Australia is about to be taken into a new era of entertainment and sport streaming, with the launch of a new sub $100, offering from the Foxtel Group that delivers a brand-new way to not only manage streaming content but get access to a multitude of cloud content all in one place including every Australian free to air program.
The launch that took place in Sydney attract some of the biggest stars in local entertainment and TV including stars spanning movies, sport and news from all the free to air TV networks.
Called Hubble the new puck and the Hubbl TVs which were revealed exclusively by ChannelNews, delivers a vast amount of global and local content via the cloud, as opposed to the old hard drive or locally stored cloud content.
Gone is the need to record, all you do now is choose what time you want to watch a stream and away you go even if a program or news service is hours old.
The architect of the Hubble system is Comcast the world’s largest US and multinational telecommunications and media conglomerates.
This week I caught up with Comcast’s Global Chief Product Officer, Fraser Stirling who is passionate about the direction that streaming is taking in Australia. He believes that Hubbl is one of the biggest developments for consumers who want “simplicity and efficiency and easy to program information across thousands of content options.”.
“Hubble is also about data, access to information in seconds and ease of use with information and data updated daily.
When I asked him about the processor in the Hubble he immediately responded that Hubble is all about the software and the code that the software is written in, “Because its this that delivers the speed of access to programs coupled with the aggregation of vast amounts of data to deliver the consumer experience that Australians have not witnessed before.
Sitting alongside him was Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany who was quick to point out that the combination of free to air and paid content without the need to go to an app first is “just one of the many things that makes Hubble the must have entertainment and sports management puck that Australians will have access to shortly”.
Set to be released at a gala event tonight Hubbl will also be built into two TV’s that include a $1,500 55” model and a $2,000 65” Hubble TV.
What Australian consumers are benefitting from is the knowledge gleaned from the UK market where Sky has had the Sky Glass puck and their Glass TVs in market for over two years.
So, what’s the difference between existing Foxtel iQ boxes and Hubbl and how does Hubbl stack up against competitors.
Basically, Hubble is a simple box that delivers an enormous amount of capability when it comes to access content, picking which content you want to view without having to jump from one app to another.
Once you are logged into your favourite apps or you have signed up for a new subscription, such as Optus Sports which will give you access to UK Premier Leage soccer as well as European games, in the future or your favourite Rugby Union on Stan your sports options will be listed in a sports content stack alongside the free versions of NRL or AFL.
All your options including Kayo sport and Binge movies are listed in one place whether it be sport, TV drama or movies on Hubble.
Hubbl is also powered by one universal remote with voice control that will allow you to find apps or channels, search for content, control playback, change settings and more. The universal remote also comes equipped with select app buttons at the top to navigate straight to Kayo Sports, BINGE and Netflix as well as a Watchlist (+) button to seamlessly add content you want to watch later to your own personalised profile.
Access to content information is blisteringly fast and you have the option of using voice recognition to pull up your favourite content.
In the future you will also have access to your favourite music via Hubbl.
Gone are ugly satellite dishes, big iQ boxes that need a cupboard or shelf, what you have with Hubbl are two options a simple puck or a TV with Hubbl built in.
Hubbl streams 4K content via a W6 Wi Fi connection.
The puck and the TV also have all of the latest smart streaming technology you need to get the best picture including 4K HDR and IMAX formats as well as 360° Dolby Atmos surround sound via the TV sound bar.
Les Wigan, Managing Director of Hubbl, says, “Hubbl stands out from the pack by offering live TV without an aerial, seamless subscription management at the touch of a button, more discoverability and personalisation as well as allowing customers to stack up to five eligible streaming apps and save up to $15 per month on their subscriptions. With the major free and paid apps available on Hubbl and more to come, there is nothing like the world of entertainment it unlocks.”
Dani Simpson, Executive Director of Hubbl, says, “Hubbl is a unique product that simplifies the TV and streaming experience so you can spend less time searching for something to watch and more time enjoying the content you love.
Shortly we will bring you a full review of Hubbl, which at this stage is the best management system ever launched in Australia to manage both free to air content, alongside streamed programs from the likes of Disney, Netflix, Binge, Amazon Prime as well as free to air apps such as the ABC and SBS.
As for the Hubbl TV you also get a 4K ultra high definition soundbar with six speakers built in.
Australia’s newest transformative TV technology, Hubbl, will be available in Harvey Norman and JB Hi Fi retail stores nationally and via Hubbl.com.au.
Hubbl will be available at $99 (AUD)
Hubbl Glass will be available in two sizes and five colours (Anthracite Black, Ocean Blue, Racing Green, Dusky Pink and Ceramic White)
Hubbl Glass 55” will be available at $1,595 (AUD)
Hubbl Glass 65” will be available at $1,995 (AUD)
