Telstra took the wrapping off its new Telstra TV last night, demoing the new media streaming box and releasing pricing and broadband bundle details.
Set to launch on October 27, the new Telstra TV streaming box will retail for $109, or come a complimentary bonus for new customers signing up for a Large or X-Large fixed-line broadband bundle.
To sweeten the deal, Telstra will also include $15 credit for BigPond Movies and a three-month subscription to both the Stan and Presto! SVOD services.
Importantly, those wanting to get their hands on the new Telstra TV box need to be Telstra customers, as a Telstra customer ID is required during the initial setup of the hardware. This is a shame for customers of other ISPs looking for a convenient way to stream movies to the TV, but it could prove a smart way of luring customers onto the Telstra Broadband network.
What’s in the box?
Telstra TV is described as being ‘Roku powered’ referring to Telstra’s US-based hardware partner. Roku is an old hand in this space, being the first hardware maker to creating a streaming box with Netflix pre-installed, back in 2008. Since then it has become a favourite in US living rooms, but has never branched out into the Australian market until now.
The box comes with 15 apps pre-installed, including SVOD services Netflix, Stan and Presto!. There is also a YouTube app included, and a general media player app for watching content stored on a local network or a connected USB drive. Rounding out the app collection are offerings from Red Bull, GoPro and the Wall Street Journal.
Telstra is committed to expanding this range, but will decide which apps to add down the track. In the US, Roku media streamers now have 2500 apps available to download.
Joseph Hanlon
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