India Broadband Forum

Creamkan

I'm planning to try DTH for the first time because of disconnections in local cable and also for bad picture quality. I hope these will be rectified with DTH. I'm forced to go for DTH even though the local guy is providing all the channels required for me and my family.

1) So is it a guarantee that there won't be disconnections (at least frequently) with DTH?

2) Will the picture and sound quality be clear and consistent for all the channels? (unlike local cable where some channels are clear in some s-band and some or not, etc)

3) I found that DishTV is having the best package for the requirement of me and my family. I want to go for the South Gold package (Rs. 190+ tax, 155 channels). I want Kannada language bouquet with this. But according to their list, there are total 90 channels in the silver pack + 23 additional channels in the gold pack + 15 channels in the Kannada Mania pack + 21 Audio Services as they say. So, total channel count = 149 (and not 155). Which are those 6 missing channels? Also I'm seeing that there are different number of channels in different language bouquets. Tamil seems to have more channels and Malayalam seems to be having least. Why this discrepancy? Can't they include some channels to make up the count?

4) I'm going for the Kannada pack which doesn't have Sun TV (Tamil). But this particular channel is absent in all other packages (except the Tamil Bonanza additional package which costs another Rs. 25 and it has some repetitions and rest are not needed by me). Is there any other way of getting this channel?

5) Dish TV also has maximum sports channels for which I'm happy, but sometimes Sony Max telecast some important cricket tournaments. But the South pack doesn't have this channel (except the Platinum which is too expensive for just this one channel needed by me). The Sony pack containing only 3 channels is also expensive (Rs. 45). Anyhow, I need this channel only when it has cricket telecast. So can I include this channel only during that time? In that case, how will I be charged? (for instance, if I include the channel during the middle or end of the month, will I be charged for the whole month? Same way, if I remove the channel in the beginning or middle of the month, will I be charged for the whole month? If so, do you suggest me to pre-plan including & excluding the channel exactly at the start/end of the month by knowing the cricket schedules in advance, instead of wasting the money?)

6) Why is Neo Sports absent? If there is a major tournament telecast by this channel, what should DishTV subscribers do? The local cable guy somehow manages to shuffle/add channels in such cases.

7) Dish TV also has the maximum number of Kannada Channels for which I'm quite happy, but unfortunately two channels are still missing, namely, Ushe and Suvarna News. Is there any chance of getting these channels in near future? Also I have seen my local cable guy telecasting another new Kannada channel like Raj-Music or something. Why do these DTH people don't update the channels quickly?

8) I'm just planning to take the DTH sooner or later. Do you suggest me to wait for a while? Is there any chance of DTH in general or DishTV in particular reducing the charges, reviewing the packages, enhancing the strategies...?

9) There is some confusion regarding the prices mentioned on the DishTV website. It is clear that my package costs Rs. 190+tax, (According to their mentioning of 10.3% service tax, it should be Rs. 190 + Rs. 20 = Rs. 210 right?) But I'm not clear about the installation, settop box charges, etc. They have mentioned some combo offer, etc. Can someone clearly mention about the total initial cost + monthly charges thereafter?

Sorry for the lengthy post. Appreciate if you give short clarifications for any or all of the above 9 queries. I'm very new to this DTH World and so I'm sorry if some of my queries lack common-sense. Thanks in advance.

neo001

Well I am a dishtv subscriber for quite some time and very happy with the performance and packing and pricing.

1. Their won't be any disconnection in Dishtv. The only case of disconnection is when you won't pay for your subscription.

2. Picture and sound quality is very good in Dishtv.

3. Yes Dishtv Packages are the best in the industry and most economical as well. Further in the total count you have not included active services which is also a part of your package which makes the exact count.

4. Though you are opting for Kannada pack therefore you are not getting Sun tv tamil channels if you want you can go for Tamil bonanza ala-carte.

5. Well Set max is available as an ala-carte and you can go for that for Rs.20+ tax.

6.Neo sports is not available on dishtv, But you cann't miss any cricketing action as all the one day and T-20 matches are available on dd 1 which is abailable on dishtv you hardly miss only test matches which are very few.

7. Well Gold pack will cost Rs.210 including Tax. further Rs.200 for Installation.
Dishtv Has 3 south offer

a) Bare box- Rs.1590 + Installation (Rs.200) and choose pack as per your choice.
b)Ultimate Sports Bonanza- Rs.1890 + Installation (Rs.200) with 3 months south silver pack free+3 Months free subscription of Cartoon Network , pogo and set max channel+ 3 months free 3 regional launguage bouquet+ Rs.300 recharge free benefits.

c) Combo Offer: Rs.2190 + Installation (Rs.200) with 3 months south platinum pack free and recharge free benefits of Rs.600.

Creamkan

Thanks for the reply.

So Set Max can be opted only during cricket (Don't mind Rs. 20 during Cricket). If so, please clarify about Point 5, (about charging from middle part of the month or for whole month)

Regarding 7b) Is it 3 different language bouquets free? Do you mean I can select 3 bouquets instead of 1 bouquet available in regular subscription (and that is for 3 months)

Regarding 7c) Is it recharge currency of Rs. 600 which I can use for further subscription charges?

Regarding 2) Is the quality consistent for all channels?

