Hathway goes HD in Bangalore??

[Rgn1]

I am living in Vasanath Nagar, Bangalore. I asked the cable operator to install HD set top box. I alread have the SD set top box. He said One Time payment 5500 + 200 rs per month. I agreed to it after going through this forum. But now he is asking 300 rs more. He says Hathway HD SB does not come with HDMI Cable. All other HD SBs comes with HDMI Cable. I checked it with my friend who has Airtel SB. Is it true Mr Gopichand? Do i need to pay extra 300 to him?

In areas where Hathway directly operates, for a payment of Rs 6666 you will get the set top box + 1 years subscription bundled [no monthly charges for 1 year].

So its better if you can negotiate for a better deal.

 

[gopichandpai]

I am living in Vasanath Nagar, Bangalore. I asked the cable operator to install HD set top box. I alread have the SD set top box. He said One Time payment 5500 + 200 rs per month. I agreed to it after going through this forum. But now he is asking 300 rs more. He says Hathway HD SB does not come with HDMI Cable. All other HD SBs comes with HDMI Cable. I checked it with my friend who has Airtel SB. Is it true Mr Gopichand? Do i need to pay extra 300 to him?

Is he asking for Rs300 per month instead of Rs200? If yes, then he is just trying to make some money. Negotiate with him.

Hathway HD STB comes with a HDMI cable. It is a very small cable(probably 1 or 2 feet). If the distance between your TV and HD STD STB is more than 2feet, you better buy a new cable

 

[amitpsawant]

Thanks a lot Gopichandji. The cable operator was asking 300 rs for the HDMI cable. I told no to him. Then he says only with this SB the cable has not come. How can I get hathway HD SB directly from hathway? Do they operate in Vasanth Nagar Area?

 

[cmsajith]

if this is the only receiver came w/o the cable (as per him) then ask for the receiver which is having it, simple. He is just trying to make money.

 

[gopichandpai]

Thanks a lot Gopichandji. The cable operator was asking 300 rs for the HDMI cable. I told no to him. Then he says only with this SB the cable has not come. How can I get hathway HD SB directly from hathway? Do they operate in Vasanth Nagar Area?

Call these numbers 080-41228955/56/57 and find out if they provide the direct connection. If yes, take it from them rather than your cable operator.

If they are not providing the direct connection, the only option is to buy it from your cable operator. Buy a HDMI cable from ebay. You will get 3m ones for less than Rs300.

 

[gvsriks]

Can somebody who used Hathway HD and Tatasky HD/Airtel HD comment and compare on the quality of
1) Video in HD channels
2) Video in SD channel
3) 5.1 Audio in HD channels

Some other queries:
- the latest list of HD channels available in Bangalore?
- possibility of HD-DVR option in Hathway?
- Does it have USB port? so that recording can later be enabled by software update?
- Howabout the software updates to the HD STB? Does it happen over the cable or needs separate internet connection?

Thanks in advance

 

[gopichandpai]

Below are the list of HD channels available in Bangalore

350. Star Movies HD with Dolby 5.1
351. Movies Now HD with Dolby 5.1
353. Zee Studio HD with Dolby 5.1
358. Star Gold HD with Dolby 5.1
359. Zee Cinema HD
365. Ten HD
366. ESPN HD
367. Star Cricket HD
368. Six HD with Dolby 5.1
370. Star Plus HD with Dolby 5.1
371. Colors HD with Dolby 5.1
373. Zee Tv HD
374. Sony HD with Dolby 5.1
377. Star World HD with Dolby 5.1
381. CNBC Prime HD
385. NGC HD
386. History TV18 HD with Dolby 5.1
387. Discovery HD with Dolby 5.1
388. Travel XP HD
396. MTunes HD with Dolby 5.1

--HD-DVR is not launched by hathway yet. Not sure when they will be launching it.
--It has a USB port. There is a possibility that it can be enabled by software update
--Software update happens over cable. So far there have 2 software updates mainly to do with UI and menu changes.

 

[gvsriks]

Thanks Gopichand

Can somebody compare the Video and Audio quality of Hathway with Airtel or Tata sky for both HD and SD channels.

