Oluniyi D. Ajao » Showbiz

GOtv Africa. A new digital pay TV service.

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:56:14 +0000

I noticed multitudes of GOtv Africa banners and balloons in the ancient city of Ibadan Nigeria in the last quarter of 2011. The similarity with the name/logo of DStv was clear. Promotional drives were ongoing at different vantage points in Ibadan.

GOtv is a new digital terrestrial TV (DTT) service by Multichoice Africa, operators of DStv. Instead of broadcasting via satellite, GOtv broadcasts from TV masts, sending encrypted digital signals to proprietary GOtv decoders. The signal is then decoded and sent to the television set.

From their sales website:

GOtv, Nigeria’s newest pay TV service was launched in Ibadan on 15 October 2011. Using the latest DVB-T2 technology, this brand new digital service is dedicated to offering television lovers affordable family entertainment. Featuring 2 great bouquets, consisting of 29 and 25 channels respectively, GOtv is an exciting service delivering great television at a price everyone can afford.

GOtv Africa is promising to offer:

Excellent picture quality
Sharper sound
Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) that displays what’s on TV at the touch of a button

The above features are all started with DTT technology. The wide variety of channels offered are all extracted from their DStv service. None of the channels are exclusive to GOtv.

In Nigeria the monthly subscriptions for GOtv is 1,000 Naira and for GOtv Plus is 1,800 Naira. Launch price for GOtv (including decoder and 3 months GOtv subscription) is N9,000 and for GOtv Plus is N12,000.

A screenshot of GOtv Africa

Digitization of terrestrial television broadcasts is on-going in many countries globally at this time. Whilst DTT frees-up valuable frequencies for other uses like wireless broadband connectivity, it offers better picture and sound quality even with a minimal signal strength. The Nigerian broadcast industry regulator is the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). NBC’s website reveals that the government of Nigeria started the digitization process in December 2007 with a target date of 17th June 2012. Aside satellite and cable (MMDS), most TV broadcast in Nigeria today is still analogue. Before now, Startimes TV had been the only widely available DTT service.

The GOtv pay service is already available in 3 other African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

Infinity TV goes premium

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:02:43 +0000

Infinity TV Nigeria

Infinity TV, a direct-to-home satellite TV service on Astra 2B has gone premium. Most of the channels they offer which have hitherto been free since early 2010 are now encrypted.

DStv Mobile on your laptop, iPad, iPhone, iPod

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Mon, 30 May 2011 04:00:17 +0000

DStv is offering a major boost to residents of Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya who might be interested in their DStv Mobile service. Before now, the DStv Mobile had been restricted to a few mobile phones – these phones have in-built circuitry that enable them to receive and decode DVB-H signals. DStv is now offering a new device called Drifta, that should increase patronage for DStv Mobile.

The DStv Drifta is essentially an adapter. It receives and decrypts the digital TV signals and then transfers the decoded signals to the compatible wifi device of your choice. It brings DStv Mobile to a much wider variety of mobile devices. The Drifta is a mobile TV decoder that receives DVB-H signal and converts it into Wi-Fi signal for Wi-Fi enabled viewing devices: laptops, PCs, tablets and smartphones. Of course, the Drifta must be within DVB-H coverage area to work.

DStv drifta

Currently, the device is compatible with the iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and Windows desktop/notebook PCs. They feature:

Broadcast Mobile TV on your iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and Windows PC
Connects to your device via Wi-Fi or USB
Access the Mobile TV guide
Small lightweight and ultra portable
Rechargeable with up to three hours of viewing

DStv’s Drifta decoder has been available to residents of South Africa for several months now, and would be available to residents of Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya from 1st June 2011. DStv would probably follow the same South African model, offering the service for free to DStv Premium subscribers, and for a minimal monthly fee to others.

Big Brother Amplified (Big Brother Africa 2011)

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sun, 01 May 2011 17:26:48 +0000

Big Brother Amplified debuted this evening with the 28 contestants from 14 African countries. The 28 were selected out of over 7,000 applicants.

As always, Big Brother Amplified came with its unique set of innovations among which is Live Video streaming available 24/7 on Big Brother Africa’s official website http://bigbrotherafrica.dstv.com

Sponsored by Coca-Cola, this edition is exclusive to DStv Premium, DStv Compact and DStv Mobile subscribers.

Featured: The Kenyan Boys Choir

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 08:55:55 +0000

Running an e-commerce enterprise from Africa is anything but easy. This makes my week days unenviable and so I make it a duty to relax on weekends, and start my Saturdays with cool music videos. This Saturday morning was no exception. I was flipping through the music TV channels offered by DStv when I stumbled on an unfamiliar rendition of Paul Simon’s Homeless. The group singing was obviously youthful and certainly didn’t look like LadySmith Black Mambazo – my favourite African choral group. I waited till the end of the track for their name. They were, The Kenyan Boys Choir.

