Which DTH HD provider should i go for?

[SSK the Gr8]

my main requirements

1) number of hd channels do not matter but ESPN HD is a must
2) STB should be the cheapest possible. (DVR option not required) and monthly subscription charges should be the cheapest possible too.
3) most important: channel changing should be the quickest. hate lag.

Please suggest which provider to go for?

 

[aakashr]

Tata Sky or Airtel are quite good. Both offer 5.1 audio which to me is a pre requisite of any HD transmission. I believe Videocon also have attractive packages but lack 5.1 audio.

 

[SSK the Gr8]

i will be using the tv speakers itself , then would you suggest videocon over airtel and tata?

 

[musicbee]

Videocon is the cheapest but service is not that great.

Tata Sky definitely. Have 2 connections from them and great/prompt service and also they replace remote/STB etc. immediately (usually same day).

A friend's Videocon remote broke and he had to wait 2 weeks to get a replacement.

 

[SSK the Gr8]

but tata sky is mpeg2 right? so fewer hd channels?

 

[just4kix]

but tata sky is mpeg2 right? so fewer hd channels?

You said in your first post that:

number of HD channels do not matter but ESPN HD is a must

I will suggest Videocon D2H based on your other parameters. They have large number of HD channels (true 1080i) and probably the cheapest. Service is also not bad.

 

[AtheK]

Videocon is the best HD channle service provider for the number of channels, Worst is Dish Tv followed by Tata Sky(For the number of HD channels aired)

I would suggest you can go for Airtel, they have a good amount of channels, and there Customer Service is also good, if not at par with TS. But then how many times in a year does your remote break down or your STB stop working.

Go with Videocon if you want the max number of HD channels(They are cheap as well) and go with Airtel if you want a mix of good service and decent channels.

 

[aakashr]

I don't know how is it even possible to market a HD service without 5.1 audio.............agreed many customers might not have the requirement but in order to cater to all customers it becomes necessary to offer 5.1 audio. I would eliminate videocon just based on that despite the fact they might offer a great service. I would still go with Tata Sky/Airtel. 5.1 is a must for anyone who wishes to have a home theater setup.............maybe in the future.

 

[just4kix]

I don't know how is it even possible to market a HD service without 5.1 audio.............agreed many customers might not have the requirement but in order to cater to all customers it becomes necessary to offer 5.1 audio. I would eliminate videocon just based on that despite the fact they might offer a great service. I would still go with Tata Sky/Airtel. 5.1 is a must for anyone who wishes to have a home theater setup.............maybe in the future.

That is very much true. OP has not mentioned anything of 5.1 sound. So ball in OP's court.

 

[AtheK]

i just see the number of channels on Videocon, but is it true that they do not have 5.1 ffor HD channels like star movies and times now. If that is the case then that is a bummer, and Airtel definetly becomes a better choice.

PS: Even airtel does not air Zee Cinema HD in 5.1, not sure if that is a limitations from Zee or airtel is doing it purposely to increase bandwidth to have more HD channels.

 

[mathan]

I don't know how is it even possible to market a HD service without 5.1 audio.............agreed many customers might not have the requirement but in order to cater to all customers it becomes necessary to offer 5.1 audio. I would eliminate videocon just based on that despite the fact they might offer a great service. I would still go with Tata Sky/Airtel. 5.1 is a must for anyone who wishes to have a home theater setup.............maybe in the future.

I agree...If it is HD channel the audio should be 5.1 though still there are doubts if they are all tru Dolby Digital or if the DTH providers suppress the sound output instead of broadcasting the actual sound from the channel providers.

I'm still confused if I should take the Airtel HD service or Tatasky HD service as they both claim 5.1 audio. I would like to go with Airtel but seems their Customer service is horrible. I'm mainly looking out for movie channels and sports channels in HD.

 

[AtheK]

I am not sure why people call Airtel service horrible, i have had to call them just twice(once for dish realignment and once for remote change) and they were present at my home the next day and fixed my issues.

if you are looking at movies and sports channel Airtel is the way to go, Movies now(Not on TS), Star Gold HD and Star Movies HD(All 5.1) and Zee Movies HD(Not 5.1, also not on TS) for Sports you have Star Cricket HD, ESPN HD and Ten HD(missing in TS)

 

[prosenjit]

about tatasky hd i can confirm about dloby digital as i am using it....avr detects DD in every hd channle..although except star movies and star gold all others seems seudo 5.1 converted from stereo...star movies hd and star gold hd sound seems tru 5.1 surround..but as here in this thread only espn hd is required and tv spkrs are being used so 5.1 tru audio hardly matters..
but for future ready its a must.
and yes airtel is good for more hd channels plus tru 5.1 both avilable...but some complain not via hdmi..only via spdif..

 

[mathan]

I am not sure why people call Airtel service horrible, i have had to call them just twice(once for dish realignment and once for remote change) and they were present at my home the next day and fixed my issues.

if you are looking at movies and sports channel Airtel is the way to go, Movies now(Not on TS), Star Gold HD and Star Movies HD(All 5.1) and Zee Movies HD(Not 5.1, also not on TS) for Sports you have Star Cricket HD, ESPN HD and Ten HD(missing in TS)

Yes Airtel seems to be the option to me also for the number of HD channels with 5.1 audio but is there any difference in the sound output between the HDMI cable and SPDIF as it seems now Tata sky has the sound output through HDMI cable which earlier was not there. Does this make any difference in sound output in Airtel HD connected with SPDIF.

 

[AtheK]

Using Coaxial Out, and getting proper 5.1 with very good quality sound. Times Now somehow sounds the best of the lot followed by Star Movies and Star Gold HD.

 

[aakashr]

5.1 via HDMI or optical out is not really important as long as you get 5.1..........I feel what is really relevant here is the service and package they offer. From what I understand Airtel has more HD channels and better packages but Tata Sky has better customer service. Also not all HD channels are encoded in 5.1, few might be others might be in just stereo.

 

[mathan]

5.1 via HDMI or optical out is not really important as long as you get 5.1..........I feel what is really relevant here is the service and package they offer. From what I understand Airtel has more HD channels and better packages but Tata Sky has better customer service. Also not all HD channels are encoded in 5.1, few might be others might be in just stereo.

It is only the customer service that I am worried with Airtel since I heard lot of negative things like they take their own time to install the dish even after paying them and if there is any problem with dish allingment or settop box they would take their own time to come and service. Not sure if their service is much better in Metro cities but overall their customer service seems to be a pain...

 

[AtheK]

Again as i have said earlier i have called them just twice in around 2.5 yrs and have had no issues, it might differ with others. I am in Bangalore though.

 

[god2007]

Friends, what about the video quality? Is there any difference between in picture quality of various operators?. For me picture quality is more important than sound.

 

[technobhatt]

PS: Even airtel does not air Zee Cinema HD in 5.1, not sure if that is a limitations from Zee or airtel is doing it purposely to increase bandwidth to have more HD channels.

The truth is.... Zee Cinema HD and Zee TV HD are telecast in Stereo Sound only by the broadcaster themselves, hence no 5.1 sound on these channels, so it's not Airtel's fault !!
If somebody claims that Tata Sky has 5.1 sound on Zee HD channels, then it's because Tata Sky has played the channel's audio and made it a fake 5.1 sound...which is quite inferior than the original Stereo Sound ( with all the roaming sound frequently). You can also test the same by applying Dolby Prologic settings in your AVR/HT to any Stereo Channel to convert it into 5.1 and see what's better !!