MultiChoice's latest decoder, the DStv Explora, will be fully connected to the Internet by 20 November, enabling remote recording via multiple online platforms and supplementing the current Catch Up service with about 300 more titles.
This comes about 14 months after MultiChoice launched its new generation personal video recorder (PVR) device, which DStv Digital Media CEO John Kotsaftis says is the first platform that is fully owned by the company, "from top to bottom", including the operating system.
The move comes ahead of a broader video-on-demand (VOD) play as SA's broadcasting market matures, and will allow Explora owners to schedule recordings remotely, from the DStv smartphone app, Web portal or mobi site, says Kotsaftis. Users will also be able to bypass the current SMS BoxOffice movie rental.
The Explora's data pipe will work via a "WiFi connector" - or dongle - that users will be able to plug into the device's Ethernet port, initially for the said basic Internet services.
Over time, the decoder will become an over-the-top device, enabling subscribers to consume VOD content that will be offered online.
Internet capability on the Explora - including a mobile app - was already alluded to at its July 2013 launch. The decoder has been available for purchase since mid-August last year.
Core model
Kotsaftis says connectivity in the company's latest decoder changes things fundamentally. The way the latest platform has been structured, including the fact that it is open source, allows for faster development and deployment of future value-added services, he says.
MultiChoice COO Mark Rayner says all the company's future decoders will be modelled on the Explora. Ideally, he says, the company would like to see all DStv subscribers owning an Explora, or newer generation models, when they launch. "This allows us to offer a better service."
The recommended retail price for the Explora is R1 999 - an amount Rayner says is the result of heavy subsidisation. The decoder costs the company R4 000 to manufacture, he says.
MultiChoice also recently introduced the Decoder Payment Plan, which allows subscribers to pay the device off, at R99 per month (without installation), over a 24-month period. Installation included, the cost is R149 per month.
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