India hasn't been at the forefront of internet consumption, but Reliance Jio's entry into the market a year ago changed that. India now ranks ahead of China and the United States in terms of data consumption.
With affordable data, internet habits have drastically changed in the country and people rely on the web for pretty much everything.
Since entertainment is a crucial part of our daily lives, there are plenty of services running successful businesses based on it. For instance, TV cable has been the source of entertainment for years, but as the trends change, people are looking at other avenues for entertainment.
Netflix, Hotstar and other internet-based applications and services are gaining popularity. Even televisions have gone smarter with built-in internet to let people stream content.
Due to the high cost of internet-connected televisions, media-streaming devices such as Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV stick and Apple TV are also gaining popularity in India.
Media-streaming devices transform the standard television into a smart one, serving as the platform for internet-connected apps and services. Amazon Fire TV Stick with voice remote control was recently launched in India for Rs 3,999, while Google's Chromecast has been available in the market for a while now. But those aren't the only options you can get.
An India-based tech startup forayed into the market with a new media-streaming device called ReTV, which curates and aggregates content to attract the local audience. It is tailored specifically for the Indian crowd and ensures a user-friendly interface.
ReTV's USP is its affordability, simplicity and the bundle of features that users do not find in other media-streaming gadgets. ReTV X1 can be bought for Rs 4,299. If that feels expensive, the company ensures customers do not spend a dime after purchasing the product.
ReTV comes with free movies from the internet, streaming and download facilities, access to 150+ premium WebChannels, screen mirroring, games and more. Like Amazon Fire TV stick, ReTV comes with its own remote control, which is equipped with a motion sensor. But there are certain elements that stand out in the ReTV box.
For instance, ReTV is the only device in the Indian market to have integrated BitTorrent search, download and stream support. The box comes preloaded with YouTube, Spuul, Hotstar, Live TV, and much more.
ReTV's unique approach in the fast-growing market of entertainment devices in India grabbed our attention. International Business Times, India, sat down with the company's founder Ashish Dinkar to discuss the inspiration behind ReTV, and all the other aspects consumers might be interested in before buying the product.
Before getting started, it is worth mentioning that the company sold over 500 devices through a pre-order system since January. And this looks like just the beginning for this Mumbai-based tech startup.
"We are looking at selling around 40,000 units in this year. There are plans to bring a few more models in the market shortly to cater to a wider audience," Dinkar told IBTimes.
ReTV is working towards improving its services for a better user experience. Dinkar told us the company is going to launch a new ReTV App on various app stores, which will include features like content curation, WebChannels, downloads, watch on-the-go, and resume from where you stopped on a different device.
ReTV is also looking to personalise content for users based on what they like. The feature is already available on WebChannels, which shows users similar content with the press of a button.
Since ReTV allows downloads on its box, the X1 model comes with 8GB internal storage, but it can be augmented with a USB external hard drive of up to 1TB or a microSD card of up to 64GB.
While the product gives a great value for money, the question that many consumers might have is after-sales support and service. ReTV seems to have a solid setup in place — if not as great as what Apple and Amazon might have.
In case of a hardware issue, ReTV picks up the box from the customer, repairs it and ships it back. In case the damage is beyond repair, the company will replace it for free, Dinkar said.
In case of a software glitch, the company is constantly working on software updates weighing about 2-3MB that are dispatched on a weekly basis.
"We realise that there is a lot of customer education required in this market, as consumers are not aware of the possibilities. Our dedicated phone helpline offers our customers an avenue to know more about what they can do, help with their issues and even take in content requests," Dinkar explained when asked about after-sales support for ReTV customers.
"Compare this to any of the devices in the market: Their customer interaction is limited only to selling the device. No one is currently offering dedicated phone support for customer education," he added.
We are yet to review ReTV to recommend to our readers, but the features are certainly sound and unique.