Since I had only watched half of the music video on C-Music, I hurried to YouTube for a full version.

The Kenyan Boys Choir in action. Image: thekenyanboyschoir.org

Shot in a Masai setting, the music video is as perfect as it can get as it hits all the right points. Its simply brilliant. I found a comment by a Youtube user from the United States on point and worthy of sharing. The user posted under the alias “DisisMsnubian“:

I love this song and looking at all these fine african brothers sing. This is the type of thing I wish black people would embrace instead of just our American culture, which is based on some lies and deceit. From this video I realize that we are beautiful and we have nothing to fight about. Black people start loving? one another and stop listening to the nonsense that tries to define us, stating that we are lost and broken. We are only what we believe we are. Live by Faith and not by ” facts.”

From Wikipedia:

The Kenyan Boys Choir is an African traditional and contemporary male voice choir based in the city of Nairobi, Kenya.

The Kenyan Boys Choir consists of 25 school boys, aged between 13 and 24, from various Kenyan backgrounds and tribes, brought together by the urge to sing and nature their talent.

Formerly an independent collective, the choir gained widespread recognition and international media coverage in early 2009 after performing at Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony in Washington, D.C. On their way back to Nairobi they were intercepted by Universal Music Group representatives waiting for them at Heathrow Airport in London and were signed in the departure lounge to Decca Records as they waited for their connecting flight.
The choir was started in 1998 in order to help boys from underprivileged backgrounds raise money to pay for their school fees. Primarily performing traditional Masai and Samburu chants, the choir also embrace contemporary African and European classical pieces.

The following websites offer more information and videos about The Kenyan Boys Choir:

http://kenyanboyschoir.com/ (official website)
http://thekenyanboyschoir.org/

No related posts.

e.TV Africa comes to DStv

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:14:12 +0000

e.Tv is one of the truly world-class TV channels on the African continent today, airing compelling soap-operas, blockbuster movies and much more. e.Tv has since evolved from a single free-to-air TV station in South Africa, to a pan-African network of channels with even a spin-off dedicated news service called eNews channel.

From tomorrow 14th December 2010 at 12:00hrs GMT, its pan-African service e.tv africa would be available on DStv.

The description currently appearing on DStv channel 144 reads:

e.TV Africa provides popular programming including Hollywood movies and series. The channel also includes news bulletins from eNews Africa service. Launches on 14 December 2010 at 14:00 CAT.

e.TV Africa is coming to DStv Africa

From the text below from etv.co.za describes what’s coming to DStv:

eAfrica
Viewers in 12 countries across Africa now have access to a 24-hour syndicated version of South Africa’s e.tv. e.tv has been received enthusiastically across the continent where e.tv programming is popular and sought after.

Research shows that Africans are passionate for high-quality African and International produced content. The channel also broadcasts two live half-hour news bulletins from the eNews Africa service. These bulletins focus on pan-African news by Africans for Africans.

e.tv Africa’s syndicated broadcasts are provided on a free-to-air, predominantly terrestrial basis, in the following countries:

Kenya on Nation 2

Namibia on One Africa Television

Zimbabwe on ZTV2

Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Guinea, Burundi and the Central African Republic on Star TV

Nigeria on MITV

Ghana on eGhana, e.tv’s sister channel

Botswana on eBotswana – which is also a sister channel to e.tv

African Hip-Hop Joins Technology Revolution via new website

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:16:56 +0000

…..as African Mixtape website is launched with endorsement from artists

PRESS RELEASE: Johannesburg, 24 November 2010 – Mixtape culture has enjoyed a resurgence in the past few years as artists look for ways to reach their fans directly in an increasingly crowded online marketing environment. The Mixtape has also become an innovative way for artists to debut new material and gauge fans reaction without going through the bureaucracy (and cost of course!) of launching a new album. It’s not unusual for globally renowned Hip Hop, Rap & R&B artists to release a string of Mixtapes with new material that is only available online for free.

African hiphop joins technology revolution. A screenshot of afro-mp3.com

The global impact of Hip-Hop music on popular culture has been well documented with Africa producing its distinguished breed of Hip Hop artists. Despite the Pan-African and at times global profile of these artists, the Mixtape culture is only beginning to take off on the continent. With Africa becoming one of the fastest adopters of internet in the world combined with a growing diaspora and global interest in the sub-genres that Hip Hop and Rap have spawned, the market for music from and inspired by the continent can only continue to grow.

