Reliance Communication to launch DTH services from Aug 15

Cable and DTH viewers are set to get a wider choice, with Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Communications expected to start nationwide commercial operations of its DTH service from August 15. ‘Big Digital TV DTH’, a subsidiary of RCOM, is betting big on the huge potential of home entertainment in the Indian households. It is estimated that India has over 124 million TV households, with roughly 80 million using the conventional cable delivery platform.

The company has already completed trial runs across 2,400 towns and the service is currently available for customers of other Reliance ADAG group companies for Rs 1,000.

Source: *www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/15081620.htm

I also read in a Malayalam newspaper that DishTV has lowered tariffs. Let the competition tighten.

Yep, i was really frustated with my cable wala and decided to get DishTv.

Though of reading some reviews of Dishtv and came across *broadbandforum.in/ and read that Reliance, Airtel, Videocon are all coming up with DTH in next 1-2 months.....so i decided to wait

Any chance of internet via these kinda services ? Or thats not feasible technically ? Just curious ...

T

Sukhdeep Singh said:
Yep, i was really frustated with my cable wala and decided to get DishTv.

Expect even more frustration with Reliance.

din said:
Any chance of internet via these kinda services ? Or thats not feasible technically ? Just curious ...

Though broadband can be offered through DTH, but no operator interested in that.

din said:
Any chance of internet via these kinda services ? Or thats not feasible technically ? Just curious ...

Once DishTV moves from their current satellite to the new one, they may provide internet. I remember reading about it in July. Here are 2 links: *www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=323131
*www.financialexpress.com/news/Dish-TV-to-launch-its-own-satellite/333239/

R

Even in DTH services the bil is too high.
I have no ESPN& STAR SPORTS when the matches are goin on.
but when there is no matchs we will get espn

Reliance is said to launch this service with mpeg4 format na? Am i right?

If they give more channels and better quality for bigger screen... I think i would move to reliance...

roshan1236a said:
Even in DTH services the bil is too high.
I have no ESPN& STAR SPORTS when the matches are goin on.
but when there is no matchs we will get espn

wat r u talking?? is it so?? then i m not going to these DTH providers. only during this Euro there was some problem with TATA Sky. otherwise i v not heard of such a problem.

din said:
Any chance of internet via these kinda services ? Or thats not feasible technically ? Just curious ...

i really dont know how they are going to provide internet through satellite. To the best of my knowledge satellites have limited bandwidth and unlike fiber optic cables satellite is costlier.
when you watch TV information is broadcast and same information is sent to millions of viewers.
incase of internet each user will view different stuff and bandwidth required is several times higher.
am i wrong??

added:
call to big tv helpline still has the same answer "when we launch we will let you know thru relevant media channels. quack quack quack "

T

naveen_reloaded said:
Reliance is said to launch this service with mpeg4 format na? Am i right?

If they give more channels and better quality for bigger screen... I think i would move to reliance...

The video quality of all the new entrants will be better than existing players.

^^Nothing like that.They will use MPEG4 to transmit more channels per transponder and not for better quality.
From the Big TV reviews that i have read,many couldnt find any difference b/n TataSky and BigTV picture quality.

M

it confirms they launching on 15th august
*img227.imageshack.us/img227/9062/bigtvow4.jpg

take a look at big tv ad
*www.stillking.com/site/web/en/dire...85fb575f56a&item=77&directorsType=2&play=233&

I read a news in broadband.in in which they said that bigtv will include hd channels also... And also the quality will be much more better than existing players....

Yep Bigt TV will offer 5HD channels

shashank_re said:
Yep Bigt TV will offer 5HD channels

wat r those?? any idea?

No details on HD channels but 1 channel of it will be Nat Geo HD for sure.

M

what will b the price ?

T

^^Don't worry, it will be the cheapest in terms of charges as well as service and would force others as well to provide services at throw-away prices.

ThinkFree said:
^^Don't worry, it will be the cheapest in terms of charges as well as service and would force others as well to provide services at throw-away prices.

