Cas Rollout In The Metros

[metalheadnitin]

first up, i think we also need a subforum for CAS in here, so MODs please consider.coming to the issue of CAS, given that its going to be fully rolled out from the 1st of January 2007, how many of you have been approached yet by your cable guy? i mean are they trying to get in touch with you ppl regarding set top boxes, schemes, subscriptions etc?at my end, the cable operator said that he'll be coming to me around the 22nd of this month, regarding all the stuff that there is about this...so probably when our respective cablewallahs would be approaching us, they would prolly give us a choice about choosing a set top box. and that is the prime concern here...so IF i get that choice, what stb should i go for? i mean If Humax, Thomson etc figure on his list then which one would you guys recommend?and what all do i need to be careful about... 🤔 PS:-mods please move this topic to an appropriate subforum/section 🙂

 

[GSV13]

@OPYou won't be offered choice like Tata Sky do!! atleast in earlier days and i don't think they would be offering nice STB brands like thomson etc but just the plain chineese crap.It would be best to stay away from STB for first few months till then the situation becomes more clear however if you can't live without these pay channels then try to rent the box with lowest deposit plan(i think 250Rs deposit with 45Rs monthly rental as prscribed by TRAI ) so that you could change in future without a torture of Cabelwallah.

 

[Sushubh]

its compulsory from what i see. getting a stb on rental is the best option considering these are chinese crap and would get freaked out pretty regularly...

 

[metalheadnitin]

@mods: please move this topic to the appropriate new CAS Subforum...or should i start a new topic there?

 

[Crazysah]

Start in the CAS forum not here.

 

[metalheadnitin]

got a small pamphlet from my cable distributor last evening. 😀

 

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[GSV13]

Post it whats written on it!!

 

[metalheadnitin]

^ oops, sorry..
i dont have the actual pamphlet in my hands at this hour, but as i found out, all it says is THIS, but in hindi ofcourse. i've verified it, its an absolute translation. The pamphlet even had th logos of hathway and Win Cable.

 

[waterloo_sunset]

I've got two pamphlets lying with me. One of them is the Hathway posted above. It also came along with a complete list of channels. As expected, all the pay channels are priced at 5 bucks irrespective of their current tariffs. So we have a situation where both ESPN and ETV Bihar cost the same :l

They had setup a demo and the set top box was a Humax one and the picture quality though decent, was not on par with Tata Sky. I just browsed through their site and it's clearly mentioned "MPEG quality picture with digital stereophonic sound; so atleast they're honest about it and not claiming to offer 'DVD Quality Picture' like the others...i'll give them that.

I picked around 30 pay channels from the list(interestingly NDTV, MTV, BBC and a couple of others are categorised as pay channels which am not too sure about) along with the 30 odd FTA channel package which is compulsory. So,

Pay channels (30 X 5) = 150
FTA Package = 72
STB rent = 45 (i chose the 250 bucks initial deposit scheme)
Service Tax (12%)- 222 X 12/100 = 32

Total Cost per month = Rs 299.00

Compare that to 200 bucks/month (2400 annually in advance) am currently paying for all the channels. So in actual fact am gonna be forced to fork out more for less....figures, considering the majority of the so called initiatives taken by the government defy logic. And i left out atleast 10 hindi film/soap channels which my mom will almost certainly add to the selection. For now, am just waiting to see how TataSky responds and then take a decision. And i won't be surprised if CAS bombs again and is put on the backburner for another couple of years.

 

[metalheadnitin]

^ dude don't look at this from the point of view of cost.. the costs, low in some areas and high in others were never justified to be frank. i mean where in the world would you get to watch 70-80 channels for 120 rupees man!!! unless there's a cable mafia at work which is scamming out all the money that belongs to the broadcasters and the govt.... and that IS the case here... and picture this, in the coming months, we'll get more value added services while watching tv. just like in DTH currently.

 

[maahkaal]

QUOTE(waterloo_sunset @ Dec 19 2006, 01:48 AM) [snapback]71188[/snapback]
Total Cost per month = Rs 299.00

Compare that to 200 bucks/month (2400 annually in advance) am currently paying for all the channels. So in actual fact am gonna be forced to fork out more for less....figures, considering the majority of the so called initiatives taken by the government defy logic. And i won't be surprised if CAS bombs again and is put on the backburner for another couple of years.
[/b]

I just don't understand this moaning against CAS . CAS should have been implemented long way back but for the cable operators and politicians nexus. metalheadnitin is spot on about this issue. The operators and politicians combined had been ripping money off the government and the broadcasters through a very smart trick that is offer all the channels for a reasonable fee to the people and under declare their connections. The support from the BJP - Shiv Sena government to these opeartors turned the cable business into a mafia organization which had reached a boiling point. And you know what , we , the consumers played a big part with in that by putting up with all that nonsense.

People need to realize that though CAS will be a bit expensive , it will bring out transparency in the cable television.There will be accountability and we will no longer have to put up with the dadagiri of local operators. Another important thing you fail to notice is through the introduction of CAS , we can start our move to the digital transmission from analogue which has to happen and the sooner the better.
You moan about the less money you used to pay before but point me one country where watching pay television is cheap. It simply is not possible.

