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Wednesday December 2, 2009 4:27 AM AEST
Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > Reviews > Lifestyle > Home Cinema > PVRs > First Look: Foxtel iQ2, the good and the bad

First Look: Foxtel iQ2, the good and the bad

Wednesday July 16, 2008
Written by Adam Turner
Tags: Foxtel | iQ2
Our first impressions of FoxTel's new HD box are positive - four TV tuners means more HD than you can handle, though it does miss some of the tricks of the TiVO.
3 out of 6

"Unless you have the money to throw away.... not REALLY worth it"

by kevin_watters  (view all my reviews)
Posted Aug 12, 2008 11:25 AM
Pros:
- Good looking unit



Cons:
- Same low resolution menu system as IQ - hard to read 'half-hour' or less slots
- High definition content sometimes NOT nearly as good as they make it out to be. (But some is)
- Remote control has same annoying habit of 'you press one button and it does something else'
- Lots of extra connections that do nothing (eSATA, LAN etc) they should have had the eSATA working at least ! Helps prevent lost shows if units are replaced.
- dodgy ADSL filters knock out your ADSL broadband

I have the IQ and IQ2 both... the IQ2 has EXACTLY the same menu system that the IQ has... and its pretty BAD compared to TiVO. I expected more... I thought it had a better, more intuitive and useful menu system that the IQ. The only difference is it is ORANGE.

A common MYTH is that it is HIGH DEFINITION... IT IS NOT. True HD pictures are 1080P and this unit only does 1080I which is HALF the effective resolution, since it is interlaced.

It would be interesting to know what the NATIVE resolution is of the channels being broadcast... is this unit UPscaling or DOWNscaling ??

During my installation... the tech plugged the unit into the phone line without the ADSL filter (he knew it needed one because he went out to his truck for it but forgot to use it) and the unit knocked my internet out unit I found the unit was plugged in without the filter. I plugged the unit into the filter then the filter into the phone line and the internet was still on and off... and when on... it was SLOW... so I UNPLUGGED the unit completely and the internet is fine... I am on hold with FOXTEL now to discuss this... The filter is a dodgy brand (and is defective).

3 out of 6
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5 out of 6

"FOXTEL IQ2 "

by monbou  (view all my reviews)
Posted Aug 8, 2008 11:27 AM
Pros:
Definately love the recording feature just sooo easy,and you can even tape the whole series of your favourite show with the push of one button.Rewind,pause fast forward feature is great means you dont miss anything. Foxtel box office in HD is a bonus too.

Cons:
The only gripe i have, you have to pay for the extra 5 Hd channels... considering we are platnium package subscibers i think that should be included, and i think its bit rude for foxtel to charge for them.
We are finding that IQ2 freezes up quite often too...easy fixed but just people should be aware.
We have had foxtel digital for over 5 years and about 4 weeks upgrade to IQ2 as we purchased a HD T.V. We were not planning on it but foxtel digital was very blury on the HD TV something that no one tells you.
All though annoyed with installation costs we do absolutely love it and recommend it.
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3 out of 6

"don't have one but it looks awesome"

by jmassey  (view all my reviews)
Posted Jul 16, 2008 12:33 PM
Pros:
looks great

Cons:
they won't let me have one!
every time i speak to foxtel i try and get one but they keep on saying that they will be in touch!!
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Comments: 3
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
totoaus
Aug 2, 2008 7:05 PM
 Yeah, ok the Foxtel IQ2 sounds good I suppose; if you're willing to pay the price for Pay TV. This is a bit like the article suggesting Sony's PS3 is the best Blu-Ray player, suited to a limited audience.
For those not into Pay TV, I think Panasonic's DMR-BW500 at http://panasonic.com.au/products/category.cfm?objectID=3513 deserves a close look. Two HD tuners, 500 GB disk, SD card and a Blu-Ray recorder. The only thing I would add to it would be to network it to my PC so I could burn its files onto Blu-Ray.


Comment made about the PC Authority article:
First Look: Foxtel iQ2, the good and the bad?
Our first impressions of FoxTel's new HD box are positive - four TV tuners means more HD than you can handle, though it does miss some of the tricks of the TiVO.

What do you think? Join the discussion.
cpvwayne
Aug 6, 2008 1:13 PM
 The beauty of the IQ2 is that it is has a HD tuner built in which allows you to view the HD channels now available on Foxtel as well as the ease of upgrading the unit.
We currently are using the old foxtel unit and have looked into the price of the upgrade and I personally believe that it is to expensive for what it offers and don't forget that you never own the unit.
haggiskiwi
Sep 16, 2009 8:59 AM
 Inm NZ we have MySkyHDI which uses a variation on the Pace decoder that Foxtel call their IQ2. They're a great box for the Ts&Cs of the rental.
The question I have is what use are the Ethernet, USB & eSATA ports on this box?
Can they be used for anything other than service? or is it up to the individual providers to make future use of these ports?
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