StarTimes to launch novelty projection television in Africa

StarTimes, a Chinese private media company will soon introduce a digital projection television (TV) device that enables television viewing on walls with the aid of a handy projector.

Television fans all across African countries including the rural areas would no longer purchase television sets but just an affordable digital dish which will project television contents on the wall.

Madam Yueqin Zhao, Vice-President of the Group who confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Beijin last Friday, said the handy digital device can be accessed everywhere even at places without television signals or DSTV programme.

This was on the sidelines of a joint visit to the StarTimes by five African Journalists and the 2015 year group undertaking the International Master of International Communication (IMIC) Programme at the Communication University of China (CUC) in Beijing.

The African journalists are on a two-week China-Africa Reporting Project tour, sponsored jointly by CUC and the University of Witwatersrand of the People’s Republic of China.

Madam Zhao said the launch is to foster stronger ties between China and Africa by means of connecting the device to all local media houses in Africa to show their contents to China and the whole world and thus give a true reflection of Africa.

There would be English programmes apart from those in French, Kiswahili, Hausa and others to to ensure competitiveness on the world market, she said

Additionally, it would create about 90 per cent local content to help solve unemployment problems.

She said, StarTimes, which was established in 1988, started its operations in Africa in 2012 and is operating in 28 countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda.

“We have established a strong presence in broadcasting and television networks, system integration, technology services and Pay TV operations with five million subscribers, five brands of digital TVs and 23 mobile multi-media.”

Madam Zhao hinted that operations of her company with a wide experience in digital television (DTV) solutions, investment and operation of DTV networks as well as integration and production of broadcasting and television, would be extended to other part of Asia, Europe, Northern America and within five years it is expected to cover 30 countries.

Madam Bessie Li, in charge of operations, revealed that their decoders had been upgraded and can now produce more programmes than before and that subscribers would by next year be using a uniformed device.

She said, with the new technology, one does not have to go to the service provider but fault can be detected by the subscriber and could be reported and fixed.