If CAS bombs and is postponed then it would really be a big shame on the part of the government and unfortunate for us people. In the earlier days the operators and politicians might have succeeded in putting off CAS but the availability of DTH and IPTV have given the consumers a choice which i'm sure has unsettled the operators.

 

[amish]

QUOTE(waterloo_sunset @ Dec 19 2006, 01:48 AM) [snapback]71188[/snapback]
Pay channels (30 X 5) = 150
FTA Package = 72
STB rent = 45 (i chose the 250 bucks initial deposit scheme)
Service Tax (12%)- 222 X 12/100 = 32

Total Cost per month = Rs 299.00

Compare that to 200 bucks/month (2400 annually in advance) am currently paying for all the channels.
[/b]

Thats your view considering just only ur own needs.
When govt brings in some changes it has to consider
all. low tv users to heavy tv users. why should low
tv users pay 360rs (Our area its 360Rs/month)?

thats why cas is being implemented.

we are not hard TV freaks mainly use just for little
entertainment. We just need say:
3 regular shows: Star plus, sab, Sony tv
4 movie channels: hbo, sony max, star movies, star gold
3 for sports: star sports, espn, (zee or ten wherever match is)
say 2 channels for kids
and say 3 extra here and there.

plus FTA channels are enough for any additional entertainment
or news for us.

so total 15 pay channels: 15*5 = 75
FTA Package = 72
STB rent = 45 (same scheme as urs)
Govt. fixed Entertainment duty: 45 Rs (this u missed)
Service Tax (12%)- = 29

Total approx Rs 266.

almost 100Rs less a month for us.

And for ppl who just need FTA channels it becomes
so cheap (Rs 131 as per todays mumbai mirror)
as not even STB is reqed.

so even though u say CAS is bad deal there are lakhs
of ppl who think its good.

other social advantage is taxes wud actually go to hands of
govt instead of cable op chewing all up. govt will atleast
use say 10% of it in some good deeds.


P.S;
Currently Tata Sky offers almost all channels for 300Rs.
so thats good deal.(for many like us)

but only thing is initial cost of 4000Rs as compared to
just 250rs CAS, no rent after 5yrs.
and if STB blows after 1 yr warranty period, it wud cost 4000rs again.
so that makes deal very risky.

 

[mhsabir]

I am from chennai & living under CAS for last 3 years. I got A STB the time it was implemented, and the cost went up from Rs. 250 to Rs. 350 per month (This is without the Rs 5 per pay channel scheme to be introduced) . I expect it to become around Rs.250 again after this scheme is introduced in chennai from Jan 2007. But the major point here is most people here only wanted local regional channels & did not mind forgoing the other channels & hence a majority of them pay around Rs.80 per month, which they don't mind even if they do loose out the english movies, sports or hindi channels. For them it has been kind of boon

From my point of view, I am keen on this mode of CAS being implemented(5 per channel) so that my cable bill will go down from Rs.350 to Rs.250 per month.

Just to show what people with STB in chennai are paying right now(This is before the 5 per channel scheme) . It is approx 120(FTA + taxes) + whatever package u choose in following link of SCV Network MSO

http://www.sunnetwork.in/cas.htm

 

[waterloo_sunset]

Thats your view considering just only ur own needs.[/b]
And that is exactly what it was meant to be. Everything was goin well until the stupid gov. decided to step in and mess it up. I just needed a place to rant. 😛

I feel that consumers should be given the choice to either go in for CAS if they feel they can bring down their monthly bill(like in ur case), or continue playing a flat fee for all the channels if they feel it doesn't make economic sense(for people like me whos monthly bill is gonna rocket from 200 to over 350).

The way i see it. It's like, currently am paying 200 bucks for an unlimited cable internet connection and my usage is around 5GB a month. Now the government jumps in, does away with the unlimited plan and forces me to buy/rent a router and shift to a limited plan whereby i'll have to pay a min 72 bucks a month for 200MB and Re1/MB after that. Now this may be great for light users like you who just browse the net for an hour a day, check their mail n stuff. But heavy users like me end up getting screwed.(remember how we keep whining abt isp's focussing on light users?)

Anyway, i've been negotiating with Tata Sky for the past couple of days and they are willing to cut me a deal if i can gather 10 ppl which i already have. They'll give a discount of 550 bucks on the initial 2990 and wait, there's more. In addition each of us will get an electric kettle, a mobile handset and another mystery gift(ooooh!) 😛

I mean, id rather get DTH and at least be assured of true digital broadcast and good service. People who think CAS is gonna bring about a revolution are in for a rude shock. The situation is the same as last time. They are not prepared, there are not enough STB's and you'll still be tied to your operator which can't be a good thing. And lastly, digital cable(which is what the govt is claiming) requires a lot of upgradation at the operator's end and new wiring which costs money and knowing these guys and the way they function, they'll take shortcuts and you won't know what you'll end up getting (still have painful memories from last time when i fell for it). So do yourselves a favour and stay away from CAS. Wait for IPTV(which can't be far away) if DTH is not ur cup of tea.

 

[anirudh]

If the telephone line goes dead, will IPTV work then ?