Thread: Tata Sky to launch HDTV

Tata Sky is taking the initiative to soon launch its HD service sources say it will launch it prior to Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010.

Good news. Any idea of packages?

please little affordable.... less than Rs400 for many HD channels and I am sold

I expect that initially HD will be costly ... very costly. But I also expect price to settle down southwards in a year.

I also heard over the grapevine that DD Main, DD News and DD Sports is geared to go HD.

Many channels are already ready with the HD content: Discovery, Animal Planet, National Geographic, ESPN, Star Sports, X-News, etc.

There are few numbers of HD channels that are broadcasted the number of HD channels should increase with lesser price.

How will that work out with existing Tata Sky subscribers?

Originally Posted by dushyant87

How will that work out with existing Tata Sky subscribers?

True existing subscribers need to avail additional benefits to purchase HDTV at discount or there should be some provision in existing customers interest.

I am sincerely hoping that existing subscribers will get an upgrade offer at some discount. The dish/lnb will be the same and installation charges will not apply. The existing subscriber should be allowed to exchange their SD-STB for the HD-STB at a reduced price - perhaps free.

I would be very disappointed if I am made to pay the full price for the new boxes I also have multi room subscription and if Tata sky doesnt do any exchange or discount for existing customer I might as well change the provider to may be Sun dth as they look well ahead of time in India as they launched HD channels first.

I will switch to HD only when the price is affordable.

At the moment, the only HD provider (Sun) is charging a lot for HD service.

Other competitors are going to provide price advantage to customers atleast this is one way of attracting customers.

ngc hD,DISCOVERY HD,COLOURS HD ARE AVAILABLE IN INDIA I M CONFIRMED!!!
ITS ON SUN HD.
P.S-TOO COSTLY

Buying HD will not be worth only for few channels more HD channels need to be added.

Now it is almost 10k for sun HD and we are getting very few channels in HD
no Movies and no sports then what is the use of HD better wait for one more year

Originally Posted by jimmy_moh

Now it is almost 10k for sun HD and we are getting very few channels in HD
no Movies and no sports then what is the use of HD better wait for one more year

and miss out on Commonwealth games in HD preview?
We can atleast wait to see who is launching before others but that will only help if we want to catch the Commonwealth games or we can wait till all dth providers are out with HD and compare who is the best provider with most number of channels and which is the most affordable.

Im quite unclear about something! So in order to get HD channels you need the set top box, plus additional costs for these channels too?

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

Im quite unclear about something! So in order to get HD channels you need the set top box, plus additional costs for these channels too?

"Affirmative on both counts", as our friends in the country 12 hours behind would say.

a) You need an STB that is capable of processing HD video. At the minimum the STB must have component out (Y-Cb-Cr or Y-Pb-Pr). HDMI out would be great. The STB must also be able to decode Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The Sun DTH HD STB connection is nearly Rs. 10,000. They are offering a discount of Rs. 2450/- for exchange of any old DTH connection CPE. This is expensive (even with exchange) but at least this is a one time cost.

b) The HD subscription service will have HD channels and the rate for them would be different. Sun DTH HD is charging Rs. 100 per HD channel per month. Very expensive indeed. This will certainly burn a hole in the pocket. Imagine Rs. 700 for HD channels alone and another Rs. 250 to Rs. 350 for other (non-HD) channels.

Originally Posted by just4kix

"Affirmative on both counts", as our friends in the country 12 hours behind would say.

a) You need an STB that is capable of processing HD video. At the minimum the STB must have component out (Y-Cb-Cr or Y-Pb-Pr). HDMI out would be great. The STB must also be able to decode Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. The Sun DTH HD STB connection is nearly Rs. 10,000. They are offering a discount of Rs. 2450/- for exchange of any old DTH connection CPE. This is expensive (even with exchange) but at least this is a one time cost.

b) The HD subscription service will have HD channels and the rate for them would be different. Sun DTH HD is charging Rs. 100 per HD channel per month. Very expensive indeed. This will certainly burn a hole in the pocket. Imagine Rs. 700 for HD channels alone and another Rs. 250 to Rs. 350 for other (non-HD) channels.

But the launches of HDTV by other dth will bring down the prices of HD channels, won't it?

Originally Posted by alokmis

But the launches of HDTV by other dth will bring down the prices of HD channels, won't it?

There are 5 DTH players in the SD market and yet ...

a) TataSky has continued to maintain high prices and infact rearranged packages in such a manner that all good programs are spread in different bouquets. The die hard TV addict ends up subscribing to all the packages and thus pay a very high cost.
b) No DTH player reduced their price by any significant amount because there are new players in the market

Why has that happened?
The answer to that question lies in DTH (STB) interoperability or the lack thereof. Once you have opted for one provider, you will rarely change it unless things take a real ugly turn.

So don't bet on anything. I expect that HD prices will be "fixed". And besides the content providers decide the base price. The DTH providers will add their own cost + margin on top.

Well in HDTV that will not be the case as Dish TV has announced that it will be 25-30% more economical (current provider Sun @ almost Rs10,000/- so expected rate to be charged by dishtv comes around Rs.7000/-)and also based on this implication others too will strategise a competitive pricing.

Ericsson enables Tata Sky to launch HD in India:
* Enables new services for 5 million viewers
* Provides Tata Sky customers with highest picture and sound quality
* Dramatic bandwidth savings for launch of new services using the latest generation MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC encoders

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has equipped Tata Sky, the Indian leading direct-to-home (DTH) operator, with a head-end upgrade that enables it to launch high definition (HD) channels and also increase its standard definition (SD) channel offering. The Ericsson solution achieves dramatic bandwidth savings that allow the launch of multiple new services for 5 million Tata Sky connections.

With bandwidth being such a vital commodity when launching HD services, the savings that are achieved through Ericsson’s EN8190 MPEG-4 AVC HD encoder are extremely valuable to operators. The deployment of Ericsson’s solution at Tata Sky has enabled it to offer its subscribers many HD channels with the highest picture and sound quality, further enhancing the user experience. Tata Sky has also deployed Ericsson’s EN8100 MPEG-2 SD encoder, which has enabled it to increase its SD channel capacity without the need for swap-out of legacy MPEG-2 consumer set-top boxes (STBs); this has been achieved by a combination of encoding improvements and other system wide optimizations.

“With Ericsson’s head-end, we have an advanced solution that dramatically increases the number of channels our subscribers can receive, as well as enabling us to now offer high definition programming to enhance the viewing experience,” said Yigs Riza, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Sky. “The bandwidth savings that we achieved through the EN8100 were essential in being able to deploy these services. We were delighted to benefit from Ericsson’s expertise and experience in delivering high performance television solutions.”

“This deployment marks an exciting development for Tata Sky and for the Indian television market,” said Eric Baron, Head of EMEIA Region, Solution Area TV, Ericsson. “Viewers now have access to a top range of programming in high definition, as well as an even greater variety of SD channels. The EN8100 enables all this to be achieved in the same number of encoders, maximizing the efficiency of both Capex and Opex.”
Ericsson enables Tata Sky to launch HD in India