Hi everyone,
Just wanted to share my experience of getting a low cost dth service for my second tv. Its a long post (more like a blog) but Im sure it will help a lot of people who are looking for a dth connection at a reduced price.
I already have a dish tv connection which I got in 2008 & this was connected to my 29 crt. In nov 2010, I got a 42 plasma for my home theatre room. Both the plasma & the 29 crt were kept in the same room. The dish tv connection was given only to the 29 crt & the plasma was used exclusively only for watching movies it was also in the initial burn in period, so I didnt want to take any chances with IR problems. The 29 crt was used by my parents & my son for watching tv programs.
My mother asked me to move the 29 crt to her bedroom as our movie watching was interfering with her tv serials.
So, I was on the lookout for the best option for the 2nd connection.
I had many options.
First was to get a child connection for the 2nd tv from dish tv itself. This looked like the most economical option as the subscription charges for the 2nd tv was only Rs. 160, even for the platinum package. The installation charges had to be paid only for the 2nd connection as the 1st connection was already active.
The next option was to dump dish tv & get 2 new connections from any of the other service providers. But after repeated comparisons, I found that dish tv was offering most competitive rates for the packages. I had a good look at getting an airtel or tata sky connection for both tvs but decided to drop the same as the reports about airtel were not very encouraging. Tata skys packages were not as competitively priced as dish tv.
The tata sky hd+ was also introduced during this period but I was not too convinced about getting a hd connection at this time when there are not too many hd channels available. HD broadcasting in India has still a long way to go.
But I was in no particular hurry to get the second connection & hence was taking it easy.
And then, last week, came the time to recharge my existing dish tv connection. When I logged into the website, I came across this ad.
Predict the winner offer
It was a contest where I had to predict a winner of a world cup on any match day & send an sms to 57575. The winner would get a dish tv connection at Rs. 390 (instead of Rs. 990). Installation charges were extra @ Rs. 220 & 1 month recharge was compulsory.
So, I decided to take a chance & sent an sms on 11th march. There were 2 matches & I sent my prediction for both. I got one prediction right & one wrong.
The next day, I got an sms from dishtv saying that I was a winner in the contest
. I was given a unique code in that sms & I was told that an associate would contact me within 72 hours. I had to give the code to the associate to get the process rolling.
Well, the associates were not too prompt in contacting me but after a little bit of chasing, I managed to get the set top box on 16th march. I had to pay Rs. 390. Installation was completed on 16th itself. I had to pay Rs. 220 for installation & Rs. 160 as 1 months subscription charges for the silver saver pack that I chose. So, total outgo was Rs. 770.
I also asked the installers to check my existing connection as my mother said that some channels that used to come earlier were not coming now. They also changed one connector on the cable. The connector was Rs. 30 & I paid Rs. 90 as tip for the installers (2 people) as they helped me out with tuning the existing connection. So, total outgo was Rs. 890.
If I had taken a new dish tv connection, the least expenditure I would have incurred would have been as follows:
Set top box Rs. 690 (online offer)
Installation Rs. 220
1 month recharge of silver saver pack Rs. 160
Total outgo Rs. 1070
So, total savings = Rs. 1070 Rs. 890 = Rs. 180 (Total savings without the connector & the tip would be Rs. 1,070 Rs. 770 = Rs. 300)
If I had taken a new dish tv child connection for the 2nd connection, the expenditure I would have incurred would have been as follows:
Set top box Rs. 990 (includes 1 month subscription to any pack)
Installation Rs. 220
1 month recharge of silver saver pack Rs. 0
Total outgo Rs. 1210
So, total savings = Rs. 1210 Rs. 890 = Rs. 320 (Total savings without the connector & the tip would be Rs. 1,210 Rs. 770 = Rs. 440)
And I also found a simple way to beat the high subscription charges if u have more than 1 tv at home.
Subscribe for the highest package (platinum package in case of dish tv) for only 1 tv. Subscribe to lower packages for the other tvs. In case u want to watch the channels being offered in the platinum package in another tv, all you have to do is disconnect the set top boxes & swap them. This scenario is useful if all the tvs are not going to be used simultaneously (as in my case). In large families this might be difficult.
Also, you can try your hand in the contest. I dont think many people are aware of it & chances of winning are quite high. But after reading this post, I think the popularity of this contest might increase :lol:. What say guys???
Happy reading & do let me know if any of you guys participate in this contest & end up winning.
