Which is the best DTH service provider in india and why?

[samaresh7]

Please give your valueable suggations for buying a new dth connection in westbengal.

[Nishant]

you have to check your channel preferences and look for the best available package from all the dth services. The viewing quality of every dth is same.

So now we are left with only one thing and that is how easy the software of your STB is. For example i really hate the software of Dish TV, its unusable for me. Also check, many STBs take 2-3 or more seconds to change the channel.

I personally like Airtel for the single most reason of the unified remote they provide.. so you dont have to use two remotes (tv+stb). Secondly their customer care is very good.

[thetechfreak]

Best dth- Tata Sky
why-1) Hardly suffers downtime except rain and cloud.
2) Arguably the best software. Great picture,audio quality.

[dreatica]

Originally Posted by thetechfreak

Best dth- Tata Sky
why-1) Hardly suffers downtime except rain and cloud.
2) Arguably the best software. Great picture,audio quality.

+1 except for the cc.

PS: all depends on your preferences.

Numbers of channels :

Dish tv-265(185 own tp + 79 dd )

big tv- 263

d2h- 240

airtel-201

tatasky-193

sun dth-172

dd Direct Plus-79

[shoaib]

around westbengal area airtel n tatasky is best suiteddue to there flaw less performance and best services but if u consider of capital, then big tv could be preferable, but my first option will be airtel.

[.=Pyro=.]

i guess it s tata sky, cause it has more feature than other ones. interface ais good too.

[MegaMind]

I vote for Airtel...

Good pic n audio quality...

Best Customer Support(IMHO)

[ithehappy]

Is there any DTH service come with reasonable Price? I am currently using Digicable STB, which is practically useless, tooooo much stuttering...but I get all the channels I want(all the sports channels, English Movie channels, Business channels, and Bengali channels for my mom . My budget is max 225-250 p.m.
Thanks in advance.

[dreatica]

Originally Posted by ithehappy

Is there any DTH service come with reasonable Price? I am currently using Digicable STB, which is practically useless, tooooo much stuttering...but I get all the channels I want(all the sports channels, English Movie channels, Business channels, and Bengali channels for my mom . My budget is max 225-250 p.m.
Thanks in advance.

^You should try Videocon DTH. Thats the only DTH which is cheapest with good amt of channels.

Originally Posted by mailme.manju

I vote for Airtel...

Good pic n audio quality...

Best Customer Support(IMHO)

Best CC-

[gagan007]

In some parts of Bangalore Hathway provides cable connection with STB. For 200/mo you get all the channels. Video quality is decent. Please check with more people for reviews and find whether it is available in your locality

[evewin89]

I bought tata sky around 4yrs back....still using the STB without any problem.....i also worked for tata sky as a CCE (customer care executive) for 20days.

my opinion is that ......
1.ALL DTH PROVIDER LOOT PEOPLE BY GROUPING CHANNELS BY THEIR PACKAGE SCHEME.
2.BUT CURRENTLY ONLY THE DTH WILL PROVIDE U WITH A VERY GOOD PICTURE QUALITY AND SOUND IN UR IDIOT BOX (TV).

SO U CAN OPT FOR ANY OF THE MAJOR DTV PROVIDER IN INDIA LIKE TATA-SKY,AIRTEL,DISH TV.

"I STILL REMEMBER I BOUGHT MY STB FOR Rs.3000 AND PAID ADDITIONAL Rs.1000 FOR THE INSTALLATION CHARGES WHEN I BOUGHT MY TATA SKY BACK IN THOSE EARLY DAYS... : {

[dinga03]

"I STILL REMEMBER I BOUGHT MY STB FOR Rs.3000 AND PAID ADDITIONAL Rs.1000 FOR THE INSTALLATION CHARGES WHEN I BOUGHT MY TATA SKY BACK IN THOSE EARLY DAYS... : {

i agree with this.. i bought mine more than 3 yrs back..i paid 2500 for the STB and paid them 1000 extra for installation, lolz.

I like tatasky the best, quality wise, service wise, channel updates, etc (and many other things)

But, a few months back due to its high channel pricing i changed it to Videocone. Before, I was paying 400 approx every month, now i am paying less than 300 every month..

I am having the same channels as before and can watch the same show

[PraKs]

Take anything, Never take Airtel in life.

One of the worst ever customer care in India. They dont know what they are talking about & if you try to make them understand your issue, They will keep the phone.

Repeat - NEVER EVER Take Airtel DTH in life. (worst ever customer care)

[MegaMind]

Originally Posted by PraKs

One of the worst ever customer care in India. They dont know what they are talking about & if you try to make them understand your issue, They will keep the phone.

Repeat - NEVER EVER Take Airtel DTH in life. (worst ever customer care)

Might be bad in ur area..
I have Airtel DTH in mine and my bro's home... CC is best in my experience in chennai n south of Tamil nadu...

