raj29shenoy
Member
- Joined
- 23 Jan 2015
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Every dth have their own unique advantages and disadvantages, none is a 100% fit. It all depends on what factors are important to you and how you weigh them according to your preferences to finally result in the dth operator best suited to you. I used following path and ended up with Airtel HD-DVR. Every possibility that some of you may end up in totally different dth service provider. As I said it all depends on how you weigh your factors.
I have been using Reliance dth from the day it was launched i.e. from past 6.5 years. It was time for upgrade. So here I go on the hunt:
Pre-quarter final: Airtel HD-DVR vs Sun HD and Reliance HD:
-> Reliance has the best SD picture quality compared to any other dth. A big plus for them
-> But Reliance and Sun have hardly any HD channels, which makes the decision pretty easy in the favor of Airtel
Quarter final: Airtel HD vs Dish HD
HD channels reference: <http://dreamdth.com/Thread-DDF-Exclusive-HD-Channels-Availability-On-Various-DTH-Platforms-Updated-On-1st-November-2014>
-> Dish has highest number of HD channels, a big plus for them
-> But for me, I do not need south HD channels (and none yet have Kannada HD channel, which I would need) and I do not need CNBC Prime and Baby which reduces the number
-> Still Dish has higher number, main difference between Airtel and Dish now is the number of good Infotainment HD channels. I thought I could manage with the lesser number of HD infotainment channels and manage rest with SD quality
-> Biggest decision factor: Even though Dish has maximum HD channels, very few of them Dolby Digital Surround sound (very important factor for me). Its like baking a wonderful delicious cake with all the icings but with salt instead of sugar in it!. BTW, as per users even the HD picture quality in Dish is not as good as in Airtel. So cake is also not that wonderful in looks. :lol
-> This makes decision pretty easy. Dish TV is clearly quantity over quality. They believe in adding many HD channels but not in making them worthwhile. Hence I chose Airtel (I am sure many users would choose otherwise here)
Semi Final: Airtel HD vs Tata Sky HD:
-> This was tough one! Both STBs are made from the same manufactures, software inside is also similar, so performance, response time etc are very similar. A Tie here
-> Heard from other users in the forum that Tata is most affected by rain.
-> Tata has the best CC support. But as per my experience with Reliance (which, btw, has the worst ever CC), I would rarely communicate with them (probably once a year i.e. during the time of recharge). Hence decided to live with the average CC.
-> Tata has slightly more number of HD channels, main difference being HBO Hits and HBO Defined. But since they are not part of any package, I did not feel the need of paying them additionally. (Again HD channels reference: <http://dreamdth.com/Thread-DDF-Exclusive-HD-Channels-Availability-On-Various-DTH-Platforms-Updated-On-1st-November-2014>).
-> Main factor: Tata is expensive when compared to Airtel for almost similar features and similar number of channels.
-> Thus the choice is Airtel
The Grand Finale: Airtel HD vs Videocon d2h HD:
-> This was the toughest decision for me and I took a long time to arrive at the conclusion
-> Number of HD channels and number with Dolby Digital Sound is neck to neck here (discounting south HD channels). Its a Tie.
-> HD picture quality is better in Airtel when compared to d2h. Advantage Airtel.
-> 500 GB capacity in Airtel DVR but 1TB capacity in d2h. Advantage d2h.
-> STB of d2h very sluggish but very responsive in Airtel. Advantage Airtel.
-> Airtel comes with universal remote. Advantage Airtel.
-> HD DVR with one year package costs ₹8990 in Airtel, costs ₹12690 in d2h. Difference is not worth paying extra for the extra 500GB what I would get.
