Worldspace satellite radio: Have some questions

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raksrules

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I have a few questions on the worldspace satellite radio service. I am planning to buy and install one at my home. I have a few queries
1. Please let me know how is the sound quality ?
2. How is their service ?
3. I live in a flat in Mumbai. Will the reception work fine at my home ?
4. For reception purpose what is used, is it a dish antenna or something else ?
5. Which workspace radio set to buy (i suppose they have multiple options) ?
6. What is the price ?
7. Info on dealers in Mumbai.
8. Where can i go a have a demo in Mumbai or Pune ?

Thanks for the Help in advance
 
Mind you world space is a subscription service .i live in chennai and get 10 channels on FM radio so never felt the need for worldspace:):P
 
i had used them some 2yrs ago...so the comments are based on experience then

1. Please let me know how is the sound quality ?
no worries there
2. How is their service ?
their customer care over the phone/mail was pretty good...however i dont know abt their services as i lived at a place where it wasnt available (dont worry, not mumbai)
3. I live in a flat in Mumbai. Will the reception work fine at my home ?
well....u will hv to use the antenna in a particular direction(south east or something....mentioned at their site)....plus there shouldnt be obstruction(like a building too close to urs in that direction)....i had changed flats while using world space and my new flat didnt hv windows in the direction req...so i had stop using them....but they also do something to strenghten the signal in such cases(thats service is not available at my earlier location)...so just call them up and ask for a demo to check the signal....that shld do
4. For reception purpose what is used, is it a dish antenna or something else ?
it is a tiny antenna (around 6 in by 6in)..made of plastic
5. Which workspace radio set to buy (i suppose they have multiple options) ?
sorry...dunno abt the options these days
6. What is the price ?
dunno...they have a site
7. Info on dealers in Mumbai.
again their site
8. Where can i go a have a demo in Mumbai or Pune ?
ditto

call them up...they are responsive
 
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jith has answered everything quite well :)

3. I live in a flat in Mumbai. Will the reception work fine at my home ?

As jith mentioned, you do need a clear Line-of-sight. In my case, I have my antenna set up on the roof, with a long coax cable (the same used for your cable TV) running down to the house. This is advisable as long as you have good security, good neighbours and no monkeys running around on the roof :lol: (trust me on this). Quite obviously you will be better off having it within your house, but this is just to know that your options are still open.

Do figure out how to properly align the antenna, since the antenna does go off focus accidentally once in a way.

5. Which workspace radio set to buy (i suppose they have multiple options) ?

If you have an existing audio setup that you plan to connect the worldspace unit to, then you're better off buying something compact with no inbuilt speakers, like the BPL Diva set. I guess its around 3K MRP (?).
 
jith77 said:
i had changed flats while using world space and my new flat didnt hv windows in the direction req...so i had stop using them....

How did you handle not having the service ?
 
^^their reception is avilable everywhere..its satellite radio...

....but no service at the place i was(still none).......at that point of time they didnt have the ssts selling anywhere in gujarat...it was launched a bit too late....so got the set from delhi while i was travelling....and did the installation myself(there was nothing much to do)

@rak007....they only have one model available at worldspace....there were some japanese sets for satellite radio(not in india) that were havin good reviews for some reasons i cant rem...but diva would b more than enough
 
I'm using world space since it was started. Providing answers to whatever I can.

1. Please let me know how is the sound quality ?
Its kinda 96-128 kbps based. Desi Radio's (like Farishta, Bollywood,Spin) have good quality and others which are international radio (top 40, punk,classic) have 64-96 kbps kinda quality.

2. How is their service ?
Service is fast, but charges for every visit..like 150-250.

3. I live in a flat in Mumbai. Will the reception work fine at my home ?
Your antenna would be placed on the terrace I believe, it works just like DTH.

4. For reception purpose what is used, is it a dish antenna or something else ?
Dish Antenna definitely placed at one constant position.

5. Which workspace radio set to buy (i suppose they have multiple options) ?
BPL, I have works fine...it doesn't matter its just a receiver.

6. What is the price ?
Bought for 1999/- la

7. Info on dealers in Mumbai.
dunno - check their website.

8. Where can i go a have a demo in Mumbai or Pune ?
dunno - check their website.
 
rak007 said:
I have a few questions on the worldspace satellite radio service. I am planning to buy and install one at my home. I have a few queries
1. Please let me know how is the sound quality ?
claimed quality is from 16-128kbps. generally borders along the lower end. Worldspace is not about quality but more about the available content which is pretty darn good.

2. How is their service ?
like i said, as long as you aint a stickler for audio quality and use simple stereo at home for music(like my dad) you'll be happy with it.

3. I live in a flat in Mumbai. Will the reception work fine at my home ?
they'll prolly have to install your antenna on the roof, a la dth, unless you are lucky enough to have a window or balcony which provides unobstructed access to the skies towards the southeast(afaik thats the orientation of the sat)

4. For reception purpose what is used, is it a dish antenna or something else ?
generally its a small patch antenna the size of a small packet of lays. weird circumstances might require a Yaggi.

5. Which workspace radio set to buy (i suppose they have multiple options) ?
My dad picked up a BPL CELESTE Mk II for 1.5k + subs cost. There is some sorta promotion going on on this model. not exactly the best looker but a decent model none the less. channel surfing can be a wee bit of a pain at times since its slow. has upto 10 presets.

6. What is the price ?
like i said, we paid 1.5k for the receiver delivered to chennai from bangalore(thats where they send it from) plus the 1.8 for a 12 month subscription.

7. Info on dealers in Mumbai.
http:/www.worldspace.in

8. Where can i go a have a demo in Mumbai or Pune ?
most consumer durable showrooms should have these in store. jus dont get fooled by the sound quality. the local showroom here at spencers had some sorta onkyo hifi system hooked up to it. and that seemed to make a significant diff.

Thanks for the Help in advance

All info above based upon 3 days worth of usage.
 
sTALKEr said:
jus dont get fooled by the sound quality. the local showroom here at spencers had some sorta onkyo hifi system hooked up to it. and that seemed to make a significant diff.

hmm, i'd have thought if the quality was lower than 128kbs, that, hooking up a better amplifier would make it sound even worse. They might just have played around with the bass to beef it up.

I noticed this many years ago when i took audio cds (made form mp3, radio mixes actually) to play back on good equipment, on my computer speakers they sounded decent enough, on the better amp it was terrible.
 
jith77 said:
call them up...they are responsive

When you call them up be careful not to give your details (unless you buy ofcourse).

Their calling lists are like 'Hotel California'. " ..... you can never leave.."

I had a subscription from 2001 till 2005. I still keep getting those stupid calls :@
 
The sound quality is good. I feel its a waste to pay for radio but dad vouches for it. He listens to old malayalam/tamil songs :P
 
I wont say its a waste coz its upon self interest :) If u like listening to different regional songs then its worth it n u will surely enjoy.:hap2:
 
s_anuj said:
I had a subscription from 2001 till 2005. I still keep getting those stupid calls :@

You do without it now. so you either got tired of it or found a better alternative ?
 
blr_p said:
You do without it now. so you either got tired of it or found a better alternative ?

A bit of both actually. I primarily used WS when in college.

With a TV, i was listening to WS only for a couple of hours on the weekends. So decided not to continue.
 
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