Help for selecting best HD DVR DTH service

[city02 63]

moneycontrol is blocked for us

can someone paste the article?

What TRAI proposals mean for viewers, satellite TV industry >> http://www.moneycont...try_699301.html

[SantoshRoyal 16]

moneycontrol is blocked for us

can someone paste the article?

What TRAI proposals mean for viewers, satellite TV industry >> http://www.moneycont...try_699301.html

Moneycontrol Bureau

Indian television industry is gearing up for a sea change once Digitalised Cable TV norms recommendations are rolled out by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. According to the norms, television viewers will soon get to choose a minimum of hundred free to air (FTA) channels at a maximum retail price of Rs 100.

Cable operators will have to mandatorily offer a Basic Service Tier (BST) to viewers throughout the country. The Basic Service Tier would consist of 100 Free to Air channels including 18 mandatory Doordarshan channels plus the Lok Sabha channel.

The TRAI tariff order lays down that apart from the mandatory channels in the BST, cable operators and Multi System Operators (MSOs) will have to provide customers a minimum of five channels of different genres.

The genres which TRAI has named are General Entertainment Channels (GEC) in English, GEC- Hindi, GEC - regional, music, news, movies, sports, kids infotainment, lifestyle.

Customers can also choose another option which includes some pay channels and pay a monthly price upto Rs 150, the TRAI rules state.

Here are some of the TRAI's

guidelines :

Carriage Fees

• Every broadcaster shall provide signals of its TV channels on non-discriminatory basis to every multi system operator (MSO) having the prescribed channel capacity.
  
• The MSOs who charge carriage fee are required to declare the carriage fee for carrying a TV channel. The carriage fee shall be charged in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner. Also the carriage fee can not be revised upward for a minimum period of 2 years.
  
• The details of the carriage fee is to be filed with TRAI. In case TRAI finds it necessary, it shall intervene and ask for appropriate modifications in the carriage fee.
  
• Every MSO may fix the carriage fee but applied in a uniform, non-discriminatory and transparent manner. The Carriage Fee cannot be revised upward for a minimum of two years. TRAI would intervene in case it is felt that the Carriage Fee is unreasonable.
  
• The MSOs can fix the retail tariff, design package and price offerings. The sum of the a la carte rates of channels, forming part of a bouquet, shall not exceed 1.5 times the rate of the bouquet.
  
• The a la carte rate of any channel shall not exceed three times the average channel rate of the bouquet.
  
• 
  Must Carry
  
  • The majority of the broadcasters are in favour of mandating must carry provisions to balance out the ‘must provide’ clause prescribed in the existing interconnect regulations. They have suggested that the manner of offering network access should be on a non-discriminatory basis and the qualifying conditions may include openness to audit & transparency, non-discriminatory listing of channels and all channels should feature genre-wise in the EPG of MSO.
    
  • The broadcasters shall not provide their channels to MSOs who have channel carrying capacity of less than 200 channels immediately and less than 500 channels from 1 January 2013 or 1 April 2013 for smaller MSOs.
    
  • However, considering the fact that the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are to go digital on 1st July, 2012, and many of the MSOs may not be able to create a capacity to carry a minimum 500 channels per headend by this date, in the first instant, they have been allowed to operate with a minimum capacity of 200 channels per headend.
    
  • To allow MSOs to provide the access to its cable network smoothly, atime frame of sixty (60) days has been provided for in the regulations which is equivalent to the time frame given to the broadcaster under the must provide provisions.
    

  Unhappy News Broadcasters Association protest

  News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has strongly opposed TRAI’s approval to allow Multi System Operators (MSOs) to collect carriage fees from broadcasters.

  Unhappy at the recommendations, NBA said that it is "shocked and dismayed at TRAI's new Notification dated 30.4.12 on digitising cable TV distribution."

  "The Notification has legitimised the very practice the NBA had hoped would be ended, i.e. the payment of steep "carriage fees" by broadcasters," a press release stated.

  This unfairly penalises broadcasters and threatens the very survival of the broadcasting industry. The association has requested the government to review the notification and “correct it urgently”.

  Consumers’ last say

  The new tariff order may just open up a new price war among the DTH players in the competitive market. Experts feel that consumers are most likely to have the last laugh in this price tug-of-war.

  K Jayaraman, CEO, Hathway Cable Network was reported saying , while the move will spur the process of digitisation in India, the DTH players will either have to shift their complete focus to the upper class or will have to bring down their prices to half of existing rates.

  Stock impact

  According to an ICICI Securities report, major beneficiaries will be all broadcasting players, especially broadcasting networks and popular news channels. Broadcaster tariff capped at 42% of non-addressable rates is status quo and is far higher than prevailing market rates of sub-20% for DTH players.

