Best dth hd provider in india - airtel vs videocon vs tata sky

[CAPT BAURY]

Airtel vs. Videocon vs. Tata Sky
-------------------------------------------------------------

The packages offered by various DTH providers are ambiguous and very confusing.
The market is flooded with DTH providers like Dish TV, TATA SKY, BIG TV, Airterl Digital, SUN Direct, Videocon D2H and others. It really becomes really frustrated and complicated as to which is the best and whom to choose and whom not to.
You also need to see what is suitable for you like South pack etc.

After digging deep into the packages provided by above DTH providers, Tata Sky is a clear winner despite least of HD chs compare to Videocon and Airtel, Tata Sky Megalite annual is the best offer with no hidden costs, giving the best value package and is bang on the bucks.

The most important to notice is that all the good chs that you would like to watch including all sports chs are included in Megalite.
Other providers have very smartly excluded a few good chs in different packages and charging you a premium for same.

Below are my ratings exclusively for best HD/DTH provider in India:

1) Tata sky
PROS - Best value for money, no hidden costs, best HD DVR recorder USER interface, best hard drive capacity 500GB, Dolby Digital plus 7.1 surround sound, No hidden cost. :clapping::clapping::clapping::cheers::cheers::cheers:

CONS Least no of HD chs offered, 8 in total


Read few articles that point to TATA SKY's capacity constraint, from what I have read and heard the increase in TATA SKY's channel count is seriously dependent on the next satellite launch by ISRO, and that too sometime in 2012. I hope they will overcome this issue sooner than later.


2) Airtel
PROS Max no of HD chs offered, 14 in total, Dolby Digital plus 7.1 surround sound
CONS Hidden cost, inferior DVD r compare to Tata Sky, Many complains from users with respect to after sale services.
Information available on Airtel website is ambiguous.:argue::argue::argue:

3) Videocon PROS - More no of HD chs than Tata Sky, 12 in Total, cheapest HD package compare to rest.
CONS - no 5.1 surround audio.

If one is happy with the audio quality provided by Videocon, It has got the best HD package available in the market.
Best value for money.

My selection Tata Sky.:yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:
Rest is up to you to choose as per your requirements and budget.


Further feedback/suggestions/inputs from fellow members are highly appreciated and would be useful to all in short listing the best HD DTH provider in India.
:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:

 

[shameer_as]

Tata sky is not good for south Indian customers especially kerala.
Picture quality in Airtel is good compared to tata sky

 

[roseboy24]

Value for money - tata sky
Very good custmor care -tata sky
Best pq - tata sky
Best hardware and recording facility via website ,mobile , one touch - tata sky

Me using tata sky and it's best .

 

[btcochin]

TS and Airtel are equally good, but I will give an extra mark to Airtel HD. (I am using both)

 

[kohinoorb]

Tata sky is the best

 

[raghumailbox]

Airtel has more no. of HD -

Airtel HD -
UTV Stars
Movies Now
StarPlus
StarGold
Star World
Star Movies
History
Discovery
NGC
Colors
CNBC Prime
StarCricket
ESPN
Ten


TATA Sky HD -
StarPlus
StarGold
Star World
Star Movies
Discovery
NGC
StarCricket
ESPN


Missing in TataSky from Airtel -
UTV Stars
Movies Now
History
Colors
CNBC Prime
Ten

The missing channels are very good and can't be ignored.
Tatasky is too slow in adding HD channels.

 

[echo77]

Tata Sky has a bandwidth crunch currently (due to ISRO GSAT launch failure last year)

But they are expected to add bandwidth and more HD channels in the next 2-3 months according to their customer service.

TS customer service has been great so far and they are also very responsive.

I have no personal experience of Airtel and its service.

 

[nindo]

have been using airtel for 4 years now. upgraded to HD DVR in main room and bought another add on connection for bedroom about 6 months back. PQ and SQ is outstanding. May be a little better than Tata Sky. tata sky offers 500 GB HDD, whereas airtel has 320 GB. Airtel offers 5.1 ch Dolby Digital through toslink/optical out for most HD channels. and of course it has the max number of HD channels- i think 14.

Customer care is pathetic. But as long as your STB and channels are working fine you will never contact customer care.!

cheers

 

[garfield]

Hi

I am using Airtel and Videocon. I have used Sun and Dish TV as well. I have not used Tata Sky as they do not sell DVR's in the suburb of Mumbai where I live.

My observations on a few points.

Customer service
The Videocon customer service is better than Airtel. Sun has the worst service with Dish a close second. Tata will not even sell a DVR in the town where I live (with a million people, so I guess they have enough customers elsewhere)

Picture Quality
Sun was the best. But the service is atrocious. Videocon and Airtel at par. Dish is inferior but I have not used their HD. The other three which I have are HD. Airtel does not have a HD DVR, only SD. Videocon is HD but no 5.1 audio

Audio quality
Videocon is only 2 channel. Sun better than Airtel, but this is subjective.

Websites
All three have pros and cons. Sun probably works the best for adding channels. You need to call Airtel to get anything done. Videocon sometimes works. Dish is totally worthless.

Just my 2 cents

G

 

[CAPT BAURY]

Hi Guys,

Last few days went about reading a lot many threads in various forums and have come to a simple conclusion that most of them are highly misleading.

