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

I have booked new HDTV & am gravely confused between TATA & Airtel :sad:
Somebody help me

I had Airtel before and cancelled and took a hit on money which also raised my frustration. I have shifted to Tata Sky but still not sure if I am happy. However between the 2 I say TS is better. I heard Hathway HD esp. in bangalore is by far the best but its new and i haven't seen them either.
 
My Tata Sky yearly subscription is coming to an end this week. I have all channels pack and not sure how much I paid last year - 5500 I think. But now I got the new prices and its 6900 for all channels which I think is a bit too much. I also have a second connection and thats a 1800 extra.:mad:

Just heard from a friend that if I dont renew..they call back after few weeks and offer to reduce the price - any of you guys have a similar experience? I think 5K a year is good enough for all channels.

Any idea how much does Hathway charges for all channels deal in Bangalore?
 
I too have the same subscription package, but now I am wondering if it is time to shift from TS - the main reason being they are unable to add HD channels - for whatever reason - they should surely have had a back up plan.
 
switch to Dish guys, it is time to be practical, they do charge quite a lot but they also keep adding more true HD channels. The Royal Pack costs 550 per month with 100 additional for 3 more HD channels. This comes to 6600 per year. 2nd HD connection is 250 per month which is 3000 per year. 2nd SD connection on the other hand for platinum pack is 160 pm which is 1920 per year. I pay monthly but if I do pay yearly I think around 600 more discount can be got. So the point you need to pay for quality. However consideration for you should be that even if you want to change provider it means startup cost comes again so that needs to be considered even with the higher price you are paying with TS. It is your hard earned money to spend so consider all costs before abandoning your current conection.
 
thye v just added 2 more HD channels and already hiked the prices....:( Hate commercial money driven strategies!!!just wish some good Englsih channels are HD ised!!!!:( soon
 
Anybody here have some definate information on when TS will be able to add more HD channels ?

Would appreciate it if subscribers to Dish & D2H service can inform us what is the total cost for subscribing to ALL the HD channels available from these providers ? Thank you!
 
Which one to chose - Airtel HD or Tatasky HD. They both have 5.1/7.1 audio output. Watching movies would be good but seems Tatasky is not adding any movie channel except Starmovies HD which has been there for long time. Airtel has two movie channels Starmovies HD and Moviesnow HD. Any idea when Tatasky would be adding more HD channels. Seems like they are the one with least HD channels. Would prefer Airtel for more HD channels with 5.1 sound output but how good is their Customer Service in areas like Chennai. Which service has more regional channels? Videocon does not have 5.1 audio output so not interested in that
 
Which one to chose - Airtel HD or Tatasky HD. They both have 5.1/7.1 audio output. Watching movies would be good but seems Tatasky is not adding any movie channel except Starmovies HD which has been there for long time. Airtel has two movie channels Starmovies HD and Moviesnow HD. Any idea when Tatasky would be adding more HD channels. Seems like they are the one with least HD channels. Would prefer Airtel for more HD channels with 5.1 sound output but how good is their Customer Service in areas like Chennai. Which service has more regional channels? Videocon does not have 5.1 audio output so not interested in that

I am satisfied with Airtel HD 7.1 Dolby not that I tried the 7.1 bit.

But why don't you take a look at Videocon DTH? I think they have the most HD channels that too for a good price. Technology is supposed to be latest but they don't have a DVR in the box -- They say you can attach an USB flash drive to record.

I spoke with all a few months ago. My general impression is that they are all equally poor in the customer service department. Airtel called me right away more than once, Videocon was civil (not aggressive which I liked), Tata Sky & Dish Network never bothered and I didn't call Sun.

Service is central for most queries and not much is local. Airtel has contracted dish installation to smaller contractors and they seem to have limited control over them. So generally with these providers, it does not matter which part of the country you live.

Mind you there is generally no reason to call once you have the dish set up. I had DishTV for many years in the US and never called them even once after the initial installation.
 
I am surprised by the "7.1" claims. As far as I know, none of the DTH operators are transmitting in 7.1. At least TataSky does not. Screen shows "Dolby Digital Plus" but DD+ does not automatically mean 7.1 channel sound. When hooked to the AVR via HDMI, the AVR display indicates Dolby Digital. The blue HD icon does not light up.

Can anyone for certain state that there is HD 7.1 sound, even if limited to certain events only?

p/s. For that matter, less that 20% of the blu-ray discs have 7.1 track audio.
 
My Tata Sky yearly subscription is coming to an end this week. I have all channels pack and not sure how much I paid last year - 5500 I think. But now I got the new prices and its 6900 for all channels which I think is a bit too much. I also have a second connection and thats a 1800 extra.:mad:

Just heard from a friend that if I dont renew..they call back after few weeks and offer to reduce the price - any of you guys have a similar experience? I think 5K a year is good enough for all channels.

Any idea how much does Hathway charges for all channels deal in Bangalore?

today is my last day of the yearly subscription. Do I just pay 8600 for the two connections or wait for them to offer me some discount? anyone with similar experiences?
 
I am surprised by the "7.1" claims. As far as I know, none of the DTH operators are transmitting in 7.1. At least TataSky does not. Screen shows "Dolby Digital Plus" but DD+ does not automatically mean 7.1 channel sound. When hooked to the AVR via HDMI, the AVR display indicates Dolby Digital. The blue HD icon does not light up.

