MultiChoice has activated more than 27 500 of its DSTV personal video recorder (PVR) satellite decoders in the first four months of availability.
This is according to communications manager Marilyn Watson, who adds that the uptake has been "way over what we expected... we even ran out of PVRs sometime in January because the demand was so high".
CEO Nolo Letele said previously in a statement that MultiChoice expects to roll-out about 30 000 PVRs in the first year.
Reasons for popularity
PRV is a satellite decoder with a digital recording capacity of 80 hours, allowing the pausing of live TV, as well as instant replay and slow motion.
Watson believes one of the main reasons for the PVR`s popularity is the simplicity of recording - "you just have to press one button".
"Since our main drivers are sports and movies, people have enjoyed the opportunity of pausing and rewinding critical moments of dialogue or sports matches."
The company promises software upgrades in the near future, although Watson declines to reveal what these will be.
Hurdles overcome
Though development of the PVR began in 2001, currency crises made the expected selling price too expensive for the South African market and development was only resumed in 2004, she says.
Set-top box manufacturer UEC, owned by Altech, makes the PVR locally.
A small amount of decoders suffered from the hard drive overheating, but normally the decoder is swapped, says MultiChoice. There have also been some minor changes made to the production specifications to alleviate the problem, Watson comments.
MultiChoice has over a million South African subscribers to the DSTV service, plus another 300 000 analogue customers. A further 300 000 people subscribe from other countries in Africa.
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