Keith_W Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 We just got our Foxtel connected. Got sucked in by the free installation and first month free deal. There were a few gotcha's that we didn't know about before we ordered it: - No channel 7! - 2.0 sound only. This was a major problem because my two front channels are my main speakers. When watching TV, we usually use the center channel speaker only. - No HDMI out, only available in the more expensive boxes (extra $200 up-front, and $10 per month). - Picture quality is WORSE than free to air TV, never mind the HD channels. Having no digital output probably has something to do with it, but component from my DVD player does not look this bad. - The Foxtel STB didn't work out of the box. The Foxtel guy connected everything, and ... no satellite reception. He went up to the satellite dish, it was OK. Checked the wall plug, it was OK. Went back to his van and got a new box out - finally worked. He chucked the STB into the bin and said "look at that, brand new unit out of the box and it's DOA". Anyone else with Foxtel?
Guest JohnA Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 sorry to read Keith. Personally have never bothered with pay tv and never will as i just don't watch enough of it to justify the crazy prices they ask for it. Is there no way you can opt out of the contract
Grumpy Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 I have to ask keith, why didn't you know about the negatives before you signed on? Surely, if you wanted surround, you would have checked that first. Wait a minute!what are you feeding the sound into?
proftournesol Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 same with Optus and with Austar:( At least Optus gives you all the commercial channels, Austar is only ABCs and SBSs. Same crappy picture quality and nothing worth watching for us except A-League.
scuzzii Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 we had to get foxtel back out after one week when the STB went faulty. At least yours was diagniosed straight away. I get every free to air channel on mine and it is also satellite. Perhaps it's a geographical issue. I agree the PQ quality is shite. Especially when played on a new 1080p plasma
Tony C Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Hello Keith, I average about ten calls a month resolving connection issues after Foxtel have come in. Some very good installers, but the majority have no training on AV. Tony C
Mark57 Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Sorry to hear of your disappointment Keith We've had Foxtel for some time now (on cable, not sure if all is the same with satellite?) and overall have been quite happy with it. When we first had it connected we were using a Loewe CRT tv and from memory the picture quality was as good as FTA. We replaced the CRT with a Pioneer 507XDA and still found the picture quality to be the same as FTA. When we upgraded to Foxtel digital with the IQ there was noticeable improvement in PQ. Some channels we noticed were worse though, ESPN comes to mind. Now we have the IQ2 and HD channels and they are very good indeed. Have been enjoyingt he ABC's dig and dig jazz music channels lately, better quality than I get from cd on my current system. Like Tony C, I found the Foxtel intallers know their TV side but connecting to other equipment has not been their forte. The IQ2 remote had a mind of its own but this was solved with a small piece of electrical tape! If you are not on Foxtel digital, are you able to visit someone who is to see what picture they get? Better to see with your own eyes if you can as I don't think Foxtel would give you a free trial. The upgrade may be worth it rather than living with an unsatisfactory PQ. Good luck! best regards Mark
proftournesol Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 I had to leave for work before the Optus guy finished installing our cable TV and when I came home he'd done some amazing and extremely confusing job connecting it through the stereo. So confusing that it didn't work so I ripped it all out and did it myself with a couple of cables left over at the end. I'd second Mark57's comment!
danter Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Foxtel IQ - Love it. Simple and hassle free. Foxtel (without IQ) - pooerer picture quality and unstable set-top boxes. Upgrade to IQ - worth every cent.
Soultone Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Foxtel IQ - Love it. Simple and hassle free.Foxtel (without IQ) - pooerer picture quality and unstable set-top boxes. Upgrade to IQ - worth every cent. Agreed. The programming is a lot more progressive now than it used to be, still not up with the states and the uk but not as far off as we used to be.
joz Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 We recently upgraded to IQ2 from stock digital. Imo we had a fantastic SD image but Hd is just better again. But the PVR in IQ2 is a beaut. We ran S-video with lovely results not even bothering with component,then digi out into the reciever for audio. But now all HDMI. Ours is a cable connection.
