PTP has developed the SPIDER PRO system. a vertical video recorder equipped with a 2.5-tera bite hard drive that can record an entire week’s worth of TV programs on all of the seven analog broadcasting channels in Japan. Major electronics manufacturers have developed similar video recorders that are capable of the same, but Spider’s quick response time is amazing.

<Masayasu Ariyoshi, President of PTP>
10 years ago, I saw the world’s first hard disk recorder during the time I was performing a technological survey in the United States. At that time, the maximum storage capacity was 16GB. Given the improvements in computer technology, it was clear that a device with sufficient capacity to store a week’s worth of broadcasts would eventually become available.

The main difference between a regular video recorder and Spider is the search function. To operate the search function, simply input a key word to the dedicated Spider user site from your computer.

For example, if you input the key word NPO, which stands for non-profit organization ,into the search function, the system tells you there are 24 related video out of all the programs recorded. It also shows the recorded time and duration of the program, and of course you can then play it back.

Spider’s search function uses a database of video and audio clips of a week’s worth of TV programs. Approximately 100 workers monitor these shows and then input information into the database, and then PTP’s database management division checks the data and updates it. Compared to an ordinary electronic program guide, the contents are more accurate and detailed and so can better meet user needs.

In the SPIDER PRO system, only the video files are recorded on Spider’s hard disk. The search engine database is on the PTP server, where data is constantly updated, and accessible via the Internet.

<Takeru Komoriya, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director>
We acquire broadcasting information from other companies, and use it to create our database. It’s designed to be both user friendly and easily searchable. Data is sent to Spider and is stored via Spider on our server.

Unlike most video recorders, Spider is vertically shaped, and the main body has no control panels. It’s unusual for a manufacturer in the solutions business to produce stylish hardware designs, because PTP planed consumer version of Spider from the beginning.

The semi-transparent front panel’s white LED illumination flashes to inform the user when the hard disk is recording.
Once you switch it on TV, the user interface is so simple, it doesn’t seem like a computer or video recorder at all.

The Spider also features a unique remote control design., which can register up to five users, and has a button (on the left side) for switching between them. The remote has less buttons compared to conventional models and is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Spider is popular among corporate PR and advertising departments because users can also search TV commercials. Ordinary electronic program guides do not offer Information on TV commercials, but Spider lets users search commercials by company, product name, or category. PR staff can also search by the names of celebrities or programs to research popularity.

<Masayasu Ariyoshi, President of PTP>
Nobody could have imagined the development of such things as Youtube or blogging. Nevertheless, many years ago we envisioned that the increasing use of the internet would lead to such things as online communities and would naturally lead to business opportunities. That’s why we developed the Spider hardware and network infrastructure.

PTP is developing a version of SPIDER that will be compatible with digital terrestrial broadcasting which from 2011 will be the only TV broadcasting technology used in Japan. PTP intends to expand its business overseas, in order to do this they will further develop the product to incorporate multi lingual features.