- Straightforward setup
- Competitively priced
- Lots of streaming in one spot
- Laggy, quirky interface
- AWOL 4K content
- Useless USB port
There’s a lot of competition between digital streaming services, as Netflix, Stan, Disney Plus and others race to capture your attention to keep you on that automatically resubscribing bandwagon. But when it comes to set-top boxes with channel packages, there are really only two main contenders in Australia: Foxtel iQ and Fetch TV. Getting the box is the easy (read: cheap) part, because then you need to buy different bundles or channels to get the most out of your device.
And like Foxtel, with a Fetch TV box, those costs can add up if you go all out on adding every available channel (not to mention supported streaming services). That said, Fetch TV boxes come with a range of free content, and the Ultimate Pack that includes all Fetch TV channels is comparatively affordable next to Foxtel’s all-out packages.
Before I get into the Fetch Mini G5 review, here’s a list of popular NBN plans from our database that you can use with Fetch TV.
|
#1
|
Dodo
FTTP, HFC
Editor's Pick
nbn500 Unlimited Plan
$62.99/mth
Min. cost $62.99
|
|
#2
|
Tangerine Telecom
FTTP, HFC
Speedy Max NBN 500/50
$59.90/mth
Min. cost $59.90
|
|
#3
|
Superloop
FTTP, HFC
Family Max nbn500/50
$74/mth
Min. cost $74
|
|
#4
|
amaysim
FTTP, HFC
NBN500
$50/mth
Min. cost $50
|
|
#5
|
TPG
FTTP, HFC
nbn Home Fast Unlimited Plan
$74.99/mth
Min. cost $74.99
Link not supplied
|
|
#6
|
iiNet
FTTP, HFC
nbn500 Liimitless
$69.99/mth
+ $10 Upfront
Min. cost $79.99
Link not supplied
|
What is Fetch TV?
Fetch TV is a video-streaming service that’s reliant on a Fetch TV set-top box. Before you can stream, you need a Fetch box. At the time of review, there were two available options: the Fetch Mighty 4 or the Fetch Mini G5. Both Fetch TV boxes offer up to 4K streaming for supported content, but the main difference is that the Fech Mighty 4 supports personal video recorder (PVR), so you can record live content to watch later via an internal hard drive.
Either Fetch box comes with a selection of free content, so you could feasibly just buy the set-top box and start watching. That said, the included content is restricted to free-to-air channels and apps, plus a decent selection of other free channels. Conveniently, the latest Fetch TV boxes offer apps for popular streaming services, so you can use any of those you already have a subscription with. Here's a list of the natively supported apps:
- Apple TV Plus
- BritBox
- Crunchyroll
- DAZN
- Disney Plus
- DocPlay
- Hayu
- Netflix
- Paramount Plus
- Plex
- Prime Video
- Stan
- YouTube
There are also movie and TV stores to buy/rent content, or you can pay an ongoing monthly fee for Fetch TV “Premium Channels”. These Fetch TV “packs” can be added individually, or you can bundle them altogether under the Fetch TV Ultimate Pack, which bundles the other four options:
- Fetch TV Kids Pack: Six kid-friendly channels, including Nick.
- Fetch TV Variety Pack: 11 channels that cover drama, music, and classic TV shows.
- Fetch TV Knowledge Pack: 19 channels with a skew towards global news.
- Fetch TV Vibe Pack: 12 channels that include sports, music, and reality TV.
Fetch TV Packages
The base cost for Fetch TV is the Fetch box. For the cheaper option, go with the Fetch Mini G5 for $159 RRP. Alternatively, the Fetch Mighty 4 retails for $599. While you can have up to three Fetch TV boxes using a single account in your home (unless one of those boxes is from a telco), there’s a $1 once-off activation fee per box.