It is impossible for a normal customer to conclude the no 1 DTH provider in India, taking into the consideration picture/audio quality, no of HD chs, customer service, better interface, higher hard drive capacity etc., etc.
:argue::argue::argue:
One has read enough about the 2G and 3G scams and the magnitude of money to be made in a market like ours is unimaginable.
It is pretty obvious that most of these so called self-proclaimed tech experts are common in these forums and looks like on a regular pay roll from different DTH providers. They keep bragging abt one particular operator completely misleading and brain washing consumers to buy their products.
I suggest you all to read unbiased posts / grievances in consumer forums eg mouthshut.com etc. and look into the darker side of these DTH operators before making up your mind and locking your money to one DTH provider. All of them have their pros and cons but we as a consumer need to get the best product available with least cons.

Below are a few links, I suggest readers to post unbiased reviews rather than posting misleading threads from various forums.

TATA SKY VS AIRTEL DIGITAL TV - WHICH IS BETTER - Review, News, Schedule, TV Channels, India, worst service by tata sky - MouthShut.com

TATA SKY VS AIRTEL DIGITAL TV - WHICH IS BETTER - Review, News, Schedule, TV Channels, India, Cheated by AIRTEL.ALWAYS GO FOR TATA SKY - MouthShut.com
TATA SKY VS AIRTEL DIGITAL TV - WHICH IS BETTER - Review, News, Schedule, TV Channels, India, Please dont take Airtel DTH, read my story - MouthShut.com


The best for a consumer would be to invest least money initially, make a good assessment, rather than locking your money for one year, HD recorder etc. Never mind the extra bucks you are paying in the first couple of months.
At least you have the flexibility and an option to change over if not happy with the product. Remember its always best to have an upper hand on these sleazy operators rather than complaining or being felt totally cheated at a later stage.

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

 

[CAPT BAURY]

Its high time we should have one common set up box for all DTH providers and flexibility to change over any time.
It should be made compulsory to increase competition and quality
For the satisfaction of all.
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[hearme]

Paid for an Airtel DTH on 9th Feb, 24 hrs installation promised....a local dealer called only on 11th Feb, promised installation on 12th Feb...no installation/ call :sad:

Airtel customer service and promises suck BIG TIME!!! AVOID!!

 

[manupriyam]

So what is the conclusion for this thread?

PR

 

[hearme]

So what is the conclusion for this thread?

PR

Unsure of this thread, I have asked for full refund from Airtel and switched to Tata Sky.

 

[bssraju]

Hi,
I use airtel dth. I found that the letters "airtel" is not transparent in watermark logo of airtel and complained the same to customer care.The contacted me on the same day and told me that the issue be forwarded to higher ups for suitable action and nothing happened potitive so far. I think the watermark logo of tatasky is better & non obstructive in watching the channel contents.

 

[crvlvr]

Hi,
I use airtel dth. I found that the letters "airtel" is not transparent in watermark logo of airtel and complained the same to customer care.The contacted me on the same day and told me that the issue be forwarded to higher ups for suitable action and nothing happened potitive so far. I think the watermark logo of tatasky is better & non obstructive in watching the channel contents.

I think it is RIDICULOUS that the DTH provider puts their logo on your screen. What for? You already know who you have and you are paying the bill every month. I have not seen this happen in any other country.

 

[LGANS316]

I am in India for a short visit from the UK and trying to subscribe to a provider that offers more HD channels.

Back in the UK, I use Sky+ HD and receive about 45 HD channels. I did some research and found that Tata Sky offers very limited number of HD channels, which is a shame.:sad:

I had a sneak peek of Airtel HD. Although they offer about 15 HD channels, I am turned off by the Airtel logo alongside the channel logos, and the burned in English subtitles on the movie channels.

I am now confused as to which provider I should pick. Should I subscribe or wait?

 

[nmanikoth]

Tata sky is not good for south Indian customers especially kerala.
Picture quality in Airtel is good compared to tata sky

TATASKY is a disgrace to the TATA Group as far as Malayalees are concerned. When all the other DTH service providers can provide all the Malayalam channels, why can't TATASKY ? The only plausible explanation is that the person who makes decisions about the channels to air is blatantly anti-Malayalee.

Intially, they were airing seven Malayalam channels just to rope in Malayalee customers!

I request all Malayalees to strongly protest against this discrimination so that someone wakes up at TATASKY headquarters wakes up and takes positive action immediately!:sad:

 

[suithink]

TATASKY is a disgrace to the TATA Group as far as Malayalees are concerned. When all the other DTH service providers can provide all the Malayalam channels, why can't TATASKY ? The only plausible explanation is that the person who makes decisions about the channels to air is blatantly anti-Malayalee.

Intially, they were airing seven Malayalam channels just to rope in Malayalee customers!

I request all Malayalees to strongly protest against this discrimination so that someone wakes up at TATASKY headquarters wakes up and takes positive action immediately!:sad:

Have been using Videocon...more malayalam channels and more hd channels...better for malayalees i suppose

 

[vasanthk]

I have used Dish TV and in one word to describe them "Pathetic". Poor customer service and at times when we try explaining them on the service issue they shout at you back and say i understood what you meant (before explaining!!!)and they request you to close the call. And their engineer would call (which does not happen)

Since last october 2011(almost an year) , I have been using TataSky HD and to describe them in one word "Brilliant". Their service will keep you with them forever. They are very much customer friendly. Any requests they process immediately and they call back to tell you on what they have done on the request. And their network , touch wood until today i did not have any issues...Its brilliant with Picture Quality and Sound Quality.

I will continue with TataSky HD and have no plans to shift to anything like Airtel HD just because they have few additional HD channels. All Airtel customers i knew had issues with their pathetic service and keep complaining. I think i have better works to do than complaining.

I vouch for TataSky...period!!!