Arvind
Just wanted to share my experience of getting a low cost dth service for my second tv. Its a long post (more like a blog) but Im sure it will help a lot of people who are looking for a dth connection at a reduced price.
I already have a dish tv connection which I got in 2008 & this was connected to my 29 crt. In nov 2010, I got a 42 plasma for my home theatre room. Both the plasma & the 29 crt were kept in the same room. The dish tv connection was given only to the 29 crt & the plasma was used exclusively only for watching movies it was also in the initial burn in period, so I didnt want to take any chances with IR problems. The 29 crt was used by my parents & my son for watching tv programs.
My mother asked me to move the 29 crt to her bedroom as our movie watching was interfering with her tv serials.
So, I was on the lookout for the best option for the 2nd connection.
I had many options.
First was to get a child connection for the 2nd tv from dish tv itself. This looked like the most economical option as the subscription charges for the 2nd tv was only Rs. 160, even for the platinum package. The installation charges had to be paid only for the 2nd connection as the 1st connection was already active.
The next option was to dump dish tv & get 2 new connections from any of the other service providers. But after repeated comparisons, I found that dish tv was offering most competitive rates for the packages. I had a good look at getting an airtel or tata sky connection for both tvs but decided to drop the same as the reports about airtel were not very encouraging. Tata skys packages were not as competitively priced as dish tv.
The tata sky hd+ was also introduced during this period but I was not too convinced about getting a hd connection at this time when there are not too many hd channels available. HD broadcasting in India has still a long way to go.
But I was in no particular hurry to get the second connection & hence was taking it easy.
And then, last week, came the time to recharge my existing dish tv connection. When I logged into the website, I came across this ad.
Predict the winner offer
It was a contest where I had to predict a winner of a world cup on any match day & send an sms to 57575. The winner would get a dish tv connection at Rs. 390 (instead of Rs. 990). Installation charges were extra @ Rs. 220 & 1 month recharge was compulsory.
So, I decided to take a chance & sent an sms on 11th march. There were 2 matches & I sent my prediction for both. I got one prediction right & one wrong.
The next day, I got an sms from dishtv saying that I was a winner in the contest
. I was given a unique code in that sms & I was told that an associate would contact me within 72 hours. I had to give the code to the associate to get the process rolling.Well, the associates were not too prompt in contacting me but after a little bit of chasing, I managed to get the set top box on 16th march. I had to pay Rs. 390. Installation was completed on 16th itself. I had to pay Rs. 220 for installation & Rs. 160 as 1 months subscription charges for the silver saver pack that I chose. So, total outgo was Rs. 770.
I also asked the installers to check my existing connection as my mother said that some channels that used to come earlier were not coming now. They also changed one connector on the cable. The connector was Rs. 30 & I paid Rs. 90 as tip for the installers (2 people) as they helped me out with tuning the existing connection. So, total outgo was Rs. 890.
If I had taken a new dish tv connection, the least expenditure I would have incurred would have been as follows:
Set top box Rs. 690 (online offer)
Installation Rs. 220
1 month recharge of silver saver pack Rs. 160
Total outgo Rs. 1070
So, total savings = Rs. 1070 Rs. 890 = Rs. 180 (Total savings without the connector & the tip would be Rs. 1,070 Rs. 770 = Rs. 300)
If I had taken a new dish tv child connection for the 2nd connection, the expenditure I would have incurred would have been as follows:
Set top box Rs. 990 (includes 1 month subscription to any pack)
Installation Rs. 220
1 month recharge of silver saver pack Rs. 0
Total outgo Rs. 1210
So, total savings = Rs. 1210 Rs. 890 = Rs. 320 (Total savings without the connector & the tip would be Rs. 1,210 Rs. 770 = Rs. 440)
And I also found a simple way to beat the high subscription charges if u have more than 1 tv at home.
Subscribe for the highest package (platinum package in case of dish tv) for only 1 tv. Subscribe to lower packages for the other tvs. In case u want to watch the channels being offered in the platinum package in another tv, all you have to do is disconnect the set top boxes & swap them. This scenario is useful if all the tvs are not going to be used simultaneously (as in my case). In large families this might be difficult.
Also, you can try your hand in the contest. I dont think many people are aware of it & chances of winning are quite high. But after reading this post, I think the popularity of this contest might increase :lol:. What say guys???
Happy reading & do let me know if any of you guys participate in this contest & end up winning.
Arvind
