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iiNet announces FetchTV internet TV service

Internet service provider iiNet has announced the availability of the new FetchTV 2 set-top box, which incorporates both free-to-air recording and video-on-demand services.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury

Internet service provider iiNet has announced the availability of the new FetchTV 2 set-top box, which incorporates both free-to-air recording and video-on-demand services.

fetchtv iinet iptv stb
The FetchTV 2 features movies on demand and up to 15 internet channels. (Credit: Ty Pendlebury/CNET Australia)

The set-top box is currently available to iiNet customers who use the BoB service, but Internode has also announced plans to release the set-top box as well.

iiNet customers have the choice of buying the box for AU$399 outright and paying AU$19.95 a month, or renting for AU$29.95 a month with a AU$100 set-up fee. Customers will need to sign up for a 24-month plan.

The set comes with both “linear” channels such as National Geographic, Animal Planet and MTV, and on-demand channels from Warner TV (Big Bang Theory and Chuck) and kids channel Gekko TV (The Wiggles).

The FetchTV 2 includes one of the largest drives in the current crop of recorders — 1 terabyte — and has three tuners enabling users to record two different channels while watching a third. FetchTV also enables movie downloads via the Movie Box service, with 30 downloads a month included in the subscription fee.

iiNet’s chief technology officer Greg Bader said the box isn’t currently able to operate without an internet connection, though this may change over the life of the product.

CNET Australia attended a demo of the product in the FetchTV offices in North Sydney and it appeared quick to order a movie — about 30 seconds — and have it begin playing.