reason that I only mentioned sport is that it is a major element of most consumers for television in Australia. (Be that the traditional demographic of 16-54 year old males)
In other western countries, such as the UK, US and even NZ, programming is further developed than what the Australian spectrum appears to be for its vintage. This is where I see Telstra having already developed its own Bigpond Channels, moving in on the market for development of programming genuine Television for its consumers. Or moving in on other IPTV channels such as MoodTV/Nitelife to compliment the BPM channel, a look at Star Cricket TV that streams live games, or even provide a browser on the device with links to popular IPTV streams. Again, no complaints, but I am excited about the device and it’s potential for future enhancements and developments
While I really enjoy using my T-box, I have a suggestion that would improve my viewing experience and hopefully gain some backing from current users.
At the moment I use my T-box to record tv shows and view some Foxtel channels. I also have a computer linked to my tv for streaming shows I’ve missed from the terrestrial channels catch-up services. Here’s my suggestion:
I’d like to see integration with the On-Demand services from the main terrestrial channels. Like the metered YouTube app, you could provide similar apps to browse and stream missed shows from the SBS, Ch7, Ch9 and ABC websites.
I realise this would be a big deal to work out but I’m very confident that, if implemented correctly, you would lure many potential customers and please current users.
Also, as a side note: while using the YouTube app the other day I realised, while I can access my account and playlists on YouTube, the playlist does not auto-play. I have to click on each video clip in the playlist. I’d like to click the first video clip and have the playlist play through.
After reading through this post, I see lots of people offering great suggestions, especially ABC Iview unmetered.
I’m just wondering if anyone from Telstra reads these forums and if so, what are you doing about the suggestions above?
Forums work best when they discussion goes both ways.
Happy New Year
Brett
T-box works well, but, when will someone address the issue of no sub-titles on movie downloads. Is it really that difficult a software problem to solve? Let’s know – my 71 year old hearing diminishes by the day; “what’s that you said?”
I whole heartedly agree with Paul, I really cannot understand why there are no sub titles on movies, I find it hard to believe that the technology would be difficult, as free to air TV can manage, I know streaming and TV is a different technology, but I have been told that Quickfix does this??
I love my T-Box, I think it is just great, the Guide has been called the best and it is certainly streets ahead of my TV EPG. It just seems to me that the potential is being wasted, I read that as early as 2010 Telsta was negotiating with the ABC for iView to be streamed free, if this is the hold up on iView then judging from the above comments most of Telstra’s customers would be happy to have it without the green dot and have it included in their download usuage. But harking back to the sub title issue, this should be Telsta’s priority, I would certainly download more movies if they had sub-titles. Given Telsta’s position in this country, they should be a leader in the field for the hearing impaired, not last on the list. It not only applies to their TBox, but years ago they changed their hearing impaired phone supplier to one that is nowhere half as good as the previous.
Helen. Let us trust that our joint comments do not fall on deaf ears as do downloaded movies. Paul
Hi Paul & Helen, The team leading the T-Box development are aware of comments as they subscribe to the feed. A few are onb leave until Monday and may comment back ater they return.
Brendan
Over the last 16 months of T-Box usage I have complained, suggested and questioned some obscure faults with my T-Box – another one – can you please explain why the “hello” start up shows up 4 – 5 times each time the set is started. The number of times seems to increase each time there is an update. Most annoying. I agree with Alexander, about the Sports channels – and have mentioned this here before – about 10 months ago so hmmmmm – still no change?? I also get huge pixilation and freezing lately – this is not through my antenna but through the modem….got any ideas?? My tv works wonderfully without the t-box all the time. Thanks for your ear – again…..
Beverly i had a few issues with t-box i am now on the third one but touch wood this seems to be ok now.i had pixilation and freezing when i had it connected via “wifi” but i then went out and bought a length of ethernet cable from “Cheap as Chips ” and that solved that problem i thing it cost me about $15 or less for 15meters. obviuosly you would need to have a modem that you can plug it into i have a thompson tg1637 (i thing) which has 4 ports for ethernet connections and i have them all full with no problem.the rest of the problems i think were software issues which has now been fixed( touch wood again)
Tony, thanks for your commments….got fed up with my t-box – no movies, no guide, pixilation/freezing continuing so rang telstra/tbox 1300 number – perfection – Paul helped out…reset to factory settings – no good – reset hard disk – perfect – nothing wrong with picture, no need for ethernet connections etc. The only downside was the loss of all my recorded shows. I can live with that. So now have decided to reset the hard disk on a regular basis. Pulls everything back into line – just like doing a disk defragmentation on my computer. So once again a big thankyou to Paul at Testra/TBox…….
Beverley. Reset the hard drive? Now how is that done?
Paul, If you go inti : Menu; Settings; T Box Info; Setting Options, you should find the ‘reset hard drive’ option. Though strangely enough my last T Box did not have this option, though my new one does!
Thanks Helen for passing on that info to Paul – hope you have some success – also another downside to resetting the hard drive is that if you have money in the movie download account you lose this and it zero’s the kitty….otherwise….ok
Hi,
I have a question,
Will resetting the T-Box clears all your recordings?