Can anyone for certain state that there is HD 7.1 sound, even if limited to certain events only?

p/s. For that matter, less that 20% of the blu-ray discs have 7.1 track audio.

No DTH provides 7.1 DD+ sound. This is just FAKE MARKETING by these DTH providers.
They are not even providing 5.1 DD sound properly (Airtel and TataSky both screw the DD sound with highly compressed DRC affected audio on almost all the HD channels. Moreover, they are not even providing proper Stereo sound on SD channels.) These providers think they are smart enough to fool customers by screwing audio quality and saving their bandwidth costs.
Even after multiple complaints, they don't care of resolving these patty audio issues and they claim they have millions of satisfied customers, then how come you're having problem with our services !!
 
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guys consider Dish HD, price is a bit higher but cheaper if you have multiroom or pay for a year at one go.
 
I am satisfied with Airtel HD 7.1 Dolby not that I tried the 7.1 bit.

But why don't you take a look at Videocon DTH? I think they have the most HD channels that too for a good price. Technology is supposed to be latest but they don't have a DVR in the box -- They say you can attach an USB flash drive to record.

I spoke with all a few months ago. My general impression is that they are all equally poor in the customer service department. Airtel called me right away more than once, Videocon was civil (not aggressive which I liked), Tata Sky & Dish Network never bothered and I didn't call Sun.

Service is central for most queries and not much is local. Airtel has contracted dish installation to smaller contractors and they seem to have limited control over them. So generally with these providers, it does not matter which part of the country you live.

Mind you there is generally no reason to call once you have the dish set up. I had DishTV for many years in the US and never called them even once after the initial installation.


Presently I am using the cable digital set-top box from SCV and I am satisfied with their quality but nothing to rave about, just good. Just for Rs.250/- I have all the regional channels and all sports channels and English movie channels. However I want to experience the true HD channels with surrond sound. I have a 46"Samsung LED T.V. I am particularly looking for the 5.1 surround sound option.

Videocon has good number of HD channels but they do not have 5.1 DD option. I am more confused after seeing some posts stating that the 5.1 surround sound is not true as claimed by these providers. I think Sun HD has true 5.1 DD surround sound but they do not have much HD channels and particularly there is no HD sports channels. Seems like their service is also a nightmare and not sure if they have improved now. Maybe I think I shall go with Airtel since they have two good HD movie channels and hope I do not have to contact their customer service.
 
today is my last day of the yearly subscription. Do I just pay 8600 for the two connections or wait for them to offer me some discount? anyone with similar experiences?
Once you are ensnared, they do not offer discounts. But a threat of switching, bitching about low number of HD channels, high cost, etc., may help.

No DTH provides 7.1 DD+ sound. This is just FAKE MARKETING by these DTH providers.
They are not even providing 5.1 DD sound properly (Airtel and TataSky both screw the DD sound with highly compressed DRC affected audio on almost all the HD channels. Moreover, they are not even providing proper Stereo sound on SD channels.) These providers think they are smart enough to fool customers by screwing audio quality and saving their bandwidth costs.
Even after multiple complaints, they don't care of resolving these patty audio issues and they claim they have millions of satisfied customers, then how come you're having problem with our services !!
That is what I thought also. Here is my experience:

Star Plus HD/Star World HD/Sony HD/Zee HD: Mostly sounds like monoaural sound with sound coming from center channel. Minimal surround effects if at all.

Star Movies HD: Surround sound heard but nothing that compares to DVD's Dolby Digital (forget DTS-HD MA).

NG/Discovery HD: Discovery HD yields artficial surround - even dialogues heard from left/right channels. NatGeo - a little better.
 
I like tata sky service and also their DVR. Changing to anything else will be a pain. Was trying to understand if anyone else got any discounts. will be happy to pay 7K for two connections
 
Star Plus HD/Star World HD/Sony HD/Zee HD: Mostly sounds like monoaural sound with sound coming from center channel. Minimal surround effects if at all.

I suppose you're using TataSKY HD.
All these Drama/Soap Opera channels don't have much scope for Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Most of them are only serials with rare background score.
Zee HD originally doesn't provide 5.1 DD sound. Airtel provides only Stereo sound on it. TataSky seems to have enabled fake 5.1 DD sound on Zee TV, resulting a much inferior sound than the original Stereo sound.

Star Movies HD: Surround sound heard but nothing that compares to DVD's Dolby Digital (forget DTS-HD MA).

Airtel has screwed the sound of this channel, hence no proper surround sound. Rear speakers sounds very low with sort of unnatural sound.
However, Tata SKY provides much better sound on all the 4 Star HD channels.

NG/Discovery HD: Discovery HD yields artficial surround - even dialogues heard from left/right channels. NatGeo - a little better.

These channels don't have all the programs in 5.1 sound. Most of them are in Stereo only, but what these DTH providers have done is...they seem to enable fake 5.1 sound, hence it looks quite unnatural.

The point is...all the DTH providers should telecast the original audio and video provided by the channel broadcaster, without downgrading the original bit rate of the channel's audio/video. But customers are always at mercy of these DTH providers !!
 
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