The last great DStv decoder

Thinus doesn't focus on 2 other known issues in his article this time, about African conditions regarding decoder usage.

One is that Multichoice has always lagged behind with that development, partially due to less sophisticated users here but mainly caused by the need to "reinvent the wheel" in order to keep decoders as fully protected from abuse as possible. IOW, their Irdeto ownership and markets integration.
This is essential for contracts with the studios.

The other is the ROA market's regular refusal to upgrade.
Now I don't actually know that the old SD PVR (ROA version) is still being held on to by many in ROA, but it certainly was the case long past its expected lifecycle. What I have seen is software experiments that appear focused on keeping the overburdened SD PVR going, and it looks like they've succeeded.

Why is the SD PVR still so popular? It's the cheapest way to get 3 independent satellite-based viewing points, coupled with another decoder. And HD isn't as serious a desire in ROA AFAIK.


(Opinion)
 
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BouncyNinja said:
all good and well until theres a big outage ... its takes a lot to kill a satellite feed from the sky , 1 cloudflare hickup to kill a stream
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Going to cost them an arm and a leg to replace those aging satellites though, which is bad timing for the struggling(?) company.
 
Unfortunately "newer" decoders are also cheap crap compared to the past, hasn't been right for well over a decade. Last decent decoder was the Explora 2A (widely agreed in the industry) which was over a decade ago.
Although in all fairness, the streaming-capable newer Exploras are offering that feature exclusively.

There was one good reason for dropping some basic functionality though; too-easy piracy in blocks of flats etc. Such is Africa.

Still, I expect Canal+ will be planning a new model or two.
 
Brian_G said:
Going to cost them an arm and a leg to replace those aging satellites though, which is bad timing for the struggling(?) company.
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I actually think LEO is going to be the future of broadcasting. Streaming is very wasteful and traditional stationary satellites are limited and expensive.
 
No one is making mention of one other big issue around streaming live sport.
Besides the quality.
Besides the fact that as u ramp up subscribers for a big game systems can't handle the load.

The big issue is the 30second to 1minute lag that streaming has. When I travel I stream DSTV - and it doesn't matter if I am on 500mb wifi at an airbnb in Ballito or hotel wifi in Cape Town or hot spotted to my phone in PE that delay exists. So my phone app is beeping saying a goal or try has happened on friends and family whatsapp groups or whatever and I am behind.

And sure I can put my phone on silent but I like watching communally especially if I am home with family members overseas and streaming just adds a delay.
 
Swa said:
I actually think LEO is going to be the future of broadcasting. Streaming is very wasteful and traditional stationary satellites are limited and expensive.
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That sounds like good sense but who knows if it's all round practical enough to them.

Main issue I think that may come into play is control, they're basically control freaks. In large degree (more than IS 20) they own the IS 36 satellite, even had the DStv logo on it at launch. They put 10 billion into it.


@wingnut771 , AI hasn't quite got it right. HD capacity was only part of it. The rest is as backup and leased out by MC. Main change was less expansion than expected due to the drop in market values caused by streaming.

If interested here's the current tech details re TV
 
EmmanuelGoldstein said:
Were any of their decoders great? Wow... I don't think so...
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Yes would you believe it, but a long, long time ago.

MC introduced the first DualView decoder into the world market around the early 2000's, and its successor, the SD PVR was considered a breakthrough re PVR usage at the time.

I ended up doing projects with the man largely behind it. Unfortunately his hands were then tied, and he ended up a director of another tech. division there. Later on he left.
 
Heisenborg said:
When canalminus starts streaming in anything that isn't the current 720p 30hz kak they show, maybe then we can talk about decoder-less broadcasts
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They tried 4K/50 streams 4 years ago for the World Cup but gave up for some reason.
 
Brian_G said:
It's not really developed into enough of a market. @Lupus knows the details best.
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Mainly costs, 4k cameras need to replace all the cameras in a stadium, OB trucks need to be 4k, need to have enough bandwidth and and.
Also streaming 4k isn't even real 4k anyway, it's like maybe slightly upscaled 1080p.
 
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