-- First-class television: Order films at any time and watch them
immediately
-- Digital recorder with PREMIERE DIREKT+ can be rented for
EUR 14.90 per month
-- Receivers on sale in stores and directly from Premiere starting
June 24, 2005
-- Up to 30 films permanently on offer - Kofler: "PREMIERE DIREKT+
turns the living room into a video rental store"
MUNICH, Germany, June 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Tomorrow, June 24, 2005, Premiere will launch PREMIERE DIREKT+, an exclusive video-on-demand service that will be available via a standard television set in your living room. PREMIERE DIREKT+ is based on a new generation of Premiere digital recorders (PDR) with an integrated digital receiver. The first recorder is supplied by Humax with the iPDR-9800, and will be on sale starting tomorrow in stores and directly from Premiere. PREMIERE DIREKT+ offers a selection of up to 30 films, updated on a weekly basis. The range of films includes top blockbusters, recent features as early as six months after their cinematic release, as well as explicit adult films. Classics such as I, Robot and Ocean's Twelve are loaded onto the hard drive of the new PDR overnight, and stored in several categories that give viewers a clear overview of the selection of movies. For a fee, viewers can then order the movie of their choice from the range on offer at any time via telephone, text message or Internet, and watch it immediately.
At first, PREMIERE DIREKT+ and the required PDR will only be available to subscribing households with satellite reception. The minimum requirement for access to PREMIERE DIREKT+ is the starter subscription package PREMIERE START. As Dr. Georg Kofler, CEO of Premiere AG, says, "Premiere turns the living room into a video rental store. PREMIERE DIREKT+ is a unique service that gets people interested in Premiere and digital television by providing films on the minute. The new PDR enables Premiere subscribers to watch movies on their normal TV sets whenever they want. It can't get any easier or more convenient. PREMIERE DIREKT+ is an innovation that strengthens Premiere's image as the top TV brand for premium entertainment. For television as a whole, a new stage of development has been reached--a mass medium has discovered the charm of individualization. With PREMIERE DIREKT+ and the new Premiere digital recorder TV viewing habits will change for many members of the public. In addition, TV will become interesting for a new group of viewers, who wish to actively choose their TV viewing to suit their individual tastes."
Trailers to all films at the push of a button / Up to 7 new films every week / Every film can be viewed for 24 hours
PREMIERE DIREKT+ is distinguished by its simple and easy to use PDR remote-controlled operation. The clear menu guide and the categories of "New, Action & Suspense", "Sci Fi & Fantasy", "Comedy & Romance" and "Blue Movies" make it easy to navigate through the choice of films. Alongside the brief synopses and details on the actors and genre, viewers can also view a short trailer for each film. And just like at the movies, PREMIERE DIREKT+ serves up new films every week: up to seven films are swapped into the selection every Thursday. Films can be ordered very simply via telephone, Internet or text message. Within 15 to 20 seconds of placing the order, the selected film is then available for viewing for 24 hours. Prices vary between EUR 2 (classic blockbusters), EUR 4 (current top films) and EUR 6 (explicit adult films). During the 24 hours that the film is at your disposal, it can be viewed any number of times, paused, rewound, fast-forwarded or viewed in slow motion action replay--as if it were a DVD, with all the advantages of digital television such as Dolby Digital, 16:9 and the option of watching it in the original language version. The films ordered are marked in the PREMIERE DIREKT+ menu with a green dot, and the time remaining for viewing the film is shown in hours.
Suitable for PREMIERE DIREKT+: New generation of Premiere digital recorders
The first Premiere digital recorder compatible with PREMIERE DIREKT+ is the Humax iPDR-9800. The recorder has a storage capacity of 160 GB, half of which is reserved for PREMIERE DIREKT+. Around 80 GB are available for the viewer's own use, which is enough to record up to 40 hours of television programs in broadcast quality. A timeshift function allows viewers to pause a program in mid-play, and continue watching at any time--even before the recording has finished--or jump to certain points in the recording. Two integrated tuners enable viewers to record a program on one channel, while watching a different program on another. The seal of approval "Geeignet fur PREMIERE DIREKT+" ("Suitable for PREMIERE DIREKT+") guarantees that the Humax iPDR-9800 can receive all Premiere's programming, including options such as the multifeed broadcasts of the new Premiere Sport portal. It also enables the timer-controlled recording of all programs on the portal.
Reduced purchase price from EUR 299 in combination with a Premiere subscription / Receiver rental for EUR 14.90 per month
Alongside Premiere, the receiver manufacturer, Humax, and the world's leading supplier of encryption systems, Nagravision, were involved in the technical development of PREMIERE DIREKT+. The combination of a video-on-demand service and a normal television set together with the full functionalities of a personal video recorder is worldwide unprecedented.
The recommended retail price of the HUMAX iPDR-9800 is EUR 499. In combination with a Premiere subscription, the recorder is available from EUR 299. Alternatively, starting August 1, all Premiere subscribers can also hire the HUMAX iPDR-9800 for EUR 14.90 per month (exception: subscribers of PREMIERE START / PREMIERE AUSTRIA).
This press release and other information is available on the Internet at info.premiere.de.