New gadgets to offer more freedom to TV viewers 😉
The Direct-to-Home segment is gearing up for a new phase of TV viewing with digital video recorders (DVRs) or personal video recorders that will free consumers from having to watch television at broadcaster-ordained timetables.
Courtesy the DVR, consumers can watch Formula 1 racing at prime time or go out for dinner with friends and still catch the unusual movie not destined for many reruns. “The next level of TV viewing enhancement will have to be around the two-way interactivity that will allow TV viewers a lot more autonomy or freedom, and DVRs will be key enablers of this,” says Mr Atul Bindal, President (Telemedia Services), Bharti Airtel.
The latest DTH entrant also has plans for Internet Protocol Television services, which will also allow viewing flexibility. Different DVRs and other enhancements are in the pipeline and Mr Bindal believes there is a consumer segment ready for DVRs.
Potential big
It is a premium product, admits Mr Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky, whose personal video recorder — a Sky technology — is expected very soon. But even at that premium level, it plans to market it aggressively. “Our consumer research has shown that there are large enough market and great potential for the DVR in India,”
Dish TV is already running pilots of its own video recorder priced tentatively around Rs 10,000. “Currency fluctuations and the dollar’s appreciation against the rupee is the only reason we are holding back. Since we don’t want to pass on the extra costs to consumers,” said Mr Salil Kapoor, Chief Operating Officer, Dish TV.
The company says its appliance will offer 140 hours of recording and allow for recording of serials and is enabled with ‘push video on demand’ (a technology that will store on the hardware the programmes that you can later choose to view or record). Big TV is also believed to be readying its plans for the appliance that, according to studies, enhances the joys of TV viewing.,
According to an international report by NDS, the digital pay TV solutions supplier, the appliance is considered the second most indispensable item of household technology after the mobile phone. The study claims the appliance has improved relationships among couples and families in the markets surveyed, thanks to not having to fight over the remote or being forced to watch someone else’s choice of television.
Almost 40 per cent of Italians (82 per cent) thought it improved their family life, and a third of Americans who agreed said they had fewer family arguments. According to the study conducted a few months ago across Italy, Australia, UK and the US, nearly 45 per cent of TV watched by DVR owners is recorded.
The Hindu Business Line : New gadgets to offer more freedom to TV viewers
The Direct-to-Home segment is gearing up for a new phase of TV viewing with digital video recorders (DVRs) or personal video recorders that will free consumers from having to watch television at broadcaster-ordained timetables.
Courtesy the DVR, consumers can watch Formula 1 racing at prime time or go out for dinner with friends and still catch the unusual movie not destined for many reruns. “The next level of TV viewing enhancement will have to be around the two-way interactivity that will allow TV viewers a lot more autonomy or freedom, and DVRs will be key enablers of this,” says Mr Atul Bindal, President (Telemedia Services), Bharti Airtel.
The latest DTH entrant also has plans for Internet Protocol Television services, which will also allow viewing flexibility. Different DVRs and other enhancements are in the pipeline and Mr Bindal believes there is a consumer segment ready for DVRs.
Potential big
It is a premium product, admits Mr Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Sky, whose personal video recorder — a Sky technology — is expected very soon. But even at that premium level, it plans to market it aggressively. “Our consumer research has shown that there are large enough market and great potential for the DVR in India,”
Dish TV is already running pilots of its own video recorder priced tentatively around Rs 10,000. “Currency fluctuations and the dollar’s appreciation against the rupee is the only reason we are holding back. Since we don’t want to pass on the extra costs to consumers,” said Mr Salil Kapoor, Chief Operating Officer, Dish TV.
The company says its appliance will offer 140 hours of recording and allow for recording of serials and is enabled with ‘push video on demand’ (a technology that will store on the hardware the programmes that you can later choose to view or record). Big TV is also believed to be readying its plans for the appliance that, according to studies, enhances the joys of TV viewing.,
According to an international report by NDS, the digital pay TV solutions supplier, the appliance is considered the second most indispensable item of household technology after the mobile phone. The study claims the appliance has improved relationships among couples and families in the markets surveyed, thanks to not having to fight over the remote or being forced to watch someone else’s choice of television.
Almost 40 per cent of Italians (82 per cent) thought it improved their family life, and a third of Americans who agreed said they had fewer family arguments. According to the study conducted a few months ago across Italy, Australia, UK and the US, nearly 45 per cent of TV watched by DVR owners is recorded.
The Hindu Business Line : New gadgets to offer more freedom to TV viewers
