India Broadband Forum

just4kix

Wonder when we are going to get them on DishTV or Tata-Sky.

Guest

I cant wait to see some HD tv channels on Tata sky I am sure tata sky will be the first one to beam one of them HD channels available in USA well before dish tv.

neo001

well its good if tata sky beam it first, but my experience with dishtv says first it will be beamed on dishtv, as apart from latest new channel addition, dishtv is always be first to add channels and also till now tata sky won't have any international channels where as dishtv is having some international channels and also if you see some time back it had some more international stuff.

Admin

Its not Tata.. its the Sky part in TataSky which I am betting on Sky is pretty well known all over the world for its innovation and for being a leader in providing first things first all over the world

just4kix

That is correct. Tata is just an investor and SKY is the backbone.

However, I feel that both DishTV and Tata will launch HDTV almost at the same time. The question is when? I do hope it happens within a year and at affordable prices.

neo001

But what i think here is Sky is definitely a back bone of tata sky but they can just give suggestions and offer technology....but the ultimate decision is taken by Tata, sky is only 20% partner. and for getting and telecating HD Channels in india will need permission from I&B ministry as all the HD channels are from international market not from india and cannot be telecasted without the permission of ministry (i&b). where as dishtv is sole body and also they are now in the market for some long time. and i hope it will be first on dishtv.

just4kix

But why can't Indian channels start broadcasting in HD?

Admin

I suppose even normal digital tv is out of reach of millions here in India and HD tv is not very much in demand in India yet.
Talk to people on the streets and they would give you a monkey face if you ask them what HD tv is.

Members and visitors (including you and me) here in this forum belong to the 0.5% of population who actually use the internet for something other then e-mails and chatting... Hence are aware about HD tv other wise some one who does a 9-5 job and is struggling to make ends meet doesnt give two fucks about HD tv .. and thats the majority in India in my opinion.. (I might be wrong)

India still has a long way to go I guess.

nihang2008

I think, it depends on the type of TV you're using to watch. There may be difference from the quality of picture & sound of nornal 21" CTV to a HD or LCD or Plasma TV.

There's a option in TataSky, which allows one to view in 16:8 mode, if you've have a HDTV.

MoneyMind

If of the difference of Tv then i would like to tell you one thing CTV are not that much good and LCD TV (with HDTV) are the best for high quality viewing.

Unregistered

wats the point in beaming HDTV when MOSTTTTT of the households cannot enjoy HDTV in its full glory...its pointless...let HDTVs become cheap deb there is a point for the broadcasters. It is sad but true. me being a hdtv owner, sux the watch content in standard signal whn u can watch HDTV but...wat to do...broadcasters wont feature till it will become a popular demand..

just4kix

@Guest, You are not correct in your arguments.

DTH broadcasters will happily provide HD broadcast - the question is the cost. Will the price sensitive Indian public subscribe to costly HD broadcast? As it is, DTH is costly in SD format.

Secondly, HD broadcast in MPEG2 format will be terribly expensive for the providers. They will have to switch to MPEG4 first. So their is a cost of infrastructure upgrade - especially for TataSky and DishTV and the two between them control 80% of the DTH market.

Then there is the CPE, i.e., STB. Component-out can provide HD signals up to 1080i. For true HD, i.e., 1080p, the STB must have an HDMI out. So there is a cost of STB upgrade.

Finally, the content providers have to be ready with the HD content. Happily on this front many content providers such as Discovery, AP, NatGeo, ESPN/Star Sports, some news channels such as X-News, CNN, BBC, CNBC, etc. and a few entertainment channels such as Star Plus, Star World, etc. are ready with the content.

But the main contention is the price (cost) front. To be cheap, there has to be a sizable customer base.

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