[shamanth]

If recording is allowed using external Drives, is it not the violation and might lead to Piracy ?

[optimist]

Originally Posted by dadu

You can try the manual update procedure in post #1712 today.

see below

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

I am really irritated with Airtel these days. Last November, they replaced my original hd stb as it had conked off. I had to pay Rs 750 for the replacement, and the replaced stb had 3 months warranty. Now, after 5 months, the current stb has broken down. I think the problem was with the sensor which accepts signals from the remote. The technician came and told me that he will have to replace the stb and I will have to pay Rs 750 again.

I am not sure why this is happening, but this for sure a money making initiative from airtel. And the replaced boxes are not new, they are refurbished. I am totally frustrated with this. I even tried to complain about this by writing to them, but it seems they don't check their emails.

How has TataSky fared in these kind of situations? Has anyone faced any issues with the replacement of STBs?

My Airtel HD STB had update problems. A no brain came to service it and promptly told me it had "got hang". It does come on after a few (many) powercycles and continues to work fine till another power cycle. So I refused to give it for replacement and the INR 750 charge. I followed up the update problem with their service centre in person and saw my customer screen on their computers. They told me that update was not sent to the stb. I showed them my software version screens posted above by me and questioned why was i not brought up to date. They fed the update in their system and by evening mine was update to 402 with the current features. It got over the problem of seeking updates but not receiving any. They do not do any hardware level servicing for which they send it to Delhi.

The updated software, better in some ways.


Questions begs to be answered:
"Why did airtel not send the update to this stb along with others? Would I accept it as a non working set and pay up?" I'm no easy target and NO replacement till i'm sure it really bad.
"Did i do a mistake in paying them upfront for a whole year and tell them that i could be fleeced?" I'm Thinking Yes!

Not being satisfied with their replacement policy and charge every time a stb is changed in relation to the view card and after seeing the physically damaged replacement boxes none of which carried any warranty, I decided not to poweroff the STB and continue to place it on standby.

Thankfully this update connects and confirms a successful ethernet link on the settings. A Nmap portscan of the stb revealed some open ports none of which i could get any login prompt to get a uname (It runs linux). It was a 10Mbps connection.

Today I opened the box, and am in the process of identifying the parts. It consists of 2 nos of Hynix 1GB DDR2 ram, 2 low voltage drop regulators, One bus termination regulator, Nand Flash and a STB SOC chip under a heatsink amongst others. I hope to sort out the problem of the startup in due course. The innards of the box. Will update further when progress is made. (Click for a higher resolution image, the max possible on Team-BHP)

[dadu]

Originally Posted by bkbkr1212

Doesn't it mean that Airtel in a way is cannibalizing HD DVR? Most of the people would want to have a portable recording media which can be carried along. As of now, Airtel DVS costs around Rs.5990/- Any idea what the price of HD box would be? When are the planning to offer it?

I think otherwise, most will still want to buy a HD DVR since its neat, compact, portablity means nothing here as you will be able to watch the recorded program as its connected to the STB and not otherwise.

HD box costs apprx 2900, if you buy HDD separately also it will cost upwards of 5k atleast for a 320GB.

Originally Posted by shamanth

If recording is allowed using external Drives, is it not the violation and might lead to Piracy ?

Airtel has a logo on all channels + the encryption prevents it from being used without the STB even to the extent that if you unsubscribe the channel you loose your recorded playback option.

Originally Posted by optimist

"Why did airtel not send the update to this stb along with others?

Thankfully this update connects and confirms a successful ethernet link on the settings. A Nmap portscan of the stb revealed some open ports none of which i could get any login prompt to get a uname (It runs linux). It was a 10Mbps connection.

Since its over the air update, firstly its updated by STB Model type then in batches. For eg. SD users will also get the same interface in few days from now, their update is pending.

The LAN port will be used for Video on demand, iptv kind of movie service, to be used with your internet provider.

For HD users the recording service is active as long as you can get a recording remote.

[kirantp]

Friends,

Any idea when TataSky will go full HD or atleast increase their current list of HD channels?

I am really getting frustrated and left behind when I watch those HD channels offered by Dish TV and Airtel at my friend's place that are currently not available in TataSky for a long time now :(

I would also appreciate if someone can tell me which is the best DTH currently in the market - Airtel, Dish, TataSky or any other service providers.

Cheers.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by kirantp

Friends,

Any idea when TataSky will go full HD or atleast increase their current list of HD channels?

I am really getting frustrated and left behind when I watch those HD channels offered by Dish TV and Airtel at my friend's place that are currently not available in TataSky for a long time now :(

I would also appreciate if someone can tell me which is the best DTH currently in the market - Airtel, Dish, TataSky or any other service providers.

Cheers.

Best DTH is subjective to which all channels you want to watch and at what price. Jot down the channels you need and then check the website for the price point they are being offered.

[kirantp]

Originally Posted by dadu

Best DTH is subjective to which all channels you want to watch and at what price. Jot down the channels you need and then check the website for the price point they are being offered.

@Dadu: Thanks for your inputs. I meant the best in quality irrespective of the channels being offered. That includes, best HD quality,number of HD channels being offered ( I know TataSky offers least # of HD channels), Customer support, pricing etc.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by kirantp

@Dadu: Thanks for your inputs. I meant the best in quality irrespective of the channels being offered. That includes, best HD quality,number of HD channels being offered ( I know TataSky offers least # of HD channels), Customer support, pricing etc.

