Big TV Postpones DVR Launch

The economic crisis has taken its toll on the DTH industry, with several providers postponing the launch of Digital Video Recorders (DVR). Reliance Big TV, who was planning to launch its DVR by mid-October, might unveil the product only in the beginning of next fiscal.

The DVRs are upgraded DTH set-top boxes which allow the viewers to record multiple programmes from different TV channels, this feature also comes at a higher price, DVRs would cost between Rs 7000 to Rs 9000.

"The sale of DVR service comes with heavy cost implications to DTH service providers, which only adds to their existing financial burden of offering the basic DTH services. This may be among the reasons why some of the existing DTH players are holding back the launch of their DVR services," said an industry expert.

Reliance also intended to launch its IPTV service by end of 2008, but that has been deferred as well.

Read more » Big TV Postpones DVR Launch

Big TV to Get Digital Video Recording STBs

Offering as a variant to its set-top boxes, Reliance Big TV will be launching its digital video recorder (DVR) in the Indian market by mid-October, according to a financial newspaper.

The company has ordered 2.5-lakh DVR-enabled set top boxes from Korean manufacturers, including Hyundai. The first batch of 25,000 set top boxes will be received by September-end and will be rolled out soon after.

The DVR will give the viewers the opportunity to record multiple programmes from different TV channels in their absence or while other content is being viewed and it will cost between Rs 7000 to Rs 9000. Reliance is considering having a limited-period offer for booking on a first-cum-first serve basis.

Inevitably, Big TV's competitors - Dish TV and Tata Sky - are also expected to roll out their DVRs soon.

Read more » Big TV to Get Digital Video Recording STBs

Can I Use One Dish for Many TVs?

Well in short the answer is yes, although there is a limit of four TV's per connection, I will explain in short how it works to help you understand better. So lets say you have two televisions at home you do not need to get two separate connections, BIG TV provides a 50% off on installation of 2nd, 3rd and 4th connection.

The way it works is quite simple, you will have one dish that connects to a dual Low Noise Block (LNB) converter. The LNB then has two cables running to two different set top boxes (STB), each connected to your televisions. Each STB will have a different viewing card, which is like a SIM card that we have in mobile phones.
You cannot interchange the viewing cards of the STBs, it is also possible for the company to provide you with two separate dish antennae if the dual LNB is not available.

If you are taking a multiple Big TV connection you can get a 50% discount by informing the Big TV Customer Care Executive when you place an installation request.

I have Multiple TVs what will be the Monthly Subscription charge?
You will have to pay the normal subscription cost on the first television, if you have two, three or four TVs you would pay 50% or Rs.125 depending on which is higher, per extra TV.

Although if you choose any other add on packs for the second, third or fourth TV you will be charged at a standard price. If you have more than four televisions the 5th TV will require a new connection registered and will cost you the full amount.

Read more » Can I Use One Dish for Many TVs?

Big TV Consumer Woes or Rivals Playing Foul?

Just within 15 days after their big launch and several consumers have already expressed their disappointment with Big TV customer service. Reliance stated that their call centre was capable of handling over 50,000 calls per day, and would operate from two locations to enable speedy response to consumer queries. But it seems the customer service is not that efficient.

Many complains have been registered about Big TV's after sale service and consumers have received no assistance from the distributor or the call center. Are these genuine complains or just Big Tv's competitor posting negative comments on different sites?

Big Tv Installation woes

We had mentioned in our previous post that there has been some good feedback regarding Big TV installation, but that was few days prior to the launch. Now consumers are facing problems with the installation of the dish within the stipulated time frame as promised by the company, i.e. 48 hours after registration. Even after seven to eight days the dish hasn't been installed and customer service gives no proper response.

We have received several comments from consumers. R Chowdhri, Big TV consumer, complained, "Reliance Big TV has one of the worst customer service I have ever seen in my life. The 1-800 call center no does not work, the installation did not happen even after 6 days of buying the STB and despite me calling the Bombay call center no (022-30338888) multiple times on multiple days, the call center guys are totally inexperienced and just do not have answers to the problem. I recommend people to not buy Big TV. My complaint no is 75103862." This person has pasted the same comment on three different sites with different name, and the same complain number.

Is this a strategy used by Tata Sky or Dish TV to give negative feedback about Big TV? If you have a Big TV connection, send us your feedback on Big TV.

Read more » Big TV Consumer Woes or Rivals Playing Foul?

Big TV Facing Big Problems? - Part 2

In Big TV Facing Big Problems? - Part 1 we looked at the Big TV Installation and the problems Big TV users are facing, lets now take a look at the other facts that are possibly stalling the Big TV Launch.

Big TV Customer Service:

It understandable that the customer service at this point of time is not living up to the expectations since its a fairly new service and the customer service executives are learning the ropes. But heres an experience of a Big TV customer,

I called up to lodge a complaint for STB getting hanged. That was a just a simple complaint i was trying to lodge and guess what?

A hell lot of hassles I have gone through.

