Telstra TV launch date and price revealed

ALL your streaming services will be combined into the one place with a device that’s expected to shake up the TV space forever.

Phil Dunphy and Modern Family will finally be next to Frank Underwood on Netflix.

TELSTRA’S latest announcement could prove to be a TV gamechanger.

The telco announced in August this year that it would be partnering with US company Roku to launch a home streaming device called the Telstra TV. Well, we finally have the details.

The device goes on sale for $109 on October 27, or if you sign up to one of Telstra’s L or XL internet bundles you’ll get it thrown in for free.

Netflix and Presto will both be available on the service from day one, as will catch-up services SBS on Demand, Plus 7 and 9JumpIn. YouTube is also on there, as are other apps such as Red Bull TV, Vimeo and the Roku Media Player to stream your own files. Stan has been confirmed to be launching next month.

While ABC iView isn’t there on launch, Telstra media managing director Joe Pollard assured news.com.au that the popular catch-up service will be available very soon, with both companies working together closely to develop it.

Foxtel group director of corporate affairs Bruce Meagher told news.com.au that the company believes Telstra TV will be a convenient way for consumers to access a range of services, including Presto. He also said Foxtel is keen to explore the opportunity for the platform to deliver a service such as Foxtel Play or an app or version of Foxtel tailored specifically for Telstra TV.

News_Image_File: As big as a hockey puck.

Telstra TV finally enables all major streaming services to be on the same TV platform, eliminating the need to keep track of different streaming subscriptions and apps.

While nothing was announced today, Ms Pollard told news.com.au that the company was hoping to bundle a subscription to all three major streaming services for a price cheaper than if you bought them individually.

“While we haven’t got it right now, we’re definitely looking at the opportunity to bundle a subscription between the main three streaming services in Australia,” Ms Pollard said.

Until then though, the telco is hoping the idea of a free three-month subscription to both Presto and Stan will entice you.

The Roku player’s search feature, unlike Apple TV or Google’s Chromecast, allows you to search between all your streaming apps for a particular title in one step, saving users from having to navigate through each individual service to look for what they want. This feature hasn’t quite been padded out at launch, but will be coming soon here.

“We’re working to get universal search happening here, but it’s just a matter of working with Roku and the content providers to get the APIs open for them to do so,” Ms Pollard told news.com.au at the Telstra TV launch event.

The benefit of the Telstra TV is that non-tech savvy people can simply plug it in and use each streaming app like they would TV channels. There’s no need to try and cast something off your phone or computer, you simply turn it on and away you go.