[rkg]

as i have already mentioned in my post most of the MSO are TV companies themselves. if they are under reporting they are doing it only to avoid taxes to govt not the other way. now a days there are no independent cable operators. most of them co opted for MSO's whoever not opted was eliminated from the business itself. u get pure cable guys only in remote areas offering few channels. any guy offering 100 in operating through MSO.

[esteem_lover]

Okay, the MSOs are the tv companies & they are evading duty. then why did they insist on CAS ? they could have been happy just the way it was. why bring in CAS & find that you have to pay your taxes, now that there is no chance to conceal ??

in fact after CAS most of the pay channels became free in TN

only the local tamil channels were made free channels.

[bigman]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

there is provision to pay online here if you have a username & password
»DishTV - India's first DTH entertainment...

That is if they can be bothered to send you a username and password. I tried registering months ago and chased up the matter. To date no one has bothered to send me a username and password.

Will be voting with my feet and switching to Tata Sky.

[esteem_lover]

my first year is coming to an end next week & i have to make decision about this too. we will wait & see

[rkg]

then why did they insist on CAS ? they could have been happy just the way it was. why bring in CAS & find that you have to pay your taxes, now that there is no chance to conceal ??

CAS was introduced not bec Tv companies wanted it but due to court order. that order was also diluted and people in chennai were made guinea pigs for experimentation. actually the cable guys wanted CAS TV companies opposed it. u can search the net for archives and see it for u'r self. The TV companies used all means and dumped CAS as they do not want it. bec it exposes their false claims of huge under reporting by local cable guy. local cable guy wanted it for the same reason( they are forced to more and more per sports channels just before every indian cricket match and they are caught between customers and tv companies.
TV companies are afraid that once CAS is introduced many will not opt for pay channels( it is proved right in madras, what i mean is no of people opting for pay channels has come down substantially compared to earlier where every one has to pay a flat monthly fee. now majority are adjusting with free stuff) accordingly TV companies lost money.
further chennai is chosen to implement bec none of the big Tv companies have a presence in the cable distribution in TN( Hathway, citi, Incable) it sumangali that rules here. at that time jaya is in power, BJP at centre is an ally of jaya. sumagali is owned by maran. so chennai was chosen.
even now if CAS comes more than 50% will not opt for all those channels they are getting now .bec none watches all these channels. no one can watch all. so one can choose and pay only for the few they watch. this TV companies don't want. further if CAS comes it will affect the DTHn which most of them are planning. during CAS saga citi is on the side of CAS and star against it.
actually cable guys formed an association and pleaded that CAS be introduced ASAP.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

I use the DTH dish tv from India here in dubai, and it works..I get all the channels, amazingly clear..and it is way too cheap compared to the packages provided by the UAE cable companies!!only hassle, the subscription need to be paid back in India!!

Can we get Tata Sky here too?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by mithun

Off-Topic...

Why we are not getting the free TV channels of foreign countries with the help of our normal Dish Antenna in India ? Is it blocked by the Govt ?

your Set Top box needs to decode the signals. there is no way the govt can block satellite signals of select channels.
I guess if you import a set top box card from the US it may work.
Interestingly FCC has ordered cable companies to bundle unlocked set top boxes which can take the card of any provider. This is to free the subscriber to choose his own hardware.
In the Indian context if such a thing happens it would mean you can buy a blank set top box and then insert a Tata or DishTV card to get any subscription you want.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Can we get Tata Sky here too?

Why not.
Get a connection in India, take your Set top box to Dubai. All you need is to find the coordinates to point your dish to.
Infact in South India you can access signals of Channel V SE asia which are not available up north.

[rkg]

here are the link to CAS saga
Indiantelevision.com's CAS Headlines Archives - 2004
it is monthwise. one can go through and see that broadcasters tried their level best to sabotage CAS where as cable guys wanted it.

Broadcasters thrilled, cable frat incensed by Trai order

Indiantelevision.com Team
(19 February 2004 9:00 pm)

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said that new channels may be launched but the price cannot be out of sync with the prices of similar channels that were existing on or before 26 December, the cut off date for freezing of cable prices.


It also indicated that there is no ceiling on cable operators or service providers but any decrease or increase in number of channels should be calculated on a pro rata basis and that the price freeze order is effective in CAS and non-CAS areas.

After announcement of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Tariff Order 2004, a number of questions had been raised in regard to the underlying import of the provisions of the order by the industry. Through today's directive, the regulator attempts to clarify certain contentious issues.

Pointing out that Trai has not put any sort of a ceiling or bar on new launches, the clarifications issued by the regulator said, "In such cases, the Tariff Order does not provide any specific ceiling. However, in specifying the relevant charges (cost of a new channel for the subscriber too), the charges that the broadcaster/multi system operator/cable operator might have in place in the contiguous areas/similar channels as on 26 December 2003 should be kept in mind."

Explaining the rationale behind this, Trai chairman Pradip Baijal told indiantelevision.com in the evening that the clarifications issued by the regulator is more aimed at bringing about a semblance of orderliness in an unorganised industry.

On the pricing of new channels, if launched now, Baijal said, "the basic aim is to see that the consumer does not get affected by industry's own games. If new channels are to be launched, then the industry needs to absorb a major portion of the cost because the burden of the extra cost or service cannot be passed on to the customer." Similar calculations would have to be done if the consumer base is sought to be increased by the broadcaster for increased subscription revenue.