Voltaire Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 We just got our Foxtel connected. Got sucked in by the free installation and first month free deal. There were a few gotcha's that we didn't know about before we ordered it: - No channel 7! - 2.0 sound only. This was a major problem because my two front channels are my main speakers. When watching TV, we usually use the center channel speaker only. - No HDMI out, only available in the more expensive boxes (extra $200 up-front, and $10 per month). - Picture quality is WORSE than free to air TV, never mind the HD channels. Having no digital output probably has something to do with it, but component from my DVD player does not look this bad. - The Foxtel STB didn't work out of the box. The Foxtel guy connected everything, and ... no satellite reception. He went up to the satellite dish, it was OK. Checked the wall plug, it was OK. Went back to his van and got a new box out - finally worked. He chucked the STB into the bin and said "look at that, brand new unit out of the box and it's DOA". Anyone else with Foxtel? Dr.K_W let me respond to your post, although well put as the consumer, I have been a Foxtel user since 1996, they used to play "The Walker's Quat Chronicles" in those days, a good tax right off for a fishing shop proprietor! There are many aspects to the marketing of Fotel and from your post it would appear that Mel's is a bit behind Sydney, no offence but it does appear to be a fact from your comments. One at a time if it please ya' Gov':? - No channel 7! Sydney only just in the past ten months have 7 on the list of fox channels, more to do with the rights payments than anything else. It will come soon as 7 get their act together down there. - 2.0 sound only. This was a major problem because my two front channels are my main speakers. When watching TV, we usually use the center channel speaker only. If you are only getting 2.0 sound and not 5.1 sound then see later comments: - No HDMI out, only available in the more expensive boxes (extra $200 up-front, and $10 per month). HDMI is currently only available for the IQ2 box and frankly no matter the cost this is the only serious option. Movies are also 5.1 even the free ones and the HD channels are simply so much better than free to air. - Picture quality is WORSE than free to air TV, never mind the HD channels. Having no digital output probably has something to do with it, but component from my DVD player does not look this bad. There must be some problem in the shielding of the input cables to the Fox Box, no problem here and I am on satallite! get them back to fix it and maybe the scart to component cables are damaged. - The Foxtel STB didn't work out of the box. The Foxtel guy connected everything, and ... no satellite reception. He went up to the satellite dish, it was OK. Checked the wall plug, it was OK. Went back to his van and got a new box out - finally worked. He chucked the STB into the bin and said "look at that, brand new unit out of the box and it's DOA". **** happens, this aint "rocket surgery" ya know and most of the hardware is very cheap. If you are serious about you cable/satallite stuff get IQ2. I think you down there will get better deals soon, it took a while up here too! Put the silver box in the master bedroom and get the IQ2 for the main entertainment area ASAP. The price will be silly soon. I moved last August, got free sat dish, free relocation and a free second box (IQ2) just for being a loyal customer. Yes some may expensive? We have two boxes one black and one silver, all channels including games and HD and for only $130.00 a month I think it is a bargain. V
jjeuring Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Foxtel IQ - Love it. Simple and hassle free.Foxtel (without IQ) - pooerer picture quality and unstable set-top boxes. Upgrade to IQ - worth every cent. Agree with this comment completely...... I have IQ downstairs and IQ2 upstairs in my HT. Dont get the HD channels however, as the cost is not worth the crappy channels at the moment. The cost of 2 boxes and all the channels is about $120 a month and IMO worth every cent. Even with the IQ2, you dont get DD 5:1 on all channels, only box office movies, showtime and HD channels. There are still some channels that have poor pic quality at times, but these are usually not the popular ones. I think it has something to do with the competition for space wth the FTA channels:confused: Not only do I love foxtel and hardly ever watch free to air, but over here in Perth they dont show any rugby league, only aerial ping pong:eek:
jjeuring Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Spot on there Voltaire......and if I didn't have Fox, I wouldn't have seen the bunnies today......looks like they might be top of the ladder after this WE:D
proftournesol Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 none of the providers try very hard with their standard product, get the consumer to pay more for what IMHO should be THE selling point for cable - HD. They've missed the boat now as FTA will be offering a lot of free HD content and they still expect me to pay more for HD on cable! So much for 'competition'. The only reason that we have to have cable is the last govt.'s failure to put A-league on the anti-siphoning list.
