jbkakadiya
Member
Thanks a lot, installed in firestick 4k using apkmirror and working fine..
Tidal in india?
- Thread starter insane79
- Start date
D
Deleted member 15865
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Deciding on Tidal Subscription? Read This
Here’s a quick summary of pros and cons of Tidal for Indian listeners. This could help you in deciding on the subscription:
First the Cons:
1. Not yet launched in India: Needs a convoluted process to subscribe to its services (in some other country). But the same has been clearly explained in this thread and takes about half an hour including the learning curve.
2. Lack of mobile app in India: Indian PlayStore/ AppStores don’t have the Tidal mobile app. While there are workarounds for Android, it’s almost impossible to get on Apple handheld devices in India. Those who have streamers (eg Bluesound, CXN etc) can still play and control Tidal via mobile through the streamer’s mobile app. But those are not as elegant as the Tidal app itself.
3. Sparse ‘new’ Indian music collection: Probably a result of not been launched in India yet - don’t expect to find new Indian film and other albums on Tidal. It takes time (quarters or years), and only the best get included.
4. Inferior ‘Suggested Music’ algorithms: This is in comparison to say Spotify and Apple Music which are so good at analysing gir listening habits and suggesting you tracks/albums/artists/playlists that might interest you. Tidal attempts the same, but is nowhere as good at it. However, contrast this with point 2 in the Pros section below for perspective.
Neutral Point:
Price: The cheapest country option (for HiFi plan) is still about 2-3 times costlier than the popular services in India such as Spotify/YouTube Music/Apple Music. But its higher resolution justifies the difference for most audiophiles.
Now the Pros:
1. Resolution (FLAC): This is accessible to all subscribers of HiFi plan and is close to CD quality. The difference between FLAC and mp3 at 320 Kbps is easily heard by those with reasonably good headphone/home stereo systems and healthy ears.
2. App & User Interface: The desktop app as well as browser based access (for tablets including iPad) has a very elegant and mature user interface. Not cluttered with confusing options, you can search, arrange and access music very efficiently. Another feature that can appeal to album lovers is that unlike Spotify/YouTube which are designed around playlists, Tidal has an album-centric design. Some of us are tired of track-skipping and would like to simply find an album and listen to it without distraction. You still can create and manage playlists though if you are inclined that way.
3. Excellent Old & Connoisseur Indian music collection: This is in contrast to the third Con above. If you search Madan Mohan’s OST albums for example (I’ve done that), you find more albums on Tidal than on Spotify. Surprised? Tidal’s older Hindi film collection (from 40’s to the 90’s) is second to none. And when it comes to connoisseurs of Indian classical, Ghazals, and Fusion music, Tidal again scores with an excellent collection of these genres not just from India, but also Pakistan which has rich Indian musical tradition. Frankly, unless you are heavily into listening to newly released film music, you’d find the Indian collection of Tidal not just satisfactory, but surprisingly good.
4. Multiple editions of popular albums: This is something you won’t find in other platforms. Tidal has sometimes 4-5 editions of popular western albums - like the original version, remastered versions, anniversary editions etc (apart from live versions which is technically a different album). If you are deep into a particular artist, this is of great value. You’d even find two versions of many popular Hindi film albums from the 50’s and 60’s (golden era) - one from Saregama (regular) and one from some other source (better sounding).
And some Conditional Pros:
1. Resolution (MQA): This is master quality and much higher in resolution than even FLAC. Most popular western albums post year 2000 are available in MQA resolution (in addition to FLAC). However, this is useful if your DAC has MQA (hardware) decoder. Otherwise the software (partial) decoding that you can still doesn’t really increase the SQ much beyond FLAC (some even prefer FLAC over partly decoded MQA). However, don’t expect MQA versions of classic albums if you are into the 60’s or 70’s and there’s hardly much Indian collection in MQA yet.