If yes, Is there a way to reset or update software without losing your recordings?
Thanks
Moji
Hi, I wonder why there is no subtitle for bigpond movies?? This is a real big issue, please add this feature asap. And more movies.. Tx
I hate my Tbox it wont do anything but free to air channels not even any bigpond channels, but its all up and running, it has issues
Hello Jemimah. You can call the dedicated T-Box support team on 1300 136 841. They can answer your questions or offer assistance. Brendan.
I am so bewildered and upset with Telstra / BigPond regarding the complete betrayal of their customer base that have purchased the T-Box. I recently discovered in the BigPond web site under the shopping tab the LG Smart TV Upgrader ST600. This device is a copy of the T-Box, but at a fraction of the cost. The T-Box is advertised on the Telstra web site costing $299 to buy outright. The LG ST600 is $99. But it has been reduced from the Manufacture’s RRP of $199. This is still $100 cheaper than the T-Box.
The features of the LG ST600 are very similar and even offer some features not on the T-Box. See below:-
“All you need is a high speed internet connection & a TV with an HDMI input to get you access to hundreds of movies online. Here’s how:
The BigPond Movies service is now available on the LG ST600 Smart TV Upgrader accessory. The ST600 enables most* recent model digital TVs to access BigPond Movies directly over any high speed broadband service**.
The LG Smart TV Upgrader is packed with great features:
- Rent BigPond Movies and watch directly on your TV in minutes
- Use a range of LG App’s including YouTube®, Picasa, Google Maps and more
- Built in web browser for the Internet
- Play your home PC’s photos, music and video on your TV via DLNA
* To use the ST600 your TV needs to have an HDMI input available and you need a fast ADLS2+ or cable internet service.
** If you use BigPond ADSL2+ or cable internet, BigPond Movies data use will be unmetered, otherwise data charges may apply.
This device operates using a wired Ethernet cable connected to an ADSL/Cable modem. Does not operate off Wi-Fi.
Please note: $50 BigPond Movie Voucher Promotion begins from orders placed 12/01/12. The voucher information will be included with your purchase. “
The one feature I have been pushing Telstra to include on the T-Box is already listed on the LG ST600. That is to be able to play home PC photos, music and videos on my TV via DLNA.
Telstra / BigPond, you have now crossed the line. I will NEVER trust you again. I will never buy one of your products. In the future, I will always look for a similar product from another retailer.
Hi Leslie, I have an official response for you.
Thank you for your enquiry regarding Telstra T Box and LG Smart TV Upgrader. Although both products may appear the same, the two are completely different offerings.
The Telstra T Box is a set top box product which allows customers to integrate their digital free-to-air TV plus access additional content offered by Telstra such as BigPond Movies, BigPond TV Channels, BigPond Video on Demand plus additional content only exclusive to the T Box. Also, Telstra is currently working on additional functionality and capabilities to make the T Box a complete media hub within the home.
The LG Smart TV Upgrader is an Internet enabled device that allows consumers to access content offered by LG and their content partners, Telstra being one of them for customers to access BigPond Movies.
I’m not 100% happy either, but heck, it’s the rate of change of technology. Buy a laptop today, and in 6 weeks you can buy a better one at a cheaper price. That’s a commercial decision.
Buy a top of the range digital camera this week, and you will be kicking yourself in 12 months because they will be cheaper and with more functions. As a society we have become over concerned with consumption of new things.
Having said that, I’d be interested in comparisons of the LG box.
Don’t forget though, that by June you will be buying TV sets that are far more internet capable than the ones you have now, and with inbuilt storage for downloaded movies and recorded programs.
Having said that, 2 points:
the LG has no inbuilt storage, so if you want to go buy an external USB drive, you porobably end up paying just as much in total (and the LG upgrader has been sold overseas for a few months now),
Second point: the LG has the ability to play multiple media formats.
Telstra should just bite the bullet and unleash the T-Box multimedia capabilities that were originally quoted, after all since Optus just got a court decision that says it’s OK to “steal” NFL and AFL video, it’s going to get messy anyway.
I would like to thank Brendan for correcting me regarding the comments I previously made in comparing the LG product with the Telstra T-Box.
You’re welcome Leslie.
Can general web browsing be enabled on the t box? This would allow ease of access for e-mail, catch-up tv via the free to air tv channel webpages etc.
I would like to thank the T-Box team for the latest software up-date. The My Media application is what I have been waiting for. THANK YOU!
I can now make much more use of my T-Box. In the past couple of days since My Media was installed, I have been using it without any problems. I find the application very simple to use and it works very well.
I now am looking forward to the next upgrade and what surprises the team have for us. I would like to suggest another application for T-Box, but it might go against the business model for Telstra. I suggest a Skype application where you can plug a web cam into the USB port and then use the T-Box to do family video calls. If Telstra is in competition with Skype, then they should develop the own VOIP system. I know they have this already for their business customers.
But the purpose of this note is to say thank you for My Media on T-Box.
Hi Brendan,
As per some of the other responses, i thank you and those at Telstra for developing the My Media application/ability. This truly enables the T Box significantly and makes me want to buy one for every television in the house.
