Hi all, I am thinking about upgrading to the horizon box from upc and am wondering if anyone has any advice ?? Good bad or indifferent.... Thanks in advance for help....
What about an ariva from Ferguson? Combi box with fta channels from uk & saorview channels from Eire. When things go belly up then it can still be used.
I have a Horizon box since the Trial of them and so far not too bad but still needs to be improved. PROs Hardware Only one box that works as your router and STB and can be placed where your current set top box is, possibly beside your TV. Very Stylish Box and looks a lot nicer than the other Black HD boxz I had. Interface Multi-programme recording at the same time and still able to watch a program. Online Apps such as Facebook,DailyMotion,Maps and youtube clips that you can watch that people might find enjoyable e.t.c. Stream over your Network from other media(Laptop,Pad) to your TV using Twonky server. EPG blends well when bring it up, nice sleek look with pictures of programmes running down the sides and Channel names in colour. Remote Control is very responsive and even has a keyboard on the back your Internet on the above mentioned apps. Cons Internet(wifi) Connection drops out regularly(for us anyway) even though I called there tech dept. and they made changes it is still a regular accurance but not as regular. Some times freezes especially when pausing live tv, have to unplug and re-boot which is a pain if someone is on the phone as its all connected to the same box the phone gets disconnected,Im sure I could keep the phone in the hall attached to the old router but dont want it sitting there anymore. When streaming from Laptop and in the middle of a film it can lose connection to the network so you lose where you are in the film and have to start again, this boils down to the poor internet(wifi)connection. EPG still a bit slow but not worth grumbling about. The Apps are not great, they are down just 1/4 of the screen to the left and if your browsing facebook you really dont get a full view of your facebook page and is not really user friendly. Could be really improved and give people options for Add-Ons to the App page but dont think that will happen to soon. By all means this is not a difinitive list of PRO's and CON's but give's you an idea of how the STB is working. Would I recommend it, yes I would if only for the streaming capabilties and the fact you only have to have one box and not an additional router for your wifi.
Can't watch chans on the move is my biggest issue. Loads of bandwidth with UPC both upload and download but they decide that u can't watch or TV on your tablet or mobile outside your home. Its a mad decision after sky already offered just those services and sky does not have the bandwidth to support such a service. So the funny thing is you are pushed to have sky as a TV provider and UPC as an internet provider. It could be just a huge conspiracy. Hmmmmm
