EE announce TV service and set-top-box
EE has today announced a new TV service that will take on the likes of YouView and BT TV – marrying up a Freeview box with streaming functions.
The new box is entering a crowded market – there’s already a tonne of different TV service providers, but EE is promising some interesting unique features.
First and foremost, all of the controls are mobile driven: You use your phone or tablet to control the box, setup recordings and watch stuff. Plus if you like, you can stream the TV to your device, so you can keep watching in the kitchen or the bedroom too. You can even start watching a recording on your phone, walk into your living room and flick up on the screen to send it to your TV – where it will resume. Very impressive stuff.
Better still, up to four devices can tune in simultaneously – so whilst the kids watch Cbeebies in the bedroom, you can watch something a bit more foul-mouthed in the living room.
The box itself houses Freeview HD in addition to a number of streaming and catch-up services, including BBC iPlayer, 5 on Demand and YouTube (no Sky Now TV or ITV Player yet, sadly). There’s also a 1TB HDD built in for recording TV and DVR functionality. Interestingly, the box will apparently record the last 24 hours of your six favourite channels on a rolling basis, so you can catch up easily – though it isn’t clear if the box has six built-in Freeview HD receivers or whether it is something recording at EE HQ, with users tapping into EE’s streaming archive.
The new box – which EE claims is worth £300 – will be available free with EE’s home broadband and landline packages, and “starts from as little as £9.95/month” for EE mobile customers.