  Goldman Sachs reiterates 'Buy' on Dish TV as it stands to benefit from mandatory digitisation of cable TV, and expect the company to turn PAT/FCF positive in FY13/FY14.

  Goldman Sachs also expects Sun TV to benefit from the digitization upgrade, but reiterate Neutral rating as the CBI/ED investigation overhang should limit near-term re-rating

[digitalnirvana 646]

Please suggest DTH box including HD DVR, factors to be considered:

1 Ease of use in menu navigation etc.

2 Require 1. "core" entertainment channels (star plus, colors, sony etc.), 2. regional bengali channels, 3. bengali/hindi/english news channels and 4. sports channels in lower cost packs

3 Cost per month and again, ease of choosing packs

4 English movie channels not required, discovery, natgeo etc english channels not required

This will be used in Calcutta.

HD DVR will hardly be used but want that option to be future proof.

Edited June 10, 2012 by digitalnirvana

[me_saket 73]

go for tata sky HD DVR 500GB @6210

order online here so will get good discount compared to retailer. http://www.tatasky.com/directSalesHome.do

then go for supreme sport kids pack of rs260/month or 2860 for 12 months + english news top up of rs rs 30 per month.

very good qaulity dvr, + easy navigation+ good CC support+ good web chat support.

or

box+installation+1 year supreme pack+ 4 movie+ cleartrip Rs1k voucher+ 1 month hd gold pack At Rs 8470.

OR check availability of d2h HD dvr 320GB. they have more regional bengali channel+ more hd channel+ package cost upto 10% less than tata sky. but navigation is just average+ hardware is also average

[city02 63]

there is no device on the planet that is 'future proof'

all electronics go obsolete eventually

regardless of any marketing hype of new technology

outside electronics, probably knives and fire would be future proof!

at least they have been around for centuries...

in a decade, dth itself will start getting replaced by iptv / 4g / broadband

so no ugly dishes / external wiring would be required at all with unlimited storage capacity in a 'cloud'

also you would be able to directly add / drop any channel / pack from the remote instead of sms / email etc.

remember dvd rentals going bankrupt due to hd recorders?

HD DVR will hardly be used but want that option to be future proof.

[digitalnirvana 646]

Thanks both, will check!

I have an existing TS connection in Blr, so hope they give some discount for another connection.

One thing I am myself confused is about the HD facility because the TV is not HD ready, so essentially it is not going to be used (this is why I said future proof). But I want the DVR facility to allow recording, so is there something that does not make me pay for HD but allows DVR? SD DVR is what I mean. Sorry if stupid question.

[@v@nit 3]

I have both TataSky HD + DVR and Videocon D2H HD DVR. Videocon hardware is not that great, but having maximum True HD and Regional channel and better Picture and Audio quality as well with Cheaper Package rates and good after sales support too. Go for Videocon without second thought.

^ you can take DVR without HD packs and enjoy SD channel recording and when HD is required, Just upgrade your Base or addon pack.

Edited June 12, 2012 by @v@nit

[digitalnirvana 646]

Thanks for the help, for videocon have Saket/Avanit faced any hardware issues? I am a bit nervous about that. Does the box cause issues after one year warranty gets over, or is it just an observation you are giving.

One more stupid question, we have SD TV limited to 99 channels, will we still be able to access the 200+ channels these DTH operators provide?

Edited June 12, 2012 by digitalnirvana

[rajanmehta 4,056]

You can access full number of channels from DTH Set top box on any TV provided it has a video input.

TV Tuner channel capability is not relevant as your DTH video feed is not going there.

[digitalnirvana 646]

Thanks for the clarification.

[@v@nit 3]

It is just a observation in Past 2 years experience with my previous SD Box. 2 times I had issue like broken Picture frames and always taken care at max on next day of the complain.

and If you do yearly recharge once, your warranty gets converted to lifetime. So no worries.

Thanks for the help, for videocon have Saket/Avanit faced any hardware issues? I am a bit nervous about that. Does the box cause issues after one year warranty gets over, or is it just an observation you are giving.

One more stupid question, we have SD TV limited to 99 channels, will we still be able to access the 200+ channels these DTH operators provide?

Edited June 13, 2012 by @v@nit

[me_saket 73]

D2h warranty valid for 5 years.

ts warranty valid for 1, then u can take AMC of rs350-400

Sent from my HuaweiU8300 using Tapatalk

[nitink 279]

got 2 digital set top boxes installed from my cable wallah. costed me 800/pc with cable rates same as earlier ( 165 bucks for 2 tv's / month)

picture quality is nice. wanted a hd one but seems DEN has not launched them yet. will upgrade to HD once they launch it.

