Finally the long long wait is over. High Defination services are officially launched in India. Thanks to Sun Direct.

HDTV is considered to be one of the world’s best digital broadcast platforms with a higher resolution than traditional television system. The images and pictures appear more clear and sharp and sound quality is also enhanced.

The company first introduced its DTH services in the country in late 2007.

Sun Direct offers 41 add-on packages, ranging from Rs. 6 to Rs 300 per month, of the most viewed channels. A basic package of over 130 channels in digital clarity with DVD quality pictures and sound has been priced at Rs. 499 as introductory offer — five months subscription i.e. just Rs.99 per month, excluding taxes. This price includes Dish and Set top box, however it excludes installation charges.

Currently the number 2 service DTH provider, proclaims Sun Direct, in the coming fiscal year plans to grab the number one position. The company claims that it has 3.1 million active users and aims to add another three million by 2010.

The Set Top Box(STB) with HD capability is priced at Rs.10,000 and Rs.100 is charged per month per channel.

At present 1 Tamil and 1 Telugu Movie channel is being  broadcast in HD quality. Though the price is bit expensive at the moment, it is expected to lower once the competiton increases as other DTH operators like Big TV, Tata Sky, Airtel and Dish TV start the HD broadcast.

More info on Sun Direct HD can be found here

[tab: Introduction]

The long wait for the DVR Service from Tata Sky is finally over.Its branded as Tata Sky+ (Similar branding as Sky+ in UK! ).

Few FAQs (As given on Tata Sky+ website:

What is Tata Sky+ service?
A:Tata Sky+ is a new-age service that uses the personal video recorder technology to give you the power to control your TV viewing experience like never before.

How is Tata Sky+ service different from Tata Sky service?
A: Tata Sky+ has MPEG4 technology, and an in-built personal video recorder that enables you to record live TV, play back a recorded programme and pause & rewind live TV. These features are not available on Tata Sky service.

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

What is the hard disk capacity on the digicomp?
The hard disk capacity is 160 GB.

Tell more about the recording functionality
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

You can playback the recorded programme at any time convenient to you.

What is the series link feature?
If you want to record all episodes of a programme back-to-back, you don’t need to set individual recordings for each episode. Just set a ‘series link’ for the programme after you set the programme for recording. This will ensure that all episodes of the programme get automatically recorded. You can now play back all the episodes at a time to convenient to you.

How can I playback a programme that I have recorded?
Press ‘plan’ on your Tata Sky+ remote to view a list of all programmes that have already been recorded or are currently recording or are set for future recording. Select the programme you want to playback from this list.

What are the benefits of the pause live TV feature?
Very often, while you are watching your favourite programme on TV and you may be interrupted by a phone call. With the Tata Sky+ pause live TV feature, you can now pause the programme that you are watching, answer the phone call and resume watching from where you left off. This way, you can answer the phone and still ensure that you don’t miss even a minute of the programme you are watching.

What are the benefits of the rewind live TV feature?
Often, you might miss a crucial dialogue while watching a movie on Star Movies, HBO or any other channel. You would like to watch it again, but you can’t. That situation is now passé. With the Tata Sky+ rewind live TV feature, you can rewind live TV anytime to watch the dialogue you missed again and again.

What will happen to my recorded programmes when the hard disk is full?
Tata Sky+ allows you to manage recordings in three modes – Automatic, Warning and Manual. Automatic modes is the default setting. In this mode, recorded programmes will be deleted automatically when there is insufficient disk space to record new programmes. Tata Sky+ will first delete recorded programmes that you have previously watched, followed by recorded programmes that you have not watched.

Warning mode presents you with a warning screen when the disk is full. You can choose to delete recordings to free up disk space. If you do not delete old recordings, Tata Sky+ automatically deletes the recordings as stated in Automatic Mode.

In Manual mode, the recording stops when the disk space runs low; no warning is displayed. It is up to you to ensure that unwanted recordings are regularly deleted to make space available for new recordings.

Can I ensure that specific programmes are not deleted when Tata Sky+ is automatically deleting content from the hard disk?
Yes, you can save a programme from deletion by using the PIN protect feature. Tata Sky+ will not automatically delete any programme that has been PIN protected. To lock and delete such programmes you will need to enter a PIN.

