Just installed Tatasky...

rshri · Apr 7, 2007

...and my family is less than thrilled

. Main complaints -

1) Missing several watched channels like - Zoom, IndiaTV, ETV UP/Bihar.

2) Channel navigation is difficult compared to cable -

Channels dont start from 1. They start from 101.
No way to change order of channels
No way to skip unwanted channels while flipping.
No quick toggles between two channels.
Setting favourite channels is a hack - it just appends channels at the end

3) Zee channels display is soft. ZeeTv and ZeeCinema were way better in cable.

For the time being we are letting cable connection also continue (Its Rs 150/- pm)

Kumar · Apr 7, 2007

IMO tatasky doesnt offer free channels.Only DishTV does so.

Kneo · Apr 7, 2007

[*] No way to change order of channels

You can set favorites and group your most watched channel together. Go to Organiser to do that. After that you can use the fav button on your remote for switching to the same.

[*] No way to skip unwanted channels while flipping.

Same as above. Also, you need not 'change' channels. you can move the arrow keys while you are watching a particular channel and it will show you whats running on another channel (text only). You can switch only if you like what you see. Or better still, you can go to the Guide and view everything thats going on on all the channels. You will get used to it.

[*] No quick toggles between two channels.

Back button on your remote will do precisely that.

[*] Setting favourite channels is a hack - it just appends channels at the end

Once you do that you can switch to that using the fav button on the remote and then the group of your most watched channel can be surfed using the channel change button.
Basically, its not the ideal interface out there, but its better than most and certainly better than CAS which is very very amateurish. This one looks very professional at least. TATA Sky can only get better from here (and hopefully cheaper too! - though that may be far fetched)

Emperor · Apr 7, 2007

rshri said:
...and my family is less than thrilled . Main complaints -

1) Missing several watched channels like - Zoom, IndiaTV, ETV UP/Bihar.

2) Channel navigation is difficult compared to cable -

Channels dont start from 1. They start from 101.

No way to change order of channels

No way to skip unwanted channels while flipping.

No quick toggles between two channels.

Setting favourite channels is a hack - it just appends channels at the end

3) Zee channels display is soft. ZeeTv and ZeeCinema were way better in cable.

For the time being we are letting cable connection also continue (Its Rs 150/- pm)

Why you would like to spend 250/- more while you cablewalla offers nearly all channels for 150/-.:S

tarun · Apr 7, 2007

rshri said:
...and my family is less than thrilled . Main complaints -

1) Missing several watched channels like - Zoom, IndiaTV, ETV UP/Bihar.

2) Channel navigation is difficult compared to cable -

Channels dont start from 1. They start from 101.

No way to change order of channels

No way to skip unwanted channels while flipping.

No quick toggles between two channels.

Setting favourite channels is a hack - it just appends channels at the end

3) Zee channels display is soft. ZeeTv and ZeeCinema were way better in cable.

For the time being we are letting cable connection also continue (Its Rs 150/- pm)

Channels start from 101 and you can't change that. You cannot set the order of channels.

You can flip the channels by just pressing the arrow up/down and then selecting the channel which you want to view. Similarly you can view the EPG of any channel by pressing left/right.

Toggle works. Just press back button to go to previous channel.

For favorites you can set up to 20 channels and it will be saved in channel 901-920 location.

There are indeed some channels which don't have an exceptional quality like some Zee channels.

Also, the Tata Sky setup which we have here in India is almost same as the Sky network available in UK. In fact the remote is exactly same. So it's just a matter of getting used to it

HailStonE · Apr 7, 2007

Yepp..... Cable @ 150/- a month is pretty cheap.... We pay 250/- month & DTH after initial period would cost at least 350/- per month unless taken under some package scheme where price could drop for another 50 bucks or so....

150/- a month is a good option over DTH & CAS where you would get almost every channel out there....

Shripad · Apr 7, 2007

rshri well you just need some time getting used to it.

I dont go scrolling all the channels which are not in favorite section.

I scroll through Guide category wise.

Setting up favorites is 1 time job.