Reliance plans do, what it did you mobile phone. take a mobile in Rs500/-

now, next get a DTH connection and get LCD free

Penetration pricing at its nest

S

^^^ More likely it will be get a LCD TV and get a DTH connection free for one year...

Arun

I hope this is not another hoax.

Puhleeeeeezzzzz. *Praying*

^^
i cant wait till aug 15th EOD for Big TV.
i will order dish tv first thing on 16th !!

^^ Still no ads. from Reliance. I am worried. This 15 Aug thingy looks like another hoax launch

Thank god. I am waiting for the new players with HD capability to come in. Mycurrent cable TV sucks. pathetic quality and frequence swapping of channels. Have to call everytime to watch F1 or soccer and get star sports and espn transmitted.

Still their CC is saying they dont have any idea about the commercial launch!
Height of craziness!!

^^ Yes!!! That is insane. I am waiting for Big TV since December 07. I can't wait more. Fed up of just 35 channels on cable

M

yeah but they were supposed to launch it on feb. 2008, under the name of Blue Magic.

C

Any updates on the launch?

Another hoax

Some random pictures of Big TV (Reliance DTH service) i found on internet

*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/20569_u7jdo/big1.jpg
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/20570_e5gbv/big2.jpg
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/20571_qvhk2/big3.jpg
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/20572_jchdc/big4.jpg
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/20573_8fyyo/big5.jpg

From pics the STB looks HD ready and there is a romour that Big tv will carry 5HD channels.

That is version 1 STB which they have removed. And its not HD ready.They will Sell HD ready STB for very high price.
Its not rumour that they will carry 5HD channels.Its a fact!

Earlier this week we reported on the launch delay to Malaysia’s Measat 3A, originally scheduled for Aug 21, and citing “technical issues”. It has now been confirmed that the precious satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corp, was damaged by a crane at the Baikonur, Kazakhstan launch facility. One report says the damaged craft will be flown back to the manufacturers for a thorough inspection, and remedial repairs.

Even if the satellite stays at Kazakhstan, the delay to Measat 3A’s launch will be several weeks, if not months. The launch provider is Intelsat-backed Land Launch, the ground-based spin-off from Sea Launch, which works with Russian-Ukranian rocket-builder Zenit. This is the second Land Launch event, having successfully lofted an Israeli satellite, Amos 3, back in April.

The impact on Measat was more than just physical. Trading in Measat Global was suspended for a few hours on Aug 11, as was trading in Astro All-Asia, its major DTH client and sister company.

The launch delay might have a serious impact on another client, India’s Reliance telecoms outfit which is planning to launch an MPEG4-based ‘Big TV’ DTH service, commencing Aug 15

*rapidtvnews.com/index.php/200808141900/measat-bashed-at-launch-site.html

So Mukesh Ambani got a crane sent to destroy the satellite. It is true Mukesh Ambani is a forward thinker, bahut agey ki sochi usne.

Why can't they Use IRSO's Proven launch technology

shashank_re said:
No details on HD channels but 1 channel of it will be Nat Geo HD for sure.

Another might be NEWSX .
As they show it under their logo all the time "Indias first Full HD channel"

That satellite and the crane thing has got nothing to do with delay in Commercial launch. They might have booked few transponders in that sat.Thats it. So dont worry about the launch.

BIG TV is already being used & tested by many under employee & PCO scheme. How can it be possible that they are testing on another satellite & launching it officially on some other satellite?

However the million dollar question is- When is it going to get launched?

Big TV to launch backup infrastructure in Bangalore

Reliance Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) service of Reliance Communications, is set to commercially launch its backup infrastructure site in Bangalore along with its Mumbai site early next week, sources close to the development said to Televisionpoint.con.

Set up at a cost of Rs 100 crore, the backup infrastructure network is a first for an Indian DTH operator. The Whitefield site in Bangalore has been developed to automatically provide a buffer against service problems that could affect customers during times of bad weather, poor signal or power failure.