For the pay broadcasters, the Trai order came as welcome news but not so for the cable fraternity, who made no bones about their displeasure with the latest directive from the regulator.

"If there is a price freeze, then there is a price freeze. Why should there be calculations done on a pro rata basis?" an executive of Zee Telefilms' cable arm Siti Cable said.

National Cable & Telecom Association's Vikki Chowdhry said, "How can Trai think of keeping the consumer immune from any price hike, if the broadcaster raises its subscriber base or pushes for that? It is evident that the government of India is bent on favoring the pay TV channel broadcasters for the sake of their utility in the coming general elections whereby this NDA Government will solely utilize the broadcasting media to their advantage now after giving this sop to the broadcasters."

"The previous order of Trai dated 15th Jan 04, of freezing the cable subscription was welcomed by cable service providers as well the consumers at large, but after today's clarification the previous order passed in the consumers' interest has no meaning left," an NCTA statement said.

Star India COO Sameer Nair was in a far more positive frame of mind (to put it mildly). "This is very good news," Nair said. "In any case, we had dropped our price from Rs 30 to Rs 27 so the Trai order serves to underscore an issue that we have constantly been trying to get across. Which is that there has been massive underdeclaration and increasing the subscriber base is a legitimate option that will only improve transparency in the business," Nair said.

K Jayaraman, CEO of the Rajan Raheja promoted MSO Hathway Datacom (in which Star has a 26 per cent stake) refuses to buy this argument. "If more declaration is demanded, prices have to go up. If Trai implements this then it should also decide the subscription margins that the broadcaster, MSO and cable operator should take home. Otherwise it will just not work."

SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta was also happy with the latest developments. "It is good that Trai has clarified the matter," he said.

HTMT group director and CTO KV Seshasayee had this to say: "We believe that Trai probably is not fully informed about the implications of saying the subscriber base numbers can change. This will be used by the broadcasters to force declarations far beyond what the MSOs are getting paid for. It will finally hit the consumer because we will be forced to pass on these extra costs which MSOs cannot bear since we are already incurring huge losses."

The latest Trai directive has completely taken the wind out of the Cable fraternity's sails. It remains to be seen how they respond to this setback.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Can we get Tata Sky here too?

I am not too sure about TATA Sky, but Dish TV can be received in Dubai, SL, Bang, Pak etc.

[risga]

Hi,

I live in the CAS area of Mumbai and am serviced by Incable (MSO). I bought my box for Rs.2000 outright arounf 15 Dec. Few days later, I was horrified to know that they had reduced the price further to 1000 (+ taxes if you went for a-la-carte channels at 5 each) or 1500 (+ taxes, + one bouquet free for 6 months) or rental.

I spoke to my friendly cable walah and surprisingly said that i will receice the benefit of reduced prices and the excess which has been paid will be adjusted in future bills. So, end up with a box for Rs.1125 and I have selected 22 channels. Pre CAS bill is 325 pm. Post CAS, it should be 250 pm.

I am quite satisfied with my neighbourhood cable. He is contactable over mobile and usually fixes any problem in 3-4 hrs. Infact my dad as Dishtv and he finds their customer service really bad. There is nobody to pick up the phone at their call centre. These chaps dont even provide bills, but are quick to dis-connect only.

DTH guys are going to jack up prices shortly. So whatch out!!

[srasania]

I just hope Neo Sports provides the India-WI feeds to DTH soon..am missing out on the cricket !

-sr

[muni]

Booked a new connection yesterday night by paying Rs 3999 ( includes 500 Rs worth of charge time which is 55 days) and the tata service guys have installed it first thing in the morning.It took about 2 Hrs for them to get it installed.

The reception is quite good and much much better than the poor cable reception with all those associated nagging problems .

It really is worth for the price and the peace of mind it gives you. Further cuts in monthly subscription rates + initaial hardware costs would definitely attract a lot of customers.

The installation guy was saying that there are already around 50,000 customers who are using Tata Sky.

The future looks bright for sure..

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by srasania

I just hope Neo Sports provides the India-WI feeds to DTH soon..am missing out on the cricket !

-sr

trust good old DD to sneak a deal by hook or crook

[gkrishn]

Booked the tata sky on saturday night. The guy showed a bit of resistance, to do the installation on sunday. But then aggreed to come in by 12:30.

He didnt keep with the time thought... came in 2 hours early, and got the work done by 12:30. The next door neighbor has dish tv installed. Those guys have simply thrown the wire from terrace through their balcony. the tata sky was like walking all around the house to get a good entry point. Then finally decided to use the wall mounted cable entry point. This took around 45 mins extra to get the wire through cable socket installed in the apartment complex. Have to say, i am pretty impressed with the job they did. There are no dangling cable wire any where, right from the dish to my tv.

The singal is just above 60% and quality is above 80%. I am living behind this nal,hal, beml after the airport. Any one from these areas, any feedback on how much % of this signal u get???

[Raajiv]

Guys,

Got the TATA Sky DTH installed for 4K.Signal Strength is 40% and Signal Quality is 100%,but the picture is clear?Is there any problem in Signal Strength?Should i call Tata Sky Engineers again?