TVBAnywhere+ service itself has 3 plan tiers, which are:
- VOD Zone
- Channel Zone
- Premium Services (VOD Zone & Channel Zone)

VOD Zone means you can only watch VOD content only. Channel Zone means you can only watch 6 Live TV channels from TVB only (as of today).
Premium Services (VOD Zone & Channel Zone) means you will get both of it.

TVBAnywhere+ entitlement that you get from Astro's Dynasty / Chinese Favourites bundle all along for free, is the "Premium Services (VOD Zone & Channel Zone)" tier.

Meanwhile if you're subscribe to, or currently on Unifi TV's Ruby Plus Pack, the TVBAnywhere+ entitlement that you get from it, is VOD Zone only.
You can add-on TVBAnywhere+ Channel Zone for RM9.90/month.
If you're not on Ruby Plus Pack, and you want the "Premium Services (VOD Zone & Channel Zone)" tier, then it'll be RM15.90/month instead.

Otherwise, you can still subscribe to TVBAnywhere+ directly from https://www.tvbanywhere.com/ as a standalone subscription without relying on any pay TV provider, at the price of:


Reference: https://activate.unifi.com.my/ott/lib/faq/faq.pdf

So yeah. At this point of time, subscribe TVBAnywhere+ through Unifi TV seems to be the cheapest option, compared to subscribe directly from TVB.

This post has been edited by joshhd: Apr 27 2024, 09:10 AM

If not mistaken, I think is 6% SST.

Well, you know what's left to do. Contact customer service.

1) How should the settings be tweaked for audio, audio delay, and picture quality? Audio was defaulted to stereo, audio delay to 20ms, and picture quality to 1080i. Is it better to tweak these to other settings like dolby audio, 0ms, and 1080p?
If you have a soundbar or home theatre system and you want to enjoy surround sound output, I suggest you set the "HDMI Audio" setting to "Auto".
The rest like 1080i or 1080p, audio delay, etc. is up to your preferences.

2) I seem to be able to use the iQiyi app on the Ultibox with my own iQiyi account, no subscription through Astro. The app runs and streams without issues (except being laggy). Does Astro actually allow this or will they eventually auto log off my own account and ask me to subscribe through Astro?
You don't need to subscribe iQiyi from Astro just to use the iQiyi app on the Ulti/Ultra Box.
You can just login your existing iQiyi account and watch as-is. This rule applies the same to the rest of the streaming apps you see on your Ulti Box, like Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, etc.

3) The Astro UI is a little laggy on the Ultibox but still acceptable I suppose. However, iQiyi seems to be noticeably laggy and slow, are other users facing this same issue? Are the Ultrabox users the same as well?
ALL streaming apps you see on your Ulti/Ultra Box are all HTML5 web-based, and it is not a native application, except Netflix.
Netflix on Ulti/Ultra Box is the only streaming app that is running as a native application.
The rest are all web-based, where it could feels like it's running from a web browser of a device with a low spec CPU.
Because of that, don't be surprised when you see a subpar UI appearance, plus laggy and slow, of your preferred streaming app (iQiyi) compared to a native Android TV app.

It all depends on how the streaming app provider (for your case, iQiyi) design the web app, for the consumption of the respective pay TV provider or smart TVs.
Especially iQiyi app on Ulti/Ultra Box, when I use the app even on my Ultra Box, it looks and feels like it is a super stripped-down, light-weight version from the Android TV version of iQiyi app, till the point that it feels like as if it is designed and developed by someone who has low or no sense of user experience.
It's not entirely Astro's fault also. iQiyi is also part of the reason to be blamed too.

Astro Ulti/Ultra Box is not an Android TV box. It is running on proprietary OS software based in Linux, so you can't expect everything feels the same as what you'd get from a good quality Android TV stick or box.

Not too sure if I do have other questions as of now, good thing is that the satellite signal is great with DNR exceeding 17dB.
That's good. Did you purposely tell the installer to align the dish into perfection, or what?

An annoying thing I found was that the charger for power has an obnoxiously bright green light lmao.
If you find that disturbing, you can DIY by cutting a tiny piece of black colour paper, stick it onto a cellophane tape, then stick it onto the bright green light.

Well, it is a "web app", therefore it is still an "app". So it is still not wrong to call it an "app".

It is no surprise to see that streaming apps companies would rather put more development effort on their Android TV app rather than the web app version, since Android TV app generally provide better user experience and It has higher market share. Although web apps has its advantages, but it still has its own limitations.

Get a reliable Android TV stick or box, then install iQiyi app from Google Play Store. Settle.

Earlier I saw a Facebook post, saying that starting 3rd of May, Astro will stop selling Liga Malaysia RM9.99 add-on, as Arena Bola channels (CH803-804) will move to Family/Primary pack, hence all Astro customers will be able to watch the channels.
In exchange, existing Liga Malaysia RM9.99 subscribers will get all sports channels from CH810-820 permanently (as if like a normal Sports Pack?) and urges people to subscribe to Liga Malaysia add-on now.

I tried to find back the post, but can't seems to find it. I think it has been deleted, but luckily I managed to screenshot this...
Not sure how true this is, but I'll definitely dig more info about this

This post has been edited by joshhd: May 1 2024, 12:32 AM

I think the reason they would do this is because, since Arena Bola channels will become 'free', they don't want existing Liga Malaysia RM9.99 subscribers to "stop paying" to avoid affecting their revenue.
So they rather be generous to give them Sports channels CH810-820 in return instead, hoping that they'll continue paying RM9.99 as it will be "very worth it" compared to subscribe to the usual Sports Pack.

