MultiChoice's DStv Catch Up service for Game of Thrones on the DStv Explora contains an unexpected - and delightful - dragon surprise.

If you love television, if you watch it, watch a lot, even pay to see it and  pay for better TV, then I know that you love effort, that you appreciate clever, that you love attention to detail, and have respect for people working in television who go the proverbial extra mile because it's not just a job but clearly a passion too.

There's one such a clever piece of television now on South Africa's TV sets - a clever dragon egg easter egg hidden in MultiChoice's DStv Explora and its DStv On Demand DStv Catch Up service for Game of Thrones.

And I feel I need to say a collective "thank you" to the unknown MultiChoice worker or workers responsible for that, its creativity and conceptualisation in terms of an idea, its planning and creation, and execution and inclusion.

It's shows true love, true passion, true cleverness and true effort - because without it Game of Thrones as video-on-demand (VOD) episodes on MultiChoice would have been perfectly fine. But with the little added detail it is just even more awesome.

At the start of every Game of Thrones episode - and MultiChoice has now downloaded the entire first season as well as the second season of this fantasy drama to DStv Explora decoders for viewers who want to rewatch or catch up on missing episodes - viewers don't just find the age restriction.

The basic age restriction comes up for Game of Thrones ... and then something unexpectedly delightful, and just fantastic in its superfluous and totally unnecessary, clever, coolness happens. A dragon.

Just after the age restriction is given on Game of Thrones a dragon swoops in, and down, and breathes some fire.

It lasts literally for just a few seconds. But it is a very clever touch of added special effort which is really great. A small thing, which helps to make a big difference.

MultiChoice's DStv On Demand can be totally amazeballs if it does this. (hint: The After! Mozart! Star Wars The Lost Missions!)

MultiChoice's DStv On Demand service would totally go amazeballs if it got for South Africa The After, Mozart in the Jungle, Star Wars The Clone Wars - The Lost Missions - and several other fan-tastic TV gems.

Yes. It would be difficult to achieve, behind-the scenes, to get this content. But as uniquely and exclusively offered video-on-demand (VOD) content on DStv it would be so great.

Don't have a clue what I'm talking about? Just read on.

There's a growing gap developing due to South Africa's unique TV market situation - a strange "void-world" of TV shows being streamed and watched in the rest of the world - which doesn't fit the traditional pattern and model of TV shows.

Every successful product has competitive, unique advantages, and MultiChoice's DStv On Demand can wonderfully exploit and capitalise on this if its quick by bringing South African viewers and DStv subscribers TV content many of them don't even know exist, but does - and which is amazing - and which can't really fit on linear broadcasting.

Netflix, Amazon and others have TV programming which for multiple reasons can't really go anywhere in South Africa on traditional TV channels - but it would be perfect on DStv on Demand - to sit on the DStv Explora and be downloaded or streamed by DStv Online.

It would completely, surely, boost the appeal of DStv On Demand, enhance its use further, and boost that treasure chest of golden coins the accountants refer to as revenue on the balance sheet.

How can South Africans for instance get to see The After and "Huh?" I hear you say. Exactly.

Chris Carter from The X-Files made this new TV drama called The After. There's only one episode - a pilot episode - and it might become a series,or it might just remain a pilot episode.

How will South Africans ever get to see it if not on DStv On Demand on your DStv Explora?

It's amazing, and even if its just one episode, real TV fanatics will want to watch The After. It was released by Amazon a week ago and in it eight people try to survive in a (post-apocalyptic?) world where something disastrous is happening with no power or communication.

There's also one episode of Mozart in the Jungle. That too can be streamed through Amazon - but not for South African viewers. Like The After, there is also just one episode, and it may become a show, or might forever remain one episode.

But what true TV aficionado wouldn't want to watch - even if it remains just one episode - this dramatic comedy set in the world of New York's classical music.

Mozart in the Jungle is about a world of "sex, drugs and classical music" all clashing and Malcolm McDowell playing an established yet ageing orchestra conductor. It too was released a week ago.

South Africans might never get to see it, but it doesn't means its not good. In fact, its great. Imagine being able to watch that single episode on DStv On Demand.

Let's move on to Star Wars The Clone Wars - The Lost Missions. Cartoon Network (DStv 301) showed Star Wars The Clone Wars in South Africa and Africa on DStv - although always a year or more after the rest of the world saw it. Thankfully at least we got to see it.