[csmart 472]

I am planning to buy DVR to replace my STB from Tata Sky. I've mutli room connection (only 1+1). I will be replacing only 1. I want to know if I buy DVR in one room, can other STB access the recorded content, provided both are from same DTH operator. Does any operator has this facility? Also again same question, which is better, Tata Sky or Videocon? In terms of HD channels and recurring cost.

[@v@nit 3]

No there is no such facility avaliable with any of the operator to access content of DVR box from other.

Videocon is best less monthly package cost and maximum TruHD channels.

Edited July 5, 2012 by @v@nit

[rajanmehta 4,056]

I want to know if I buy DVR in one room, can other STB access the recorded content, provided both are from same DTH operator. Does any operator has this facility?

No

Also again same question, which is better, Tata Sky or Videocon? In terms of HD channels and recurring cost.

Videocon

[csmart 472]

Thank you all... will update you shortly which one I buy.

[Deepak Shankar 79]

Looking at the packages Videcon d2h looks attractive vfm anybody from chennai using this service let me know how good are their service signal customer service.In case of positive reply would love to jump to videcon from tata to whom i pay same amount for half the channels offered by videcon d2h

[csmart 472]

Videocon is planning to sell its D2h business to the one of the competitors. The most likely it will be Dish TV.

I am posting this here, so anyone who is planning for for new STB, can take an informed decision.

Read more here...

[rajanmehta 4,056]

Such reports have been floating since few days but they seem to be rumours/gossip only.

If one reads the article mentioned which itself is full of contradictions, it looks like an impossibility!

Excerpts from the article..

Videocon will begin talks with rivals independently after it partners with a foreign operator. “Videocon is in talks with one of the largest DTH operator in the US to form a joint venture,” the same person said. He did not reveal the name of the partner.

If Videocon has to sell why it will first form a joint venture with foreign player?

Tata Sky and Dish TV denied any talks with Videocon. “These are market speculations and we are not in talks with anybody,” Harit Nagpal, managing director and chief executiver, Tata Sky, said. Dish TV, too, denied any talks with Videocon or any other DTH player.

“Consolidation is a very difficult exercise because you have to go to every subscriber and change his dish,” said Nagpal of Tata Sky.

Videocon, though the last entrant in the DTH sector, has been the fastest in adding subscribers. It crossed 4 million subscribers in October 2011 and has added another 1.1 million until June this year. It adds 0.17 million subscriber per month, only trailing behind Airtel’s 0.19 million additions, data released in February 2012 by Singapore-based consulting firm Media Partners Asia (MPA) showed.

The company occupies 11.4% share of the DTH market, ahead of Reliance Digital TV with 9.5%, according to the MPA data.

[csmart 472]

Can anyone confirm the price of Tatasky HD+ (HD DVR)? A dealer told me Rs 5300/-(4000 & 1300 installation charges). While on the net its showing Rs 6480/- . Besides, do I really need installation from Tata sky if I am upgrading my SD STB.

[Proton 21]

Can anyone confirm the price of Tatasky HD+ (HD DVR)? A dealer told me Rs 5300/-(4000 & 1300 installation charges). While on the net its showing Rs 6480/- . Besides, do I really need installation from Tata sky if I am upgrading my SD STB.

Upgraded last month. Got 500 rebate for old box. waiver of installation fee. Total of 2000 less than website quote. Customer care will explain to you the details.

Since the box is changed, the chip card is also changed (like a simcard functionally) requiring a registeration of the new chipcard. Also matching of the box to the dish tuning, requiring small alignment adjustments. So yes, not a DIY!

Edited July 12, 2012 by angeleyes

[me_saket 73]

Ts is having best quality stb and service than D2H and airtel.

after hiking of prices by almost all dth operator, d2h packs are not cheapest, but definately hd channel count is highest among all in d2 h.

d2h availability for hd dvr with 500gb is problem.

if u upgrade ur old ts sd box with hd dvr then u have to pay Rs5500 with Rs300 cash back.

for complete new connection price is. 6480.

but i suggest u not to return old box, get that once again attach in ur account.

regarding smart card/ chip. If u upgrade box, then old card can be used, no need to think , ts technician are knowledgeble for installation.

Sent from my HuaweiU8300 using Tapatalk

[csmart 472]

@saket what's de point in attaching old stb to the account? I already have 3 connections in same account.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk 2

[csmart 472]

Got TS HD+ with HDMI cable. It has network card and 2 USB ports but all are disabled. no idea why. The manual says its for future use. I've paid Rs. 5300/-