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Altech unveils 'gateway' console

Martin Czernowalow
By Martin Czernowalow, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 18 Sept 2014
The Node's entertainment capabilities include smart TV and smart home functionality, says Altech CEO Craig Venter.
The Node's entertainment capabilities include smart TV and smart home functionality, says Altech CEO Craig Venter.

Local technology group Allied Technologies (Altech) has unveiled Altech Node, a fully-converged home "gateway" console, that offers movie entertainment, TV series, sports and business content, Internet access, and wireless smart home solutions.

The device is Altech's foray into South Africa's fledgling video-on-demand market, but offers a smart home solution in addition to incorporating smart TV and smart entertainment functionality.

Times Media Group last week launched its online streaming entertainment offering - a video-on-demand (VOD) service, available across multi devices.

The Altech console gives users immediate access to more than 700 hours of entertainment, with 10% to 20% of movies and TV shows updated monthly. The company points out that - due to the high costs of bandwidth in SA - the system streams content via satellite, ensuring content is always available for instant play, without any time delays or bill shock.

"At any time, viewers can choose from a selection of hundreds of blockbuster movies on transactional video-on-demand, in full 1080p high-definition, and 400 recent movies on subscription video on demand," says Altech CEO Craig Venter.

Venter says content is streamed, and regularly updated, via satellite to the Node's internal 1TB hard drive, "so viewers don't pay for massive Internet downloads and can access content literally the moment they decide to view it, with no delays and no buffering".

Smart home functionality

The console also acts as an e-commerce platform that allows users to buy data, airtime and prepaid electricity, as well as pay for municipal and utility services such as Eskom or Telkom. In addition to the Node's entertainment capabilities, says Venter, is its smart TV and smart home functionality. This allows users to download Android apps, access the Internet and e-mail, and control home appliances.

"In today's high security-conscious world, the wireless camera and motion sensor capabilities of the Node are a tremendous value-add. With just one or two clicks of a button on the Node's remote control, you are able to view up to four Node video cameras wirelessly on your TV screen or via another connected access device such as an iPad or cellphone," says Venter.

"Node is much more than video-on-demand. It is an entertainment hub, a streaming server, a WiFi hotspot, an e-commerce platform, a home automation and energy management system, a home security system, and a telephone and videophone, all-in-one and completely integrated."

The device also offers a VOIP telephony solution, allowing for two handsets and almost free on-net calling, Venter explains, adding it can also be used as a home automation and energy management device. This allows users to control house lights and switch on appliances, such as geysers, either via the TV or remotely with a smartphone.

Payment options

Altech says the Node maintains a library of content on its hard drive, the majority of which can be accessed as part of the monthly subscription fee of R299. The latest blockbuster movie releases can be viewed for R25, over a 48-hour period.

The console will retail for R3 499, but customers can opt to purchase it over a 24-month period, at about R190 per month, depending on the selected data bundle. Free installation is included

The Node is available from various outlets from Friday.

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