[dinga03]

Airtel is very good in Delhi though... might depends on places

[sygeek]

Airtel Digital TV. Even comparatively, I felt that it's video quality it's noticeably different than tata sky. UI is decent too. In my opinion, it's one of the best service providers (at least in India). Customer service isn't necessarily bad either.

Digit even reviewed both of these providers in an issue, you should look that up (Airtel won by a low margin). Also, most of the problems with Airtel addressed in that article has now been fixed/improved.

[Skud]

Airtel is the worst. Run away from it. Every now and then it comes out with Installation Error type of thing even in good weather condition. Sometimes it's get cured automatically, other times you get to the customer care, and they charge 100 bucks every time they come. And yeah, definitely the best customer support around!!! Whenever, I booked a complaint, it gets automatically closed without the technician ever showing up. And you have to book a fresh complaint again. And even that gets closed. And this step will continue almost half a dozen times before the technician actually comes.


If you can put up with it, picture and color quality are good. And it's one of the cheapest IMO.

[Sarath]

There is no best or worst DTH when it comes to Channels.

Most popular is Tata Sky and Dish TV. Better to stick with the bigger ones.

[Tata Sky HD + Tata Sky + Dish TV in my house]

Originally Posted by gagan007

In some parts of Bangalore Hathway provides cable connection with STB. For 200/mo you get all the channels. Video quality is decent. Please check with more people for reviews and find whether it is available in your locality

I had this. It was good and cost effective. However I ditched it for the Sky HD.

[dreatica]

Originally Posted by Sarath

There is no best or worst DTH when it comes to Channels.

Most popular is Tata Sky and Dish TV. Better to stick with the bigger ones.

[Tata Sky HD + Tata Sky + Dish TV in my house]



I had this. It was good and cost effective. However I ditched it for the Sky HD.

Who told you Dish TV and Tata Sky are big ones ? I was using Dish TV from last 5+ years and now they are worst in customer care. Moved to Tata Sky HD+ but regret due to less no of channels, and purchased Airtel DTH 1-2 months back. will disconnect Sky HD once my one year term is over and buy Airtel HD.

There is no term as BIG with DTH industry. Dishtv promote 30+ HD channels, AFAIK count the actual channels they are providing in HD ? 5-6 lol Most are upscaled and looks bad with 52' plasma.

Regarding the customer care, every care is worst for you if your concerns are not resolved. So, taking reviews from others to know which customer care is best is also a bad thought. Dish tv bad for me, doesn't mean it will be bad for you.

Buy which satisfy your HD/SD channel needs. All are same in SD, except Tata Sky has better picture quality in HD, and Airtel has better sound quality. You cant compare dishtv,D2h for quality/sound with Tata Sky and Airtel in HD. (I dont know about reliance dth but their cc are horrible )

[Sarath]

Tata Sky HD+ = less number of channels? Whats missing?

I have the annual mega pack and I am actually sick of all the channels. I am planning to take a smaller package and get rid of those 100s of channels. Most people only watch 5-15 channels regularly. I don't know how Tata Sky is failing you?

BTW Tata Sky HD > Tata Sky (standard) > Dish TV in video quality (SD)

I actually wanted to get an upscaler for my HDTV and ever since those guys started doing it themselves, I felt it stupid that others complain. But if they were charging you for those pseudo-HD channels than thats bluffing and a reason to cry about.

[sygeek]

Originally Posted by dreatica

Regarding the customer care, every care is worst for you if your concerns are not resolved. So, taking reviews from others to know which customer care is best is also a bad thought. Dish tv bad for me, doesn't mean it will be bad for you.

Buy which satisfy your HD/SD channel needs. All are same in SD, except Tata Sky has better picture quality in HD, and Airtel has better sound quality. You cant compare dishtv,D2h for quality/sound with Tata Sky and Airtel in HD. (I dont know about reliance dth but their cc are horrible )

+1. Now, that's a worthy post. People shouldn't just go over and start whining with customer care.

Customer care service is pretty generic. If it sucks at your area, that doesn't mean it sucks everywhere.

[Sarath]

I got the HD STB when only two channels were on offer Discovery and NG. Now I have all the Star channels in HD too. Slowly everyones catching up. I don't see why it is such a bad buy.

World Cup in HD w/o adds was amazing

Originally Posted by sygeek

+1. Now, that's a worthy post. People shouldn't just go over and start whining with customer care.

Customer care service is pretty generic. If it sucks at your area, that doesn't mean it sucks everywhere.

But Big tv have a very bad reputation for their CC in general. Lets make that clear to OP.

[dreatica]

Originally Posted by Sarath

Tata Sky HD+ = less number of channels? Whats missing?

I have the annual mega pack and I am actually sick of all the channels. I am planning to take a smaller package and get rid of those 100s of channels. Most people only watch 5-15 channels regularly. I don't know how Tata Sky is failing you?

This will explain you Do remember that the HD channel list posted there is not updated, Airtel has added new HD channels now. So for me, no point paying extra for less no of channels to Tata Sky HD.

