[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by carboy

Is Netflix available in India? Or are you talking about subscribing and watching through a VPN?

No, I was referring to the DNS and paid subscription option only. Think it will be cheaper since I share the connection with a friend.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

Funny thing is I just called Videocon D2h customer service
And for some strange reason, they mostly only want to converse in Hindi. Even if the customer mentions he prefers speaking in English. Also concerning was that they understood me better when I switched to speaking Hindi but initially they didn't have a clue what I was asking for (and I am pretty articulate, I can assure).

I agree on this. I have used services of both operators and the customer care of D2h is not very knowledgeable. That is why in previous post I had mentioned that if your installation is done right you need not talk to these guys frequently. Since I have their highest pack, I don't need to talk to them for activating/deactivating certain package. Only once I had to call them for something and it became quite difficult to make them understand what I was asking.

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Is VideoconDTH relatively the cheapest option? Do they have all the Sports channels that TS is offering?

I have no experience of all operators but I believe they are definitely cheaper than Tata Sky and Airtel. Regarding sports channels, I haven't done one to one comparison but I think they have all that Tata Sky offers.

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I agree on this. I have used services of both operators and the customer care of D2h is not very knowledgeable. That is why in previous post I had mentioned that if your installation is done right you need not talk to these guys frequently. Since I have their highest pack, I don't need to talk to them for activating/deactivating certain package. Only once I had to call them for something and it became quite difficult to make them understand what I was asking.

Thanks for sharing, shipnil. I'm going to be out of B'lore for close to 20 days next month, so family has asked me to look into another provider in Jan. I'm going to keep an eye out on this thread to see if any Videocon D2H users or new members complain or are happy.

Since you're a D2H user, can I ask if all new channels are automatically added to the highest pack (HD platinum or non-HD platinum, ROI or South, whatever it's called) or do you need to pay for them?

I very quickly checked Tatasky website and noted that their Mega pack for B'lore, for 2 TVs is going to be pricey (~830+/month). Videocon is going to be about 700/month.. It will be difficult to decide since I don't see how I'm going to have peace of mind with TS, going by the TS comments here. Last thing I want is paying top money for the DTH and then be conned for pennies.

Originally Posted by bhp4putuval

Hi,

I am a tata sky customer since a very long time . Honestly, I do not remember if it was 2008 or 2009. Since then I have been using their service without any major hiccups. Once I had no service for 4 days, but it was because the junction box got damaged in a rain leak.

The cost is very high with regards to the other DTH. The quality and clarity of the picture in Tata sky is unmatched. I have not checked with all DTH, but whatever I had seen, I have noticed that Tata sky is offering the best clarity and quality.

Regarding loss of channels, I also faced this issue. I called up the customer care, and explained that I had lost some 4 to 5 south channels. They said that the set top box is very old due to which there is a channel incompatibility. They told me to pay Rs 500 for the new set top box, and bingo, I am getting more channels than what was available earlier. When I enquired, it was found that most of the channels has been migrated to MPEG4 transmitter-receiver mode, due to which our old set top boxes (tuned for MPEG3 mode) could not understand, and the default not-subscribed message is displayed. Could this be the reason for your not receiving the signal? I am asking because most of the customer care people themselves will not be aware of this technical details themselves.

Regards,

Hi bhp4putuval, i'm not sure if you'd written this as a response or comment to my post, but partly assuming it was. I don't really see too much TV but the package is there for my family members to see what they want. I don't check often if I'm getting the channels per my package but in principle, the channels as part of the package I pay for, should be relayed to my home. If the STB cannot support it, then it is Airtel's responsbility to call me and inform of such and discuss how to handle it. Handling such issues on a case by case basis, in my opinion, is wrong and depicts an attitude where they clearly don't care if the customer gets what he/she pays for (which I agree is what most companies do anyway). I don't know if this is how all DTH providers treat their customers and there is really escaping all this.