With a box (or few) sorted, there are optional add-on costs for Fetch TV channel packs. There are four Fetch TV premium channels, all of which have a $7.99 monthly fee. That’s $15.98 per month if you want two, $23.97 for three, or $31.96 for all four. If you did want three or four, though, you’re better off opting for the $24.99-per-month Ultimate Pack, which includes all four Fetch TV Premium Channel packs.
Fetch TV also has a few special interest options. TBN Inspire and Good is a $0 addition to your Fetch TV experience. The Italian Pack costs $15 per month for four Italian channels across movies, news, and other entertainment. If you're into equestrian, the Horse & Country costs $9.99 per month. For sports outside of the ESPN channels, which come with the Vibe and Ultimate packs, you can also pay $15.99 per month for the beIN Sports Pack. For $2.99 per month, you can add Movie Box, which is a compilation of 30 pre-selected movies every month.
One of the potential hidden costs is for using streaming services like Netflix, Stan, and Apple TV Plus. You’ll be able to use any supported streaming service you have a subscription for on your Fetch TV box, but you have to be paying for an active account to stream that content. You also need an internet plan capable of at least 15Mbps download speeds for streaming 4K content on Fetch TV. We recommend starting with an NBN 50 plan at the very least, or an NBN 100 plan for more reliable streaming.
|
#1
|
Dodo
All Fixed Line nbn®
Editor's Pick
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$57.99/mth
Min. cost $57.99
|
|
#2
|
amaysim
All Fixed Line nbn®
NBN50
$45/mth
Min. cost $45
|
|
#3
|
Tangerine Telecom
All Fixed Line nbn®
Value Plus NBN 50/20
$64.90/mth
Min. cost $64.90
|
|
#4
|
TPG
All Fixed Line nbn®
nbn50 Unlimited Plan
$69.99/mth
Min. cost $69.99
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
Aussie Broadband
All Fixed Line nbn®
Value nbn - Unlimited
$70/mth
Min. cost $70
|
|
#6
|
Superloop
All Fixed Line nbn®
Extra-value nbn50/20
$69/mth
Min. cost $69
|
The main difference between the Fetch Mini and the Fetch Mighty is that the latter is a larger unit with a 1TB internal hard drive. That hard drive is used for storing up to 585 hours of recorded TV, which can be recorded across six channels simultaneously. For other differences between the Fetch Mini 4K, the Fetch Mini G5, and the Fetch Mighty 4, check out the table below.
| Model | Fetch Mini 4K | Fetch Mini G5 | Fetch Mighty 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (mm) | 120 (W) x 122 (L) x 32 (H) | 100 (W) x 100 (L) x 23 (H) | 260 (W) x 260 (L) x 60 (H) |
| Weight | 240g | 167g | 2.01kg |
| Max power consumption | 20W | 20W | 20W |
| Operating temps | 5°C to 45°C | 5°C to 45°C | 5°C to 45°C |
| Recording | |||
| Hard drive | 1TB | ||
| RAM | 2GB | 4GB | 4GB |
| Flash storage | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| 4K | |||
| HDR | HDR10, Dolby Vision | HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision | HDR10, Dolby Vision |
| Surround sound | Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos | Dolby Atmos/Digital Audio | Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos |
| Wireless | WiFi 6 | WiFi 6 | WiFi 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ports | DC, RF, RJ45, USB A, HDMI 2.1, TOSLINK | DC, RF, RJ45, USB 2.0, HDMI 2.1 | DC, RF, RJ45, USB 2.0, HDMI 2.1, TOSLINK |
| USB media |
Fetch TV Mini G5 setup
I was sent a Fetch TV box review kit, which means the online activation part was already taken care of for me. For anyone else, you'll need to create a Fetch TV account to get an activation code which, presumably, will also get you to put in payment details (if only to cover that $1 activation fee).
In terms of physical setup, the Fetch TV box has a quick-start guide, but you probably don't need it. What it doesn't have is all the cables: you'll need to BYO digital antenna cable and Ethernet cable if you don't want to use WiFi. The former gives you access to the over-the-air free channels, but you can also just use their app equivalents, all of which are preinstalled on the Fetch Mini G5.