Bangalore was chosen due to its suitable geographical location and the qualified technical expertise, a source said. Unwilling to comment on commercial tariffs for the DTH service, the source added that the service would be operational across 5,000 cities at similar price points.

Big TV service will use the Malaysian MEASAT satellite and an advanced transmission compression technology, MPEG-4 to offer about 250 channels, fully digital audio and video quality and interactivity.

Although several blogs and online forums are abuzz with speculation on Reliance's pricing strategy, the company sources said it "would be frozen in the next few days" and is likely to be "a better value offering at current price points."

In the first phase of the launch, Big TV will roll out standard set-top boxes. Subsequently, boxes with High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) will be on the anvil.

Big TV to launch backup infrastructure in Bangalore | Televisionpoint.com News

W

Subsequently, boxes with High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) will be on the anvil.

I hope it will be launched at least by '09.

Surprisingly even TataSky uplinks its signals from Bangalore

Currently as per TRAI .. service provider's are not supposed to lock their STBs ... and are property of the consumer once they are baught..... but have not seen amendments of this rule by service providers...
Im talking about DISH tv & T'SKY dth STBs ... they have a channel list of 1000s of channels & the STB firmware is locked ...STb doesnt allow to delet any channels & u have to scroll thru 100s of channels to find channels which are in your channel packages... this is very sad... there are other lots of features the STBs frovide bt as they are locked u cant access them..is anything bein done abt this ???

J

desai_amogh said:
Currently as per TRAI .. service provider's are not supposed to lock their STBs ... and are property of the consumer once they are baught..... but have not seen amendments of this rule by service providers...
Im talking about DISH tv & T'SKY dth STBs ... they have a channel list of 1000s of channels & the STB firmware is locked ...STb doesnt allow to delet any channels & u have to scroll thru 100s of channels to find channels which are in your channel packages... this is very sad... there are other lots of features the STBs frovide bt as they are locked u cant access them..is anything bein done abt this ???

There was an article in one of the popular IT related magazines about two years back, which said that those much sought after (P) channels will be available when a separately bought card (from gray market) is inserted into the STP. May be it is also locked.

according to times-of-india(N-delhi) the Big-Tv services are suppose to begin this week in mumbai first,followed by delhi next week..
also they have signed mudra to do their promotions and stuff..

Another date from Tribune (within this week) & Business Standard (Tuesday).

M

Killer offer from BIG TV

big tv DTH launched and stock recived by dealers, package rs.999* for six months free.

source:local dealer

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

any other details ?

also its from reliance right ? which city r u from ? i think it will be more than 999 for installation,etc

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

aare yar...give the full details...installation...monthly charges...how many channels... *s269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/visio159/Unismilies/32.png

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

BIG TV Will officialy and commercially start its operations tomorrow

So have little patience.

H

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

so i'll get HD for as little as 999?

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

^^NO!
HD STBs will be introduced later i guess.And they will surely cost a BOMB.

Also 999 is not official.They may charge extra for installation like other operators.

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

Just 999? I hope they don't ask you to launch your own satellite into space at that price.

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

^^ =)), rofl

M

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

shashank_re said:
^^NO!
HD STBs will be introduced later i guess.And they will surely cost a BOMB.

Also 999 is not official.They may charge extra for installation like other operators.

its starter price and more its without tax

A

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

myhotdog said:
big tv DTH launched and stock recived by dealers, package rs.999* for six months free.

source:local dealer

*

K

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

You do know that no matter whether the stb supports HD is inconsequential, currently there is only 1 show aired on indian channels thats shot in HD( FYI the show is bikini destinations on Zee Cafe).

T

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

Cable user here

Though I am considering of getting Tatasky or Dishtv. confused which one to go for?

H

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

offtopic:

guys i've a Hathway Humax ND-1200C stb.since i'm i home now i had brought this stb from Delhi for testing out here.here we hav Cablecom cable connection.just wanted to know if i cud use this stb to improve the pic quality of the cable.

