KrisWorld

KrisWorld is Singapore Airlines' in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. It is an advanced system that is available in all classes of service on all aircraft of SIA. It currently has three versions operational and was introduced in 1995.
History
During 1993 and 1994, SIA was looking for a new IFE system that it could offer to its passengers. During this time, only two major airlines had a full-fledged IFE system for all passengers and classes - Emirates and Virgin Atlantic. However, Singapore Airlines wanted a more advanced, less costly system with more than 10 channels of video programming. They were looking for a system that worked on a digital-network platform, passed Federal Aviation Administration tests and was central for programming updates and upgrades in future. This IFE system was made by Panasonic Avionics Corporation (previously incorporated as Matsushita Avionics Systems).
After being impressed with the quality and offerings, they signed a deal to retrofit their Megatop Boeing 747-400 aircraft with the system. This retrofit began in 1995 and was completed by 1996-1997. The Celestar Airbus A340-300 and Jubilee Boeing 777 aircraft, when delivered, had KrisWorld pre-installed into every seat. SIA installed KrisWorld into every seat for every new aircraft delivered thereafter.
By 2000, the Boeing 747-400 Megatop, Celestar A340-300 and Jubilee Boeing 777 were the only aircraft to have the system for all classes. The other aircraft - Boeing 747-300, and Airbus A310 did not have this system as these aircraft were later retired or leased to other airlines.
Krisworld, since has received minor upgrades to the system. In 2000, Wisemen 3000 was introduced to coincide with the First Class SkySuites and Raffles Class Ultimo Seats introductions. Then in 2002, enhanced Krisworld was introduced (aka - Krisworld 1.2); which was available in all classes and introduced eventually on all Boeing 747-400 and selected Boeing 777-200/300.
In 2006, with the introduction of the Boeing 777-300ER into SIA's fleet, SIA unvieled New Krisworld (aka Krisworld 2.0). This new system was then installed on every new aircraft delivered to SIA (Airbus A380; Airbus A330).
Original KrisWorld (defunct) (Krisworld 1.0)
The original KrisWorld, introduced in 1995, was available to all three classes of service. It featured:
* KrisVision - which included 14 movies, 36 television favourites and five cartoons.
* KrisSound - with 12 stereo audio channels.
* KrisGames - provided by Nintendo
* Fax and KrisFone - fax was available in certain sections, KrisFone was offered in every seat.
* FlightPath
* Destinations
* Text News
* KrisWorld double-sided handset - one side audio and video controls, and the other - the KrisFone.
The original KrisWorld has since been updated to Wisemen 3000 for first- and business-class passengers or enhanced Krisworld for all classes.
KrisWorld with Wisemen 3000 (Krisworld 1.1)
With the introduction of the new First Class Sky Suites and the Ultimo Seats in Raffles Class, SIA decided to upgrade the IFE entertainment experience for those classes, by installing Wisemen 3000.
Wisemen 3000 was the Matsushita Avionics Systems 3000i IFE system that supported Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD). Because of this, new features include:
* Increase of programs - estimated 30 movies, 20 television favourites and 10 cartoons
* Audio and Video on Demand
* 14-inch screen in First Class
Economy Class still had the old version with cycle programming.
KrisWorld with Wisemen 3000 is available on:
* Boeing 777-200 aircraft (9V-SRA to SRI - 2 classes; 9V-SQA to SQH - 3 classes)
* Boeing 777-300 aircraft (9V-SYA to SYE)
Enhanced KrisWorld (Krisworld 1.2)
In 2002, Singapore Airlines slowly began introducing the enhanced version of KrisWorld. This included increasing the amount of programming and offering AVOD to economy-class passengers. Features included:
* Increase of programmes - estimated 50 movies, 30 TV favourites and 20 cartoons.
* In 2006, SIA increased again the programming to over 80 movies, 106 TV favourites and 30 cartoons.
* 225 Music Albums
* Bigger screens in Raffles Class (SpaceBed).
* More games - 20-30 PC, Nintendo, with multi-player capability.
* AVOD in all classes
* Berlitz World Traveller - learn a language
Enhanced KrisWorld is available on:
* All Boeing 747-400 aircraft
* Selected Boeing 777-200/300 aircraft (9V-SRJ to Q - 2 classes; 9V-SQI to N - 3 classes; 9V-SYF to L; all 9V-SV*s)
New KrisWorld (Krisworld 2.0)
In 2007, SIA unveiled the new KrisWorld based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This featured a new interface, more programming, Audio/Video on Demand as standard. On top of the new features available, first-class passengers get a 23-inch LCD PTV; 15-inch PTV in Business Class and a 10.6 inch PTV in Economy Class - all widescreen. Features include:
* 112 Movies.
* 180 Popular Television Programmes.
* 740 Music CDs.
* 3D Games - Singapore Airlines is the first airline in the world to offer this.
* Nintendo Games.
* iPod and iPhone connectivity.
* Berlitz World Traveller - learn a language
* USB flash drive plug in and Ethernet.
* audio/video inputs.
* LED flash light under the PTV in Economy Class for non-intrusive light.
* Office software in every seat (StarOffice).
* New Panasonic eX2 handset with digital channel-number designation (Economy).
* New Panasonic ex2 handset with colour interface (First and Business).
* Double-sided handset (audio and video controls on one side and keyboard on the other)
New Krisworld (Krisworld 2.0) is available on:
* All Boeing 777-300ER aircraft
* All Airbus A380 aircraft
* All Airbus A340-500 aircraft
* All Airbus A330-300 aircraft
Future of KrisWorld
While KrisWorld is most likely not going to be installed on older aircraft, the New Krisworld has been selected to be installed on all new aircraft entering SIA service from 2006. This includes the Boeing 777-300ER; Airbus A380; Airbus A330-300, Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.
The future of KrisWorld programming is based on the technology and updates received from Panasonic Avionics Corporation. Panasonic initiating a trial to improve system reliability and also introduce bigger storage systems to allow for "series TV" programming, which allows for the customer to be able to watch an entire series from a popular TV show - example: House M.D Series 2; all episodes. However, the upgrade is still under work, Panasonic still designing a suitable and safe hard drive solution with terabytes of space.

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