After connecting the power cable and HDMI cable, setup took about 15 minutes. Admittedly, the process is artificially lengthened without an Ethernet cable because you have to manually input your WiFi password with the remote. That's probably where you'll notice a slight input delay – something that carries over to general use – which can lead to missed or accidental inputs. That initial setup time also includes a forced firmware update and subsequent restarts. Speaking of restarts, if you power off the Fetch TV box, expect to wait a minute or so to get to the homepage.
When everything was ready, the Fetch Mini G5 seemed to go through a streaming test, presumably testing whether my internet connection was up for streaming at 4K. On the lower end, you can stream SD content with 3Mbps download speed, but you'll need at least 15Mbps (per Fetch box/app) to stream at 4K.
What’s it like to use Fetch Mini G5?
At first glance, the Fetch Mini G5 has a familiar layout. Promoted content in a banner at the top, then you scroll down for different carousel categories. Even with an Ultimate Pack review account – one that includes all of the Premium Channels, plus Movie Box – the top banner content felt frustratingly geared towards promoting movies and TV shows you have to pay extra to watch.
Getting something to play is generally only a few remote clicks, but it's not always easy to get away from that content. Sometimes the back button on the Fetch remote took me back a screen, and other times it did nothing. It's the same thing for the exit button. I found the most 'efficient' way to exit content was just to use the menu button, but that takes you back to the very top of the homepage. That's not as intuitive as incrementally letting you go back a step or exit an app and pick up where you left off in your content search.
While playback prioritises speed over fidelity (like Stan), it doesn't take long for the resolution buffer to catch up. The trick is, finding 4K movies and TV shows was a pain. It seemed restricted to very specific content and mostly reliant on other streaming services, like YouTube, Netflix, and Disney Plus. I had my review unit connected to a 4K TV, and the Fetch TV box detected it as 4K (with HDR), but every on-demand Fetch TV movie, series or live channel I watched seemingly capped out at HD resolution, even ones that have 4K versions available in other formats.
The main trick with my menu-button workaround is that the content keeps playing in the background. It's not a picture-in-picture deal, either, meaning the best way to stop it was to start something new. Or turn off the Fetch TV box. This perpetual content pattern persists when shifting between menus in the settings, whereby a few seconds of loading jumps back to whatever you had playing previously.
Navigation is manageable once you get the hang of it, but it's not as responsive or intuitive as the Google TV Streamer 4K or older Nvidia Shield TV Pro. While you can use voice search with the Fetch remote, I had mixed results. Sometimes it was accurate, other times it searched for "sex channel 7" instead of "fetch channel 7" (the latter, a prompt it gave me). Even if it had fetched the 7plus app, you have to log into it first for playback, something that's hammered home if you scroll too far into the Fetch TV guide and realise it's padded with free-to-air channels that all require an account (or digital antenna cable) to watch.
There is a companion app, Fetch Mobi, but it needs your Fetch TV box to be powered on and connected to the internet to even use. The Fetch app also had mixed results when I tested it: some content played, while others had errors and refused to play. One of the biggest disappointments is a functionally useless USB port. If it was like the Fetch Mini 4K, the Fetch Mini G5 would let you connect a USB drive and watch your own content. Given the presence of a big red 'R' recording button on the remote, I hoped the Mini 5 might at least support DVR with a USB hard drive. But, nope, apparently that USB port is "reserved for future functionality or diagnostic use only", according to a user's reported message from Fetch support.
The Fetch remote for the Mini G5 is closer to a tele remote than the smaller form factors of, say, the Google TV Streamer 4K or the Nvidia Shield TV. It comes with two AAA batteries preinstalled and, once that's removed, it'll automatically sync during the setup process. While it seemingly offers limited universal remote functionality, I was unable to get it to communicate with my test LG TV (though it did work with a soundbar on another TV).
