Pay-TV provider DStv has introduced what it claims is SA's first satellite-based video-on-demand service in SA.
The provider says the service will be rolled out in several phases. The first, launched last night, offers a satellite-based value-added offering to DStv Premium subscribers through personal video recorders (PVRs).
The next phase of the BoxOffice roll-out will be an online offering, available to all South African broadband users by the end of this year. The service allows subscribers to rent the “latest Hollywood blockbusters from the comfort of their home,” says DStv.
“The future of DStv relies on us offering simplicity and convenience to our subscribers in a changing world,” says MultiChoice SA group CEO Imtiaz Patel. Last year, DStv launched On Demand and BoxOffice is the “next step in the DStv product evolution”, he notes.
The offering allows current premium subscribers to “push the green button” on their remotes and follow the steps. BoxOffice movies are already available for viewing, as they are pre-loaded onto PVR decoders.
Limited space
Subscribers pay for the service through a monthly debit order, pre-loading funds into their accounts or by credit card. Once a movie is rented, it can be viewed multiple times within a 48-hour period. For launch, the first BoxOffice movie will be free.
DStv explains only 15 movies will be available at any one time, with new movies added as they are released for the BoxOffice service by studios. Studios generally release video-on-demand shows around the same time they become available for home use on DVDs.
However, due to storage constraints on decoders, the number of movies is limited. About 150 movies from most of the major Hollywood studios will be released on the BoxOffice service during the course of a year.
DStv Online CEO John Kotsaftis says the initial video-on-demand over satellite offering “allows us to make it widely and instantly available to our subscribers, regardless of constraints in broadband availability in SA”.
Several movies are already available, according to DStv's Web site, such as “127 Hours”, the animated “Tangled”, “The Next Three Days”, “Black Swan” and “The King's Speech”.
The service is offered at an introductory price of R25 a title.
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