StarSat finally launches its first PVR capable decoder in South Africa; here's all the details about StarSat's new Combo 3 decoder.

Pay-TV operator StarSat has finally launched its first personal video recorder (PVR) capable decoder in South Africa, making it possible for subscribers to digitally record programmes available on StarSat's TV channels for the first time.

The new StarSat decoder called the StarSat Combo 3 decoder, costs R399 and includes a satellite dish and free installation.

The black with orange trim decoder is similar to the black and lime green trim Combo HD decoder that StarSat's Chinese parent company StarTimes introduced elsewhere in Africa in late-2016, with only a different outer shell and the exact same remote control.

The StarSat Combo 3 decoder is so-called since it incorporates 3 abilities. Besides the ability to be used as a PVR if a subscriber attaches an external hard drive or big enough USB, it combines the features of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and digital satellite direct-to-home (DTH) technologies on the same decoder.

This enables StarSat subscribers to get access to subscription pay-TV channels like the various bouquets offered by StarSat, but also the free-to-air digital TV channel signals that might be available.

While South Africa is lagging far behind with the switch to DTT, a process known as digital migration, and with almost no DTT channels available, StarSat subscribers with the new decoder can now for instance pick up the SABC News (DStv 404) channel as well that so far has only been available to DStv satellite viewers.

While the SABC News channel is available exclusively to MultiChoice's DStv subscribers as part of a SABC channels deal, SABC News is already being broadcast as a digital terrestrial channel as well, with people who can receive it with a proper DTT set-top box (STB) able to decode the signal like the new StarSat decoder.

The RF In and RF Out feature also allows StarSat subscribers to connect more than one TV set to the Combo 3 decoder.

The new StarSat Combo 3 decoder has "only" 21 buttons, with users who can also customise menu transparency and has options to change the interface colour.

The new StarSat Combo 3 decoder is the third decoder for the company in South Africa. StarSat, formerly known as TopTV, launched in May 2010 and quickly promised the introduction of a PVR.

After initial promises that didn't come to fruition, TopTV multiple times over the past years promised the introduction of a PVR decoder to the market but it never materialised.

After the struggling On Digital Media (ODM) that entered business rescue got a cash bailout rescue from the Chinese pay-TV operator StarTimes and renamed TopTV to StarSat, StarTimes Media South Africa introduced a new white decoder in November 2013.

Use of this second, white decoder that was R599 but also without digital recording capability, became compulsory in 2016 for StarSat subscribers.

The new third decoder, the StarSat Combo 3, offers "a vastly improved viewing experience to our customers in high definition (HD)," says John Yan, StarSat CEO.

Asked why StarSat is now introducing a new decoder with a PVR ability, the pay-TV operator says it is "constantly striving to improve its service and commitment to the customer experience, with emphasis on providing the highest possible quality digital signal".

"The Combo 3 is capable of providing a full HD 1080p signal, thus ensuring that StarSat is able to deliver on this commitment to its customers".

Asked about the recording capacity and how many hours the StarSat Combo 3 decoder can record, the company says the decoder's recording functionality "is facilitated through any external USB storage device by the customer, either a flash drive or external hard drive, thus not limiting the customer to a set number of hours on an internal hard drive".

Asked what will happen to StarSat subscribers using the white decoder they were forced to upgrade to a year ago or lose their signal, the company says "the white decoder is still an active device and supported by StarSat."

StarSat gives subscribers the opportunity to upgrade. "Any customer wishing to upgrade to the Combo 3 decoder will be able to do so, at a cost of R299, through a StarSat customer experience centre in Gauteng, Durban or Cape Town, or directly through the StarSat customer service centre who will courier a decoder to the customer."

"Customers will also be able to upgrade their older decoders to the Combo 3 through the retail distribution channel in due course".

StarSat subscribers often complain that its electronic programme guide (EPG) is often wrong, out-of-sync with days and time, and some channels EPG grid empty. The EPG is however needed and used to enable PVR recordings.

StarSat was asked if EPG improvement is something it's looking at doing, and if so, what kind of improvements are being made.

"The software innovations in the Combo 3 decoder have facilitated a more responsive, easy-to-use, interactive remote control, as well as improving the accuracy of the EPG, thus facilitating the recording functionality in a simple or uncomplicated manner," says StarSat.

StarSat was asked how many new Combo 3 decoders have been manufactured so far and how much stock is being placed in South Africa in the first batch to market. "Stock of the Combo 3 is en-route to all StarSat retail partners, with sufficient quantities of decoders available to satisfy customers or market place demand," the company says.

StarSat was asked how long StarTimes has been working on the new StarSat Combo 3 decoder, where it's manufactured and what influenced the design and colour.

"The StarTimes headquarters is located in Beijing, China, and this is also the prime location of the group's R&D and manufacturing facilities," says StarSat that recently moved its South African headquarters from Woodmead to Midrand in Johannesburg.

"As a recognised technology provider, continually working on innovative products and services, StarTimes was motivated to deliver a decoder that was sleek and streamlined in design, with a touch of class, and believe that the Combo 3 delivers well on this brief".

Revealed! The massive PVR for television that can hold 26 000 hours of recordings - or 3 years worth of storage space for programming.

It makes MultiChoice's 2 terabyte DStv Explora PVR seem small: the giant 24 terabyte PVR that TiVo in America unveiled today, allowing pay-TV subscribers to record a massive 26 000 hours of recordings, or can hold 3 years' worth of recorded programming.

TiVo unveiled the TV recording monster today which can store a massive 4 000 hours of high definition (HD) programming, or 3 years worth of TV recordings, and can record 6 TV channels at the same time.

The TiVo Mega also enables subscribers to stream whatever they're watching, or recorded and want to watch, to their tablets and cellphones even outside of their homes, wherever they are thanks to built-in transcoding.