2. Seamless Roon Integration: Tidal easily integrates into the Roon ecosystem (multiroom casting). If you have Roon Ready network streamer (or just a laptop) in your stereo system and a Roon subscription, you could easily access your Tidal collection through the highly acclaimed user interface of Roon.
Considering all the points above together, it’s easy to see why Tidal subscription is an appealing option for audiophiles - even Indian. It is unlikely to be the only music streaming service you subscribe to, at least till it’s launched in India. What’s more likely is that you subscribe to it in addition to one of the other alternatives (Spotify/YouTube Music/Apple Music) which are more identical to each other. But if you are sold on Tidal, it’s a smarter move to simply use Spotify Free to supplement a Tidal subscription.
Here’s a quick summary of pros and cons of Tidal for Indian listeners. This could help you in deciding on the subscription:
First the Cons:
1. Not yet launched in India: Needs a convoluted process to subscribe to its services (in some other country). But the same has been clearly explained in this thread and takes about half an hour including the learning curve.
2. Lack of mobile app in India: Indian PlayStore/ AppStores don’t have the Tidal mobile app. While there are workarounds for Android, it’s almost impossible to get on Apple handheld devices in India. Those who have streamers (eg Bluesound, CXN etc) can still play and control Tidal via mobile through the streamer’s mobile app. But those are not as elegant as the Tidal app itself.
3. Sparse ‘new’ Indian music collection: Probably a result of not been launched in India yet - don’t expect to find new Indian film and other albums on Tidal. It takes time (quarters or years), and only the best get included.
4. Inferior ‘Suggested Music’ algorithms: This is in comparison to say Spotify and Apple Music which are so good at analysing gir listening habits and suggesting you tracks/albums/artists/playlists that might interest you. Tidal attempts the same, but is nowhere as good at it. However, contrast this with point 2 in the Pros section below for perspective.
Neutral Point:
Price: The cheapest country option (for HiFi plan) is still about 2-3 times costlier than the popular services in India such as Spotify/YouTube Music/Apple Music. But its higher resolution justifies the difference for most audiophiles.
Now the Pros:
1. Resolution (FLAC): This is accessible to all subscribers of HiFi plan and is close to CD quality. The difference between FLAC and mp3 at 320 Kbps is easily heard by those with reasonably good headphone/home stereo systems and healthy ears.
2. App & User Interface: The desktop app as well as browser based access (for tablets including iPad) has a very elegant and mature user interface. Not cluttered with confusing options, you can search, arrange and access music very efficiently. Another feature that can appeal to album lovers is that unlike Spotify/YouTube which are designed around playlists, Tidal has an album-centric design. Some of us are tired of track-skipping and would like to simply find an album and listen to it without distraction. You still can create and manage playlists though if you are inclined that way.
3. Excellent Old & Connoisseur Indian music collection: This is in contrast to the third Con above. If you search Madan Mohan’s OST albums for example (I’ve done that), you find more albums on Tidal than on Spotify. Surprised? Tidal’s older Hindi film collection (from 40’s to the 90’s) is second to none. And when it comes to connoisseurs of Indian classical, Ghazals, and Fusion music, Tidal again scores with an excellent collection of these genres not just from India, but also Pakistan which has rich Indian musical tradition. Frankly, unless you are heavily into listening to newly released film music, you’d find the Indian collection of Tidal not just satisfactory, but surprisingly good.
4. Multiple editions of popular albums: This is something you won’t find in other platforms. Tidal has sometimes 4-5 editions of popular western albums - like the original version, remastered versions, anniversary editions etc (apart from live versions which is technically a different album). If you are deep into a particular artist, this is of great value. You’d even find two versions of many popular Hindi film albums from the 50’s and 60’s (golden era) - one from Saregama (regular) and one from some other source (better sounding).
