# Tata Sky PLUS *is it worth*



## sam9s (Nov 4, 2008)

Guys, finally Tata has come up with this facility which is been long going in US the ability to Record, Pause and Rewind the Telecast. 

I am VERY interested in going for this option, though its bit expensive despite of already having the Tata Sky connection (I am ok with 5K bucks for the new box but the prerequisite to opt for an annual plan seems ridiculous if you ask me)

Anyway I want opinion from you people, has anybody opted for this service, whats the experience, any way we can exploit the recording feature.......


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## comp@ddict (Nov 4, 2008)

It's not worth the xtra Rs.5000, and PLSU, they take away your old Digicomp, which ofcourse they'll sell it for 2k again.


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## sam9s (Nov 4, 2008)

Money is not much of a concern. I bought TataSky for 4500/- when it was just couple of months after their launch. Its the service, features, quality of recorded telecast and particularly way to exploit the recording feature.... I am interested.

There isn't any conventional option to record TV telecast after the good old VCR days. So it would be interesting to see how our Indian families react to this.


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## Gauravs90 (Nov 4, 2008)

Anyone have idea that how many hours of telecast can be recorded?


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## sam9s (Nov 4, 2008)

^^ It has a 160GB HDD.....MPEG-4 compression, so you can just make an estimate....


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## gurujee (Nov 4, 2008)

why one needs to reccord if its repeat is available later. and if anyone records live program like cricket match, i dont think, it would be pleasure to see it after knowing the result.


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## sam9s (Nov 4, 2008)

^^ Coz no one is free all the time and I am not talking about the typical saas bahu series which are like repeated zillions times. I miss some really quality Discovery/History channel episodes, which I would love to see at my discretion. Infact few laughter challange episodes might not hurt either...


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## comp@ddict (Nov 5, 2008)

sam9s said:


> ^^ Coz no one is free all the time and I am not talking about the typical saas bahu series which are like repeated zillions times. I miss some really quality *Discovery/History* channel episodes, which I would love to see at my discretion. Infact few laughter challange episodes might not hurt either...



Seriously, u hav better things to do

And nowadays, with torrents and all, it's easy to get even those.


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## MetalheadGautham (Nov 5, 2008)

Better get a TV Tuner card.
As far as quality and service and reliability is concerned, tata sky SUCKS. I use it. Trust me.


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## thewisecrab (Nov 5, 2008)

MetalheadGautham said:


> Better get a TV Tuner card.
> As far as quality and service and reliability is concerned, tata sky SUCKS. I use it. Trust me.


+ 1 for the TV tuner
And do you have Tata Sky?


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## MetalheadGautham (Nov 5, 2008)

thewisecrab said:


> + 1 for the TV tuner
> And do you have Tata Sky?



My dad insists on keeping tata sky at home.


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## icekid (Nov 5, 2008)

Dish Tv has been providing this feature for a quite a sometime now... Nothing new with Tata Sky Plus


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## axxo (Nov 5, 2008)

TaTA SKY too costly, I pay 260 per month for no ESPN,star sports.


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## rhitwick (Nov 5, 2008)

Guys, one n00b question.
If we can save it, can we extract it?

Means, the program u pause, gets stored in the internal HDD, can the content be extracted from it?? 
Any option available from TATA Sky or any hacks?


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## sam9s (Nov 5, 2008)

axxo said:


> TaTA SKY too costly, I pay 260 per month for no ESPN,star sports.



You are with the wrong package......



rhitwick said:


> Guys, one n00b question.
> If we can save it, can we extract it?
> 
> Means, the program u pause, gets stored in the internal HDD, can the content be extracted from it??
> Any option available from TATA Sky or any hacks?



That is what I wanted to know when I said how much can we exploit the recording feature. If anybody has actually done some RnD on this.

@metalhead
BTW Tata Sky ROCKS and is far better then any other DTH service both in quality, infra and customer care (Except Airtel maybe coz Airtel AFAIK really keep the quality at par)


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## desiibond (Nov 5, 2008)

If you are ready to pay the premium, definitely go for it.

45hrs of recording

160Gb HDD but the content cannot be extracted.

Not just recording, you can do scheduled recoring, time shifting etc

For those who can pay, it's totally usefull.

Forget about TV Tuner card. You can't do scheduled recording coz there is only one stream that comes to TV Tuner card from STB. 

But in case of tata sky plus, since you are doing the scheduling in the STB itself, you need not worry about stream
Moreover,

No worry whether it works on Vista or on linux
No need to watch TV on tiny monitor
No need to keep the PC on all the time to do the recoring. For TV, keep the STB on and it should do the recording.

You can record up to 45 hours of live TV with Tata Sky+. At the press of a button, you have the flexibility to:

   1. record one channel while you watch another channel
   2. record two channels simultaneously while you watch one of the channels being recorded
   3. record two channels simultaneously while you watch a previously recorded programme
   4. record a TV series automatically


With Tata Sky+ you can:

   1. record your favourite programme/ movie
   2. watch one programme while you record another
   3. set your favourite daily soap for recording only once and it will get recorded automatically everyday
   4. pause live TV
   5. rewind live TV


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## Edge-of-chaos (Nov 5, 2008)

I agree, had TS, also experienced the upgrade, I think it worth every bit. The recording time and all that is not really relevant as you need not store things for ages, you could get rid of the ones which you've seen to ensure that you create space for more recent missed ones.