-> Hence the winner for me was Airtel which provides best cost vs quality advantage when weighed against my decision factors. (I am sure many users would choose otherwise here)
As I told before, the above logical deductions helped me to arrive at Airtel; at the same time you may end up with a totally different dth. :tup
It's elementary my dear Watson! :c
Please check out my small review of Airtel HD-DVR after couple of days of usage:
<https://dreamdth.com/community/threads/my-two-pennies-on-airtel-hd-dvr.52071/>
I have been using Reliance dth from the day it was launched i.e. from past 6.5 years. It was time for upgrade. So here I go on the hunt:
Pre-quarter final: Airtel HD-DVR vs Sun HD and Reliance HD:
-> Reliance has the best SD picture quality compared to any other dth. A big plus for them
-> But Reliance and Sun have hardly any HD channels, which makes the decision pretty easy in the favor of Airtel
Quarter final: Airtel HD vs Dish HD
HD channels reference: <http://dreamdth.com/Thread-DDF-Exclusive-HD-Channels-Availability-On-Various-DTH-Platforms-Updated-On-1st-November-2014>
-> Dish has highest number of HD channels, a big plus for them
-> But for me, I do not need south HD channels (and none yet have Kannada HD channel, which I would need) and I do not need CNBC Prime and Baby which reduces the number
-> Still Dish has higher number, main difference between Airtel and Dish now is the number of good Infotainment HD channels. I thought I could manage with the lesser number of HD infotainment channels and manage rest with SD quality
-> Biggest decision factor: Even though Dish has maximum HD channels, very few of them Dolby Digital Surround sound (very important factor for me). Its like baking a wonderful delicious cake with all the icings but with salt instead of sugar in it!. BTW, as per users even the HD picture quality in Dish is not as good as in Airtel. So cake is also not that wonderful in looks. :lol
-> This makes decision pretty easy. Dish TV is clearly quantity over quality. They believe in adding many HD channels but not in making them worthwhile. Hence I chose Airtel (I am sure many users would choose otherwise here)
Semi Final: Airtel HD vs Tata Sky HD:
-> This was tough one! Both STBs are made from the same manufactures, software inside is also similar, so performance, response time etc are very similar. A Tie here
-> Heard from other users in the forum that Tata is most affected by rain.
-> Tata has the best CC support. But as per my experience with Reliance (which, btw, has the worst ever CC), I would rarely communicate with them (probably once a year i.e. during the time of recharge). Hence decided to live with the average CC.
-> Tata has slightly more number of HD channels, main difference being HBO Hits and HBO Defined. But since they are not part of any package, I did not feel the need of paying them additionally. (Again HD channels reference: <http://dreamdth.com/Thread-DDF-Exclusive-HD-Channels-Availability-On-Various-DTH-Platforms-Updated-On-1st-November-2014>).
-> Main factor: Tata is expensive when compared to Airtel for almost similar features and similar number of channels.
-> Thus the choice is Airtel
The Grand Finale: Airtel HD vs Videocon d2h HD:
-> This was the toughest decision for me and I took a long time to arrive at the conclusion
-> Number of HD channels and number with Dolby Digital Sound is neck to neck here (discounting south HD channels). Its a Tie.
-> HD picture quality is better in Airtel when compared to d2h. Advantage Airtel.
-> 500 GB capacity in Airtel DVR but 1TB capacity in d2h. Advantage d2h.
-> STB of d2h very sluggish but very responsive in Airtel. Advantage Airtel.
-> Airtel comes with universal remote. Advantage Airtel.
-> HD DVR with one year package costs ₹8990 in Airtel, costs ₹12690 in d2h. Difference is not worth paying extra for the extra 500GB what I would get.
-> Hence the winner for me was Airtel which provides best cost vs quality advantage when weighed against my decision factors. (I am sure many users would choose otherwise here)
As I told before, the above logical deductions helped me to arrive at Airtel; at the same time you may end up with a totally different dth. :tup
It's elementary my dear Watson! :c
Please check out my small review of Airtel HD-DVR after couple of days of usage:
<https://dreamdth.com/community/threads/my-two-pennies-on-airtel-hd-dvr.52071/>
now enjoy buddy.