Use central arrow keys to skip channels u dont want to scroll through like everyone has said here. U get channel name and current program name at bottom so that you can choose what channel you wana jump to.

Zee network is soft. I think its the feed given by zee to tata thats the problem here. But still they are crystal clear and better than what i see on my cable.

Here cable price is high at 275pm and i have to bare poor quality, bad sound. blackout of video and most importantly i have to bare with my cablewala.

DTH gets rid of this.

Anish · Apr 7, 2007

^ Btw, are the UK channels like Sky Sports.. etc offered ?

Shripad · Apr 7, 2007

Nah only indian channels thanks to TRAI guidelines :|

PhotostarSR · Apr 7, 2007

I heard that Sun network channels will be available on tata sky within a day or two.Are you recieving those channels?

Please post here as soon as they are available.

DuBudhi · Apr 7, 2007

Funky said:
...i have to bare with my cablewala...

I think it is bear :tongue:
Otherwise i'll completely agree with Funky

hyeah:
The quality on tata sky is much better than what was offered by my cablewallah. I find it strange that you felt that zee looked better on cable :S

paraman · Apr 7, 2007

Neo Sports channels have vanished from TataSky. Anybody know why?

gmano · Apr 7, 2007

shashank_re said:
I heard that Sun network channels will be available on tata sky within a day or two.Are you recieving those channels?
Please post here as soon as they are available.

Sun network is planning to start their own DTH.

Avinash_pro · Apr 7, 2007

According to me I feel MTNL's IPTV would be a very good idea.The major reasons are:

1.)Timeshift, i.e you can watch all the shows or movies which u have missed, within 30days.Logically speaking their servers store more than 10,000hours of data from the previous 30days.So I can watch Gadget Guru according to my convienence now.

2.)The service also comes cheap.That is Rs5 per channel.Whichever you choose.

3.)Their on demand movie's feature is really excellent.You can just check through their long list of both English/Hindi movies on the TV itself and watch any of those for just Rs5 which is added to ur phone bill.The best part is you can watch it within 24hours.So even if an urgent work comes in,U can watch it within 24hours.And Not only movies they store in additional content also like trailers of forthcoming movies,song's etc..

4.)Phone call's,internet and TV all through 1single wire.I presume that's a little less hectic.

5.)Again DVD quality as compared to DTH/TATA Sky/CAS. In some casses even better.

6.)The whole process works in an interactive manner.Whatever u choose on the TV screen just goes to their servers in a jiffy and u get the respone immediately.

7.)And yes I have heard(Not sure) they planning to further introduce features such as online TV gaming,online TV chatting,etc..

8.)According to me in every aspect,IPTV excels in comparision with DTH/TATA/CAS.

Shripad · Apr 7, 2007

Avinash_pro said:
According to me I feel MTNL's IPTV would be a very good idea.The major reasons are:

1.)Timeshift, i.e you can watch all the shows or movies which u have missed, within 30days.Logically speaking their servers store more than 10,000hours of data from the previous 30days.So I can watch Gadget Guru according to my convienence now.

2.)The service also comes cheap.That is Rs5 per channel.Whichever you choose.

3.)Their on demand movie's feature is really excellent.You can just check through their long list of both English/Hindi movies on the TV itself and watch any of those for just Rs5 which is added to ur phone bill.The best part is you can watch it within 24hours.So even if an urgent work comes in,U can watch it within 24hours.And Not only movies they store in additional content also like trailers of forthcoming movies,song's etc..

4.)Phone call's,internet and TV all through 1single wire.I presume that's a little less hectic.

5.)Again DVD quality as compared to DTH/TATA Sky/CAS. In some casses even better.

6.)The whole process works in an interactive manner.Whatever u choose on the TV screen just goes to their servers in a jiffy and u get the respone immediately.

7.)And yes I have heard(Not sure) they planning to further introduce features such as online TV gaming,online TV chatting,etc..

8.)According to me in every aspect,IPTV excels in comparision with DTH/TATA/CAS.