However, as I own a iMac and not a Windows based PC, half the My Media ability is lost on me, unless Telstra have designs on being able to be compatible with Mac as well.
But, good on Telstra for listening to their customers on this one. It may not be the ABC iView everybody wants, but it definitely enhances the functionality of the device.
Hello again Aitcho. We are working on a solution for MAC users. Interested Mac customers can refer to Majestic Media Server. Please note that charges may apply for using Majestic Media Server.
T – Box is getting better, and the new MyMedia function is a welcome addition.
However, one function that is sadly lacking is the EPG.
The T-Box EPG only shows the NOMINAL start/finish program times, but as we all know, the commercial channel shows seldom start or finish on the hour or half hour. They usually run up to 20 minutes late. However, this is planned, & they transmit the revised program times at least 12 hours in advance.
So the EPG on my TV will update to show the true program times, but the Telstra guide does not, it only shows the nominal times, it never updates.
The T-Box is capable of receiving the transmitted EPG data from the FTA channels, because it will do so if the internet connection is down, but it does not utilise this data to update the guide. Why not ??. Surely an organisation with Telstra’s resources and technical expertise should be able to do this. If it is too difficult to do it within the box, surely it could be done at the source of the EPG data.
Even if it had to be done manually, a few minutes of someone’s time each morning would give all of your users the correct program times for the rest of the day.
The only really useful feature of the EPG is the ease with which a recording can be set up or a series recording can be selected. BUT – to set up recordings via the guide, you have to set the post-record time to run for at least 15-20 minutes extra, so as not to miss the end of the show.
Not a big deal you say — except when you want to record a show on one channel, followed by another in the next time slot, but on a diffferent channel. The extra time you have to add to the first recording creates an overlap conflict, so you cannot do it. The only way to record both is set them up manually, using the correct times from the TV set’s EPG, in which case T-Box EPG becomes totally redundant.
I have lodged complaints about this with the support line, but they just pass the buck & blame it all on the TV channels for running late.
Hi Leo. Thanks for your feedback on the new My Media feature, we are constantly working to update and improve the T-Box. I have have sent your comments onto the T-Box team. Brendan.
Sigh – still no sigh of subtitles on downloaded movies. Did the folks you sent the problem to at BigPond T-Box Tech get back to you with a yes/no/maybe/ never type response? Love to know.
Is there a plan to update the software so we can access the record function over the net? It’s a very handy application.
Thanks
Moji
Hi, I would love the functionality of creating reminders for a series. Just as you can record a series, having a reminder come up week after week for a program would be fantastic (it is on Foxtel, and I got used to it there).
thanks, Julie
We love the idea of our T Box but we have struggled with it from day 1. We constantly have to reset it and the remote doesn’t work most of the time. We love the iPhone App but we must reset almost daily and now cant get the thing to work at all. I think that it is time to upgrade to better equipment. If we are paying for it we deserve hardware that doesnt constnatly need resetting.
Hello David. You can call the dedicated T-Box support team on 1300 136 841. They can answer your questions or offer assistance. Brendan.
I second that.
I am on my second TBox, the first crashed and died. Set up 2nd one today, downloaded movie, turned off TBox, turned it back on to watch movie and found I had 979 days to watch it, then when watching movie half way through notice came up on screen saying Tbox had been inactive for a while and was going to sleep! Could cancel this and finished watching movie. Then when I tried to look at EPG guide nothing on there an date showed 11 august, but it was really 14 April. Had to reset Tbox, came back with right time, but I am not sure for how long! Just about over it, only had Tbox for 2 weeks and am just about to give up on it. I think it could be good if only it was more reliable and worked properly. Wonder if anyone else has had this problem?
Check your settings on the T=Box. For instance if you have the sleep setting for 2 hours, this means that if you don’t do anything with a remote for 2 hours, it will go to sleep.
I Set it for 4 hours. This means that if my son leaves it on accidentally, after 4 hours it will go to sleep anyway, but allows me to watch a 3.5 hour movie.
Thanks, I did have sleep setting for 1 hour, but thought because I was watching a movie it would be okay, I did not realise that it calculated the time for sleep on remote usage.
Another question you might be able to help with. I set a programme to record with 10 mins early start and 20 mins after end time, but when I checked the timer record today it had reversed it to start 20 mins before programme and to end 10 mins after end time. Any thoughts on this?
Glad to see you had the sleep issue solved.
As for the second, never seen it, so no idea what woould do that.
I’d try it a few more times and see if it repeats the same behaviour.
Was wondering if anyone could answer why the box can’t be set up not to go to sleep, like any other device in the world. This is a constant problem, particularly since the only way to start up the next day is to unplug, plug back in and wait several minutes. I’ve had similar boxes all around the world with no such requirement (or sleeping). Very annoying.
Hi Andrew, thanks for contacting us via our blog. The best way to contact Telstra for a service/product query is to click onto the ‘Ask the Crowd’ or go to our 24/7 Facebook page on the top right hand side of our blog where you’ll be directly linked to one of our online customer support consultants.