While it has some limitations, I think it’s one of the better options on the market, especially if you’re a Kayo/Binge/Flash customer.
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Only if you don’t wanna fuck around. If there is a new streaming app or if you have certain apps, say, shows in your home language, Hubbl is useless.
I couldn’t even recommend Hubbl to my parents. They’ve just brought a new TV and I’ve told them reputedly, make sure you get one with Google - not webOS, and don’t waste your time on Hubbl. Not many want to deal with webOS or Hubbl.
I can’t see DAZN persisting with this.
The main thing for me that makes Hubbl, horrible is the fact that it doesn’t sync Binge (and probably Flash and Kayo) between devices that aren’t Hubbl. It so inconvenient.
Otherwise i think it’s a pretty good device. It’s much better than Fetch IMO.
I got one for my 70 year old Dad, and he has had no issues with it, which was surprising to me considering the fights he has with his regular “dumb” tv.
Amazon Prime and apple tv also do this. I guess it just depends on what platform you want. If you really want Kayo/Binge/Flash you can always get it you don’t need the device.
They will kill it off.
At a minimum, offer an update to Google TV for the devices and be done with it.
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If they’re killing off Hubbl, hopefully they add a channel guide to the Binge/Kayo apps.
Or better yet allow the channels to be integrated with other live TV guides, might need the likes of Google to enable that here though, which I guess there hasn’t been much point yet unless they could get the FTAs on board as well.
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Was just on the bubble website, have the devices always been $99? I thought they were about $79.
they fluctuate between $49 and $99.
on the glass, just update the interface to select source as the only thing you can pick
Two sources briefed on DAZN’s internal thinking, speaking anonymously to The Australian, said while it’s unlikely Hubbl will be shut down entirely, investment will be “dramatically reduced.” The company must now decide whether it can afford to keep pouring resources into a seemingly struggling product or whether it’s better to cut losses and refocus.
A Foxtel spokesperson insisted that Hubbl would continue, but couched it in cautious language.
“We are maintaining Hubbl, and customer feedback about the product has been very positive,” the spokesperson told B&T. “Naturally, having made a significant marketing investment to build consumer awareness and establish a market position in its first year, we are now looking at how best to maintain Hubbl as a more mature business within the Foxtel Group portfolio of products.”
In other words: survival, but likely on life support.
I am so glad I bought my Hubbl from JB Hi Fi as they texted me the receipt when I bought it last October.
I plan to return the unit for a full refund if the product doesn’t continue to do what it promised when I bought it. Gottla love Australian Consumer Law.
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While I am a fan of the Australian Consumer Law, I am not eactly sure what the justification would be for a refund.
All goods should be of merchantable quality. They should be able to perform as described on the package or advertising. I bought a Hubbl four months ago and if they ditch the platform, I would return the device. I certainly didn’t spend $100 for a product that would no longer supported after four months. The only exceptions are second hand goods (including cars), products bought overseas and goods bought at auction.
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This I have no issue with.
I really don’t think you have a case under the ACL though. The ACL guide for acceptable quality only covers three aspects:
- it is safe and free from defects
- its appearance and finish is acceptable
- it does what similar products are commonly used for
I know you are trying to make a point on the final criteria. The issue is that you purchase a product like that knowing that at some point that product will be rendered obsolete or the attached service will no longer run. Whether that happens in 2 weeks or 2 years really doesn’t matter.
If time between the purchase of a product and it no longer working didn’t matter then we are opening the floodgates for deceptive marketing. If a product that costs $100 stops working two weeks after its purchased a consumer would have the full backing of ACL. This isn’t about a technology becoming obsolete. This is a business selling me a technology (app aggregator) and then flicking the switch a few months later and making the product useless. Hubbl’s merchantable quality goes to zero. I didn’t pay $100 for a thin plastic box.
A deal breaker when an individual buys a Hubbl would be no ongoing support This deal breaker is known as a statutory condition and as ACL states “A consumer is entitled to receive a full refund when the seller cancels (or ‘rescind’) a statutory condition with the buyer”
“Everybody’s Hubbling” could soon be “Everybody’s Returning”
When Hubbl stopped working for a few days last year, Foxtel gave every owner a free month of Binge. They know their obligations.
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When Telstra shut down Telstra TV, they were running offers for free Fetch Minis for Telstra TV customers.
I’d imagine a similar deal would have to take place if they shut down the Hubbl servers (particularly harsh for the TV customers) but I’d imagine it’d be easier just to leave it running for the customers they’ve currently got. For those customers it’s a decent incentive to keep paying for Binge and Kayo for the channels.
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The way this normally works is that there would be an announcement of when the shutdown will occur and the product would be pulled off the shelves well ahead of that date, so I will concede the two weeks part. However, in your case, you have had the product for 6 months, so it is irrelevant anyway.
Can I ask where the quoted section you have provided has come from? The phrase “statutory condition” doesn’t appear in the consumer law, and you can’t cancel or rescind one anyway.
Refunds are an option only in cases of a major failure. The shutting down of the service is not a major failure of the service itself, so there would be no recourse under the consumer law.
That was a different case though. An outage is a major failure, because people are expecting the service to be working at that moment, and it wasn’t. If they announce the shutdown of the service, no-one is expecting the service to continue after the date, therefore not a major failure.
This seems like the likely outcome. The article originally posted mentioned a move towards the maturity phase: i.e. they aren’t going to heavily promote the product for further growth, but keep what customers they do have engaged in the product. We can already see this with all the large-scale advertising having been pulled.
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Statutory conditions are mentioned in ACL and in this shortened version - page 11
Statutory conditions are part of the backbone of Australian Consumer Law (as are implied conditions) Simply google “Australian Consumer Law statutory condition (or obligations)” and every quote from the law and the ACCC’s overseeing of statutory conditions / obligations will appear.
That’s it from me. Thanks for the discussion, debate, conversation. Although it distracted me from Masterchef!
What you are quoting from is the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cwth.) which is described on pg. 1 on that document and is no longer in effect. There are more up to date guides out there which you should be using, such as this one:
Yeah, we have probably gone far enough with this. Well worth having though, because I think people should be more informed of their consumer rights (I say this as a biased Commerce and Business Studies teacher). Hopefully you can catch up on MasterChef on your Hubbl 
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I have 3 55" Hubbl Glass TV’s in my house (all brought on special. 2 i think were around $600 and one at $1100) if they were to shut down the service all i want is a final software update that moves it to the Google TV platform (failing that, an update that that removes the entire interface and just lets me pick an input)
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Yes that would be ideal but I would imagine it has Hdmi ports so you could plug in a Chromecast or Fire TV or something similar. Or Foxtel could provide it to customers who have brought the glass. Not likely to happen though.