Review: The UPC Horizon box

It’s been a long time coming, but UPC’s new TV service, Horizon, has hit Irish shores. After a trial lasting a few months, the TV company has decided it’s time to make it available to the general public.

Already launched in the Netherlands and Switzerland, Horizon has been tweaked a bit since then. There’s a new remote control for a start, and some software updates that have made the box more stable and faster.

The box

Horizon TV users will get a new set top box, ditching the old Thompson recordable devices and replacing it with a shiny Samsung-made one instead.

The box itself replaces your modem and your existing digital TV box. It’s got Wifi built in and supports DLNA, so in theory, you should be able to clear a bit of space under the TV and still connect everything you need to.

Ditching the modem has another obvious benefit- it's one less device that's running up your electricity bill. According to UPC, the new box uses around the same amount of power when it's fully active as the old set-top box and modem combo, but uses less power in standby mode. It's slightly louder in standby mode than its predecessor - there's an audible hum - but it's nothing too intrusive.

It’s also got more storage space on the box for recorded programmes than its predecessor, with 320GB for programmes. This comes in handy enough, because the new service also means that you can record four programmes while watching a fifth - a handy feature in a house where there are vastly different tastes in viewers. Plus you can do all that and watch another couple of streams on tablet devices and mobile phones throughout the house. It’s an end to TV arguments (for now, at least).

As part of the package, UPC is now including 19 HD channels from the likes of RTE and BBC free of charge.

You also get apps. If you have a smartTV, this may not be as big a deal to you, but for those who don’t really feel like spending more money on a TV, it’s a good way to get YouTube, Facebook and a few other apps on the big screen. I tried out Twitter, and teamed with the new remote control - which has a keyboard on the back - it might be something I would use occasionally, but it won’t be replacing my smartphone or tablet any time soon for that. One important thing is that you can pin protect your Twitter account on the box, so no one else can access it.

Setting up

Setting up the box itself is easy enough. There’s no smart card to mess about with, so it’s just a matter of plugging the box in to your UPC cable, and switching it on. Because of the HD channels, you get a HDMI cable in the box, so you can ditch the old scart connection. It took less than five minutes to hook the whole thing up, and at least 50 per cent of that time was trying to untangle the snarl of cables that has sprung up behind the TV.

For the mobile device viewing, downloading the app takes a minute or so, and once you are signed in to your UPC account on the app, you can watch TV or use the remote record function. You can also download a separate app to turn your mobile device into a remote control for the set top box.

There’s a 2.4GHz wifi radio on the box that is currently used for broadcasting your broadband wirelessly; the 5GHz radio is there, along with details for the default SSID and password, but it’s not currently active. Having to reconnect all the wifi enabled devices in the house was probably the most time consuming bit of the process, but you can customise your SSID and password through the box’s settings menu.

Once you have the box up and running, you see the difference immediately. It’s faster than its predecessor, even for something as simple as changing channels. The programme guide is also a lot more responsive, although the redesigned look won’t be to everyone’s taste. Personally, I liked the new look and the pop up programme preview as you scroll through the various programmes. The on-demand content is more visual too, with thumbnails accompanying each programme so you can easily find what you’re looking for.

I was less keen on the fact that the EPG seems a little unnecessarily complex at times, and you can get caught in a loop of hitting “back” and “OK” to try to get to a programme and remove the guide from the screen. There was also a minor panic when trying to record a programme; it’s not as obvious as the previous system in letting you know that you have, in fact, managed to hit the buttons correctly.

Still, the more responsive guide is worth a bit of adjustment, and it didn’t take too long to get used to the new way of doing things. The new-style EPG also gives you recommendations for programmes, though I’ve yet to take it up on any of the suggestions.

Earlier trial users reported frequent crashes with the box, a problem I didn’t experience first hand. There was one incident early on when the box appeared to freeze at 5am, but it didn’t affect broadband access and a quick reset seemed to shake it out.

How much?

Predictably, it’s existing customers that lose out here. If you’re a UPC subscriber - even if it’s just for broadband - you will have to pay full whack for the box and service. The package the company is pushing - the Horizon Essential Bundle - will set you back €73 per month for digital TV, 100Mb broadband and phone services. You’ll also have to pay just under €50 as a once off fee for the set top box.

If you’re a new customer to UPC, you can take advantage of the offer that will see you charged €50 for the first six months, and free installation of the box.

UPC certainly isn’t alone in trying to entice new customers with discounted services; however, it would be nice to see customer loyalty rewarded.

The verdict

So far, so good - at least as far as this Horizon box is concerned.