EE TV is a set-top box that streams video to your mobile devices
Already the UK's biggest mobile network, EE is looking to branch out. The company today announced EE TV, a new set-top box that will serve up over 70 Freeview channels, as well as various catch-up and on-demand services. The box itself has DVR capabilities, with a 1TB drive capable of storing roughly 600 hours of recorded TV or film. Up to four channels can be recorded at any one time, and as you'd expect, you can pause and rewind live TV. With EE being a mobile network and all, smaller screen devices are integral to the product. EE TV will pump content to up to four different screens including your TV, so tablets and smartphones connected to the same WiFi network can tune in to different channels, watch on-demand video streams, or view anything that's been recorded to the box.
As you'd imagine, this is handled through iOS and Android apps which mimic the set-top box's UI. Or rather, the UI across all screens was developed with the mobile experience in mind. It's very visually driven, and from a brief demo, appears to be relatively simple and intuitive to navigate. You can also use the apps as a remote for the main set-top box if you've misplaced the physical one, and "flick" anything you're watching on a mobile device to the living room TV instantly. You can also pause whatever you're watching on one device, and resume from another -- something EE says is only possible with its set-top box currently. One of the most interesting features is called "replay," which lets you record up to six channels all the time, with the last 24-hours of content always available to catch up on.
Alongside the 70+ selection of Freeview channels and catch-up services like BBC iPlayer, apps including YouTube and Wuaki.tv will also be available at launch, with various other services said to be joining the platform soon. EE TV will be launching in the very near future, and will be completely free for any of the company's existing mobile plus broadband subscribers. Any pay-monthly mobile customers will be able to get in on the action if they sign up for an eligible broadband package, which start at £9.95 per month. As a little incentive, anyone that takes EE up on that offer will also see an increase in their 4G data allowance to 10GB or 20GB, depending on their current tariff.
