Best DTH Service available

[andy78]

I have already bought Airtel HD guys!

 

[aakashr]

All you need with any provider who is launching new is patience. I have Dish SD from 2007, at that time horrible service with payments, activation etc. twice in 2008 and 2009 I discontinued and there was a lapse of 1>5 years in between. Then in 2010 I revived their SD connection and finally in 2011 I got their HD. Trust me the patience was worth, at this stage Dish service is really very good, DD 5.1 all the time from Movies Now with newer HD channels (not upscaled, but true HD channels being added from time to time) and their 24x7 tech support has also improved. I have opted for multiroom feature where in I pay 550 for the HD package and the second SD connection I get platinum pack of 340 at just 160, I am going to take another 550 HD to it and that will cost me just half i.e 250 because of multiroom offer. The HD box now has recorder feature via USB.

I remember availing their tech support at 2am in night once day and unlike many other customer cares they did not say our technician will look into thiws tomorrow morning. Rather they called backed within 15 mins and provided the solution.

Payment option of Dish is better than Airtel, if you have ICICI bank account you can setup a recurring transfer to Dish TV which will relieve you from remembering the payment date every month.

Well..............I'm gonna give them another shot. My Dish HD subscription stands cancelled since I did not renew due to some STB issues. I had informed them right in the beginning but they did not respond. So, I am only going to renew if they replace the STB which has audio issues and the power button does not work.

Let's see how that goes................

 

[haisaikat]

Well..............I'm gonna give them another shot. My Dish HD subscription stands cancelled since I did not renew due to some STB issues. I had informed them right in the beginning but they did not respond. So, I am only going to renew if they replace the STB which has audio issues and the power button does not work.

Let's see how that goes................

Aakash, Was your STB under the initial 1 yr warranty when you first reported the problem and is there any ticket number? You can email that to [email protected] they do respond well.

 

[aakashr]

Aakash, Was your STB under the initial 1 yr warranty when you first reported the problem and is there any ticket number? You can email that to [email protected] they do respond well.

I think the warranty still stands as its not a year yet. I did email customer care and even spoke with them but instead of sending someone to check, they wanted me to go to the nearest service center personally. That ticked me off. Anyways............I am again going to repeat the whole process again.

Good to know they have increased their HD content but still not been able to acquire Star channels.

 

[haisaikat]

I think the warranty still stands as its not a year yet. I did email customer care and even spoke with them but instead of sending someone to check, they wanted me to go to the nearest service center personally. That ticked me off. Anyways............I am again going to repeat the whole process again.

Good to know they have increased their HD content but still not been able to acquire Star channels.

All the best man, trust me they have improved a lot than what they were in 2007. However in your case since your warranty period is otherwise getting eaten up I suggest getting this done at the earliest even if that requires taking the box personally. I am saying this because in general for any product if there is a problem under warranty and if they repair it instead of replacement then for you to properly verify whether the same problem still exists or something new crops up, you need ample time to use it. And if in doing so your warranty expires no one will hear you.

 

[pankajrathore]

Airtel Digital TV Review by Tech2: Airtel DTH HD Recorder Review

 

[haisaikat]

Sony HD and Six HD are the new additions in Dish HD, both are asli HD

 

[masterofdisaster]

My vote is for Tata sky.

 

[technobhatt]

My vote is for Tata sky.

Why... ? It's always good to provide few facts and reasons to help others understand better.

 

[masterofdisaster]

I'm using their HD+ box now, upgraded from my original plain and simple Tata sky to Tata sky HD to Tata sky HD+ now. Their service is the best in my opinion, since I have experienced Dish TV in the past.

 

[haisaikat]

since I have experienced Dish TV in the past.

This is actually a problem with normal human thinking what is once tried and tested and bad remains bad and what is good remains good with prejudice. Dish TV was bad long back, since the launch of their HD channels they have not left any stones unturned. Several people complained that they are frauds claiming so many upscaled channels as HD, but who does not do that, even on TS website it says 7.1 audio Tata Sky Plus HD Offers which is not real. In this market it seems everyone has their dark spots in some form or the other.