Then Disney bought LucasFilm and with it all Star Wars rights. LucasFilm and Disney cancelled Star Wars The Clone Wars at the end of 2013 while production was busy with the 6th season and rebooted it with a new animation series Star Wars Rebels which we will see in South Africa later in 2014 on Disney XD (DStv 304).

But ... 13 episodes of Star Wars The Clone Wars entitled "The Lost Missions" were still produced and finished before the ax came down and the series got cut. So what about those episodes?

Well, Netflix just got the rights in America (although other TV channels in Germany and elsewhere are also showing it globally).

Will Cartoon Network on DStv show these 13 final episodes in South Africa? Never ever. Will Disney (DStv 303) or Disney XD? No. Will M-Net add it as a morning cartoon or the SABC show ever show it? No.

Star Wars The Clone Wars - The Lost Missions "hangs" in a nothingness as far as South Africa is concerned, exactly like that man who got stuck at an international airport when he suddenly had no country of origin to return to.

May it not take 17 years for South African viewers to see this 6th final season.

The only real way to see this really amazing animation series would be if MultiChoice somehow grabbed Star Wars The Clone Wars - The Lost Missions for DStv On Demand in the way that Netflix will be releasing it on 7 March as a final 6th season. People will pay to watch it - and that's no Jedi mind trick.

Imagine if the new second season of House of Cards didn't go to M-Net (or it still can) but rather was made available, in its entirety, on DStv On Demand for subscribers to watch in the way the pilot episode of Banshee was made available before the show went to M-Net?

It should be do-able in the way all the Nelson Mandela tribute channel content on DStv was also loaded on DStv On Demand while the channel ran at the end of 2013 as a linear TV channel.

There's all these bits of excellent TV programming which, because of its nature and South Africa's TV landscape, doesn't really fit or belong nicely in any TV container. It would all fit perfectly on DStv On Demand.

Yes, intricate, difficult rights issues, and companies' differing ideas and goals and corporate focus - and international hurdles due to distance - complicate things.

South African viewers haven't seen Alpha House, or Betas, or Hemlock Grove - TV shows on overseas streaming services you don't know exist and might never get to see. Unless there's a type of perfectly suited TV receptacle to capture these perfect for on-demand shows.

No FOX TV shows on DStv decoders in April on the DStv On Demand Catch-up service, but MultiChoice is looking into it.

DStv Premium subscribers won't find any TV shows from the newly-added FOX (DStv 125) channel on DStv decoders and the DStv On Demand Catch-Up service at the moment like Falling Skies starting tonight on FOX at 21:00 from the beginning, but MultiChoice says the satellite pay-TV service is looking into possible adding select FOX programming to DStv On Demand in future.

Besides M-Net (DStv 101), FOX now boasts the strongest collection of premium, big-buzz, want-to-watch TV shows which are rolled out in South Africa close to the American broadcasting date when it comes to general entertainment TV channels available in the South African TV market.

FOX is also resetting some of these shows such as The Walking Dead and Falling Skies to start from the beginning, so that DStv subscribers can catch-up with the story from the beginning before new seasons and episodes start and which will follow close on the heels of episodes shown globally.

FOX was for the past almost 3 years exclusively available on competitor On Digital Media's TopTV pay-TV service which doesn't offer a PVR or On Demand service to subscribers, making rebroadcasts of episodes and DVD box sets the only alternative to catch-up with these shows.

MultiChoice's DStv On Demand service for DStv Premium subscribers on DStv decoders currently offers shows from M-Net, M-Net Series and Comedy Central as TV channels, but the space available on the hard drives of DStv decoders remain limited.

That means that only a certain number of shows can be made available from week to week on this fascility on DStv decoders.

A new show can also only be added once a show which was added to DStv On Demand completes its season or mid-season.

"We have fairly limited space on On Demand at present and it is currently filled with a number of shows that have not finished yet," says MultiChoice regarding the possibility of FOX programming being added to DStv On Demand on decoders. "So no FOX shows on On Demand in April but we will look into it for the future."

MultiChoice says "we publish our monthly schedule for On Demand on our DStv Forum on the On Demand section" and that DStv subscribers can keep an eye on that.

DStv on Demand now available on the iPad as MultiChoice rolls out a new DStv iPad app enabling subscribers to stream TV shows to their tablets.

