DNA launches Android TV DNA TV-hubi |
Finnish multi-play operator DNA has confirmed the availability of its open ecosystem Android TV hub , DNA TV-hubi . The device combines a set-top box , Chromecast built-in and a smart phone-style app store for TVs .
DNA TV-hubi uses the Android TV operating system , with Katsomo , Yle Areena and Ruutu , the apps of the three major TV channels in Finland , available on the system , as well as YouTube and Deezer and a wide range of games and other apps . Netflix will also become available for the device in due course .
“ The pre-sales of DNA TVhubi
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proved that there is a real demand for an Android TV device and a new way of watching television . We have already sold thousands of hubs in advance . People are accustomed to using apps on their phones , and DNA TV-hubi makes them easily available for television , too ,” explained Mikko Saarentaus , Director at DNA Entertainment Business .
Users will be able to watch all terrestrial and DNA ’ s cable channels , and the device is both HD and 4K compatible . The device includes software-based encryption for pay-TV channels , which means that users will not require a separate TV card .
DNA TV-hubi is manufactured for DNA by Sagemcom .
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Analyst : ‘ Virtual ’ subs largely pleased with service value |
According to new research from The Diffusion Group ( TDG ), though virtual pay-TV services are immature and years away from ‘ five-9 ’ reliability , subscribers overwhelmingly consider service value to be very solid .
In TDG ’ s Q2 Benchmarking the Connected Consumer project -- a survey of more than 2,000 US adult broadband users -- less than 5 % of ABUs were using a live streaming pay-TV service like Sling TV or DirecTV Now . Among these consumers , 49 % ranked service value as ‘ very good ’ and 37 % as ‘ good .’ Only 11 % were neutral , and just 3 % ranked the services as having poor value .
“ Given that virtual pay-TV services are for the most part a value play , one premised on ‘ skinny ’ channel bundles
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at lower-than-cable prices , user value perception is a critical metric ,” notes Michael Greeson , president and principal analyst at TDG . “ Early evidence suggests vMVPD [ virtual multichannel video programming distributor ] providers are doing well in this regard . Users seem okay without the ‘ full Monty ’ of legacy pay-TV channels , and to be fairly tolerant of the shortcomings that haunt live streaming video , such as buffering , pixilation , and screen freezing .”
TDG believes that , as with SVoD in 2009 , early vMVPD users offer a unique prism through which to view the future of TV and video -- if studied by the right firm using the right methods . Accordingly , TDG is launching multi-client research focused exclusively on vMVPD users to assess who they are , what drives their decisions and preferences , and how their behaviour may impact the future of TV .
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