Btw I'm still trying to get in touch with some *ehem* people to clarify whether how true is this, but no reply yet.

This post has been edited by joshhd: May 1 2024, 04:05 PM

Yeah just saw that too.
Based on what I search online, History TV18 channel is basically the India feed of History Channel meant for viewers in India.

History Channel that we see on CH555 is the Southeast Asia feed, where advertisements and audio language is in English, with Malay/Chinese subtitles available.

For History TV18, however, the programming would be similar but it will be in Tamil audio dub, and may or may not include English subtitles.
Because that channel is India feed, so don't expect Malay & Chinese subtitles option.

I find it very odd that Astro would even consider bringing in that channel here... But let's see how it'll look like from 15th May then...

Good news. I've just been informed that yes, it is true that Astro has the intention to stop selling Liga Malaysia add-on AND they'll provide Sports Pack channels to those who has Liga Malaysia add-on in their subscription, regardless of legacy or new Astro pack customers.

For those who want to subscribe, better act fast before they stop selling the addon. Today is already 2nd of May.

Lol. So previously you can't watch Arena Bola channels 803 and 804, but after you bought Liga Malaysia add-on, now becomes able to watch, right?

Errr nonono... This info is never meant for Sports Pack customers to know in the first place.
Just assume you never know about this at all, doesn't matter whether it's before or after 3rd of May, then your life would be a bit happier.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

The confirmation that I got, is the same as what is being leaked on the now-deleted Facebook post from Astro Malaysia Info Fans group actually...
As long the subscribers with the Liga Malaysia add-on continue paying RM9.99/month, they will be getting all Sports Pack channels CH810-820 permanently.

Of course, subscribers feel free to remove Liga Malaysia add-on if they want to (means don't pay RM9.99/month anymore), then they will lose all Sports Pack channels at the same time, and that will be a one-way ticket.
Meaning, you cannot suddenly tell them you want back your Liga Malaysia add-on after cancelling it, just because you regret making that decision anytime in the future.

So, the person that tells you that it's only getting 1 month...
Let's say Liga Malaysia subscribers lose access to Sports Pack channels after 1 month (e.g. 3 June 2024), will they still continue paying RM9.99? What do they get for paying that additional RM9.99 every month, when Arena Bola channels will become accessible to every Astro customer starting tomorrow as it is being moved to Family/Primary Pack?

I've been informed that due to technical challenges, existing Liga Malaysia add-on subscribers will only be able to access Sports Pack channels starting tomorrow (4th May) instead of today.

For now, it is confirmed that Arena Bola channels has opened up to all Astro customers, and the purchase option of Liga Malaysia has been removed across all platforms.

EDIT: NJOI Family Pack customers may need to wait till tomorrow to get Arena Bola channels.

This post has been edited by joshhd: May 3 2024, 09:20 PM

According to Astro's subscription T&C, they can change whatever things they want, at any point of time.
So whether is it "until further notice" or "permanently", the outcome is still the same.
As long when it comes to customer "losing something", customers will still end up disappointed anyway.

In my opinion, Astro customer service agent uses the word "until further notice" is actually to give some "soothing words" to those concerned Sports Pack customers

This post has been edited by joshhd: May 3 2024, 09:19 PM

Nice
Are you able to access the Sports Pack channels on Astro GO now?

Possible reasons are, last minute decision made by higher management, improper assessment on the effort required to deploy the change by all stakeholders, which led to poor implementation.

Or, it could be they hire an intern to make the system change... 🤦🤷

Just Ch 808 pop-up can’t watch at all;
I think you just pointed out something that they might have been overlooked.

By right, isn't it that Liga Malaysia add-on subscribers should be able to also access to ad-hoc sports channels just like what Sports Pack customers can get? And that includes Astro SuperSport UHD channels?

Maybe not till the point of blacklist la... But for sure your CTOS credit score will be affected for a while when you don't pay your bill for few months. Cuz it's equivalent to poor payment record already, regardless of whatever reason or justification you have.

For those who don't intend to continue Astro services, and Astro is giving you hard time to terminate it, then just lodge to MCMC complaint right away.
Don't berlagak pandai by not paying bills to them for few months on purpose, or you'll face the consequences (especially when you want to apply whatever loan or credit card applications in the future).

This post has been edited by joshhd: May 5 2024, 09:45 PM

There are customers out there who subscribed to Primary Pack but are using Ultra Box.

So, SuperSport UHD Ch805 and some sports ad-hoc channels are not watchable? So weird one...?

Do note that if you upgrade to Ulti/Ultra Box, you won't be able to downgrade your account back to NJOI anymore.

So let's say in the future you don't want Astro anymore or want to downgrade to NJOI, your only option is to terminate Astro service and return the box to them (just like the usual termination process). Then, pay the original sign up price (at that time) as a new NJOI customer to get a new NJOI (HD Zapper) box, and start all over again.
For the Bein Sports Connect app... We'll, maybe they still "need more time to configure"...
Try again other time then...

When you said you can't access the ad-hoc channel 808 earlier, is it on your Astro HD zapper box or the Multiroom Smart TV app, or both also can't watch it?

This post has been edited by joshhd: May 6 2024, 12:46 AM