New IceTV branded PVR

[Paul55]

By the time it's released, many of us will have already upgraded to a next generation, multi-tuner PVR. Even if the 'IceCube' is a superior device, it will have missed the boat with many buyers. The resounding silence from IceTV does little to inspire confidence or make me consider delaying my upgrade.

[csutak40]

The resounding silence from IceTV does little to inspire confidence or make me consider delaying my upgrade.

What I meant to say 

[dilbert99]

Is the ICE TV PVR vapourware?

[Rat]

I have been unhappy with my old PVR for sometime and waiting for something new to come along so have been watching this thread. When the T3 came out I held off because early reviews said it was buggy, but then an update seemed to fix that and there was still no ICE-BOX to compare it with, what to do?

So a few weeks ago I rang ICETV and spoke to a dude there about it, he was very helpful and knowledgeable and assured me that not only is the ICE-BOX (or whatever it's called) in final testing and will be released soon but there are a couple of other PVRs just around the corner at good competitive price points that will compete with the ICE-BOX.

I inquired what the special secret killer feature would be and I swore to secrecy if he told me........so I can't reveal what it is  LOL but some of you will find it very useful, if it works as it's expected to.

I have been convinced to wait, but hopefully not for much longer.

I don't know why the ICE dudes don't utilize this forum to keep in touch with potential buyers, especially this thread, I have no doubt their lack of posting here has cost them sales, it almost lost me. I did mention that when I rang, but that obviously didn't make it to their team meetings agenda 

Hey it's Xmas so don't everyone rush to the phone and ring them right now, but yeah after that we should all call up and ask them WTF is going on and why don't they reply to us on their own forums?

[csutak40]

after that we should all call up and ask them WTF is going on and why don't they reply to us on their own forums?

I do ask, every time I ring for another reason - I never get an answer.  Perhaps, instead of IceCube, we should call it IceShard?

[prl]

On Ice?

[Vortical]

Is the ICE TV PVR vapourware?

I was thinking the same thing.

What's the next ETA now December 2015?

I wonder if there are big problems with this automatic ad skipping feature and the hardware, how many hardware changes are we up to now that we know about, is it 3 or 4?

[nis200sx]

I would rather that IceTV release a finished and working product than a buggy one that takes 12 months of firmware updates to become usable.

Forums are full of posts about new PVRs that were so full of bugs when released that early purchasers either regret buying them or keep using their old PVR until enough firmware updates have been released to make the no longer new PVR stable enough to use.

[Paul55]

I would rather that IceTV release a finished and working product than a buggy one that takes 12 months of firmware updates to become usable.

I doubt you would get much disagreement. However, there is such a thing as communication. After quite a bit of initial hoop-la when the "IceCube" project was announced, the silence has been deafening. This will always result in questions and suspicion - it's human nature.

[csutak40]

I would rather that IceTV release a finished and working product than a buggy one that takes 12 months of firmware updates to become usable.

I doubt you would get much disagreement. However, there is such a thing as communication. After quite a bit of initial hoop-la when the "IceCube" project was announced, the silence has been deafening. This will always result in questions and suspicion - it's human nature.

+100000

My sentiments exactly.  I wouldn't complain at all if they would say something, anything, but I suspect that it will never happen, that it has been shelved and it would be nice if they just came out and said so.

[Vortical]

Heinz also hasn't been logged in the forums since 08 December 2014, so I guess that explains a lack of any update.

i know it's better to wait till they can iron out the bugs but this wait has gone beyond the point of ridiculous.

I remember spotting an article back in 2008 that stated icetv were developing their own box but that article was deleted a long time ago.
http://forum.icetv.com.au/iceforum/general-discussions/1/icetv-branded-media-center-pvr/1401/

[A_G]

Any updates on the Ice recorder? I need to start looking at a new setup and need  to decide whether to go with the T3 or wait...

[csutak40]

Any updates on the Ice recorder? I need to start looking at a new setup and need  to decide whether to go with the T3 or wait...

As they have decided not to communicate with us plebs, and doubt they even read this thread, I suggest you phone them and ask the question.  The more people phone them, the better.

If you do, we would appreciate if you let us know the result 

[Heinz]

Let me break the silence with great news, as we are excited to announce the manufacture of IceTV’s own PVR for March this year. Add some time for shipping and you’ll be able to hold “IceCube” in your hands two months after that. We’ve been quiet for a while, because we wanted to be sure that we have a firm factory booking before making any further announcements. From hereon, the assembly lines are setting the pace, no more R&D.

I went through the entire Forum thread before posting this update to make sure that I don’t miss anything of importance. Let me first address the frequent requests for becoming a beta user. A beta test would have delayed the release by at least two months. However, the posts on this Forum strongly suggested that it was in our customers’ interest not to delay the release any further.

IceCube will be available through the major Australian retail stores as well as our own online store. In April, we’re going to take advance orders from customers who are subscribed to our mailing list. If you don’t receive IceTV’s newsletter with our TV recommendations every Monday, you’re not subscribed. So we suggest you log into our web site and update your Account Details under My Account. Please also spread the word among your friends and family!

Several posts on this Forum requested smarter skip features than what is around currently in the market place and an affordable price point.  I’ll be posting details in another month’s time. For now, please understand that we’ll just say that IceCube won’t just be “the best of breed” PVR. It has three tuners for 6 simultaneous channels, streaming, Freeview+, 1 TB HDD, integrated WiFi and a unique feature that turns IceCube into a “new PVR breed”. Yes, I talked about several “killer features” in my Techwebcast interview in Dec 2013. We did a focus group with seven Forum contributors all together in the IceTV board room and picked the one that you wanted most.

Allow me a quick update on some third party brands. This month, we’ll release the UEC 9600Q/T models on our online store. Beyonwiz’s future product roadmap is also being integrated with IceTV, so that we’ll be on their upcoming PVR’s right from the initial release. Topfield put the integration of IceTV on the backburner for their recent models. Strong’s 6500 and DXtreme’s 480 are not going ahead. We respect the confidentiality agreement in place with our PVR partners, which is why we’re unable to elaborate further.

IceCube will have a lifetime IceTV subscription bundled in. You can combine your existing PVRs with IceCube under a single IceTV account through a subscription for multiple devices. Right now, we offer a $198 price cut for a 3-year multiple-device subscription or a $60 discount for 1 year (expires Thursday 5 February 2015). Renew now and add IceCube when released ... http://bit.ly/163KTN8  (3 years) or http://bit.ly/1HIcRiE  (1 year)

Watch this space for another update in March!

Regards & success, Heinz

[IanL-S]

Thanks for the update Heinz, I am sure that this will make a lot of people happy.

It is also good news about other PVRs with IceTV support.

I am not surprised that Topfield have put IceTV on the back-burner for the moment, given the slow progress in developing the TF-T6211 platform. (I assume from post elsewhere that the TF-T6211 or some variant of it was the IceTV candidate.) My impression is that Topfield Australia is keen to have IceTV support on more models but I can understand the reluctance of the engineers in Korea to add an advanced feature before getting basic PVR functionality in place. As I am sure Heinz will confirm, it always takes a lot longer to get a new product line to the stage where it is ready to be released.

Ian