[Help] 2 Queries Regarding Various DTH Services: Tata Sky, Dish TV and Big TV

[Vishal Gupta]

Hi guys

I need some help from existing DTH users using Tata Sky, Dish TV or Big TV.

I want to know a few things before going for DTH:

1. Almost all DTH provides way to use it in more than one TV set by purchasing 2 set-top boxes along with some extra charges per month, I want to know can we have separate plans for all TV sets in a home?

I mean suppose I have 2 TV sets and purchase DTH, now can I have different plans for both TV sets or will I have to take same plan for both TV sets?

2. Almost all DTH provides Parental Lock facility, Do they provide password lock? If I set parental lock on a few channels, will they come in the list while browsing through channels and will ask for password? OR they remain completely hidden and don't appear in the channel list? If they don't come in the list, then how can we access them? Do all channels get a fixed channel number?

Any kind of help will ne much appreciated.

[nvidia]

Originally Posted by Vishal Gupta

1. Almost all DTH provides way to use it in more than one TV set by purchasing 2 set-top boxes along with some extra charges per month, I want to know can we have separate plans for all TV sets in a home?

I mean suppose I have 2 TV sets and purchase DTH, now can I have different plans for both TV sets or will I have to take same plan for both TV sets?

No i don't think thats possible in Dish TV.
You can have the same plan in the 2nd TV and it costs you 100 bucks irrespective of the plan in the 1nd TV afaik.

[Chirag]

Me tatasky user, yea if you set parental lock on any channel it would be shown in the channels list and you will be asked for a password. I guess all channels have fixed numbers.

[Vishal Gupta]

^^ Does is show channel name when we password protect it? Also when we enter the password to watch the channel and then we move to some other channel, does the password protected channel again asks for the password on next access?

Also if we set password on more than one channel, do we need to enter the password each time we access those channels or entering password for one channel also unlocks the other channels?

[Chirag]

^^
Yep it shows the channel name when asking for password. Not sure abt asking for password again but mostly it does.. You will have to enter password for every channel you have password protected. A single password entered won't unlock all the channels.

[Vishal Gupta]

^^ Thanks. That was really helpful.
Any other Dish TV, Big TV and Tata Sky user who can put his valuable comment here?

[abhijit_reddevil]

^^^Me also wanting to know, which among the three is the best?

[Sukhdeep Singh]

broadbandforum.in is a good place to look for DTH

[Chirag]

One thing I would like to add about Tatasky. Seen many people saying that the transmission is lost during rain, but at my place even during heavy rains..it works perfectly. no quality loss or anything.. One bugging thing is that, Tatasky people remove any channel anytime and transfer it to some weird package and then in order to watch you need to pay, they just removed Topper channel a month back.

[Kl@w-24]

Currently Tata Sky is not showing Ten Sports, Neo Cricket & Sports, Star Sports, ESPN, Star Cricket in their generic packages. You'll need to buy a separate package. And to top it all, I got myself a sports package, but it doesn't contain Ten Sports!! For that, I'll have to buy another package containing other channels which I don't even need!!
And over here, the reception is not affected by light showers, but once it starts raining heavily, you won't get any signal.

[mehra.rakesh]

Hey why do you need a parental lock for ?? I mean nothing is shown on the tube as such anyway..

Regarding which is best , i wud say that BIG TV is the best simply coz it has Mpeg 4 transmission .
Also a little birdie says that government will make it compulsory for all operators to have a transcoder in the set top box. which will allow you to migrate to other operators and ur STB will be future proof . ( i posted a transcoder DIY in my site for current STB's and was forced to remove it from there)

I have a DISH TV connection and the quality is not that different from cable wallah , but for the same 200-300 bucks you get more no of channels .

Also abt the rain thing , the transmission is very bad . I receive only 1 channel if i am lucky . On the bright side it lasts for 5 min max when rain starts .

[Kl@w-24]

And one more thing I've noticed on Tata Sky. Whenever nearby mobile phones receive any call or message, they cause interference with some channels, leading to garbled sound & picture as long as the call is on. Happens to me with ESPN, Star Sports, NEO Sports & soome other channels as well.

[karmanya]

^^ that never happens with me, but then i don't watch that much TV
@topic starter, I wouldn't suggest you buying one now. Wait till Big Tv releases its Deals, plus bharti is coming out with its own DTH, which will(in terms of technology) be the best of them all.

[nvidia]

@Vishal: Stay away from TataSky. They keep changing package plans. If you opt for monthly subscription then you'll have a tough time choosing the right package. If you buy TataSky, then choose the right package(s) and opt for yearly subscription. That way you won't have to worry about removal of some channels for a whole year.

And if you have good signal strength(>80%) you wont have any problems when its raining.

[Chirag]

Tatasky here. Anyone facing problem with CN channel, I mean after some time of watching CN the sound goes all disturbed types (donno how to frame), like pause play, pause play..... only when watching CN in English.. Anyone facing similar problem?

[shashank_re]

@klaw-24,
That is not the problem with TataSky but with your TV! That will happen even if you use cordless phone...!

[Kl@w-24]

Originally Posted by shashank_re

@klaw-24,
That is not the problem with TataSky but with your TV! That will happen even if you use cordless phone...!

Oh really?
Then why doesn't it happen with all channels? And why doesn't it happen when I watch the very same channel on cable??

[Vishal Gupta]

I think I should go for "Tata Sky" as it seems good. Dish TV was not successful to impress me and I will not on for Big TV as its a Reliance product.

So which plan should I go for in Tata Sky? And if I go for yearly subscription, will my channel package not change even they modify it within year?

PS: I'll need it for 2 TV sets, so what will be the extra charges?

[nvidia]

^^If you go for yearly subscription then they wont change anything in your package.. They wont add new channels, they wont remove anything.
In case they add anything and you want the channel you can subscribe to that channel too later by paying for that channel..

[Vishal Gupta]

^^ That sounds good. So suppose one new channel is released and I want to subscribe to that particular channel, how much will they charge for it? Any idea?

[Kl@w-24]

^ ^ ^
The charges for a single channel are usually Rs.30-40 per month.

[Vishal Gupta]

^^ Thanks.

[Vishal Gupta]

Guys

Today I contacted a dealer in my city about Tata Sky and he told me that there is an offer running for new customers, in which one needs to pay 3999 and he gets one year subscription of "Super Saver Pack" which will include almost all channels along with the hardware.

I think he was talking about this:

http://www.tatasky.com/grand-festive-offer-tc.html

I read all terms and conditions and I found following point:

Tata Sky reserves the right at anytime, to discontinue any channels contained in the Festive Promo Pack.

Which seems tricky to me. What are you opinions guys?

Also he told me "Ek baar lo to sahi, Main aur paise kam kar doonga". So does that mean these dealers charge extra money than the original offer? How can they give us discounts?

PS: Does the dealer has anything to do after the subscription is purchased? I mean if we face any problem in future, do we contact the dealer or do we use online helpline?