 

[lipimanas]

As i have mentioned, i have both tata sky hd and Dish true HD. yesterday dish true HD blocked 3 HD channels (Zee Cinema HD, Travel HD & zee studio HD ) and asked to pay additional 100 per month for a la cater package. as i had recharged for these channel with 560 per month premium platinum package previously, is it not unfair to do so?
can any one suggest, if i could claim for these channels and how?
Regarding picture quality, Tata sky HD is better than this for sd channels.
should i try for airtel HD?

 

[haisaikat]

i have two similar hd connections under multiroom policy and indeed i have also observed my fav travel xp and zee cinema blocked yesterday and in placed new zee tv hd being teleczsted. I will check

 

[lipimanas]

Friends, i am having a Tatasky HD connection at my home and Dish HD and Videocon HD
at my work place. i found videocon HD to be cheap and with maximum no of true HD channels. it provides maximum no of 5.1 sound channels.

Problem with Videocon Hd is poor signal strength during cloudy sky.

 

[reubensm]

+1 to your opinion about AirTel's customer care. I too use the ordinary AirTel connection. Their L-1 customer care is pathetic. You get all kinds of looneys on the line. What I do is if I don't get a proper response, I just hang up and call back later again. I've always got good service between 10am and 1pm, the response in the evening is usually pathetic.

At present scenario, I would recommend you should go for Airtel instead of TataSky for the reasons below:
- As you mentioned earlier, you are interested in watching Movies and Sports in HD, so Airtel has at least one more Sports HD (TEN HD) and Movie HD (Zee Cinema HD) channel than TataSky.
- At present, Airtel is providing 15 HD channels (including event based MAX HD), so you always have better chances and choices to watch something extra on Airtel than those of TataSky's 9 HD channels as of now. Also, it may take upto 6 more months for TataSky to add more channels and you never know Airtel may add more HD channels in coming months.
- There are some audio butchering issues in both Airtel and TataSky, but I'm sure you may not realize it...until you're using high-end Audio systems. But Airtel is making sure they don't have picture quality issues as in TataSky occurring few times (such as interlacing issues on StarCricket HD).
(Airtel has messed up with ZEE TV HD's interlacing flag, so this channel's picture quality looks shaky and straining to eyes. Hope they can solve it as this is something Airtel's ignorant technical team has played with the channel's interlacing settings.) But you'll find most of the SD channel quality better on Airtel. HD channels' quality is almost same in both Airtel and TataSky.
- When it comes to customer service, Airtel is definitely worse. (Can't say about TataSky) But if you have little time and patience to resolve few technical or logistic issues occurring rarely, you should go with Airtel. Airtel's level-1 customer support is really bad. But there are ways to contact their senior guys to contact over phone and emails, who will definitely take some actions to resolve your problems with sincerity.
- If you go on some technical details, TataSky is still relying on old MPEG-2 technology for their SD channels, that can never be better than Airtel's latest technology protocols MPEG-4 DVB-S2. So, you will definitely find normal SD channel quality better on Airtel than TataSky.
- It's my personal opinion that Brand TataSky is still being considered by customers just because of its name. Otherwise any new customer who is aware of technology and obsessed with HD scenario, will not go for TataSky at the moment. I too believe that TataSky is referred same way as we refer Washing Soda as 'Surf'. But, at present, it has nothing to offer in terms of quality and quantity except its good customer services.


Fair Disclosure:
I am an Airtel HD user for almost 2 years now and I started when Airtel had only 1 HD channel and less than 200 SD channels. But it has grown a lot over the time and has come up with latest offerings on channels and started using latest technologies for their STB Software and Hardware. Last year, I switched to HD-DVR and it has been a pleasant experience using Airtel's HD-DVR.
I still cry on Airtel's level-1 customer care, which is something I have learnt to handle now. Now a days, I hardly get any issue, so calling to customer care and taking their services is a thing of past for me now. Also, visiting internet so often has made so easy to resolve any issue, until it's a STB hardware related issue.