DStv on Demand, MultiChoice's catch-up service available on the South African satellite pay-TV operator's DStv decoders and online is now available on the iPad, inching the pay-TV service closer to what comparable overseas operators have been offering subscribers the past few years.

MultiChoice is rolling out a DStv on Demand iPad app through which DStv subscribers are now able to watch TV programming they might have missed and which remain backwards accessible for the last seven days since broadcast.

Through the free DStv iPad app subscribers can watch episodes of TV series, sport highlights and kids' programming by logging in with a DStv Connect ID to get access to the content.

All the DStv on Demand content is streamed to the iPad of DStv Premium subscribers through the internet which means that an active internet connection is required.

MultiChoice therefore recommends that subscribers, when using the DStv iPad app, make use of a Wi-Fi connection or have uncapped internet since the viewing of TV shows can guzzle up mega and gigabytes of data quickly in South Africa where broadband internet costs are still exorbitantly expensive compared to the rest of the world.

The new DStv iPad app can be found in Apple's iTunes App Store on an iPad.

DStv subscribers very positive about DStv on Demand; MultiChoice keeps adding ISPs and is looking at strengthening the service.

The innovative DStv on Demand service from MultiChoice launched in May last year really is in my opinion one of the pay TV platform's new strengths - a great time-shifting TV service, few technical hiccups for the end consumer and DStv subscriber, and a inventive, startlingly effective next step as an added-value. I approached MultiChoice with a few questions regarding DStv on Demand to catch up with what DStv on Demand is working on, where the service is at and how it's expanding, and what DStv on Demand is envisioning next.

Since DStv on Demand started in August [I'm wrong, it's actually May] what has been the response so far, what do subscribers seem to enjoy the most from DStv on Demand on television and DStv on Demand in terms of its online component and offering?
The DStv On Demand CatchUp service was launched at the beginning of May 2010. The response from DStv Premium subscribers has been very positive – about the CatchUp service on television, as well as the online component.

DStv on Demand's online service and availability is steadily growing beyond the initial MWeb. How is it expanding and what is it that DStv and DStv Online need or is looking for as a threshhold from internet service providers (ISP's) to allow then to make this service available, and is that becoming easier - or or what is the situation?
In August, the online service became available to the customers of ISPs outside of MWeb, namely Vox Telecom, Neology, Cybersmart and FNB Connect. DStv is committed to delivering the highest possible quality of service to our subscribers. As a result, we request certain guarantees from our ISP partners – the most important of which is high quality broadband access. MWeb was the first ISP to meet our quality of service and technical requirements, as has Vox Telecom, Neology, Cybersmart and FNB Connect.
Negotiations with other ISPs are currently underway. As soon as the other ISPs are able to meet our technical requirements, DStv On Demand will be more widely available online. Our aim is to offer the service to as many broadband subscribers as possible. The full list of all accredited ISPs and their realms can be found at http://ondemand.dstv.com/HELP/FAQ/Default.aspx

How does DStv/DStv Online feel about the reaction so far from subscribers or the way that people have been taking to this, and have been making use of this expanded platform and service for TV content?
As mentioned, the On Demand service was launched in May. We are encouraged by the positive response from subscribers to this value added service.

What is DStv or DStv Online possibly looking at in terms of expanding the scope of the service or maybe options or ''customizations'', or is it still to just get subscribers used to the service and making them aware of it?
We are always looking for ways to improve our offering or to give our subscribers more value. The On Demand service is no exception. When we are ready to announce further developments, we will do so.

DStv on Demand's online service not affected by the broken Seacom cable.

The online service of DStv on Demand has not been affected by the broken Seacom cable, according to MultiChoice.

I asked MultiChoice about what the impact is on the online delivery side of the pay TV platform's DStv on Demand service. MultiChoice has partnered with MWeb as (so far the exclusive) internet service provider (ISP) to deliver selected TV content over a broadband connection to DStv Premium subscribers since it officially rolled out DStv on Demand earlier this year.

The Seacom fibre optic cable that connects South Africa with Europe broke down (again), will take probably two weeks to repair and is MWeb's primary provider of international bandwidth. MultiChoice tells me there is no impact on the online side of the DStv on Demand service.

DStv on Demand an instant success: MultiChoice ''encouraged'' by the positive response from subscribers.

You're reading it here first.

