Tata Sky+ to drive subscribers on PVR technology

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
Tata Sky has launched its personal video recorder (PVR) technology called Tata Sky+. The company has invested over Rs 2,000 crore on this project and is eyeing eight million connections in India by 2012.

Tata Sky+ service would be rolled out in a phased manner and supported by a 360 degree campaign, which will be unveiled before Diwali. The ads would feature brand ambassador Aamir Khan.

Vikram Kaushik, managing director and CEO, Tata Sky Ltd, said, "This technology will not only help our subscribers to time-shift their TV viewing with the record and playback features, but also give them the convenience to enjoy uninterrupted TV with the pause and rewind live TV features."

As for the technicalities of the PVR advantage, Tata Sky+ has MPEG4 technology and an in-built PVR that enables the viewer to record up to 45 hours of live TV, play back a recorded programme and pause and rewind live TV. These features are not available on the normal Tata Sky service.

The service is priced at Rs 8,999 for the digicomp, with an additional Rs 1,000 as installation charges, and the hard disk capacity of the Tata Sky+ digicomp is 160 GB.

An Tata Sky+ subscriber can have access to over 160 channels, which are offered as part of the base packages or add-on packages. For existing Tata Sky subscribers, a special introductory offer for Tata Sky+ will be announced soon.

Aamir Khan said, "With the launch of Tata Sky+, they have once again reiterated their commitment to deliver nothing short of the best. Tata Sky+ ensures that TV simply fits into my life, allowing me the flexibility to record my favourite programmes and watch them at leisure."