Comparision of Channels Availability in Various DTH's - Videocon D2H, Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel/Reliance Digital, Sun DTH, DD Direct Plus help and discussion forums

BTW Tata Sky HD > Tata Sky (standard) > Dish TV in video quality (SD)

Tata Sky HD/Airtel Digital TV HD > Tata Sky (standard)/Airtel Digital TV (standard) > Dish TV >Videocon DTH

I actually wanted to get an upscaler for my HDTV and ever since those guys started doing it themselves, I felt it stupid that others complain. But if they were charging you for those pseudo-HD channels than thats bluffing and a reason to cry about.

Good luck with your Dish TV HD. So you use both Tata Sky HD and Dish TV HD ? coz I read from your comments

[Tata Sky HD + Tata Sky + Dish TV in my house]

Originally Posted by Sarath

But Big tv have a very bad reputation for their CC in general. Lets make that clear to OP.

I already mentioned that, and didn't included Reliance Big TV in the comparison.

[Sarath]

I have a normal Dish and Tata STB gathering dust in my room.

Have you tried IPTV? Do they have HD channels?

I really wanted that back when I was getting a connection but I am not sure if they have any HD channels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just checked the list. That relieves me a lot. More bloatware/unnecessary channels skipped, means less time surfing which is better. Among that only Movies Now HD is something of a sore point. I see adds in the papers and think of when it will come to Tata Sky.

Why did you post that? I am glad I dont have Zee Smile, Zing, etc sorry can't rem the rest.

Thats why OP should go through the packages available in each and the monthly tariff calculated based on that. Simply saying one has the most number of channels is not a valid point.

[s18000rpm]

my vote goes for tata.

been a tata sky user since 2007.

i never had any problem with tata sky, & i've called their CC only once since purchasing, & it was for address change (new house, re-installation)

apart from heavy cloud /rain, tata sky never had reception problem.

[xtremevicky]

Tata is the best . Dish is also up there .

Airtel is also good but its expensive !

[dreatica]

Originally Posted by Sarath

I have a normal Dish and Tata STB gathering dust in my room.

Have you tried IPTV? Do they have HD channels?

I really wanted that back when I was getting a connection but I am not sure if they have any HD channels.

Yeah, hv tried IPTV but its not worth it. HD channels with IPTV ? I dont think they have even 70channels in IPTV when I applied for. Better to get DTH then IPTV.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by Sarath

Just checked the list. That relieves me a lot. More bloatware/unnecessary channels skipped, means less time surfing which is better. Among that only Movies Now HD is something of a sore point. I see adds in the papers and think of when it will come to Tata Sky.

Why did you post that? I am glad I dont have Zee Smile, Zing, etc sorry can't rem the rest.

Thats why OP should go through the packages available in each and the monthly tariff calculated based on that. Simply saying one has the most number of channels is not a valid point.

You don't need to care for surfing if you are using Tata Sky or Airtel. Both have wonderful user interface. I dunno why you added such a point. The special channel "whats now playing integrated with Airtel Digital TV" helps me to decide whats coming and I don't have to search

I can take that for Dish tv as they have the worst UI, and stb takes more time to change channels. I am sure you will agree to this after using Tata Sky.

I posted as you request

Did you quote me saying more channels ? I said everyone should go for the DTH which has the channels they want and forget about customer care. You cant compare with other experiences as it may be bad for me, but good for you Its me that finds Tata Sky HD bit costlier as compared to Airtel Digital HD which provides same experience and who will mind getting more channels in same or less cost.

FYI, movies now HD is the only channel I watch these days. (I usually watch Sports when F1 or India cricket series). Plus the super hit channel which shows 8-12 new movies every month by paying 20rs plus tax is worth it. The movies are like Dabang etc.

How many times Tata Sky offer free new movies to their customers ? I saw Tanu Weds Manu for free yesterday on Airtel DTH.

[PraKs]

Originally Posted by Skud

Airtel is the worst. Run away from it. Every now and then it comes out with Installation Error type of thing even in good weather condition. Sometimes it's get cured automatically, other times you get to the customer care, and they charge 100 bucks every time they come. And yeah, definitely the best customer support around!!! Whenever, I booked a complaint, it gets automatically closed without the technician ever showing up. And you have to book a fresh complaint again. And even that gets closed. And this step will continue almost half a dozen times before the technician actually comes.


If you can put up with it, picture and color quality are good. And it's one of the cheapest IMO.

100 % agree with you on this one - I booked a complaint, it gets automatically closed without the technician ever showing up.

Raised around 13 complaints for issue in Airtel DTH & daily evening they sent SMS at 7 PM, Issue resolved & Closed. Sold Airtel DTH.

[Skud]

I am still putting up with it, as the price is still better than it's competitors IMO.

Also I have paid till September, so no respite for me yet.

[Ishu Gupta]

Airtel. I have it.
Never had a problem. Only goes down if there is very heavy rain (power goes off before airtel DTV anyway). Once I called CC to change my plan and the plan was changed before I even hung up the phone.