It has come to our attention that Astro has launched a new consumer trial program earlier this week. This time around, it involves a new TV box that the company refers to as the Connected HD Box. Based on the images on Astro’s website which is shown above, the new box seems to have the same physical design as per Astro Ultra Box.
That being said, the Connected HD Box also seems to have a slightly smaller footprint than the Ultra Box. According to the FAQ document on Astro’s website, the new box allows customers to record contents as well as view them through Astro Cloud storage.
They can also access on-demand contents via the new box which features Astro’s latest user interface that includes the contextual-based recommendation and search feature. So, in general, it looks like the new Connected HD Box is designed to deliver the same experience as per Astro Ultra Box minus the 4K capability.
The same document has also listed down the criteria of customers that Astro is looking to participate in its trial:
- Resides in Klang Valley
- Not an Astro IPTV, Astro & Broadband, or NJOI customer
- Monthly primary subscriptions of under RM 100 per month
- Currently using a B.yond HD or PVR box.
- Home broadband speed of more than 10Mbps
Each participant of the Connected HD Box trial will receive 500GB of Astro Cloud storage space which is equivalent to 200 hours of recording time. Astro has also noted that the new Connected HD Box will permanently replace participant’s current box in which will be retrieved by the installer during installation.
Astro has also noted in the document that the box comes with no additional cost to the participant’s current monthly fee even after the voluntary trial program has ended. While the company didn’t say how long the trial will last, the program is limited to just 1,000 participants.
You can check out the official website of the trial program for further information but if you need a second opinion regarding it, do stop by the Astro thread on Lowyat.NET Forums for further discussions with fellow forumers.
(Thanks for the tips, Josh HD!)