Regarding 3) What are these active services?

neo001

Yes you can opt for SET Max during cricket.

Regarding 7 b). Yes its 3 launguage bouquet absolutely free for 3 months in addition to 1 which you have selected. Like you have selected for Kannada zone, Then you can further add Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam launguage bouquet as free.

For more info visit: »*Dish TV - India's first digital TV set top box in India


Regarding 7 c)Yes you will get recharge free benefit of Rs.600 that can used only for Subscribing ala-carte (20%) and Movie on demand (80%). That is From Rs.600---- You can use Rs.120 for subscribing ala-carte pack and remaing Rs.480 can be used for watching Movie on demand.

Yes Picture and Sound quality is consistant on all the channels

Further Active Service are some extra channels (Not Like TV Channel) its like Games, educational services etc

Like:
1. Gaming: Also called Games Active--you have 3 different services here a)Minikids, b)Quizzy and c) Playjam

MiniKids TV: The interactive TV channel for pre schoolers, to help develop your child’s senses. With 4 edutainment games to develop creativity, observation, audio and visual memory. Fun learning in the true sense! New games are added every month.

Quizzy: An interactive quiz channel for the entire family. Answer questions in 3 different levels of difficulty, scoring a point each time you answer the question right! The questions are updated every week and are customised as per occasion. eg Children's quiz on Children's Day, Diwali quiz, Dussehra quiz and diverse themes such as Sports, Civics etc. The content provided by Welcome to ReadnTick ensures the best questions to enhance your general knowledge .

Playjam: Kill boredom with a variety of games in different genres - Board, Strategy, Puzzle, Arcade & cards. To keep the excitement going, new games are added every month.

For more info: Dish TV - India's first Game Channel


2. Monsterjobs Active: A new, Unique and very good active service launched by Dishtv where you can search for jobs in various categories just with the click of your remote. This is in tie up with moster.com. Monster Jobs Active empowers job aspirants with thousands of employment opportunities

3. Travel Active: Where you can plan your holiday with Dishtv. Through Travel Active you can search and book the best selling holiday packages, hotels, international & domestic airline tickets at discounted prices. and the best part here is if you book you flights tickets or book hotels then you will get some extra discounts.

4.Shaadi Active: Shaadi Active service redefines the experience of searching for a life partner by offering thousands of marriage proposals.

5. ICICI ACTIVE- Dishtv had launched the innovative Interactive Banking Service “ICICI ACTIVE” in association with ICICI Bank. This service enables Dish TV viewers to access information on ICICI Bank products and services, Like ATM and ICICI branches , information related to loans, info regarding debit and credit cards and many more from the convenience of their homes.

6. NEWS ACTIVE : Don’t wait for a particular news segment to come. choose from a mosaic screen featuring 8 specialized news options of Live news, Top stories, Sports, Entertainment, Biz Live, Crime, Special & Weather.

7.BHAKTI ACTIVE: Dishtv subscribers can now get Live Gurbani from Bangla Sahib and Nanded Sahib, Aarti of Sai Baba from Shirdi & Ganesh Aarti from Siddhi Vinayak, Aarti from Tirupati Balaji, Live Ganga Aarti from Haridwar and Bhasm Aarti of Mahakaal from Ujjain. Dishtv customers can now get blessed at the press of a button in the comfort of their home 24X7.

8.ASTRO ACTIVE: Now access your daily and monthly horoscope along with your birthday forecast by world renowned astrologer Ajai Bhambi on your TV screen

So these are about active services.

Creamkan

Thanks for the clarifications! I will soon get this Dish TV connection

Creamkan

I am planning to go for the Combo Offer which has 3 months free subscription for South Platinum Pack! Because it is costing Rs. 200 per month (South Platinum), whereas if I go for Barebox option, I should anyhow pay Rs. 190 for the Gold Pack. So worth a try for 3 months with Platinum offer. If I feel the service is good, I may continue with Platinum Pack itself instead of degrading to Gold Pack.

So I will have to pay Rs. 2190 + Rs. 200 initially and relax for three months. After that I should pay the monthly subscription charges right? So my net investment for first 3 months is Rs. 2390 including all packages, benefits, recharge coupons?

Is my calculation right?

And regarding the Rs. 600 Recharge benefit... I may not need it as I don't have interest in MOD and I don't need any a-la-carte either as I get almost everything with Platinum pack (Probably I can use the Rs. 180 for Tamil Pack for 7 months, Rs. 25 X 7. Hope the validation of this recharge lasts for 7 months. Can I use this currency at any time or is it valid for any fixed time?)

One of the dealer in Bangalore says that Dish TV has bad Customer Service. Need to call STD lines during any problems, Recharge Vouchers not available in any part of Bangalore, etc! So he tells that I should go for any other dth like Tatasky, Reliance, Airtel, Sun, etc.

Is that true?

Unfortunately I can't find any of the other dth seem like fulfilling my channel lists!

If that is the case, then I can't go for dth and should stick to local cable service!

Can someone clarify about this? Are recharge coupons available in Bangalore or is there any other method to recharge? I don't want to get into any worries regarding this as my local cable guy just comes once in a month and collects his money.

yoursraman

I am also a dishtv customer and can say that customer service in Dishtv is good. and about recharge vouchers its available with almost all the dealers.