As new direct-to-home (DTH) competitors such as Reliance Communications (RCom) and Bharti get ready for a launch, another price war is imminent as both DTH and cable companies vie to offer consumers digital video recorders (DVRs).
A DVR is a device that allows consumers to pause, record, play back, rewind and fast forward their favourite television shows.
DTH companies are expected to slash DVRs box prices by nearly half to Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 per unit. DVRs for cable channels would soon be available for between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, industry sources said.
Meanwhile, Dish TV and Tata Sky have been announcing attractive price and packaging offers for their DTH services. Since the launch of their services, the price of a DTH connection has dropped by 15-20 per cent.
"Now, with DVR services in the offing, both Dish TV and Tata Sky are working on the cost implications of providing them at competitive price points," the sources said.
According to an industry source, the main worry for DTH incumbents is the pricing of DVR boxes by RCom's Big TV which may offer a DVR-DTH connection at Rs 5,000 to Rs,7,000 along with financing schemes.
DVR prices are linked to storage capacity. "In China and Taiwan, DVR boxes can come between $60 and $100 depending on the configuration, storage capacity, operating software, and so on. When imported, the duty and taxes increase the pricing," said a technical expert on set-top boxes and DVRs.
In contrast to the DTH DVRs, the cable DVRs are 50 per cent cheaper. Cable company Hathway today launched a DVR in association with international company NDS.
"Other cable companies such as Zee Group's WWIL and InCable are also mulling the launch of DVRs," the sources added.
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