DStv on Demand, launched just over a month ago by MultiChoice, is an out-of-the-box success. The South African pay TV platform says its ''encouraged'' by the positive response from DStv subscribers to DStv on Demand.

The new and brilliant value-added service from MultiChoice  - which allows DStv Premium subscribers to view a growing selection of on-demand TV content without the need to record it - is  getting the thumbs up from subscribers in a big way. ''There has been a positive reaction from our subscribers to the DStv on Demand service,'' MultiChoice tells me. ''We are encouraged by the response.''

So, what's the biggest complaint from subscribers about DStv on Demand? What's the most popular TV content viewers can't wait to watch immediately? And what is this about DStv on Demand working at adding additional features? Only I have all of those answers.

Click on READ MORE below to find out how DStv on Demand is doing!

Watch DStv on Demand's special new instructional promo video explaining what this new service is about.

DStv new revolutionary and truly brilliant new DStv on Demand service is now running a special DStv on Demand instructional video promo of six and a half minutes on DStv channel 198.

The DStv on Demand instructional promo guides, shows and explains step by step what DStv on Demand is, how it works and what the service entails. I've uploaded the video (which keeps looping on channel 198 for 24 hours a day) and you watch it by clicking above.

ALSO READ: DStv on Demand: ''You can now watch your favourite TV shows wherever you want, whenever you want.''
ALSO READ: DStv on Demand is not just free . . . its ads free.
ALSO READ: Hooray for the green arrow! DStv introduced Series Recording as an option.
ALSO READ: DStv on Demand extends DStv's range of on-screen icons.
ALSO READ: DStv on Demand works really well.
ALSO READ: MultiChoice officially launches its new DStv on Demand service.

DStv on Demand: ''You can now watch your favourite TV shows wherever you want, whenever you want.''

''People now want to watch television wherever they want to watch it, and they want to watch it at whatever time they want to watch it,'' says Jason Probert, DStv Online's general manager, about the reason that MultiChoice decided to introduce its great new DStv on Demand service.

I was invited to a live demo presentation of MultiChoice's new DStv on Demand earlier in the week, where Jason Probert showed, and talked about this new addition to DStv's satellite TV offering which now also has an extensive online TV watching component as well.

Jason Probert talks about MultiChoice's on demand service and how the pay TV platform started experimenting with an on demand TV service a while back, what DStv on Demand really means, what it does and how it works. He also reveals that MultiChoice is planning to double the amount of online video within a few months where currently DStv on Demand already offers 80 hours of video available per week.

For a comprehensive, yet easy-to-read (and understand!) overview of what DStv on Demand is and how it works, click on READ MORE below.

BREAKING. MultiChoice's new DStv on Demand is not just free, it's also ads free - for now . . .

You're reading it here first.

MultiChoice's brilliant and awesomely superb new service DStv on Demand that was launched last week and that is free to all DStv Premium subscribers is also free in another way: it's commercial free.

Whether DStv Premium subscribers watch TV shows on their SD PVR, HD PVR or online by way of streaming or downloading it, it comes without any TV commercials or ads. I asked Jason Probert, DStv Online general manager, specifically about this. I wanted to know whether ads that form a part of the original broadcast of a specific TV show have been deliberately ommitted for the DStv on Demand service because the service is new, or whether DStv wants advertizers to later pay separately to have their TV commercials inserted into DStv on Demand programming.

''Our subscribers don't necessarily want to watch commercials especially with something like this catch-up service. That is one of the advantages of a service such as DStv on Demand. In the future advertizing might be introduced, but right now you can watch it without TV ads,'' says Jason Probert.

So why is DStv on Demand free (for now)? ''It's all about customer retention,'' says Nolo Letele, group CEO of MultiChoice South Africa. ''In the future we will be launching DStv on Demand for blockbuster movies and that we will charge for. Pay per view if you want to call it that.''

ALSO READ: MultiChoice beefs up its DStv on Demand service.
ALSO READ: DStv on Demand works really well.
ALSO READ: DStv extends its range of on-screen icons with the impressive DStv on Demand service.
ALSO READ: Hooray for the green arrow! With DStv on Demand's new Series Recording a new TV hero is born.

BREAKING. DStv extends its range of on-screen icons with the terrific and impressive new DStv on Demand.

You're reading it here first.