Yes its great for the some really powerfull stories on Nat Geog, Discovery & History...not so much for the saas bahu crap...which anyways is broadcast some 1000 times to psyche you out!

BTW who said that Dish TV already has it??!!?. In which planet does Dish have PVR today???


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## sam9s (Nov 6, 2008)

comp@ddict said:


> Seriously, u hav better things to do



Yes I have n that is the reason I miss those episodes....



icekid said:


> Dish Tv has been providing this feature for a quite a sometime now... Nothing new with Tata Sky Plus



Since when did DIST TV start providing recording feature...... and just look at the convection of your statement....


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## kumarmohit (Nov 6, 2008)

desiibond said:


> 160Gb HDD but the content cannot be extracted.



Why ? encryption?

Anyone tried opening the box and mounting the HDD on a PC(unless of course HDD is not soldered), wat filesystem is used and if it is standard MPEG 4, VLC gotta be able to handle the files!


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## sam9s (Nov 6, 2008)

desiibond said:


> If you are ready to pay the premium, definitely go for it.
> 
> 45hrs of recording
> 
> ...



Now THAT seems to be a respectable ans.....

You are true about TV Tuners...

I have used TV tuners a lot in college days and there is no way you can compare it with a dedicated set top box that can record even 2 channels simultaneously. Only feature that is common is the pause and rewind.
Anyhow the quality of reception of even a top TV tuner can not match that of a set top box.

content cannot be extracted.... mmmmm I would love to see if anybody has done some RnD on this part.....


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## VarDOS (Nov 6, 2008)

sam9s said:


> Since when did DIST TV start providing recording feature...... and just look at the convection of your statement....



dude DishTV has been providing this feature before 3years....the thing you guys don't know because DishTV didnot made and advertise like TATA Sky....

I know it because we took DishTV 4years ago..and 1year later the feature was invented ...


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## sam9s (Nov 6, 2008)

Varad Dilip Choudhari said:


> dude DishTV has been providing this feature before 3years....the thing you guys don't know because DishTV didnot made and advertise like TATA Sky....
> 
> I know it because we took DishTV 4years ago..and 1year later the feature was invented ...



lol.....Dude Dish TV is no saint or charity org that they wont advertize. Its a business they are running and they have an agressive advertizing campaign. What you are talking is not a DVR Network like Tatasky. What dish TV came up with is (correct me people if I am wrong) something called Dish TV on computer which I think is done thorough USB streaming enabling one to watch programms on a computer, paying 1000 bucks extra. 
Anyhow I couldnt find any information on Dish TV's own site
Dish is yet and planning to come up with DVR technology. If we go by *THIS* and *THIS* news both the DTH services had plans to launch DVR tech by Diwali but I think Tatasky came out earlier and I am sure Dish TV and the rest would follow up soon......


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## axxo (Nov 6, 2008)

sam9s said:


> You are with the wrong package......



 So why do they keep that package for their customers...if its a wrong one. Moreover its not a basic package that I opted for,& for the premium they could have added the package with atleast basic sport channels, ie. ESPN & Star sports, if at all not star cricket,ten sports, neo sports, etc.


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## sam9s (Nov 6, 2008)

^^ you miss quoted me.......  I meant you have to opt the package according to the budget..... yes I agree that keeping neo sports package and ESPN Star differently does not make sense. I pay 300 with premium package with ESPN star, but miss out neo. Anyway its instant......I mean the package change. If the match is on neo I subscribe to it  online and get the channed activated instantaniously. Next month I again unsubscribe to the same and I am back to my usual one.....


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## tataskyuser (Nov 8, 2008)

*phantomcodes.blogspot.com/2008/11/tata-sky-plus-great-idea-but-bad.html


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## sam9s (Nov 8, 2008)

^^ Thank You......Interesting info to share.....


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## Edge-of-chaos (Nov 8, 2008)

sam9s said:


> Anyway I want opinion from you people, has anybody opted for this service, whats the experience, any way we can exploit the recording feature.......




   I got a Tata Sky + connection few days ago and I beleive is a great   product. Definitely worth buying. They have launched this product much ahead   of competition and i am sure they will surely get the first mover advantage.   Pause, record & rewind functions are really cool. STB is sleek and   stylish and if you are a Tata sky existing customer, you will get the STB at   5999. It has given me the flexibility to watch programs at leisure. I suggest   if you dont have any problem with spending for such a gadget, you should go   for it.


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## sam9s (Nov 8, 2008)

^^Thanks for the reply Edge.....
Can you tell what connectors are provided at the back of STB for video out, and is there a USB for firmware update......
Whats the quality of the recorded program (is it same as the original reception)


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## s18000rpm (Nov 9, 2008)

so no change in picture quality? (channels)

i'd stay with time-shift on tv


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## Crysis900 (Nov 9, 2008)

My ma is thinking to upgrade to tata sky+. I think airtel dital tv & tata sky+ are worthy competitors


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