Are you in the process of choosing your DTH service provider? You are very likely to be confused with regard to choosing the best DTH service. Previously when DTH services were introduced in India, things were much simpler there were just two DTH service providers namely Dish TV and Tata Sky so choosing between the one or the other was easier for the DTH customers. Today that is not the case there are number of DTH service providers in the Indian DTH market such as Sun DTH, Big TV, Airtel DTH, besides Dish TV and Tata Sky. Added to this a couple of new service providers will be jumping into this bandwagon. Videocon DTH will be launched soon and BSNL is also planning to launch its own DTH services.
When you compare all the DTH service providers you will see that there are lot of variations in the cost, features and quality of customer service. You will also find lot of variations in the monthly channel packages offered by each DTH service provider.
In terms of cost, Sun DTH is the most competitively priced service provider. Next comes Big TV, Airtel, Dish TV and Tata Sky would fall under the higher end of the pricing scale. You need to carefully review the costs DTH service providers will club the cost of STB or set top box, dish and installation charges. Some of them also include free monthly packages. You must therefore take into consideration all the factors and you should not therefore blindly compare the price. What seems to be the cheapest DTH service can actually be an expensive service provider. So do not allow yourself to be confused or misled by the tricky DTH plans. Secondly, you must also take into consideration the ongoing charges or the monthly expenses that you should incur. By far Sun Direct DTH is the cheapest service provider both in terms of initial cost and the monthly channel packages.
The next important factor is the quality of the signals. For most of us who have been used to cable TV, DTH services in general will come as a great treat for the eyes. You will be able to see a great difference in the quality of the signals you receive. Among the DTH service providers Sun DTH and Big TV uses MPEG 4 technology. But signal quality, picture quality and audio quality is better in Big TV when compared to Sun TV. Tata Sky, Dish and Airtel too excel in terms of the picture and audio quality. In terms of user interface, Sun DTH offers a very basic user interface that matches to their price.
With regard to customer service, Big TV is highly coordinated. Tata Sky and Dish TV customer support need improvement in this area. If you are interested in lot of music channels, you should opt for Airtel DTH as you get access to World Space channels. In terms of other value add services Sun DTH is very limited but it is one of the most cost-effective options.