I'm majorly impressed with MultiChoice's new DStv on Demand service that had its official commercial roll-out and launch on Wednesday. DStv on Demand is really actually breathtaking in functionality range, scope, speed, and user intuitive functionality - I tested it and there's nothing that I don't love about it.

Something I've noticed is also a few new icons to give viewers additional on-screen information when you access the on-screen electronic program guide (EPG). When available, some new icons appear in the i-plate. They might not be new, but I haven't seen them before.

WS stands for ''widescreen''. When it appears on DStv's EPG i-plate in the white strapline, it indicates that the programme is widescreen, which means that it's being shown on TV in the ''letterbox'' format which has a ratio of 16:9 and means that you actually get to see more.

This icon that is now also inserted, is an indication of sound quality. This icon indicated that dolby digital audio is available on a programme.

What does this green circular arrow icon mean? Oh. My. Word. I must have missed it, but it's a feature DStv has promised ever since the HD PVR was launched but wasn't available. SERIES RECORDING. Yep. You can now  - when you see this green icon, click and ensure that a whole season or series of the particular show is automatically recorded by your DStv PVR. Brilliant. Anytime that you see this green circle icon next to a show it means that this programme has ''series linking'' available and that you can set Series Recording on it. To set Series Recording, press REC and then select the option Record all episodes in this series.  This pop up bar is what you'll see when you set a recording on a programme with this green arrow icon.

I have been testing DStv on Demand on my own HD PVR in my home the second that MultiChoice made the announcement and it works superfast and perfectly. Although it does say BETA, it works wonderfully and I couldn't find anything that I wasn't very impressed with - including the fact that it shows high definition (HD) shows as far as possible in the list of available library programming.  I'm incredibly impressed by DStv's new PVR functionality extention. And as I've said, its free for all DStv Premium sbuscribers.

BREAKING. DStv on Demand works. Really well. South Africa's first real on demand TV service off to a flying start.

Earlier today MultiChoice launches their expanded DStv on Demand service (read about it RIGHT HERE) which DStv Premium subscribers can now access through any PVR decoder.

Now i have more, if you're interested in this innovative technology that's bringing South African TV viewers the first real, tangible and workable on-demand TV service. I tested it today on my PVR at home with an Ugly Betty episode in crystal clear high definition. DStv on Demand really works! And well!

''DStv on Demand adds another element to the overall viewing experience of DStv,'' says Nolo Letele, group CEO of MultiChoice South Africa. ''It is the first step of making our services available to subscribers on a number of different platforms''.

When you press MENU on your DStv remote if you have a DStv PVR decoder, a brand-new number ''3'' option pops up, which you can see below.

Simply press ''3'' and up pops a list of shows you can choose. If you click on one, it starts to play immediately. Wonderful. And for now, DStv on Demand is free.

Every day DStv on Demand will have the previous evening's TV shows available for DStv Premium subscribers for up to 7 days (some local TV shows for longer). Most of the content will be in the crystal clear high definition (HD) format in which I've already watched it today, unless it wasn't produced in HD originally. DStv on Demand promises more than 80 hours of on demand programming available to viewers at the touch of a button. As I've said, I immediately tested it this morning and DStv on Demand worked beautifully on my HD PVR at home.

BREAKING. MultiChoice beefs up its DStv on Demand service.

I knew as far as the beginning of the year that it's coming and MultiChoice just announced that they're expanding their DStv on Demand service in South Africa which will now be immediately available to DStv Premium subscribers on their digital personal video recorders (PVR) as well as online through a computer. MultiChoice plans to roll it out to the rest of Africa soon.

The extended DStv on Demand service is free to DStv Premium subscribers who can now access a selection of up to 20 hours of shows for up to seven days after it's been shown on DStv TV channels on a PVR. On the internet DStv on Demand is available through MWeb ADSL. MultiChoice says discussions are underway with other internet service providers as well to expand the online availability.

With DStv on Demand MultiChoice is bringing South African TV viewers closer to ''cloud television'' - the TV shows are stored on a server and hard drive and viewers request it at a time that is convenient to them, when it gets streamed online or broadcast to a TV set. MultiChoice says the DStv on Demand content will constantly be updated. Because most international content suppliers like the various Hollywood studios restrict access in broadcasting contracts, most international TV shows will only be available for seven days after real-time scheduled broadcast. DStv will however keep their local TV content available on DStv on Demand in some cases for up to 30 days after the original air date.