W

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

karmanya said:
currently there is only 1 show aired on indian channels thats shot in HD( FYI the show is bikini destinations on Zee Cafe).

Do you need a list? Or channel names will do?

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

[Offtopic]

hellgate said:
offtopic:

guys i've a Hathway Humax ND-1200C stb.since i'm i home now i had brought this stb from Delhi for testing out here.here we hav Cablecom cable connection.just wanted to know if i cud use this stb to improve the pic quality of the cable.

I think NO.

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

hellgate said:
offtopic:

guys i've a Hathway Humax ND-1200C stb.since i'm i home now i had brought this stb from Delhi for testing out here.here we hav Cablecom cable connection.just wanted to know if i cud use this stb to improve the pic quality of the cable.

Yes .. You can.....picture quality will improve very much.

I too am doing so ....well I don't know exact model number but it is from hathway

M

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

*www.bigtv.co.in/

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

finally , we are getting there ...

.
999 looks really good, i wish i had enough time apart from work and those games to actually watch it.
games have made me to forget tv though.

H

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

clmlbx said:
Yes .. You can.....picture quality will improve very much.

I too am doing so ....well I don't know exact model number but it is from hathway

cud mind telling me how u do that?
also fyi Cablecom hasnt implemented CAS.

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

They updated the site! But no cost details.
check it out www.bigtv.co.in

H

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

yup saw the site's updated.thinking of getting 1 for my pc.i'm tired of the crappy cable pic quality.
or sud i wait 4 Airtel to launch their dth service?

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

It makes sense to wait for Airtel Digital TV which will launch in oct 1st week.

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

called their hotline:
answer: you can order but we dont have the pricing yet!!!!

WTF

mods .. merge this thread
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?p=920020&posted=1#post920020

or lock this one ...

Big TV site is now updated.
*bigtv.co.in
Check it in IE/Opera only as FF is still displaying old site or visit this in FF:
*www.bigtv.co.in/bigtv/html/index.htm

It's still buggy with lot of layout problems.

They didnot even launch the service and they are saying it India's biggest Digital TV service!!!!

Finally it launched officially

Cost Rs.1490/-

M

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

big tv dth service launches. service starts at 1490 rs

source: NDTV

H

Re: Killer offer from BIG TV

called up their cc and u wont believe me they told me that BigTV hasnt yet been commercially launched.its still in testing phase and we shall let u know once its commercially launched.

It seems that there are two threads on the Big TV launch.
Threads Merged

Offers & Packages updated on site. It still does not work on FF.

It's slightly cheaper than others I guess but still costlier than cable. It'll cost atleast Rs. 300 to me for the channels I need.
It's time to get STB for digital cable as I've been waiting for Big TV offers.

H

^^^ so u taking Big Tv?
i think i shall wait 4 Airtel to launch theirs.

^^ Nah!
It's too costly. I am not gonna pay Rs. 300 monthly for it. I'll buy STB for digital cable & pay Rs. 150 monthly.

Rs 999 haha

It came to same price

1490 + 1000 installation charges = 2490

T

So how does it fare when compared to tatasky or dishtv?

H

i think it'll be better to get DishTv or TataSky.cuz i think Reliance is not that reliable in their after sales support and quality.

i think price is same as dish or tata. crappy website on both IE n FF

i v click 100 times to view wat is there in one plan!!

well i m going to buy dish tv.
i v heard that both dish and tata go off air at the slightest sign of bad weather.

my friend also told me that these DTH services dont work even when it is drizzling !! is it true???

T

hellgate said:
i think it'll be better to get DishTv or TataSky.cuz i think Reliance is not that reliable in their after sales support and quality.

Thank you.I shall get DishTV soon.

