Astro MAX - Production and Reception

Production and Reception

The reception of the system was generally poor, as the PVR starts and stops recording according to the time of day, based on the Electronic Program Guide. Unfortunately, especially on some channels, the shows do not start or finish on time. This results in the recorded show missing the beginning or the end. Also, the Electronic Program Guide is often wrong, and reliability of the PVR units is not good. Many complaints were made regarding less sensitivity, lockups and reboots. These complaints are so overwhelming that in 2008, Astro discontinued the production of Astro MAX units altogether.

However, a new variant is currently being looked into, and will offer 100 hours of recording time as well as making full use of video-on-demand services. A pitch for its service was called, though no agencies were known to be invited. At the time, Astro's account is currently split between Y&R and Naga DDB. Sadly, this variant has not made it publicly, as the service has been permanently terminated and closed down.

The reasons behind the discontinuation of the Astro Max decoders and the eventual closure of the service are obviously there is something unsatisfactory or unfavourable about the service, such as piracy and copyright issues, and it could be profit related. Or, Astro is trying to keep it simple and keep costs low as possible, while remaining true to its name, only traditional television, despite being a MSC status company. The people who worked behind Astro Max has reassigned to other roles.

Astro announced they will stop supports for all existing Astro MAX customers on 10 October 2010. All existing Astro Max customer are offered to change to Astro B.yond PVR.