Tech
Vodafone GigaTV Cable Box 2 review
Those who no longer have a satellite dish on the roof usually bring television content into the house via TV cable or the Internet (IPTV). With the new Giga TV Cable Box 2 from Vodafone, the network operator’s cable customers can now combine the advantages of both worlds. The 4K-capable set-top box, which is equally available to former Unitymedia customers in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, combines the types of reception under a uniform interface.
The linearly broadcast stations come to the house via cable, the supplementary online media libraries and selected streaming services via the Internet – the latter can, but does not have to, also be receivable via cable. The various contents are seamlessly interlinked in Vodafone’s sensibly structured user interface.
Wild tariff jungle
The question of what can be received with it is not quite as easy as operating the system. Because the tariff structure behind the offer is not very transparent. The prices vary depending on the content booked and partly on the range of functions – depending on whether the cable connection itself is covered, whether the pay-TV offer (Vodafone Premium or Premium Plus) is to be included or not, or whether additional subscriptions via Vodafone or booked directly with Netflix or DAZN. Additional functions such as multi-room are only available at an additional cost. In addition, depending on the contract component, the initial benefit period varies between two and six months.
Unfortunately, the selection of integrated apps is also limited. For example, it is currently not possible to receive content from Disney+ or AppleTV+ via the Cable Box 2 – both are in preparation, however. In contrast, program packages subscribed to with Sky can already be viewed via the receiver – the pay-TV provider’s linear channels are transmitted via the Vodafone cable network and recognized during the initial channel search.
The cheapest entry into the Giga-TV world costs just under ten euros per month – but you can only access it via the mobile app. When using the set-top box on the television at home, the TV subscription costs at least EUR 14.99 per month (only EUR 9.99 in the first six months). But you can also spend significantly more – depending on the subscription and connection area, more than 150 channels and 60 media libraries can be received.
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Integration is key
Once you have successfully fought your way through the tariff jungle, there is practically nothing standing in the way of watching TV. The Vodafone package contains everything you need to get started – even batteries for the remote control. The installation, including the software update and channel search, is done in no time at all, and navigation through the clear interface is largely self-explanatory.
It doesn’t matter to the user which sources and access routes are used to conjure up the content on the TV screen, because it is operated from a single source. This means that the associated media library can be called up without any problems from the current program or the program can be started from the beginning. With most stations it is also possible to pause the transmission in between or to fast forward and rewind at different speeds – thanks to the supplied terabyte hard drive, up to four programs can also be recorded at the same time, a maximum of 600 hours of HD content can be archived in this way .
If you don’t know what to watch, you can quickly find the right inspiration with personalized recommendations or by browsing the TV guide, which can be filtered by channel groups and days. When zapping, the viewer benefits from relatively short switching times. Handling the remote control is fun anyway, because it can be used to control practically all functions of the box with just a few keystrokes. Operation on demand is particularly convenient: The voice control is not as intelligent as Alexa or the Google Assistant, but the commands relevant to TV use are executed reliably.
A special treat for parents and their children is the integrated “Kids TV”, in which content from existing channels and media libraries is activated for children between the ages of 0 and 12, depending on their age. Viewing time and bedtimes can also be set here as desired.