Atleast at the moment its not a ecomonical choice. They have only half the channels that the DTH or cable is providing.
Sure when channels increase it will be great alternative. But infrastructure required for such service exsists only in cities like Mumbai and delhi which is unfortunate truth.
DTH have huge advantage here cost and coverage wise. Covers every corner of india.

arrow055 · Apr 8, 2007

Avinash_pro said:
According to me I feel MTNL's IPTV would be a very good idea.The major reasons are:

1.)Timeshift, i.e you can watch all the shows or movies which u have missed, within 30days.Logically speaking their servers store more than 10,000hours of data from the previous 30days.So I can watch Gadget Guru according to my convienence now.

2.)The service also comes cheap.That is Rs5 per channel.Whichever you choose.

7.)And yes I have heard(Not sure) they planning to further introduce features such as online TV gaming,online TV chatting,etc..

Yes IPTV will be much better than DTH,CAS,etc,etc.But they aren't available everywhere and at the moment they offer fewer channels compared to DTH.But ya when it matures , it would be great.

yes they are planning to launch video chatting and online tv gaming.Gaming service will be shitty and i don't give a damn about online chattings,etc.But for those who need it,it will be coming soon.

But what interests me the most is that MTNL IPTV is gonna launch two HD channels in the next 4 months.:clap: :clap: They will offer more HD channels in the coming months.Too bad i don't live in mumbai or delhi.Hoping BSNL or others will also launch their iptv service soon.

DuBudhi · Apr 8, 2007

arrow055 said:
...MTNL IPTV is gonna launch two HD channels in the next 4 months...

Hmmm...Is it technically possible for tatasky to provide HD channels? just wanted to know :ashamed: and will there be any difference between a regular channel and an HD channel in normal CRT TVs :huh:

Avinash_pro · Apr 8, 2007

Funky said:
Atleast at the moment its not a ecomonical choice. They have only half the channels that the DTH or cable is providing.

Sure when channels increase it will be great alternative. But infrastructure required for such service exsists only in cities like Mumbai and delhi which is unfortunate truth.

DTH have huge advantage here cost and coverage wise. Covers every corner of india.

MTNL's IPTV offers upto 110channels presently:tongue: including most famous English and Hindi channels.And ofcourse you can't expect IPTV to spread very fast.Well atleast for Mumbaikars and for people residing in Delhi,its a great gamble as compared to the other two.:bleh:

arrow055 · Apr 9, 2007

DuBudhi said:
Hmmm...Is it technically possible for tatasky to provide HD channels? just wanted to know :ashamed:

Not too sure but i belive not.You may need a new set-top box( for HD) and the DTH providers may also have to book more transponders on satellites.Somebody correct me if i am wrong.

DuBudhi said:
and will there be any difference between a regular channel and an HD channel in normal CRT TVs :huh:

HD channel will be in widescreen format.So you will see black bars on top and bottom of your normal tv screen.Also HD channels will be slightly better even on normal tv(compared to what you are getting now).

rshri · Apr 9, 2007

Has MTNL IPTV started in Delhi?

After reading above posts, I think I should have opted for MTNL IPTV instead of TataSky (I am in Delhi). Now I am stuck with TataSky.

I am really feeling guilty about pushing my family into TataSky fiasco. TV is mostly watched by my mom; the TataSky navigation is too difficult for her.

In Favorite channels setup, only 20 channels can be accomodated. After flipping through those 20 channels, it automatically moves out of 'Favorite' zone into the original sequence of channels starting from 101 (This is because setting of favorites is just a hack, its just appending of channels at the very end). This is just not good.

Yes, you heard me right, my cable reception of many popular channels is way sharper than what is offered by TataSky. I am rather surprised by the lack of good sharpness in most channels in TataSky. Only 'Star Movies' is exceptionally sharp.

There is improvement in sound (its in stereo, am I right?) but that doesnt goes well with soft picture.

Yes, my cable cost is just Rs 150/- per month. Out of guilt, now I am pushing my family to let cable connection continue for till CAS is forced.

When is IndiaTV and Zoom expected to be included in TataSky? Does anyone has any idea?

Right now, I want to kick my own butt for what I have done.