I'm positively looking to move away from Airtel DTH, so I won't be checking with their CS now.

[bhp4putuval]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

Hi bhp4putuval, i'm not sure if you'd written this as a response or comment to my post, but partly assuming it was. I don't really see too much TV but the package is there for my family members to see what they want. I don't check often if I'm getting the channels per my package but in principle, the channels as part of the package I pay for, should be relayed to my home. If the STB cannot support it, then it is Airtel's responsbility to call me and inform of such and discuss how to handle it. Handling such issues on a case by case basis, in my opinion, is wrong and depicts an attitude where they clearly don't care if the customer gets what he/she pays for (which I agree is what most companies do anyway). I don't know if this is how all DTH providers treat their customers and there is really escaping all this.

I'm positively looking to move away from Airtel DTH, so I won't be checking with their CS now.

Well, I can say only two things in this regard.

• Unfortunately ... you are in India.
• Only a crying baby gets his milk.

And regarding "don't care for customer", I am not taking the side of the customer care. But then do we really care? If we had cared, we should have filed a petition in the court for this lapse. Did you do it? No! Because you do not have the time to run around this. And hence you do not care about what they do. Instead you choose to dump this service and run to the next available service. And the businesses knows this. So they take advantage of you.

So if you want to improve the system in India, stand up and raise your voice, else go about your life with what is being offered, instead of complaining in forums like this. Because even if you move from Airtel to say, Videocon ... they will exhibit the same behaviour and you will again start switching around. Ultimately, you are losing your hard earned money switching around, and they, the businesses are going merry playing round-the-robin game with you.

[braindead]

I have been trying to find a solution for this issue all over the place. Maybe someone here can shed some light:

I am trying to connect a DAC amp for my headphones to the tata sky HD+ STB using the spdif out. This setup works for all channels except HD. It is not a question of volume levels either because I tried a higher gain and the output was still zero.
(The DAC amp is the Fiio E17)

Does tata sky STB spdif out work for HD channels?

cheers

[PetrolRider]

I am using tata sky normal SD services for a year now. Last month I shifted my rental accommodation which has a common tata sky disk service to all flat.

Now, I am facing pixelation (picture getting stuck) issues after 1 week of installation. Called the service engineer 3 times and finally the guy says it is not their problem and it is the building common wiring that connects the DP box to my flat and suggest me changing the same .

But the problem happens mostly in prime times (7-9 PM) and not always. Somehow I feel the service guy is taking me for a ride and the issue could be somewhere in the common disk installation. Otherwise how do the poor cable knows when is prime time and most tv sets are switched on !!!

Anyone ever faced any such situation before? Should I change the cable ?

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

I am using tata sky normal SD services for a year now. Last month I shifted my rental accommodation which has a common tata sky disk service to all flat.

Now, I am facing pixelation (picture getting stuck) issues after 1 week of installation. Called the service engineer 3 times and finally the guy says it is not their problem and it is the building common wiring that connects the DP box to my flat and suggest me changing the same .

But the problem happens mostly in prime times (7-9 PM) and not always. Somehow I feel the service guy is taking me for a ride and the issue could be somewhere in the common disk installation. Otherwise how do the poor cable knows when is prime time and most tv sets are switched on !!!

Anyone ever faced any such situation before? Should I change the cable ?

Pixeletion is normally caused by data drop outs. As it happens in prime time, it points to excessive load on the line. Unless each outlet has a dedicated line from the distribution amplifier, this will happen at high loads. In my opinion your only recourse it to get your own dedicated dish and line.

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Pixeletion is normally caused by data drop outs. As it happens in prime time, it points to excessive load on the line. Unless each outlet has a dedicated line from the distribution amplifier, this will happen at high loads. In my opinion your only recourse it to get your own dedicated dish and line.

Thanks for the conformation.

I was also assuming the same. I have my old dish lying out on the store. The only thing pulling me back is the installation as per the association rules shall cost me money and also all the mess by getting the wire all around the house.