 

[rahulxy]

Was wondering if anyone has connected a pen drive or external hard disk to the USB port on the HD STB. Does the light of the device come on or are there any other messages? I'd try it myself but its a pain to reach the back of the box

 

[gopichandpai]

I have tried connecting USB. Nothing happens as if nothing is connected to the STB

 

[petes]

I believe we need to wait for firmware update before we can start using USB

 

[petes]

Just wondering when would regional channels like Sun network, ETV goes HD.. just curious..??

 

[petes]

From last 30 mins I have noticed that, on channel Movies Now HD & MTunes HD eventhough the audio signal is 5.1, i am unable to get the surround sound...

Does anybody having the same issue on this particular channels..??

 

[nowwhat?]

Just wondering when would regional channels like Sun network, ETV goes HD.. just curious..??

Sun already has 4 channels in HD. Not sure through which DTH provider but please check with Sun DTH. If you are into Sun, you may also like the ad-free regional movies they broadcast (but not in HD I think).

Thanks Gopichand

Can somebody compare the Video and Audio quality of Hathway with Airtel or Tata sky for both HD and SD channels.

I had looked into this a few months ago when I got a satellite connection. Apparently Airtel provides the best picture and sound quality these days because it seems Tata Sky moved to a lower quality audio format to cram in more channels into their current satellite bandwidth. Airtel is running off a new satellite so they do not have any bandwidth constraints and will not have any for some time to come. There was a heated discussion on another website and from what I can make out, picture quality and sound quality are not constants like we imagine and they keep changing all the time depending on the bandwidth on the satellite they use.

Personally I went with Airtel DTH and I like it a lot. I wanted a DVR and Tata Sky and Airtel DTH were the only two options. Videocon DTH and a few others say that you can connect an external hard drive or USB pen drive through the USB port but I found it too complicated and unreliable. Airtel DTH offers a 500 GB hard drive which can store many hours of HD quality programming and I am sure I am nowhere near the limit yet. The Airtel box and remote are of very high quality. The remote especially is a treat.

By the way, customer service with both Tata Sky and Airtel DTH sucks big time. To set up the satellite dish, I had to escalate to Airtel HO. After that everything has been fine and I really don't see any reason to call Airtel DTH for a long time.

I did have the option of Hathway but the local Koramangala cablewallah wanted to rip me off by charging some 7K for the set top box and then the monthly fee. Moreover I learned that even though Hathway offers the most free HD channels, both picture and sound quality are not that good. Over the years, I had also been irritated with the signal going off every time power went off in my area. So I decided to drop this option.

 

[gopichandpai]

is anyone facing disturbance in sound of MTunes HD channel? Sound disappears for a fraction of a second completely spoiling the song and it happens very often

 

[petes]

Actually on Movies HD, Star Plus HD, Star World HD & Mtunes HD there seems to be problem with the Dolby sound..
when I select Dolby on my receiver for these channels, I am NOT unable to get the surround sound (rear speaker).
However, if i select "All Ch Stereo" on my receiver, I am able to get the surround sound (but not sure whether this is exacatly the surround sound, coz i see the same sound from front and rear).. But the receiver displays the red logo (Dolby logo)...
This strange behaviour is happening only on these channels...rest are absolutely fine

Also on ZeeStudio HD..even though I have selected Dolby on my receiver, the sound is actually not Dolby cos i am hearing the same sound from front & Rear...

Any thoughts...?

 

[petes]

Gopi - for these channels (Movies Now HD, Star Plus HD, Star World HD & Mtunes HD) evethough the receiver is detecting the Dolby Signal still there is no sound coming from surround speakers...rest of the HD channels are fine

Let me know if you are having the same problem..??

 

[gopichandpai]

@petes yes same problem here too...
By the way are you facing any disturbance in MTunes HD?

 

[petes]

yup, same with Mtunes also...Infact my cable operator is aware of this issue and said that the problem is with the broadcaster itself..may few more days

 

[mohitj]

USB Port is of no use on the box but when i put in a pendrive in , it lights up the power light in the pen drive