[k2max6]

As per norm a standard dish takes upto 4 connections be it SD or HD. Although only 2 DVR's run off a single dish as each requires two cables.
Airtel, TataSky & DishTV do the same for MultiRoom connections.
A separate dish is installed only in the case of a separate connection with a separate customer id.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Hathway provides all of them in addition to CNBC Prime HD, Travel XP HD and MTunes HD. And all this for Rs 200 per month. Not sure if there are any more HD channels in India other than this, except the ones from Sun TV group.

I wanted to renew my old Hathway connection and inquired about their HD services. I was told that it would cost me Rs 6500 for the first year including the set top box, and that the prices after one year are still unknown.

Am I being taken for a ride or is this a reality? Can Hathway users please confirm?

I prefer Hathway to other providers as I don't want messy wires from the dish antenna to the TV.

[smsrini]

Hi,

Is it true that tata sky is upgrading their satellite and will be adding 60 additional channels ? And to receive these you need a THIRD cable running from the dish to the he ever ?

Can any one confirm .

Thanks
Srini

[Sn1p3r]

How long should a DTH box last? I have a TATA-SKY HD box that is having issues and in 2 years we have max watched 700 hours of TV as its the third TV in house and wasn't used much. It starts and then refuses to show picture for first 15 mins after which it starts working perfectly, then if you power-off to standby using remote it repeats the same issue. Is there something I can do on my own as TS service says to replace the box and they will buy back at ₹ 350 while I paid ₹ 3000 at the time of launch with no fault of ours. Should I go in for exchange with TataSky HD plus? Thanks!

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I wanted to renew my old Hathway connection and inquired about their HD services. I was told that it would cost me Rs 6500 for the first year including the set top box, and that the prices after one year are still unknown.

Am I being taken for a ride or is this a reality? Can Hathway users please confirm?

I prefer Hathway to other providers as I don't want messy wires from the dish antenna to the TV.

I paid Rs 5000 for the HD STB and got another 500 in exchange for the old one. There are no additional charges after that and the monthly charges remain the same, in my case Rs 200 per month.

In your case, is 6500 for both box and one year charges? If that is the case, it looks good. The best option for you will be to get the box and use it for one year. Keep the old SD one with you. If they play prank after that, continue on SD. I notice that here in most apartments I know they don't have a different rental for HD. Not sure about how they do it for individual houses.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Had a discussion with uhe sun direct guys, they said Sun HD with the box/antenna cost around 2940/-
Since I am already with the SD, they can give me a 500/- discount. Insane!!

But should I opt for it? I have a 40" LCD

As of now I recharge for 200/- PM
What would be the monthly spend if I go for HD?

Think all missed my post. Which HD service is better in terms of quality/service?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by vasoo

I paid Rs 5000 for the HD STB and got another 500 in exchange for the old one. There are no additional charges after that and the monthly charges remain the same, in my case Rs 200 per month.

In your case, is 6500 for both box and one year charges? If that is the case, it looks good. The best option for you will be to get the box and use it for one year. Keep the old SD one with you. If they play prank after that, continue on SD. I notice that here in most apartments I know they don't have a different rental for HD. Not sure about how they do it for individual houses.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks for your information. It looks like you are paying Rs 6900 for the first year. Though it may be slightly higher, the yearly charges look attractive in your case.

I might shift the SD box to another room that has a 32" LCD. I was told that I'd need to pay half of monthly charges for SD for it, which works out to Rs 115 approx.

I visited Hathway website and it shows around 8K for HD option. I remember it was 5.5 K or so around 2 weeks back.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Think all missed my post. Which HD service is better in terms of quality/service?

I can comment only on Airtel since I am using one. I have a HD recorder and the HD channels are terrific. I bought this for 5,250 in exchange for my old SD receiver.

Cons
1. Removed Star Cricket, ESPN and Start Sports from their HD platform.
2. No Animal Planet HD
3. No provision to transfer the recorded contents to any other media.
4. Recorded programs do not play if you have subsequently removed that particular channel from your subscription.
5. Recorded programs do not play when you experience signal outages like during thunderstorms, rain or strong winds.

I think the Tata Sky is also pretty much the same. Do check out HD channels available with each operator and choose accordingly. Dont trust the asli HD channels, they are SD.

[neofromcapone]

I got a Videcon d2h HD STB, by paying One year's Subscription fees upfront. Its was around 5500/- for the primary connection. In Addition they give me 50 days extra along with it.

The way I see it, NO capex, only monthly fee. Next year when renewal time, I will move freely to the best available offer.
As I will not have an investment stuck in the STB, the box should be reliable for one year at least, and that's the duration of the warranty.

[mmxylorider]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Hi,

Is it true that tata sky is upgrading their satellite and will be adding 60 additional channels ? And to receive these you need a THIRD cable running from the dish to the he ever ?

Not confirming, but there could be some merit in what you have heard. Our building has a common dish installed by TataSky and one of their engineers recently came by to do an inspection. On being questioned why, he mentioned that they are trying to determine the capabilities to run additional cables off that dish.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I think the Tata Sky is also pretty much the same. Do check out HD channels available with each operator and choose accordingly. Dont trust the asli HD channels, they are SD.

Thanks. How much are you paying monthly, for SD and HD? Did you exchange Airtel SD for HD?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Is it true that tata sky is upgrading their satellite and will be adding 60 additional channels ? And to receive these you need a THIRD cable running from the dish to the receiver ?

Seriously? Two cables are required so as to run two different channels parallely, so now unless TATA Sky is planning to enable recording or viewing of three channels parallely, I dont think three cables will be required. If that is true, then people will have a problem with both internal and external wiring. Who would like three fat cables running across the living room, or three cables running in the duct, which is a difficult thing to achieve especially with coaxial cables.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

1. Removed Star Cricket, ESPN and Start Sports from their HD platform. - AVAILABLE ON TATASKY
2. No Animal Planet HD - NOT AVAILABLE ON TS
3. No provision to transfer the recorded contents to any other media. - NOT POSSIBLE WITH TS STB, PIRACY ISSUE
4. Recorded programs do not play if you have subsequently removed that particular channel from your subscription. - I NOTICED IT IN TS 2 YEARS AGO, DON'T KNOW THE CURRENT SITUATION
5. Recorded programs do not play when you experience signal outages like during thunderstorms, rain or strong winds. - THANK GOD, TS STB IS NOT SO DUMB

Based on my experience discussions with friends, I have understood that TS costs a bit more and offers fewer true HD channels. But overall experience is the best of the lot.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I think the Tata Sky is also pretty much the same.

That is incorrect.

1. Star Cricket, ESPN and Start Sports available in HD platform.
2. Animal Planet HD is available
3. No provision to transfer the recorded contents to any other media - True
4. Recorded programs do not play if you have subsequently removed that particular channel from your subscription. - Not sure about this.
5. Recorded programs do not play when you experience signal outages like during thunderstorms, rain or strong winds. - False

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Thanks. How much are you paying monthly, for SD and HD? Did you exchange Airtel SD for HD?

Yes, it was for exchange. I have chosen the basic SD package (Rs.208) and selected only the English HD Channels(Rs.91, I think) (Of course they always find a way to squeeze/force in some Hindi Channels). My daily burn rate is Rs.9.98.