patjoy Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 I've got Foxtel coming through the satellite dish and the picture quality is superior to free to air. I got Foxtel purely and simply for the sport - it's a must have - Premier league, A-league, Champions league and AFL.
davidsss Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 I must admit paying for TV is a most unattractive prospect for me. I find there is enough to watch on FTA and anything we really want can be got fairly easily from the 'net. Anyway, if there is nothing on TV I can always listen to music and/or read a book/newspaper. I remember being rung up years ago to answer some survey questions. One question they asked was: "what do you do when there is nothing on TV?" I answered that I listen to music or read a book. You could almost hear the buzzer going off in the background indicating that my answer was wrong. They then revealed that they were marketing Foxtel, not really doing a survey. With practices like that I don't want to have anything to do with them. Furthermore, the reception I get on my SD digital STB is very clear in an area which is known for bad reception (digital TV is great for us as reception is fairly bad in Elsternwick, always has been) and I run a wide screen CRT and a stereo, not home theatre, so really can't see any reason to pay for the privilege of watching TV, especially TV with ads. DS
sum1 Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 If your box has a digital audio output then the movie channels should also broadcast in DD5.1 As for the picture quality its depends on the channel you are watching since different channels are allocated different bandwidth to it. Try looking at the movie channels, i reckon it look as good as SD FTA (but of course its worst than DVD)
Cody Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 +1 for getting the iQ2 box. mine has been perfectly reliable, easy to use, allows me to record two shows and watch a third, has all the FTA channels (im on cable) and best of all the picture quality was a good step-up from my previous STB PVR. picture quality on the HD channels is just excellent, although i dont watch them much due to limited conent. that will change later in the year though with more HD content being added.
wolster Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 I also have Foxtel satellite without IQ and have no problem getting 5.1 sound. Get 'em back, Keith. Also agree that picture quality depends very much on the channel selected. Cheers wolster
Andythiing Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 personally Im opting for being able to afford a real plumber when I need it - buggerfoxtel - too much music I can listen too!
ehtcom Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 Had it now for over 2 years and the only contact with them was during installation. It's run perfectly (satellite). I must mention though I did run the cable (very good quality cable too). Cheers, Earle.
Tony M Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 One thing about the ugly little foxboxes (IQ) is that they are genuinely intuitive to operate. Apart from the fact that a prolonged push of the ff (and rr) buttons takes you directly to the end (or beginning) of the recorded program ( still catches me out now and then).....and the very limited info in the list of recordings, I find it close to fool-proof. I just wish all other PVR's were as easy to use:) Cheers Tony
Keith_W Posted April 5, 2009 Author Posted April 5, 2009 Wow, so many responses! Go out for a day, come home and cook dinner ... and my thread has 23 replies! Thanks guys. JohnA despite those caveats i'm actually quite enjoying Foxtel. I like that food channel, Nickelodeon, Nat Geo, and the news. Grumpy: why didn't I know? Because it was an impulse decision when I was walking around a shopping center and I failed to do my research or ask the right questions! Silly me, eh! I've plugged it into my AVR, and have moved my old speakers out of retirement. A bit weird having five speakers in front of me (two pairs of full towers + center channel) but at least I don't have to turn on the valve amps every time I watch TV. Tony C: the installer was actually very good. I told him that all I wanted him to do was wire up the Foxtel box to the antenna and make sure it works, and I will do the rest. He took one look at the AVR and knew what to do. Apart from the hiccup with the DOA STB I reckon the whole job would have been done in 10 minutes. It took him over an hour, having to climb to the roof and muck about when it was the STB which was dead all along. danter: I have Foxtel IQ! The weird thing - I get full reception strength (according to the indicator) and the picture still looks like garbage. I pointed this out to the installer, and he pointed out that most people aren't blessed with panels like mine. They are perfectly OK on a CRT TV but a 55" plasma panel will show them up. Volly: I rang the Foxtel guys and they said that ch 7 should be in by September. I don't think I can be bothered with IQ2 because the last thing I need is for someone else to monopolize the system when I want to listen to music
metal beat Posted April 5, 2009 Posted April 5, 2009 But wait Keith, there's more. You will get to enjoy almost as many adds as FTA and pay for the privilage!!
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