Bharti Airtel unveils digital TV recorder

A first of its kind example of convergence between the mobile and TV screen

NEW DELHI — Airtel digital TV- the DTH service from Bharti Airtel (Bombay:532454) – today announced the launch of ‘Airtel digital TV Recorder’, an enhanced Set Top Box (STB) with capability to record live television, anytime, anywhere. A first of its kind example of convergence between the mobile and TV screen, Airtel offers customers the convenience, to record their favourite shows using their mobile phones from anywhere in the world.

Speaking on the occasion, Ajai Puri, Director and CEO – DTH, Bharti Airtel, said, “At Airtel, we believe that the key to our brand is innovation and technology is one vital element of our innovation endeavours. This product would be a lifestyle enabler that will significantly change TV viewing trends in India. It is also strategic as it brings together the TV screen and the Mobile screen. The launch underlines our key strength of understanding consumer needs and using technology to deliver a simple elegant benefit through the most ubiquitous element of ones life today- the mobile.”

Airtel digital TV Recorder will be available at Rs 6990/- to all new customers and at Rs 5990/- to all existing Airtel digital TV customers going in for an upgrade. To avail the service, customers can buy the digital TV Recorder from a near-by retailer and call customer care at 18001028080 for activation. Customers need to send an sms from the registered mobile number linked to the Airtel digital TV account with ‘mguide’ to 54325 and download the mobile recording application. Using their customer ID and password they can log on and record shows from any mobile Java and GPRS enabled handset.

Airtel digital TV Recorder offers many unique features to customers:

• HDMI port for video output
• Stores upto 100 hours of recording
• Option to search for any television show up to 7 days in advance using the remote
• Option to search for any television show for 2 days on mobile
• Facility to pause live television programme for upto 45 minutes
• Offers ease of search by program name, show details and/or date/time using the remote
• Provides program information instantly, including description, length and rating on the mobile
• Convenience to record a single episode or an entire series in just two clicks using the remote
• Option to give fixed time based commands to record show

The Airtel digital TV recorder offers customers the unique advantage of a HDMI (High Definition Multi Media Interface) port for Video output which means customers with the latest LCD TVs can enjoy the highest picture quality. In addition the Airtel digital TV Recorder allows the customer to search programmes by name or time or click on Most Viewed Channels for easy surfing. These unique features coupled with a great viewing experience are backed by 24×7 customer care.

Airtel digital TV – the DTH service from Bharti Airtel – is a leading national level DTH service in the country on MPEG-4 with DVB-S2 technology. Airtel has introduced the first universal remote in India, 9 interactive (iTV) applications, a multilingual EPG, low battery indicator and more that offer customers the freedom to book movie ticket or update themselves on the latest stock news.