Which DTH Service???

[iMav]

ok guys i know there were 1-2 threads on this but now i got a letter from the cable guy saying tht by 1st feb normal cable will be disconnected and 1 of the DTH service will have to be opted ofr

he has nicely tabulated a comparison between his offering, tata sky and dish

some main highlights are:

The cable guy:
1. his warrantty for the hardware is 5yrs (tata & dish-both 1yr)
2. charges for multiple TVs in house - free2air channels will be free (tata & dish charge for the same)
3. hardware wear & tear - bourne by operator (tata and dish - bourne by subscriber)
4. 221/- for 200 channels (tata - 300/- for around 125 channels, dish - 374/- for around 125 channels)

personally i wud prefer tata rather than the others .... but wud wanna know wat u guys think .... ne1 whos using

a poll for the same .... it closes 15 days after 15 jan

[mehulved]

The cable guy:
1. his warrantty for the hardware is 5yrs (tata & dish-both 1yr)

That's definitely a plus point. But is the STB on lease or outright purchase. Tata Sky only offers for outright purchase no lease as of what they told me. That's one -ve point of Tata Sky for a lot of people

2. charges for multiple TVs in house - free2air channels will be free (tata & dish charge for the same)
How can that be possible? Hasn't govt. specified Rs. 77 + tax for all the free channels? Check it up again before getting the STB, if you are getting from cable wallah.

3. hardware wear & tear - bourne by operator (tata and dish - bourne by subscriber) I guess that cos it is on lease. For outright purchase, it should be bourne by customer. But, anyways lease is a better option cos if you want to change mid way you can give that STB back to cable wallah.

4. 221/- for 200 channels (tata - 300/- for around 125 channels, dish - 374/- for around 125 channels)
Hasn't Govt. specified Rs. 5 per channel. Yeah they can give discount for the whole boquet of channels. But the main factor to consider is how many channels are you going to watch. Say if your family watches total of 20 non-FTA channels. Then the total cost should come to something like Rs. 190. Then this would be a cheaper option considering you are paying those 30 Rs. extra for 50-60 channels you are never going to watch. And if selecting individual channels is an option then it would nullify the difference in the costs of the channels offered by different operators.
Best thing would be to get proper info from your cablewallah, Tata Sky and Dish TV in a written brouchure or something. No word of mouth cos that's no proof that it will be correct.
BTW, searching on the net, I found that Dish TV's service has been termed pathetic by lots of people. So, be careful and see what others have to say. Google up a bit too.

[vijay_7287]

cable guy

[techno tublai]

Here in Kolkata the service offered by the Cable Guy seems reasonable.

[DeSmOnD dAvId]

Our Cable fella charges 150/- for 55 channels. I guess TATA Sky with 107 channels is much worth it.

[iMav]

so now the choice is between cable wala and tata .... thanx tech_ur_future .... i will chk out the lease thing of the hardware .... im more interested in knowing tht any1 using tata cud giv me a review as to how are their services (after sales included) coz the bouquets and offers toh will keep on changing ..... the 5yr warranty also got my attention

[JhonCena]

My vote is for Dish tv
I am Dishtv guy since 4 Jan 2004 and dishtv was launched on 31 dec 2003

[shantanu]

MY CABLE GUY IS GOOD HAVING 120 channels... so no need and only 150/- per month

[nil_3]

We have to consider another would-be entrant: IPTV(Internet Protocal). BSNL is going to launch it within April 2007 which will be available subject to Broadband connection and a estimated price of Rs. 200/- or less for 100 channels. It will also require a Set Top Box. Whether anybody have any further information?

[shantanu]

i think i will be interested

[mehulved]

I would advice against DishTV. See
http://forum.techspot.in/showthread.php?p=33290
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Dish_TV-67190-1.html
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/28cas.htm

You can also have a look at this for info on CAS/DTH - http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/05iycu.htm and http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/29cas1.htm
Read those comments in most of those pages. They are really useful to determine user's experience.

[iMav]

thank u tech_ur_future

[premsharma]

MY CABLE GUY IS GOOD HAVING 120 channels... so no need and only 150/- per month

Mine is only rs 80 for 120 channels, collectively bargained by Army
__________
I would advice against DishTV. See
http://forum.techspot.in/showthread.php?p=33290
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Dish_TV-67190-1.html
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/28cas.htm

You can also have a look at this for info on CAS/DTH - http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/05iycu.htm and http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/dec/29cas1.htm
Read those comments in most of those pages. They are really useful to determine user's experience.

let the TataSky become little older and all hell will break against them also. "Doodh ke dhule wo bhi nahin hai" They too have natural tendency to create monopolies. If TRAI says Rs 5 per channel, I will need maximum 10 channels totalling Rs 50.

Broadcasters themself should not be DTH providers themself. They will manipulate. You can't have both the things i.e. paid channels as well as Advertisement. you can have only one. If I want to pay for a channel, I do not want to see any add on that. They earn from ad as well as from paid channels. Everyone one is there out to loot customers here in India by some or other means.

Money wasted on ads is useless and addes to the costs of items. indirectly, we are paying to paper tigers of Indian cricket team like sachin & Dravid [good for nothing]. Ganguly is still better

[mehulved]

Broadcasters themself should not be DTH providers themself. They will manipulate. You can't have both the things i.e. paid channels as well as Advertisement. you can have only one. If I want to pay for a channel, I do not want to see any add on that. They earn from ad as well as from paid channels. Everyone one is there out to loot customers here in India by some or other means. Yeah I agree they should be getting revenue from just one source not both. But, what can be done?

[NIGHTMARE]

Tata Sky

[iMav]

ok now its 5-3-2 .... im in the same dilemma :confused:

[indranilmaulik]

tatasky