Foxtel has announced it had commenced a major software update for 1.1 million iQ3 and iQ4 customers, which together with the new Foxtel Voice Remote provides the ability to search, browse Foxtel content with the touch of a button and the sound of their voice when connected to the internet.
With its smart voice recognition technology, customers can simply push the microphone button and speak a command to the Foxtel Voice Remote, enabling them to:
• Search for a specific show, sporting team, actor, director, character or even use a famous movie quote from a film.
For example, “Good Will Hunting” will return the movie, while saying a famous movie quote like “may the force be with you” will show Star Wars movies, with over 500 movie quotes currently available.
Combination search commands are also available such as “action movies” and
“just the ones with Tom Cruise”. The Voice Remote understands the local lingo navigating with ease to sporting team nicknames like “Rabbitohs” or “Magpies” and recognising 10 major Australian accents.
• Browse specific themes, genres and moods of content. For example, “show me Christmas movies”, “show me romantic comedy movies”, “show me air crash investigation shows” or “show me home renovation shows” will return a list of content.
• Adjust volume, play, pause, rewind, skip ahead, channel change and schedule recordings.
Patrick Delany, Foxtel Group chief executive officer, said: “Foxtel is known for its breadth and depth of content across movies, entertainment, lifestyle, documentaries and sport. We have more than 40,000 individual titles available including full season stacks, and we’ve had massive increases in titles available on demand.
“It means we have great shows for every family member however with so much choice, finding it for the big screen hasn’t always been simple – try typing in a search for the multi-award winning ‘Chernobyl’.
“With the launch of our new user interface last year and now the Voice control, we are continuing to invest in innovation to reimagine people’s experience of Foxtel and ensure we provide a premium experience of the best of TV and on-demand, all in one place.”
The Foxtel Voice Remote is only active when the microphone button is pushed, rather than always being in listen mode waiting to be activated by a speech command, ensuring users can feel confident about the privacy within their home.
The update enabling the Voice control is already underway and will be completed during October and November. Over a quarter of a million Foxtel customers already have the Foxtel Voice Remote, while for customers wanting to purchase the new remote Foxtel has introduced a lower price of $29.