And some Conditional Pros:
1. Resolution (MQA): This is master quality and much higher in resolution than even FLAC. Most popular western albums post year 2000 are available in MQA resolution (in addition to FLAC). However, this is useful if your DAC has MQA (hardware) decoder. Otherwise the software (partial) decoding that you can still doesn’t really increase the SQ much beyond FLAC (some even prefer FLAC over partly decoded MQA). However, don’t expect MQA versions of classic albums if you are into the 60’s or 70’s and there’s hardly much Indian collection in MQA yet.
2. Seamless Roon Integration: Tidal easily integrates into the Roon ecosystem (multiroom casting). If you have Roon Ready network streamer (or just a laptop) in your stereo system and a Roon subscription, you could easily access your Tidal collection through the highly acclaimed user interface of Roon.
Considering all the points above together, it’s easy to see why Tidal subscription is an appealing option for audiophiles - even Indian. It is unlikely to be the only music streaming service you subscribe to, at least till it’s launched in India. What’s more likely is that you subscribe to it in addition to one of the other alternatives (Spotify/YouTube Music/Apple Music) which are more identical to each other. But if you are sold on Tidal, it’s a smarter move to simply use Spotify Free to supplement a Tidal subscription.
Last edited by a moderator:
A minor correction. I think its easier (than Android) to download Tidal app and get regular updates on Apple devices (as on date with iOS 13+). I've been using Tidal & Criterion app on iPad, downloaded from Canada store.
Copying below, from my earlier post:
1. You need to create an Apple ID with a US/Canada address with phone number. Detailed steps here. Skip adding payment info.
2. Go to "App store" on your iPad, sign-out of existing account(primary ID) and sign in with this new ID, now you have access to the local content of US/Canada.
3. Download the Tidal application and sign out of the new ID
4. Sign in to iOS with your primary ID and continue using Tidal. The app will auto-update when the developer pushes updates
jbkakadiya
Member
+ Doldy Atmos music albums
Listened "Atmos for Androids" yesterday through firestick.
https://tidal.com/album/141517953
Exactly what I did, Spotify free for new Hindi, Tidal for rest of all.
So basically
Not being able to have the mobile app on iOS seems to be a major downside. Was contemplating taking the membership but now I'm confused..
I am trying to open a new Apple ID with US address but as per IOS they are asking for the text message being sent to the US phone number provided.
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Yes, while theoretically possible (see @sandeepss ’s comment above), it’s not easy get the iOS app in India. I chose not to.
Sandeep ji,
Hope your are doing well. I followed the steps mentioned above. The problem is every time Apple is asking for US phone number during ID creation for sending the registration code.
How to bypass it??
so you are using your laptop to log in from their website?
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
No. I use the StreamMagic app of Cambridge CXN streamer installed on my iPhone and iPad to control Tidal. CXN has native support for Tidal and the StreamMagic app, while not being as feature rich as Tidal app, is able to do a decent playback of Tidal albums, tracks, and playlists, with a capable search function. I also believe it produces better sound quality (being native to CXN) than running Tidal off the phone/tablet/laptop and airplaying onto the CXN.
I use the browser in iPad or the Tidal app on Mac for managing my playlists - a feature StreamMagic lacks.
Thanks for the letting me know the background. But in the paragraph you wrote that you are using the app on Mac. I was curious to know how you downloaded it.
i am still not able to figure out how to create an apple ID without a valid phone number of US.
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Downloading the app on Mac did not need a US Apple ID unlike on iPhone. Try it.
Hi mayukh80, I had created my account 8-9 months ago and had provided my old Canada number while creating. But, there was no SMS based verification then, only email. Looks like they’ve included this additional security check later on.
Please try this: In the account signup form, enter your India number (Instead of US number) which you’ve got access to. You should get the text and be able to create account.
Thanks for your inputs.
I think Apple has overhauled the process. Once i chose the country, the ISD code automatically comes. In case of manual override, system prompts that number is not compatible with chosen country
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Never tried, but seriously doubt that.
Michelangalo
Active Member
Nope. It's same as Gana app. You cancel subscription and loose everything.
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