I can think the problem must be for all houses and as many houses are not yet occupied the problem will multiply once all of them started using the common connection. Then may be association takes some corrective action such as putting extra dish and diverting traffic.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by huntrz

As far as I know only very old(i think pre 2010) customers with SD boxes require upgrade to new STBs.

Not many people know that TS offers to replace the pre-2010 boxes for free, with one month warranty. I took this offer and replaced my 2009 box last month. They tried to push me to pay Rs 500/- and get 6-month warranty on the new box, but I figured that my old box lasted me 4 years without problems, there was no reason to pay for the warranty, that too only for six months.
I must say the service was fantastic. The TS technician called me within two hours of placing my request to the helpline, and I had the box installed that evening.

[sumathindra]

Is it true that if one does not switch on the TS box for more than 3 or 4 days, the channels get blocked! You then have to call TS CCare and they in turn activate it again.

I have had multiple calls with these folks and no one is able to tell me the logic for this behavior. All this inspite of me paying 8K annually for their services...

[rohan_iitr]

Please be careful while renewing Tata Sky's annual packs.

I had opted for annual grand sports pack last year (you need to pay for 11 months and get 1 month free).

When the annual pack was due for renewal, I started getting reminder SMS from Tata Sky, more than a week in advance of the expiry date of the annual pack (the messages did not mention the expiry date of you existing plan).

On receiving the first reminder, I recharged my Tata Sky account with the appropriate amount for the annual pack, but I decided to wait for few days to give them the go-ahead to renew the annual pack.

Finally 2 days before the annual plan was about to expire, I got another reminder SMS from Tata Sky, mentioning that the annual plan is due for renewal tomorrow. So I called up Tata Sky helpline and asked for renewal of the same plan.

The Tata Sky executive conveniently activated the new annual plan with immediate effect (meaning 2 days before expiry of my existing annual plan). I came to know about this only when I received the confirmation SMS.

I had to call up Tata Sky again to bring to their notice that they have double billed me for 2 days. They accepted the mistake and gave me refund for the same.

I was cautious, hence they could not cheat me. But I'm sure they must be cheating many customers with this modus operandi.

Just imagine if some customer renews his annual pack when he gets the first reminder SMS, Tata Sky would conveniently pocket the subscription charges for a week of subscription.

Rohan

[Hells_Fury]

Originally Posted by sumathindra

Is it true that if one does not switch on the TS box for more than 3 or 4 days, the channels get blocked! You then have to call TS CCare and they in turn activate it again.

I have had multiple calls with these folks and no one is able to tell me the logic for this behavior. All this inspite of me paying 8K annually for their services...

It is true that they deactivate the services if you do not use it for some time but I am not sure how much time they wait before deactivation. In my case I had not switched it on for 15-20 days and had to call CC to get it activated again.

[sumathindra]

This is absurd. There has got be some logic in doing so. I am sure this is not a safety feature as well. No one in TS is able to answer this!

[filcord]

Originally Posted by Hells_Fury

It is true that they deactivate the services if you do not use it for some time but I am not sure how much time they wait before deactivation. In my case I had not switched it on for 15-20 days and had to call CC to get it activated again.

Not sure if this is correct. I have a connection at my holiday home , which I have used after three weeks of inactivity, no problem whatsoever. I do a periodic monthly recharge. Generally, if I know I will not be using it for a longer period, I do not recharge, and pay Rs 10 for re-activation after two months or so.

[Hells_Fury]

Originally Posted by filcord

Not sure if this is correct. I have a connection at my holiday home , which I have used after three weeks of inactivity, no problem whatsoever. I do a periodic monthly recharge. Generally, if I know I will not be using it for a longer period, I do not recharge, and pay Rs 10 for re-activation after two months or so.

I have subscribed to an annual pack, so I did not have to pay anything to re-activate my services.