It is with this in mind and the lack of a central location for those on the continent and the in the diaspora that Afro MP3 (www.afro-mp3.com), a website for promoting African music from all genres music was established. With Mixtapes and music videos drawn from a diverse roster of artists across the continent, ranging from HHP in South Africa, 2Face in Nigeria and K’Naan from Somalia, the website allows visitors free and legal downloads from some of the hottest acts on the continent.

Commenting on the website launch co-founder Mutsai Musa said “with the direction that global music distribution is going it only makes sense to have a large online presence and reach the widest audience possible. Combining the internet with the culture of free music allows us to expose those who are willing to share their music with the world at no cost to them.” Fellow web-site founder, Tapiwa Chimboza adding to Mutsai’s comments said “having lived in the diaspora for many years I know how difficult it can be to get hold of the latest music from African artists regardless of the genre. With so many portals catering to different audiences we want to be able to work with all these existing sites to make one location that people can come to get the latest music or work as a stepping stone to existing sites. The second phase of our project will offer music for sale via digital downloads. We’re in talks with the record companies and once we have something that everyone is happy with we’ll be launching the second part of our project.”

About Afro MP3
Afro MP3 was founded by high school friends Mutsai Musa and Tapiwa Chimboza. Avid music lovers and always on the lookout for something new, they saw music distribution gaps in the African music market. African music is often placed in the ‘World Music’ box when it is not only about traditional instruments and vernacular languages. It is just as progressive as music from any other region in the world. In 2010 there has been a huge emphasis on Africa and the unexplored aspects of its music. Contemporary African artists such as K’Naan, Nneka, Blitz The Ambassador and Fokn Bois, among others, have taken the world by storm with their music and this has opened the gates, so to speak, for upcoming artists to showcase similar music and genres. Afro MP3 creates a platform strictly for African music that celebrates our diversity and unity as Africans and creative progressiveness.

What is a Mixtape?
A Mixtape is a compilation of previously unreleased and soon to be released material, put together in anticipation of an official commercial album. They are often a platform that urban musicians use to experiment and gauge the potential response to their upcoming body of work, and also to increase the hype and stay relevant. Artists often release Mixtapes in between official albums as a way of staying in the public arena, often using familiar instrumentals. it has become a tool for urban artists to reinterpret songs from their perspective, taking familiar instrumentals and changing or adding to their meanings. They are not meant to be an affront to copyright control but rather a celebration of diversity of urban music and reinterpretation of popular music cultures. For this reason, Mixtapes are designed to be free.

In the last few years, mixtapes have gained momentum, not only as a creative outlet but also as a means of promotion and with the freedom of communication afforded by the internet, artists have been able to launch their careers from the mixtape world without being signed or having an actual album out. Releasing such projects on the internet costs far less than physical product and makes sense, especially because there is no monetary exchange expected.

More information, contact: mutsai.musa@afro-mp3.com

Smart TV launches in Kenya

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:17:44 +0000

Swedish firm Next Generation Broadcasting (NGB), operators of the Smart TV brand, have extended their digital TV service to residents of Kenya. The service was fully launched today, following a pilot phase that began since June 2010.

Smart TV

The pay TV operator is aiming to offer affordable TV to Kenya, and revolutionize the market. Capital FM quotes NGB Kenya Chief Executive Officer Dan Kagwe as saying:

“We have got a product that we believe suits the consumer. After research, we have seen most people do not watch more than five channels on television so it’s useless to occupy with 200 when you only watch one”

Capital FM throws more light on Smart TV Kenya’s strategy for growth:

Smart TV subscribers will purchase a bouquet of 17 to 20 high quality local and international programming, including African and Western movies, sports, news, children’s programming, and the latest updates in show business for Sh990 a month with set-top boxes retailing at Sh5,000.

Smart TV intends to invest heavily in an effort to promote local programming not only in Kenya but also across Africa.

All the current free to air channels including KBC, Citizen, KTN, NTV and K24 among others will also be available on the DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) platform with the added advantage of being in digital quality.

Smart TV has already been operating in Ghana on pilot basis since April 2010 and would extend its services to Uganda early 2011.

A review of Smart TV (a digital terrestial TV service in Ghana)

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:00:15 +0000

I have monitored the Smart TV service for a while now, having obtained the Smart TV receiver two weeks ago. The following review is based on my personal experience using the service.

What is Smart TV?
Smart TV is a pan-African brand providing tailor-made and affordable pay TV solutions to consumers across Africa. Currently Smart TV is available in Ghana and is on the verge of commercial launch in Kenya and Uganda. Smart TV is a brand owned by Next Generation Broadcasting AB (NGB) and has been brought to Ghana by Next Generation Broadcasting Ghana Ltd., in collaboration with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

A Smart TV receiver

How to connect
If you are within the coverage area of Smart TV, you can pick the Smart TV receiver from any of their distributors.

