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Altech unit to supply new hi-tech decoder
November 7, 2005

By Neesa Moodley

Durban - Altech UEC, a division of listed technology group Allied Technologies, will supply satellite broadcaster MultiChoice with 30 000 personal video recorder (PVR) decoders over the next three months.

The world first dual-view PVR decoders will enable satellite viewers to pause their favourite programme, filter out advertisements and watch it later.

UEC chief executive Rob Sobey said that while PVR decoders had been available internationally for some time now, this was the first to offer PVR and dual viewing in one. The company had invested heavily in PVR decoders and saw this as the future of pay television.

"Where we used to invest 7 percent of annual turnover on research and development, that has now been increased to 10 percent to support the PVR decoder business going forward," he said.

The PVR decoder incorporates a hard disk on which up to 80 hours of viewing can be recorded. Sobey said the company was currently installing R10 million worth of new equipment to meet the capacity required and improve overall product quality.

UEC will produce 1 million boxes a year and expects to recover its investment costs over the next 18 months to two years.

"We started designing PVR decoders about five years ago, and two years ago began exporting to Brazil and Mexico," said Sobey.

Nolo Letele, MultiChoice's chief executive, said the market in the US had seen triple-digit growth since the launch of the first PVR in 1999.

UEC plans to roll out dual-view PVR decoders in the Southern African Development Community before phasing the new decoders into the rest of Africa next year, starting with Nigeria. The PVR decoders will be available to the public later this month from MultiChoice for R2 999 excluding installation.

Allied Technologies rose 5c to R50.10 on Friday. The electronics sector moved 0.55 percent higher.

     
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