Most of the Fetch remote buttons are large, and the layout is logical once you get the hang of where everything is. I particularly appreciate the prominent placement of playback controls, as well as easy-to-use volume controls, even if some of the buttons are creakier than the floorboards in a haunted house. There's a dedicated Netflix button on the Fetch Mini G5 remote, then a dedicated one for apps. One of the cooler features is a '123…' button that turns the top nine buttons into a numerical grid, which makes punching in a PIN for parental controls a whole lot easier.
What content is on Fetch TV?
The more free and premium subscription services you have, and the more Fetch TV packs you buy, the more content you can watch. After you’ve gone through the process of logging in to all of your accounts, Fetch TV is a good one-stop spot for lots of services. That said, there are some key missing premium apps, including Kayo Sports, Binge, Foxtel Now, HBO Max, and Shudder.
Fetch TV content is separated into 'Home', 'Live TV', 'Apps', and 'Store' tabs. But watching what you actually have access to with your Fetch TV account can prove tricky. Using the 'Movies', 'TV Shows', or 'Sport' tabs should be a good place to start, but there’s a mix of content you can stream immediately, some that requires at least a free/premium account for another service, or content that needs to be digitally purchased. You’d think everything on the Store page costs extra but, strangely, this was also one of the quicker ways to get to Knowledge Pack content and Movie Box titles.
Movie Box is a good example of the overall quality of Fetch TV content. The $2.99 monthly add-on gives you 30 movies to stream per month. On paper, that’s good value for basically one movie per night. But the quality of those movies ranges from good and decent to average and bad, with a mix of titles that are okay for family viewing, while others aren’t meant for younger eyes. For example, here’s a look at the movies that were available during my review:
- Adrift (2018, 6.6 IMDb)
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004, 7.1 IMDb)
- Amsterdam (2022, 6.1 IMDb)
- Angels & Demons (2009, 6.7 IMDb)
- Assassin’s Creed (2016, 5.6 IMDb)
- The Bank Job (2008, 7.2 IMDb)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005, 7.7 IMDb)
- Breath (2017, 6.7 IMDb)
- Buddy Games (2019, 4.8 IMDb)
- Capone (2020, 4.7 IMDb)
- Clawfoot (2023, 4.8 IMDb)
- Don’t Let Go (2019, 6.4 IMDb)
- DarkGame (2024, 4.6 IMDb)
- Deepwater Horizon (2016, 7.1 IMDb)
- The Da Vinci Code (2006, 6.6 IMDb)
- The Flood (2019, 5.7 IMDb)
- Instant Family (2018, 7.3 IMDb)
- Love & Other Drugs (2010, 6.7 IMDb)
- The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017, 6.1 IMDb)
- Moonfall (2022, 5.2 IMDb)
- Mortal Engines (2018, 6.1 IMDb)
- Napoleon Dynamite (2004, 7.0 IMDb)
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019, 7.6 IMDb)
- A Score to Settle (2019, 4.8 IMDb)
- Song to Song (2017, 5.6 IMDb)
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007, 7.3 IMDb)
- Top Gun (1986, 7.0 IMDb)
- The Rhythm Section (2020, 5.4 IMDb)
- XxX: Return of Xander Cage (2017, 5.2 IMDb)
- The Zone of Interest (2023, 6.3 IMDb)
Fetch Mini G5 – Final thoughts
I'm torn on the Fetch Mini G5. On one hand, Fetch TV is cheaper than traditional Foxtel, and it's a convenient place to store a healthy selection of free content and premium apps. On the other hand, there are some big omissions from supported apps, missing functionality, and a sluggish interface that fights against you even if you try to learn its logic. At around $150, the price is right. But there are better Android set-top box alternatives, particularly if you don’t want TV channels via digital antenna and if you don't care for the Fetch TV premium content.
Nathan Lawrence
Freelance Contributor
Related Articles
Find a Better Pay TV Package
Compare options from Foxtel, Fetch TV, Netflix, Stan and more.