Airtel uses the best broadcasting technology (DVB2) and their channel package offerings are also quite good compared to others.

For me, the customer service apart from the initial installation was never a required and not a concern too, everything is managed through their website.

[kirantp]

Originally Posted by dadu

Airtel uses the best broadcasting technology (DVB2) and their channel package offerings are also quite good compared to others.

For me, the customer service apart from the initial installation was never a required and not a concern too, everything is managed through their website.

Hey thanks a lot for your few cents on this stuff. Appreciate it.

[Deep Blue]

Anybody using the DEN digital cable set top box? How does it fare with the non-
HD DTH channels?

[kbk_75]

Originally Posted by kirantp

@Dadu: Thanks for your inputs. I meant the best in quality irrespective of the channels being offered. That includes, best HD quality,number of HD channels being offered ( I know TataSky offers least # of HD channels), Customer support, pricing etc.

I am happy with Tata Sky + HD, even though it has fewer HD channels than some of their competitors atm. I briefly used Videocon DTH HD last year (for about three months, before Tata Sky had ESPN HD) and regretted every moment of it. The software in their STB is terrible. It constantly crashed, had an incompatibility with my 3D TV that caused the screen to flash black and white unless I hard powered-off the box (which made the unattended record function useless), did not offer 5.1 sound over HDMI... I even had two STBs, but both had the same symptoms. They would take 24 hours to change my channel pack, their customer service was lousy.

I'm happy with Tata Sky + HD though I do wish they would get their act together and add more HD channels soon.

[smartindboy]

Originally Posted by kbk_75

I am happy with Tata Sky + HD, even though it has fewer HD channels than some of their competitors atm. I briefly used Videocon DTH HD last year (for about three months, before Tata Sky had ESPN HD) and regretted every moment of it. The software in their STB is terrible. It constantly crashed, had an incompatibility with my 3D TV that caused the screen to flash black and white unless I hard powered-off the box (which made the unattended record function useless), did not offer 5.1 sound over HDMI... I even had two STBs, but both had the same symptoms. They would take 24 hours to change my channel pack, their customer service was lousy.

I'm happy with Tata Sky + HD though I do wish they would get their act together and add more HD channels soon.

sry for your experience using Videocon, but I have it (HD) for about 6 months now, and I am more than happy with it. Ofcourse, it doesn't offer 5.1, but I don't miss it.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by kirantp

Friends,

Any idea when TataSky will go full HD or atleast increase their current list of HD channels?

I am really getting frustrated and left behind when I watch those HD channels offered by Dish TV and Airtel at my friend's place that are currently not available in TataSky for a long time now :(

I would also appreciate if someone can tell me which is the best DTH currently in the market - Airtel, Dish, TataSky or any other service providers.

Cheers.

Just wanted to share my recent experience.
Recently upgraded the TV (Panasonic Plasma P42ST30D) and needed to get HD content. I considered DTH but since we have 2 TVs, I will need 2 Set Top boxes & Dish's simply complicating things as well as increasing our monthly charges. We've had a hathway cable connection for several years now and couple of years ago we had upgraded to their Set Top Box which was pretty good.
I spoke to our cable operator who mentioned I can consider Hathway HD Set Top box so got a demo set top box and couple of days later paid for the new one and now using it, very happy with this decision.
Set Top Box - Rs.5500/-
Monthly cable charges - Rs.250/-
Current List of HD channels are:
Star Movies, Movies Now, Zee Studio, Star Gold, Zee Cinema, Ten, Set Max, Star Plus, Colors, Zee TV, Star World, CNBC Prime, NGC, History, Discovery, Travel XP, M Tunes.
Among these, Travel XP, NGC, Discovery, Ten and Set Max are awesome

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by NPV

Just wanted to share my recent experience.
Recently upgraded the TV (Panasonic Plasma P42ST30D) and needed to get HD content. I considered DTH but since we have 2 TVs, I will need 2 Set Top boxes & Dish's simply complicating things as well as increasing our monthly charges.

Not really. Tata Sky allows upto 4 connections with a single dish. The dish will have a 4 port LNA and you will have 4 cables coming down.

Moreover in Tata Sky the monthly charge for additional room connection is Rs.160.

I pay 5,500 per year and additional 1,600 for multi room.

Obviously the regular operator is much cheaper option but I find DTH more hassle free. Compared to earlier it's just once a year payment and no tension for a year.

[karty_83]

I have recently purchased a Panasonic 32 " HD ready lcd tv . Have been using the regular cable connection and have been kinda disappointed with picture clarity and quality.
Now which option would be better ?
1) Buying a set top box separately and continuing with my present cable connection.

2) Shifting to Hathway cables (They provide st boxes i believe)

3) Tata sky DTH.

In case of Tata sky DTH, would a regular SD set top box be good enough and provide better quality than my regular cable i am using now ?

[yajaman99]

@Karty - Advisable to get a HD Settop box.
A friend has a Hathway HD connection for his Sony LCD and it just amazing.
I use a Tatasky HD for my LCD and love the HD Channels.
I am not sure of the pricing for Hathway but i would give it a go.