^^Are you kidding???? Want to buy Dish TV??
Think billion times. Read some reviews(even 2 will do) on the net and decide...whether its worth paying money for going to hell..!

iinfi said:
i think price is same as dish or tata. crappy website on both IE n FF

i v click 100 times to view wat is there in one plan!!

well i m going to buy dish tv.
i v heard that both dish and tata go off air at the slightest sign of bad weather.

my friend also told me that these DTH services dont work even when it is drizzling !! is it true???

You get more channels than Tata Sky & Dish TV on Big TV. Also the picture & sound quality is better in case of Big TV.

DTH services are affected in bad weather. Big TV is better than others in this department too as it has bigger dish which helps in better signals while it's raining. However, most probably, it won't work in heavy rains & snowfall. I've heard Tata Sky & Dish TV stop working even when it's drizzling.

T

The Conqueror said:
Thank you.I shall get DishTV soon.

Wait for Airtel.

W

BIG TV Set-Top-Box Rear Panel

*www.bigtv.co.in/bigtv/html/images/setbox1_new.gif

1. Antenna In: Input from Terrestrial Antenna. Connect to Cable
Network of Active Antenna.
2. Loop out & RF out:Terrestrial signal loop out & RF re-modulation
out to TV set. Connect to RF Terminal of TV set.
3. Component: Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output Connect to
component Video terminal of TV set
4. LNB Input: Digital satellite signal input from Dish Antenna (LNB)
to Tuner.
5. Video: Composite video output to TV. Connect to composite video
terminal of TV set.
6. Audio L & R: Left & Right Audio output. Connect to Audio terminal
of TV set or Hi-Fi Audio system.
7. USB: Port for USB device.
8. Loop out: Loop through output from digital Tuner.
9. DC Jack: DC 12V input from Adopter. Connect Adopter plug.

High Definition video thru Component?
satellite broadband thru USB?

H

^^^ from wat i've read on other forums that usb port is for connecting pen drives (or other storage media) for dvr purposes though it aint supported as of now.

cudnt wait anymore got a DishTv connection 2 day.

i read in the newspaper that Reliance ADAG is going to launch IPTV...any one got a low down on that?

Check this for more details:
*www.rcom.co.in/iptv/index.html

T

shashank_re said:
^^Are you kidding???? Want to buy Dish TV??
Think billion times. Read some reviews(even 2 will do) on the net and decide...whether its worth paying money for going to hell..!

So Should I take TataSky instead ?

I am not going to hurry. As of now, the packages look very very confusing. No clear detail. I would rather wait till the dust settles.

As of now, TATA Sky looks to be a good option for people in a hurry.

^^ Yeah, wait & watch for some more days to read reviews of Big TV or wait for Airtel & then read it's reviews.

Tata Sky is too costly for the channels it provides. I can bet Big TV has better quality although customers who tried it before launch during test period had STB hanging problems. I hope it is solved now or it will be solved in near future through software update.

T

hellgate said:
^^^ from wat i've read on other forums that usb port is for connecting pen drives (or other storage media) .

I too read the same in HT.

H

The Conqueror said:
So Should I take TataSky instead ?

u can get DishTv.
my cousin's using it 4 the past 2 yrs and no probs as of such.yeah its true that their system is a bit crappy i.e changes r not instanly updated.it takes bout 24-48 hrs to reflect the changes.

Go with TataSky dude.
It may be slightly expensive as compared to Dish TV but you should understand that peace of mind is more worth than those few bucks

any one bought this BIG TV here??

Bad news for me again. Most of the satellites are in the south-west sky for Delhi. And my home is in the shadow area for south-west

Can't use terrace too.

i scrutinized big tv plans for the first time over the weekend and find that only the initial offer is good and later it gets to arnd Rs. 450 pm if we want all the channels.

In any of the DTH services can we watch 2 channels at the same time? e.g. ESPN and STAR @ the same time??

T

^No.

does anyone know what is display 16:9 and 4:3 mean.

i v LCD TV and pictures in sports channels esp. football matches appear blurry. images are not sharp. i v select tv display as 16:9 in my Big TV Set top box. but still no effect!!
signal strength is 95%.
i v series 5 samsung LCD.