We are using Dish TV from the past 4 years.Picture/sound quality is awesome on our LG CRT TV.It also has a flexible payment package.The only grouse is that,from the past year,it takes time to start and hangs sometimes.The UI's response when you type 3 digit channel numbers is slow, hence you get confused and end up switching to wrong channels more often.Thats it.Otherwise full marks for Dish TV.Some games are quite involving too with all their funny quirks and sounds..

its ok bro, as long as we discuss DTH.

i know, my cable operator stopped ten sports much earlier than star sports. so i mentioned only star sports. that stupid guy shows all cricket matches not a single motogp race from last six months, and i am not gonna take it any more.

i agree with you that buying is one time afair and living with it is for lifetime....BUT, think it this way, i dont need HD connection as i dont have a compatible TV. all i want is clear picture and sound with freedom to choose any channel i want. and in future when i will buy a LCD/LED/HD tv worth tens of thousands of rupees, i will have a 1000-2000 more to exchange my old set top box for an HD one.

ok now tell me... can i get a recorder in a non-HD set top box. recorder is a big plus.

Are you sure it will only be 1000-2000 more to exchange? When it comes to mobile phones, motorcycles, we think of buying the latest & greatest, so why not buy a HD + DVR right now?

There used to be regular set top box + DVR, but not any more; more & more channels are getting converted to HD channels these days; Except channels like Movies Now, Star Movies, channels like Discover & Nat Geo even broadcast quality & different programs on their HD channels compared to their regular ones. So my point is, if you switch to your own DTH operator, sooner or later, you'll have to switch the TV; the only question is how long it takes

Not sure if you read my previous post, in addition to the service of a service provider, understand that...
- Once you get your connection established, you'll hardly need any reason to talk to their customer support other than recharging & switching channels on a regular day
- Unless you want to replace the defunct set top box, replace a broken remote
- Like I said, convenience also matters the most; check with your DTH operator if they can supply one remote that controls both TV & set top box
- Check with your DTH operator if they offer online services to recharge; most importantly, if they allow to switch package, swap channels online, do not even think, just go with them.

Last but not the least, the homework
DTH - Direct To Home | Videocon d2h satellite tv | DTH Services by Videocon d2h
DTH India | Digital TV | Tata Sky DTH
airtel Digital TV | Best DTH Services in India | Direct to Home
Reliance Digital Service - India's best digital TV service

MPEG4 Compression with DVB-S2 is the Key for Good Quality reception.

Hi,

I have used Dish TV during 2008-2009 and now using Tata Sky+ from 2009. Recently I purchased New TV hence from October 2012 started using AirtTel HD-Recorder.

Service:
No one can beat TATA for sure. Hence Tata Sky is the No. 1
Dish TV little better than AirTel However I still receive SMS from Dish.
AirTel Service is BAD but depends on the specific area, some areas it is less BAD.

Quality:
Dish and Tata Sky are old in this segment hence uses old compression technology called MPEG2 which req. high no of Transponders of the satellite hence TATA Sky is not able to add many channels as of now. Here Dish is not at all good in this segment.
Now The equipment used by TATA & Dish are also DVB-S first generation technology where the transmission efficiency is low. This again push for more Transponders.

Here the Latest Codec is MPEG4 this compression algorithm requires less time & picture quality is better because of better error corrections.
Also the Latest Setup box and related tranmission equipment has got new generation called DVB-S2 this has enhanced the transmission efficiency by about 30% with more stability in different wheather conditions.

I will not confuse you more but will tell you in short:
The latest MPEG4 & DVB-S2 is being used by Videocon, reliance & AirTel.
Now Videocon still compress the SD channels and hence the SD channel quality is not to the level of the technology used.
In this case Reliance is the best as he do not compress the SD channels but little upscales it but I have no trunst on Reliance.
AirTel do not compress the most used SD channels hence many SD channels are clearly better in quality than TATA Sky.
For Example : IBN-Lokmat(Marathi SD News Channel) on tata sky looks way below quality(on Samsun 29Inch CRT) than on my Samsung 8series 51inch with AirTel.

Hence I feel if you are keen about the quality better go for AirTel.

Soon Tata Sky will be getting the transponders on latest GSAT hence in next 6 months Tata Sky might improve the quality of SD Channels and add many more channels including HD as well.

Josh! @ HiFiVision.com

Prince, trust you to get up a thread JUST WHEN I wanted some good info on these DTH operators. Thanks, old boy

I am using Tata Sky since last 4 years. It provides good services for me in regards of active services, quality, technical support and customer care.
So according to me Tata sky is the best for you.

I've been using Tata Sky from last 3 years recently upgraded to HD Setup-Box. Great Customer Support, Value for Money, Crazy looking HD Channels .
I also have Videocon SD Box using from last 2 years they are also fine, in terms of service, but firmware updates takes ages, and lags a lot during channel change compared to Tata Sky.

i have used both tata sky and airte and currently using tata sky . both are similar and i find tata sky better in terms of signal quality ( No break in signal even in bad conditions ) but air tel provide more features and some of them are really good .

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