MultiChoice's DStv Explora personal video recorder — MultiChoice’s DStv Explora personal video recorder

MultiChoice has announced a big software update to its Explora personal video recorder (PVR) decoder to improve content discovery, including offering much-improved search functionality, and offer the ability to watch online content on demand.

For content discovery, a new search button in the user interface provides an on-screen keyboard. Users enter the first few characters and the system begins presenting results to viewers. The search results update automatically each time someone types in a new letter.

The Catch Up experience has now also been unified. Search results show results of titles that are available on the PVR’s hard drive through Catch Up as well as online through the Catch Up Plus offering. (Catch Up and Catch Up Plus are only available to DStv Premium subscribers.)

The company is also introducing progressive downloading — providing viewers with the ability to watch a show almost immediately without having to wait for a download to complete.

Viewers can now choose to download a piece of content or watch it following a 30-second buffering period.

Users will be able to fast-forward through the buffer, with the picture pausing 10 seconds before the end of the buffer. This content is only available in standard definition for now.

MultiChoice recommends a line speed of at least 2Mbit/s.

While users watch this content, it is also downloaded in the background to the PVR, so it’s not a true streaming experience.

Catch Up categories have also been updated. When users access the service, it takes viewers directly to all series on Catch Up. To see the other types of content, users press left or right on their remote control to access other types of content, including movies, sports and children’s programming.

The Explora now offers managed downloads, allowing users to rank the content assets they want to download. Users can pause and resume downloads.