Want to watch online videos on large screen TVs and without having to wait for them to buffer? Do you want an advertisement-free viewing experience? Then you should consider EMAGINE TV.

With this product, you can watch high definition online videos from sites like Vimeo and YouTube on your television screens. You can even create playlists, share videos and playlists on social networks, connect with other EMAGINE users and basically do all the things that you would do while watching videos online from your laptop from your TV.

EMAGINE TV offers over 200 online channels to choose from and this is a huge boon for Malaysia. Launched in July, 2011, this video streaming set-top box offers higher quality video content and is far more cost effective than the premium content offered by Astro – the biggest video content provider in Malaysia. Also unlike other online video streaming products like Google TV and Roku, EMAGINE TV is available in Malaysia and is very affordable too.

Creators of EMAGINE TV

EMAGINE was launched by Select TV to allow Malaysians to view online and on-demand videos on large screens. Select TV is an internet protocol company in Malaysia and it has received a lot of attention and funding from Intel capital and Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad for the EMAGINE TV product. Chief Emagineer of the company – James Chong and CEO C.S Goh strongly believe that Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is the future and are constantly looking to improve the product.

Pricing for EMAGINE TV

The one thing that makes EMAGINE TV so great is the fact that these set-top boxes have been built specifically for Malaysians and is readily available in the region. You can get EMAGINE TV at only RM 399 and this includes the set-top box, EMAGINE remote, HDMI cable, power cord, essential documentation and two AAA batteries. The company has partnered with popular online shopping website Lazada.com.my to make EMAGINE TV available for purchase. As a result, this product can be delivered to any part of Malaysia. However, it is about RM 50 more expensive than Apple TV and also costlier than Hypp TV.

EMAGINE TV is available to specific clients in Thailand and Singapore and the company is looking to offer EMAGINE set-top boxes for homes in India – its first target market outside Malaysia. The company is also looking to set-up a flagship store so you can try the product before buying it.

Pros and Cons of EMAGINE TV

Pros

EMAGINE TV now allows you to watch online and on-demand videos on a large, high-definition TV screen. You can also create playlists of music, videos and images and share them with anyone via the internet. Most importantly, EMAGINE TV converts your TV into a social media platform where you can connect with other EMAGINE users and bookmark their shared playlists. There is no need for expensive memory devices as all your playlists are stored in the Internet Cloud so that you can log in to your account and watch your playlists from anywhere. EMAGINE TV also offers over 200 channels including educational, entertainment, Cartoons, Music, etc., which will leave you spoilt for choice. Also, EMAGINE TV offers channels in English and Chinese and all the programs are organized well and are easy to find.

The sleek and minimalistic design of the set-top box and remote is very appealing and wins a lot of points for style and aesthetics. EMAGINE TV also functions as an excellent karaoke machine as you can subscribe to the iOK Karaoke On-Demand service and get more than 100 new songs that you can sing to, every week in various languages. This service is available for a monthly subscription fee of less than RM 20. Hypp TV has a very rudimentary YouTube app and Apple TV can play content only from iTunes lists. In comparison, EMAGINE TV focuses on YouTube and Vimeo and is a far better product if you are looking to play YouTube, Vimeo and local videos.

Cons

Firstly, the EMAGINE TV product seems to be wasting an excellent opportunity by not including more third party apps. These apps could improve user experience and could give users more viewing options. Videos also take a long time to load with YouTube videos taking more than 30 seconds to load fully. Also, EMAGINE TV offers no storage space so you cannot store videos and can only stream them or play them from an external storage device. Although Apple TV also lacks storage capacity, it is cheaper than EMAGINE TV.

Most importantly, EMAGINE TV offers very little premium content. Many people believe that for a price of RM 399, EMAGINE TV should allow users to subscribe and even purchase movies and TV shows. The lack of premium content is explained by the fact that content providers have to pay a steep fee to become a service provider irrespective of whether users are watching the content.

 Read More: 32 YouTube Channels You Should Check Out

Below is a video clip promoting EMAGINE TV

Have you used EMAGINE TV?  What do you think about this product?  Share your thoughts by posting comments below. 

Photo Credit: EMAGINE TV