Called the TiVo Mega, the PVR comes at a price though - $5 000 (R54 650) which puts it out of reach from all but the wealthiest or most TV obsessed and looks more like a data server stack unit.

"People hate being forced to delete cool stuff from their PVR before they want to, or finding a TV show they had recorded is now gone," says TiVo.

TiVo Mega will become available from the first quarter in 2015. The monster recorder is perfect for people and places that's obsessed with watching television, or television monitoring.

The Independent Communications of Authority of South Africa (Icasa) which is supposed to monitor South African TV channels for local content quotas and other things (but has admitted that it isn't capable to perform this function), as well as the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) would hugely benefit from a device like this for the South African market.

RECORD 5 TV shows at once: While PVR technology in South Africa regress, PVR recording capability is growing in America.

You can now record 5 TV shows at once. If you live in America.

While PVR consumer technology in South Africa has so far actually been in reverse when it comes to recording functionality, it is in fast fast-forward in America.

In South Africa MultiChoice is the only pay TV platform offering a PVR and PVR capability for subscribers to its DStv service.

The PVR and HD PVR are not bad at all and functionally they're great machines. But, where subscribers could originally record 2 TV shows simultaneously when MultiChoice launched the PVR, neither of the newer models allow for that anymore.

Subscribers who still have the 4-tuner HD PVR can still record 2 TV shows at the same time on one decoder and watch a third TV channel. However, both the 2-tuner Pace HD PVR 2P and the UEC HD PVR 2U can only record one TV show while the subscriber watches another TV channel. There is no longer a single decoder or PVR which can record two TV shows at the same time.

In America DirecTV's new PVR (or DVR which PVR's are called in the United States) can - get this - record 5 HD TV shows at the same time. It has 1 terabyte of storage. The DirecTV Genie DVR can also stream those different shows to multiple TV sets. Now that's PVR progress.

An interesting "complication" (I don't know what the appropriate word would be) is that with the upgrade to HD channels of the M-Net channel, Universal Channel and Studio Universal as well as the HD-only HD M-Net Movies genre channels, HD PVR users are having their PVR's filling up even faster than before.

Because the available space for recordings isn't bigger, and subscribers don't have the option of recording for instance M-Net at anything else than as a HD channel if they're a DStv Premium HD PVR subscriber, one hour long show now takes a much larger chunk of hard drive space on the HD PVR. The result is that less total number of shows can be recorded and stored if you're an avid recorder of shows or movies of these specific HD channels.

BREAKING. TopTV on PVR: 'We cannot not have a PVR. It is being worked on and it will be rolled out', but no definite date yet.

You're reading it here first.

TopTV, at the South African pay TV operator's first ever programming press preview for journalists and TV critics in Cape Town, said a PVR - a personal video recoder enabling subscribers to record shows on the set-top box (STB) - is coming and is being worked on, although there isn't a definite date yet.

Asked by Tashi Tagg from TVSA what the latest is around TopTV's PVR plans, Heather Kennedy, TopTV's vice president for marketing said "we cannot not have a PVR. It is being worked on and it will be rolled out. I don't have a definite date for you yet but it is coming. You can't be a pay TV service and not have a PVR eventually. It is getting attention."

TopTV turned two last week since the pay TV operator launched in May 2010.

TopTV promises better technology, a better interactive TV guide, an easier on-screen user interface and a PVR with more recording space.

You're reading it here first.

TopTV, the new satellite pay TV platform from On Digital Media (ODM) promises a PVR (digital personal video recorder) that will be introduced within a year after TopTV launches in May as well as superior, premium technology in terms of its broadcasting infrastructure, as well as premium but affordable decoder and software technology, TopTV has told me.

TopTV also promises a better, more responsive and interactive user interface on-screen for subscribers coming from the small TopTV set top box (STB). The TopTV decoder will also give subscribers and TV viewers much better access to information, programming information and will feature an innovative electronic programming guide (EPG).

''Everything being used in our data centre is state of the art and has never before been used in this country before technology wise,'' Elouise Kelly, chief marketing officer of ODM told me. ''We have been testing our launch product and we've been testing some of our PVR offerings that will come in the future. We feel quite comfortable that we will be able to surpass - definitely in terms of the PVR - what is currently in the market.''

To read what else TopTV has to say regarding the new satellite broadcaster's STB, the technology, the LONGER RECORDING TIME, the user interface and functionality, click on READ MORE below.

BREAKING. ODM signs with Fox Entertainment, MGM and others.

Last Wednesday I was first RIGHT HERE to tell you that On Digital Media (ODM) the nascent new pay TV operator in South Africa has pushed its launch date from the first quarter to the second term of this year.

Now ODM has revealed that it has signed contracts with Fox Entertainment (channels like Fox Movies, Fox News Channel etc.), MGM and other international channels. ODM will also create 7 locally packaged channels that will be filled with local content, as well as international TV shows (in the same way that M-Net does channels like M-Net Series and M-Net Action).

ODM now plans to start broadcasting in May and the various packages will range between R99 (for 30 channels) and R249 depending on the number of channels viewers subscribe to.

ODM plans to have its own digital video recorder (PVR) a year after it starts broadcasting.

ODM promises a better electronic program guide (EPG) than what DStv currently offers.

ODM doesn't currently have the rights to broadcast any rugby, cricket or soccer matches. ODM will have only 1 sport channel showing highlights of a variety of sport.

ODM's shareholding is made up out of First National Media Investment Holdings (28%), Cosatu's investment arm Kopano Ke Matla (20%), SES Astra (20%), the IDC (10%), National Empowerment Fund (10%), First A1 investments (10%) and an ex-MultiChoice executive Mervin Moodley (1%).