Tata Sky HD plus internet connectivity (via LAN) coming soon!

I got the HD+ box installed a few days back and yesterday I got a call from TS asking if the engineer had connected my TS HD+ box with internet or not. He hadnt so she told me if I want to. Since the installation will be free so I didnt object. I did however ask her how will the STB use internet connectivity. She didnt know too much about it and told me it's an upcoming update (coming within a few weeks) which will allow you to download HD movies on the STB (from TS servers) via internet. There maybe more features but she didnt have all the details yet. I'll be all over it if they have a netflix style "all you can eat" type of subscription with a huge database of movies. Though I doubt we'll be that lucky. It'll probably be the same system where you pay per movie. But still its good news IMO. Once the box is connected to the internet, the possibilities are endless. There can be youtube, light web browsing, email etc. You could easily check your booked events and set new recordings from the TS app/web much more efficiently. Hopefully it TS wont stop at just the pay per view movie downloads. Fingers crossed 😀

HindustanTimes-Print

Sweet.

Wouldnt work. They will have to include ISPs in the deal. Otherwise everyone will get FUPed!

Wouldnt work. They will have to include ISPs in the deal. Otherwise everyone will get FUPed!
Netflix doesnt have any deals with ISPs either. And even with airtel fup and other slow broadband connections, it'll work as long as you dont have a downloads based plan. It can easily download 2-3 movies from your wishlist in the background and have them ready for whenever you want to watch one.

So yeah, I think it'll work great as long as they have a good enough catalog of movies for reasonable price. I'll be subscribing to it on day one unless they charge more than 300 bucks for it.

Are you sure it's that enjoyable?

You're comparing Netflix who's users have a minimum of 5mbps connection to watch movies on their internet connection. We barely have 1mbps as a norm here, and we're talking about downloading movies to the STB directly.

Let's assume the download size would be 4GB (too small, eh?) and with a 512kbps connection, and regular internet browsing, it'll take at least 2 days (non-stop) to complete. Plus, most ISPs have introduced FUP, so you get your speed lowered as soon as possible without even enjoying a little 🙂

I might try this if it gets launched for free, but definitely wouldn't pay for something which I will have to download with my own speed and internet which I could use for something more useful 🙂

I downloaded Portal for mac (almost 4 gb) in about 4 hours on my FUPless mtnl 3g cnnection. So yeah, for me it'll work great. Sure enough broadband services need to be improved but there are quite a few people who can make use of such services already. The fact that it'll work without the need of another STB or connecting my computer to TV will be reason enough for most to give it a try.

erm... It woudnt hurt much to start with VoD anyways.... All they would do is use up your existing FUP space for like a gig per movie. I think I would like that if the downloading is done off the hook so to say. And anyways IPTV is anyday a better technology per se to DTH.

erm... It woudnt hurt much to start with VoD anyways.... All they would do is use up your existing FUP space for like a gig per movie. I think I would like that if the downloading is done off the hook so to say. And anyways IPTV is anyday a better technology per se to DTH.
IPTV is great. But the only one available in India is Airtel. And I dont think I'd be wrong if I say it's the worst and most crappiest IPTV experience in the world. Reliance looks good with their Microsoft OS based IPTV. But thats been "coming soon" for last 3 years so who knows how long will that take. Its probably gonna be a competition between Hayai and Reliance IPTV for the Duke Nukem forever trophy 😛

yeah well with indian broadband conditions and our "HD" expectations this aint much of a hoohaa anyways.

IPTV is great. But the only one available in India is Airtel. And I dont think I'd be wrong if I say it's the worst and most crappiest IPTV experience in the world. Reliance looks good with their Microsoft OS based IPTV. But thats been "coming soon" for last 3 years so who knows how long will that take. Its probably gonna be a competition between Hayai and Reliance IPTV for the Duke Nukem forever trophy 😛

i guess you have not heard about the IPTV services offered by third party service providers using the MTNL and BSNL networks. And I thought Reliance was offering their IPTV connections in some regions?

Airtel has been delivering a pretty decent service. Of course, i have nothing to compare it to. in my own experience, i had take airtel iptv connection over any DTH/CAS/Cable service provider.

admin... yes well Myway is way crappier than reliance if you ask me. As of now in India Airtel is the way to go and even they could not bring up customers even in the metros. Being on a high-speed internet plan myself, they tried to hardsell IPTV to me. I mean come on, why would I take it with no kinda relevance to the whole viewing experience except the time-shift thingy.

time shift is awesome. if they had better combo plans like they had earlier, it was a cheap alternative to DTH.

yeah... i know... but ever since TS folks bought out their remote record i effectively spook "tech novices" out with a similar gimmick. of course TimeShift is spectacular but I would still love to see it extend to every channel onboard Airtel. I dont understand why they cant do that. Some IB requirements or something?

i guess you have not heard about the IPTV services offered by third party service providers using the MTNL and BSNL networks. And I thought Reliance was offering their IPTV connections in some regions?

Airtel has been delivering a pretty decent service. Of course, i have nothing to compare it to. in my own experience, i had take airtel iptv connection over any DTH/CAS/Cable service provider.

lol. BSNL and MTNL iptvs dont even count. Last I checked they didnt even have most of the major channels. I've been using airtel IPTV since the day it was released in delhi and while I liked it, I do not agree its a decent service at all. Only geeks like you and me can put up with such a crappy service. The video quality is way worse than Tata Sky, let alone TS HD. It takes freakin ages just to change channels or load up the EPG. The only thing they have going for them is the 7 day recordings for a select few channels. But finding a good movie is a huge PITA thanks to the crappy OS this box has.

I still liked it but then airtel messed up its broadband plans and IPTV just wasnt enough of a reason to put up with those idiots anymore. And after using TS HD+ for a week, there is no way I'm going back to airtel IPTV again. You do need to plan ahead and set stuff for recording in advance but using the guide on TS is a charm. You can watch the channel/recording while using the guide so unlike airtel, you dont need to waste 20 min staring on the ugly UI just to find a good movie. I can go through 4 days of programming for all of my fav channels on TS in less time than it takes me to go through one channel's EPG on airtel.

Also airtel didnt do anything to improve its iptv in all these years. No netflix type service. All they have is a few expensive movies. Not sure why they have such a limted catalog. I can understand why DTH has only a few movies available on demand but there is no techinical limitation for IPTV. Still they dont have anything. No real internet connectivity even though the servicce is provided by airtel, one India's biggest broadband provider. Can you think of anything they improved since the service launched 3 years ago? I'm trying really hard but nothing comes to mind.

EDIT: About reliance, they havent launched anywhere yet. They have some users who are testing the service for over two years now. lol.