Video My Review: Moving from TataSky+ to TataSky+ HD

s_anuj

s_anuj

Adept
Content replicated from unboxedninja.blogspot.com

While HD TVs have been available in India for sometime, the content finally caught up only a couple of years ago with Dish, TataSky, Airtel & Sun launching HD DTH set-top boxes. I have been using TataSky+ since 2009 and have been really happy with the DVR features. So for me it's been a toss up between staying with what I have or move to a HD DVR aka TataSky+ HD.

However there were a few deterrents whenever I considered upgrading:

1. Although HD channels are there but they are just a handful. TS offers only 8 HD Channels at the moment (Discovery, NatGeo, Star Plus, Star World, Star Gold, Star Movies, Star Cricket, ESPN)

2. Additional cost of channels: If you are on any of the standard packs then you can add the HD pack at INR 75/month or 825/year. However, if you are on TataSky's 'Make My pack', where you can choose individual channels then the outflow for these 8 channels is a whopping INR 280/month... wait what?

3. The upfront cost of the STB (Settop box) itself. For existing subscribers, TataSky is giving the box for INR 4815 with the option to buy back the TS+ SD box for Rs 500.

Does it even make sense to move to TataSky+ HD?

When I first asked this question on a forum I got an interesting reply "After spending a bomb on HDTV, it makes little sense to watch SD channels". Hardly a rational answer but hard to argue with that.

Below are a few images comparing the TataSky+ SD & TataSky+ HD. (All images in this post have been taken from a distance of 15inches with a Samsung Galaxy S... I know hardly a scientific method but probably a rough indication of what one would see)

Image Comparison 1: Paul Scholes in HD vs Paul Scholes in SD



ESPNHD on TataSky+ HD





ESPN on TataSky+

The SD version of Scholes is hard to recognize but the HD version is a lot clearer.

Image Comparison 2: Scoreboard on ESPN vs ESPN HD





ESPN on TataSky+





ESPNHD on TataSky+ HD

Image Comparison 3: Premier league logo on ESPN vs ESPN HD





Overall Image comparison: The HD image is significantly better than the SD one!

UI comparison:



TataSky+ HD Channel guide



TataSky+ Channel guide





TataSky+ HD EPG



TataSky+ EPG





TataSky+ HD Banner



TataSky+ Banner

The overall UI for the TataSky+ HD is much better than the SD box. Not only is it easy on the eye & much sharper but what I liked best was that bringing up the EPG did not mean moving the video to a tiny little window.

So while the overall image & presentation does see an improvement, what about some performance numbers? One nagging issue I had with the TataSky+ SD box was the amount of time it took to cold start (from complete power off to displaying a channel). So does the HD cousin improve performance here? What about the delay between switching channels? I mean this has to be important right? How many of us have gone from channel 0 to channel 60 in under 4 seconds? Yeah.. I wish we could do that.

So here are some performance numbers comparing TataSky+ and TataSky+ HD:





Performance comparison

While the HD box takes about the same time from a cold start, it's performance while switching channels is worse than the TataSky+ SD box. Disappointing!

Another thing that irked me about the SD box was that the system fan at the back could get rather loud after a few hours of operation. What about the TataSky+ HD? Does it create the same amount of noise? As the power module in the HD box has been moved out of the main box, I would assume passive cooling should suffice and hence it should be quieter. Let's find out:



As expected the TataSky HD box (Red bars) is much quieter.

Conclusion:

Does it make sense to upgrade your SD PVR box to the HD one? As there is limited HD programming available on TataSky, I would recommend upgrading only if you really care about the picture quality. The content on the 'premium' HD channels (ESPN & Star World) maybe advert-free at the moment but there is no telling when that changes.

Overall Pros of TataSky+ HD:

* Superior Image Quality

* Better overall Interfaces

* 1 HDMI cable instead of 5 component wires

Overall Cons of TataSky+ HD:

* The cost might not justify a jump from SD to HD if you already have TataSky+ SD with similar PVR functions

* The HD Channels don't really come cheap considering the programming is mirrored from their SD counterparts

* The box is slower in switching channels.

* TataSky's purchase process is via phone only & a nightmare. Seriously, they need to learn from FlipKart.
 
Very good review s_anuj,As the difference is huge from sd to HD
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I am using Tata Sky +HD fro past 6 months and i am totally satisfied from the quality of the HD channels but just feels some time that the number of HD channels is somewhat limited till now.

But no complains as i got my Tata Sky +HD box for a mere Rs.1700/- on saturday jingalala offer.
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s_anuj said:
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Damn.. I always miss the really good offers.

@1700... it's a steal.. Even the internal 500gb harddrive will get more money.
Click to expand...

The deal is for Rs. 4499/-

From which Rs 2500 is credited in my tata sky account instantly ,So Net cost is Rs1700/-
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#actually Rs.300 is deducted for my old school sd box
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Very nicely put #s_anuj
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. I have been using Tata sky (normal) since approx 2005-06. Its the best out there. Though I couldn't convince my dad to go for + or HD. About channel switching time, when Tata sky was launched its channel switching was much faster but after an automatic firmware upgrade it became very slow
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I miss my fast switching in philips tv
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s_anuj said:
@1700... it's a steal.. Even the internal 500gb harddrive will get more money.
Click to expand...

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Revolution said:
All DTH sucks cos of their package system.
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Click to expand...

As I haven't done a comparative study between the DTH providers, I can't really say if that's true. But for tatasky, I would agree with you. The packages somehow always exclude the sports channels or the English entertainment channels. & then they charge you a bomb to get those
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However, I'd compare Tatasky (DTH) with Airtel (broadband). They cost a bit more than the competition but kinda make up for it in service & quality.
 
Though the min monthly cost for running DTH almost Rs.150/- for all DTHs.

But,its a lie they(all DTH) fooling ppl by their package system.

All DTH do not include Kids Channels and mailnly no Sports Channel in base pack.

And even when u want to make ur own chamnnel package with Sports Channels and few other the price will easily exceed Rs.150/-.

So,A La Carte or make ur own package is good for nothing.

U have to have pay a premium price even for 10-15 different types of Channels.

For example if u only want 10 Channels from Sport+Infotainer+Eng Movied+Kids it will never be under Rs.150/- from any DTH.

Even if some one want only 8 HD Channels they have to pay over Rs.150/-.....
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They really need to up the number of HD channels. Its a shame there are only 9 at the moment.

Video and Audio both are fantastic in HD.
 
quixand said:
They really need to up the number of HD channels. Its a shame there are only 9 at the moment.

Video and Audio both are fantastic in HD.
Click to expand...

I wonder if set max HD will stay on after the IPL season. That'll bring it back to 8
cry.gif
.

The dolby sound on star movies & star world is great. I end up watching crappy shows like supernatural
rolleye17.gif
just for the Surround.
 
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