MultiChoice's new next generation DStv Explora, nicknamed "the pebble" by insiders for its sleek curvature design, has gone on sale from this morning in South Africa, turning the page for a new chapter in direct-to-home (DTH) video content delivery for both the satellite pay-TV operator and for the continent.
The DStv Explora, the satellite pay-TV operator's latest high definition personal video recorder with a 2 terabyte hard drive, has a recommended retail price of R2 499 in South Africa but is already discounted by some retailers like Makro to R2 399. According to MultiChoice the DStv Explora will go on sale in the rest of Africa next month.
The DStv Explora, manufactured in East London, was originally designed for internet connectivity. MultiChoice says that although the new decoder has the capacity, internet connectivity will follow later for the box due to the poor broadband availability and speed in South Africa.
Accordint to MultiChoice an internet link for the new DStv Explora will be rolled out. The first service the pay-TV operator will enable once that happens, is to make it possible for DStv subscribers to then set specific recordings for their decoders through the internet when they're not home or at the decoder.
With the new DStv Explora and its new-look and very visual on-screen interface, MultiChoice wants to mimic through satellite the look, feel and service for pay-TV subscribers of the on-demand content and viewing experience available in America and Europe.
In these countries pay-TV subscribers have access to a massive amount of on-demand content through catch-up services and pay-per-view titles because decoders can be connected to fast, cheaper and readily available broadband services still largely lacking in Africa.
Thanks to the larger storage capacity, the DStv Explora decoder offers DStv subscribers more space to record their own TV programming but also a bigger number of movie titles through the successful DStv BoxOffice service.
The DStv Explora also stores more shows and episodes of TV series which are automatically downloaded and which are available on the DStv Catch-Up service.
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