Fetch TV - Digital TV Service Explored

This page offers an overview of the UK digital TV service, Fetch TV.

What is Fetch TV?

Fetch TV launched in November 2008 - It's a digital TV service that combines Freeview with downloadable content over Broadband.

The service offered by Fetch TV is broadly similar to what's on offer with BT Vision, although the main Fetch TV site doesn't go out of its way to outline what content is available for download over their service, or go into too much detail about what content Fetch TV offers.

There's some discussion of Fetch TV over in our forum - Fetch TV Forum

Fetch TV Review:

The service went live in 2008. We've been hoping to be able to feature a review of the service and the Smartbox, but we've had no reply to our requests to do a hands-on test.

Until we're able to bring you a review, here's what we can tell you:

Price: The service is subscription-free. The Fetch TV Smartbox 8000 was available for £179 at John Lewis, but appears to have been discontinued as of April 2010. It's still available for £219 from Currys online
Content: A number of movies are available, as is streaming content from BBC iPlayer, CNN, and from 2010, Sky.
The service: We don't have much information on the actual content on offer, as the Fetch TV site doesn't go into much detail. It's worth noting that two similar Video-on-Demand services have launched in the past using NetGem boxes - TVMax (2006-2007) and a service using the Evesham iPlayer. Both services were short-lived, and are now no longer available.

Fetch TV User Review

Whilst we've not been able to review Fetch TV ourselves, one of our site visitors has. Thanks to Robin Banerji for the following:

Re the Fetch TV Smartbox 8000. They need to rename their product to the dumb-box. This has got to be one of the most awful bits of kit I have ever purchased. It just doesn't work. Programmes recorded on the box have gaps missing in them so that you could watch the first ten minutes of a programme and then suddenly find you have jumped forward 5 or 10 minutes. It makes programmes completely unwatchable.

I am not surprised that John Lewis has stopped selling it - the only place this bit of kit should be put is in the bin. It is also probably why Fetch TV are not inviting any reviews or responding to customer complaints. I e-mailed them months ago and have heard nothing.

Any comments on Fetch TV? Get in touch

Fetch TV 8000 Smartbox:

The Smartbox 8000 is the second generation of Fetch TV box. It became available in July 2009.

Availability:

Became available in July 2009 for £179 at John Lewis, but appears to have been discontinued as of April 2010.
Fetch TV boxes are still available from Currys online (not instore)

Here's what the Smartbox 8000 offers:

Record around 80 hours of TV with the 160GB hard drive
Freeview receiver - over 40 channels of live TV (channel list)
Pause and rewind live TV
Catch-up TV service from BBC iPlayer, and Sky Player, plus web videos from Channel 4 and Discovery Channel
8-day programme guide
Download music and TV shows - no subscription, just pay-to-view content
Play music and video files, plus view photos from your PC (or via USB) on your TV
Upscale Freeview for a better viewing experience on an HD-ready TV (via HDMI)

The Fetch TV Smartbox 8000

Fetch TV Smartbox 8000 Specification

Dimensions: 205 x 205 x 50mm
Hard drive: 160GB
Inputs: RF aerial, Ethernet, 2 x USB
Outputs: HDMI, mini-DIN A/V, 3.5mm stereo headphones, S/PDIF digital audio, RF loopthrough (not modulated)
Connectivity: Ethernet or Wi-fi

Fetch TV 7000 Smartbox

The Fetch TV Smartbox is manufactured by French firm NetGem, the makers of the now obsolete BT iPlayer unit. We've previously been big supporters of NetGem, although NetGem has been criticised by some members of our NetGem forum for not providing long-term support and updates for their products.

Smartbox 7000 availability: Originally priced at £150.

The Fetch TV Smartbox 7000 Details on the Smartbox 7000:

Freeview Receiver
80Gig PVR hard disk recorder (for 40 hours of Freeview recordings)
High-definition HDMI output
8 day EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)
Pause and rewind live TV
Internet browser
Export recordings to a connected storage device (via USB)
Share content from a PC.

Fetch TV: Our verdict

We've not seen or tried Fetch TV as yet, and they don't seem in a hurry to get back to us about a review. Accordingly, at this time, it'd be unfair of us to make a judgment.

Pro's: Boxes made by NetGem do seem to have something of a following, and we were always impressed with our old iPlayer set-top box.

Con's: Warning sign for us is that two previous TV-over-Broadband services launched in 2006/2007 using NetGem hardware, and both have since been discontinued. Also, there's no mention on the Fetch TV site of the type of on-demand content on offer - if the content were great, surely they'd be boasting about it? In April 2010, the Fetch TV box was discontinued by John Lewis.

Fetch TV Alternatives?

BT Vision offers a high-spec set-top box to subscribers of their TV service , and offers over 7200 TV shows on-demand, sport from ESPN, movies as well as catch-up TV from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

If you're looking to watch content over the Internet and are unsure about Fetch, you may want to look at btvision.bt.com

Useful links:

NetGem forum - Discussion of boxes made by NetGem, including the Fetch TV Smartbox
NetGem boxes - A look at NetGem set-top boxes over the years
Internet TV - More on IPTV in the UK
UK Digital TV - More on digital TV in the UK
Freeview - Information on free-to-view channels via your TV aerial
BT Vision - On-demand TV over Broadband without subscription

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