Broadcasting1.08.2013

DStv Explora vs HD PVR

DStv Explora decoder

MultiChoice officially unveiled its new “Explora” decoder on 31 July 2013 which carries a R2,499 price tag, versus the R1,499 price of the existing 2 Tuner HD PVR.

The biggest immediate benefit that the Explora offers to subscribers is its 2 Terabyte (2TB) hard drive, which is four times the size of those in DStv’s 2 Tuner and 4 Tuner high definition (HD) personal video recorders (PVRs).

According to MultiChoice, this will allow up to 220 hours of HD recording in addition to increasing the amount of Box Office and Catch Up content available on the decoder.

Subscribers with a 2 Tuner HD PVR will also benefit from the extra tuner in the Explora, MultiChoice chief technology officer Gerdus van Eeden is quoted as saying in an interview with TV journalist Thinus Ferreira.

While the second tuner in the current HD PVR is shared between recording, BoxOffice, Catch Up, and TV guide data, the Explora has a tuner dedicated for user recordings.

An FAQ on the DStv Catch Up website indicates that the discontinued 4 Tuner HD PVR also has a tuner dedicated to receiving Box Office and Catch Up content.

MultiChoice has also promised that more features will be added to the Explora “over the coming months”, such as delivering content via broadband, remote setting of recordings, and “one-click BoxOffice rentals”.

DStv Explora back

DStv Explora rear

Some of the key specifications of MultiChoice’s existing and discontinued PVRs are summarised in the table below:

DStv decoders Explora 2 Tuner HD PVR 4 Tuner HD PVR SD PVR
Price R2,499 R1,499 Discontinued Discontinued
Tuners 3 2 4 2
Viewing environments 1 1 1 2
Recording environments 1 1 2 1
Hard drive size 2TB 500GB 500GB 250GB
SD recording duration Unknown 150 hours 150 hours 80 hours
HD recording duration “up to 220 hours” 50 hours 50 hours N/A
Box Office 20 movies 15 movies 15 movies 15 movies
Catch Up 60 hours series, 30 movies 20 hours 20 hours 20 hours
Unused USB Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unused Ethernet Yes Yes Yes No

DStv Explora decoder unveiled

DStv BoxOffice, Catch Up coming to tablets, smartphones

New Internet-connected DStv decoder on its way

Video on-demand plans for Samsung TVs in SA

Video-on-demand plans from Telkom

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