Can I transfer all the recorded programmes on my hard disk to another device like a DVD/ VCR?
No. You will not be able to transfer the recordings stored on your Tata Sky+ digicomp to any other electronic device.

Can I regulate what my children watch on TV?
Yes. You can regulate what your children watch with the parental control feature. This unique feature allows you to lock movies based on parental ratings or even an entire channel. Press ‘organiser’ button on your remote and select parental control to use this feature.

What is guide?
With the guide you can find out what’s playing on any channel up to 4 days in advance. You can also set reminders and recordings for 100 programmes that you wish to watch. You can also get synopses for programmes by highlight the programme in guide and pressing ‘i’ on your Tata Sky+ remote.

What other special features does Tata Sky+ offer?
Reminder

This feature allows you to set a reminder for your favourite programmes up to 4 days in advance, ensuring you never miss a beat of your favourite show again.

Favourites

You can set up to 20 channels in the order of your preference as a part of your favourites list.
Search & Scan Banner

This feature allows you to find out what’s playing on another channel without changing the channel you are watching.

The banner appears at the base of the television screen without interfering with what you are watching and disappears automatically after giving you the schedule of programmes across all channels.

You can also set a reminder for a programme or set a programme for recording from the search & scan banner.

How do I know about all the features and how to use them?
Please refer to the Tata Sky+ user manual or press ‘organiser’ on your remote, then choose User Guide under the services menu. You can also call the Tata Sky helpline.

[tab: +FAQ,Price ]

Here are few technical questions you may want to know.

Can i copy my recorded videos to computer the computer hard disk?

NO! Its is almost impossible to copy the recorded content to a computer hard disk,even by connecting the Tata Sky+ DVR HDD to your system SATA port(Yes, its a SATA Desktop HDD) ! The recorded files are linked with your Tata Sky access card.So you cant access them without your own access card.

160Gb is not enough for me.I want 1Tb Hard disk.But can i upgrade the Hard disk?

Answer to this question is somewhat NO! When we changed the hard disk to higher capacity,STB refused to display any picture! Anyways our tech team is trying hard to figure it out and is hoping to get positive results. So that we will be able to upgrade to higher capacity hard disk.

What is the container format of the recorded video? .mkv? .avi?

Its neither mkv nor .avi. Its STR. Yes, you heard it right its .STR

Last but not the least,whats the cost?
Rs 8,999 for the hardware (Digicomp) +
Rs 1,000 installation & activation charges +
Rs 50 per month Tata Sky+ usage fees +(Its waived off for life as introductory offer)
Cost of the channel package

[tab: DVR STB Split wide open+Photos! ]

Opening the Tata sky STB is one of the easiest experiments I have ever done (this may vary from person to person , opening your STB up causes your warranty to be void , so please do this at your own risk – this is not my responsibility nor is this website’s, but all I can say is its very hard to do something wrong and mess it up ) .

Opened up the 5 screws of the STB , one on each side and 3 at the back of the stb , this causes the upper lid of the STB to slide off , so once the screws are removed just gently slide the top of the STB open.

The HDD imaged :

Sitting right in the middle of the board is the Broadcom chip :
The big broadcom chips is a :
BCM7453TKPB10G
UN0829P31
881512U3

A closer look at the HDD Area :

The HYNIX Chips (these are the memory modules on board ) :

HYNIX -830A
HY5DU561622FTP-D43

The Dual tuner and another broadcom chip :

Broadcom chip details :
BCM4506KQLEG
CN0834 P11
8884213

HDD removed : WD 1600AVJS -63wna0

When the files are viewed using Windows Explorer.

[tab: Micro Review+Conclusion]

Pros:

MPEG4 Recorder,

Can record one channel while watching other,

Very good Build quality with decent looking remote,

SPDIF Optical out,

Ethernet Port,

Inbuilt Modem,

Reliable Tata Sky Customer service.

Tata Sky has currently blocked Ethernet Port, Modem and USB. They say its for future developments!

Cons:

Little expensive,

Cannot transfer the recorded videos.

Conclusion:

Tata Sky+ is an excellent product out there in the market with decent amount of features. Some of the users even seems to have experienced slightly better picture quality compared to regular Tata Sky service.

Finally if you can spend 9000 odd bucks on a gadget that you frequently use, then you can blindly go for this .

Chetan Hooli