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Cape Town – VOD.TV, the new video-on-demand (VOD) service that SouthTel plans to launch commercially in early 2012, will offer 150 hours of television per month on a high definition (HD) decoder.
Subscribers won't need a cellphone to watch movies and TV shows out of the immediately available selection.
SouthTel is guarded about what exactly the content will be, but has now revealed that decoders will contain 150 hours of content per month that will immediately be available when a subscriber wants to sit and watch it.
SouthTel is currently in a trial phase with MTN for its VOD TV satellite service that the company plans to roll out in several Southern African countries, including South Africa in early 2012.
The launch of VOD.TV was scheduled to take place in the third quarter of this year. According to insiders it was pushed back in part due to MultiChoice's launch of its own DStv BoxOffice VOD service which suffered a core failure on the commercial launch day.
BoxOffice's system collapse had irate subscribers fuming after struggling for days to access and use the service that promised free movies as an introductory offer.
No cellphone needed
SouthTel is now doing thorough testing of the VOD.TV service with MTN. Unlike DStv BoxOffice which requires a subscriber to have a cellphone and an active cellphone account with which to validate the ordering process, VOD.TV will not require a subscriber to have a cellphone since the VOD.TV decoder will be connected to the internet.
After the initial decoder validation, subscribers will be able to refresh and top up their accounts through the TV interface of the VOD.TV decoder.
Similar to DStv BoxOffice, VOD.TV will cycle some of the content monthly. SouthTel will offer content to subscribers directly after the cinema release, and before it's available in the traditional pay TV window.
SouthTel is not willing to say how much VOD.TV will cost for installation or for subscribers to watch TV shows and movies, but says it will be cheaper than existing subscription services.
Subscribers won't need a cellphone to watch movies and TV shows out of the immediately available selection.
SouthTel is guarded about what exactly the content will be, but has now revealed that decoders will contain 150 hours of content per month that will immediately be available when a subscriber wants to sit and watch it.
SouthTel is currently in a trial phase with MTN for its VOD TV satellite service that the company plans to roll out in several Southern African countries, including South Africa in early 2012.
The launch of VOD.TV was scheduled to take place in the third quarter of this year. According to insiders it was pushed back in part due to MultiChoice's launch of its own DStv BoxOffice VOD service which suffered a core failure on the commercial launch day.
BoxOffice's system collapse had irate subscribers fuming after struggling for days to access and use the service that promised free movies as an introductory offer.
No cellphone needed
SouthTel is now doing thorough testing of the VOD.TV service with MTN. Unlike DStv BoxOffice which requires a subscriber to have a cellphone and an active cellphone account with which to validate the ordering process, VOD.TV will not require a subscriber to have a cellphone since the VOD.TV decoder will be connected to the internet.
After the initial decoder validation, subscribers will be able to refresh and top up their accounts through the TV interface of the VOD.TV decoder.
Similar to DStv BoxOffice, VOD.TV will cycle some of the content monthly. SouthTel will offer content to subscribers directly after the cinema release, and before it's available in the traditional pay TV window.
SouthTel is not willing to say how much VOD.TV will cost for installation or for subscribers to watch TV shows and movies, but says it will be cheaper than existing subscription services.