The Receiver
The device itself cost 133 GH cedis and was picked-up from one of Smart TV’s distributors in Accra. It comes with the following features:

MPEG-4 SD & MPEG-2 SD compatible: it can handle free-to-air standard definition broadcasts compressed in MPEG2 or the newer MPEG4 formats
Conax CAS embedded: this technology handles conditional access since Smart TV is a pay TV service.
288MHz High Speed CPU
Digital audio bit-stream output: it can push digital audio signals to a compatible home theatre system, for a crystal-clear sound output.
7 day & full Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for on-screen channel information
256 Color On Screen Display (OSD) with Multi-Language
OTA (DVB-SSU) Support: the device software can be updated over-the-air whenever the broadcaster releases an update.
OSD Teletext & DVB Subtitle
It can handle up to 1000 channels
Video output: it has ports for AV out, as well as SCART

The content
The services comes with 18 local & international TV channels in the following order:

GTV: the state broadcaster takes the number one spot, beaming Ghanaian news and entertainment programmes.
NET2: News and general entertainment.
TV3 & eTV Ghana: this channel is alternated between TV3 and eTV. Both are news and general entertainment TV channels broadcasting from Accra.
TV Africa: news and general entertainment with a pan-African outlook.
Viasat1: general programming with focus on entertainment.
GTV Sports Plus: a sports TV channel from the state broadcaster GTV. It constantly screens playbacks from the African Cup of Nations, FIFA World Cup as well as some Football League matches.
Aptly named “Music”, this channels offers Kiss TV, a 24-hour music video channel from the UK.
News: this channels offers AlJazeera English, the 24-hour news channels from Doha in Qatar that attempts to balance perspectives offered by the western media.
Movies: this channel offers SILVER, a 24-hour movie channel from Sweden.
Entertainment: this channel is home to Star!, an entertainment news channel.
1 Sport: Sentata Africa, a sports TV channel lives here.
Homebase: this channel constantly screens Ghanaian movies and entertainment shows.
Hi Nolly: a general entertainment channel offering nollywood movies and other entertainment shows from the stable of HiTV in Nigeria.
Fox Entertainment
Showtime
BBC World News: a global news broadcaster
GOD TV: a Christian-themed TV channel broadcasting from Jerusalem in Israel.
KidsCo: a TV channel targeted at children. Much of the programming are animations.

Coverage area
Smart TV is presently available in Greater Accra Region, Ashanti Region, as well as parts of Central Region and parts of Eastern Region.

The good

Free, low cost: the service is currently free from now till early 2011. If you are not sure about if Smart TV is good for you, simply buy the receiver and try it between now and early 2011. I am told that the subscription will not exceed 20 GH cedis monthly even when they start taking fees.
Visual & audio clarity: since this is digital TV service, most of the TV channels are reasonably clear. With the BBC World News channel for example, one can hardly detect any difference in quality with the BBC offered via DStv.
Signal quality: the signal is so strong, I was able to detect it with a lowly “rabbit ears” antennae from a location outside Accra. Of course, its best to use an external antennae, where possible.
Variety: the service offers enough variety to meet the needs of just about anyone in Ghana.

The not-so-good
While some of the factors listed below might be outside the control of Smart TV, they do take some shine away from the service.

Limited coverage: the service currently covers the most populated areas in Ghana, but 6 other regions are still left out.
Adding other local TV channels on a more permanent basis would have made the service even more attractive.
The visuals of some of the local channels are less than perfect.

Verdict
Its hard to say if this service is ideal or not, for everyone. Individual tastes vary widely. Choosing to stay with free TV or pay a little for Smart TV is an individual decision one would have to make, given the facts at hand.

Why is CRTV (Ghana) off-air?

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:09:48 +0000

Crown Royals TV (CRTV) broadcasts its programmes from the Astra 2B satellite to Ghana and the rest of West Africa, until a few weeks ago.

CRTV Ghana

Reasons for CRTV going off-air are not clear at this time. Its possible they have left Astra 2B to whichever satellite is hosting their “50 channels”. They have been advertising a new service with 50 TV channels on Ghanaian radio for some time now. I would share the parameters to that new satellite as soon as I have it, if that turned out to be the case.

Its also possible that CRTV is off-air due to technical problems. Their broadcast was not one of the best in terms of visual clarity, when they were on-air.

Worst still, its possible CRTV has become insolvent. If this were the case, a lot of people who enjoyed their entertainment programmes would highly disappointed.

To those asking me about CRTV
Now that you know CRTV is actually off-air, don’t break your satellite receiver looking for CRTV – you won’t find it in there! . Also, note that Multi TV is not responsible for CRTV. They only happen to be co-tenants on the Astra 2B satellite.

I would share new information about CRTV as soon as I have it.