[1] Rep talked to me for over 20 minutes!!!
[2] He was keep asking me (or may be confirming) every single things for 4-5 times what i was telling him (That was really annoying)
[3] After telling him every single thing - he was putting me on hold for 1-2 minutes saying that "i am going to gather more knowledge and will give you a solution, please wait"
[4] In between, he also played a trick - "Sir, are you in front of your TV? is that problem happening right now? If not, please call back when it happens so that we can guide you thoroughly"

I am a bit smart too. I said "hang on --- see, it happens now. tell me what shall i do now?" and he said "try to do something with remote", "try from STB" and even he said some foolish things "check the batteries in your remote"

Finally, he took a complaint after 20 minutes of discussion and when i asked for a complaint number, he said "i will have to put you on hold for sometimes, it will take time" - i asked "how long" and he said "2-3 minutes"

That was completely waste of time. He actually took 2-3 minutes just to raise a complaint!!!!!!!! Imagine, they haven't launched commercially and they are taking 2-3 minutes just to raise a complaint. What will happen after a launch? He finally gave me an 8 digit complaint number which starts from "7358----"

Big TV Complains:

One customer placed two complains within 24 hours of time, on the 11th of August 2008 hr placed a complain for the STB that was slow and kept hanging, the complain number was 7379**** and on 12th August 2008 another complain fro the "Smart Card Error" and received complain number 7384****. Now if you see that the complain numbers 50,000 complain numbers are being generated on a daily basis. This is really something that will create issues, especially with the launch of Big TV yesterday lets see if these problems are rectified.

Big TV Solutions:

So far the Customer Service nor the Engineers have been able to fix the STB problems, the only solution they have provided is stating that once the service launches they would be able to fix or replace the STB.

The other solution they have provided is to keep the customers phone number stating they will contact them when a new version of the STB is out. So this could mean tha the company is trying to get the STBs replaced for a newer stable version.

A special thanks to the members of the Broadband forum for keeping us updated with the problems they face.

Read more » Big TV Facing Big Problems? - Part 2

Big TV Facing Big Problems? - Part 1

As every launch date provided by the media passes by there is still no sign of the commercial availability of Big TV DTH. This made me wonder why would any company not want to disclose something so important as people have been waiting for more than a couple of months now to buy it.

If you recollect that some people have managed to get a Big TV connection under the PCO Scheme and the Employee offer, lets take a look at their feedback and experience of using Big TV.

Big TV Installation:

There has been some good feedback regarding the installation of the service, it seems the Big TV service guys came with a small 7-inch LCD TV and tried getting maximum signal strength for 40 - 45 minutes, once that was done they set up the dish over there. It seems the Big TV dish is bigger in size as compared to Tata Sky and Dish TV.

The cable was inserted through the hole in the wall, and then sealed with silicon adhesive so no insects could go pass through it. The cable is branded with "Reliance Blue Magic" the older brand name that was dropped later on by the company. They are possibly trying to finish their excess stock of hardware that has been branded with "Blue Magic".

Big TV Problems:

Within a week of installation, users started to see that the Set Top Box (STB) began to hang, the remote control could not help and the only option they had was to restart the STB by turning off the power and switching it back on.

Changing channels is slow, it takes two to three seconds for a channel to change, as more channels are added the whole scrolling through the menu seems to lag. At times there have been problems with the menu breaking up while scrolling through the channels, the list of channels get out of their enclosing box.

With an increasing amount of channels its but obvious that after a point of time the quality of the signal will have to be lowered to accommodate more channels.

Like all DTH services the Big TV service has a problem in the monsoon season, the cloud cover and density manages to disrupt service, India has three to four months of rains, this can not be rectified and exists with all DTH service providers.

In Part 2 of Big Tv Facing Big Problems we will take a look at the Big TV Customer Service, the Customer Complains and the solutions provided by Big Tv.

Read more » Big TV Facing Big Problems? - Part 1

Videocon's DTH Bigger than BIG TV?

Videocon that plans on launching its DTH service by the end of October, will be the only Direct to Home provider that will manufacture their own set top boxes and apart from that it will the next provider to offer MPEG 4 technology to its customers.

But what makes Videocons service so great that it would compete with Big, firstly unlike Big Entertainment who has been unable to give the media or the consumers a fixed launch date, Videocon seems to have planned out its execution and road map much better.

Anil Khera who was earlier in charge of Videocon's Sansui and Kelvinator is heading Videocons D2H services. Khera said, “We have taken six Ku-band transponders on SingTel's ST-1 satellite. We are investing Rs 10 billion over two years and are launching the DTH service by October-end.”

Videocon will be manufacturing STBs in it factory in Aurangabad, this may be beneficial to consumers as they would be able to provide them with the STBs at a lower price point. While Big TV uses AsiaSat for its transmissions and buys STBs from manufacturers in China and Taiwan.

Although Videocon plans on launching with around 200 channels which will be close to forty less than Big, prices have always been important to the indian consumer, lets wait and watch as the Direct to home segment heats up, which will open a lot of doors to the Indian TV watcher.

Read more » Videocon's DTH Bigger than BIG TV?

Dish TV to Provide MPEG 4 STBs, Not Service

Dish TV has announced that it will begin providing MPEG 4 Set Top Boxes soon after Reliance Big TV accused existing DTH operators Tata Sky and Dish TV of not complying with the latest set-top box technology and trying to block out from bringing the revised norms.

While Jawahar Goel, managing director, Dish TV, said, “MPEG 4 boxes are much more expensive and may put extra burden on the subscriber. Moreover, the MPEG 4 format is not in accordance with BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) and the government’s regulations and, hence, is not interoperable with MPEG 2 boxes,”

Now the funny part of the story is that Dish TV does not plan on upgrading its transmission to MPEG 4 so although a customer may buy an MPEG 4 set top box the audio and video quality will stay at MPEG 2.

Dish TV claims that it does not make business sense for them to upgrade their transmission, keeping in mind they have invested in their own broadcast satellite recently. Dish TV says it is quite confident of meeting the competition from Big TV in the market as MPEG 4 and MPEG 2 offers virtually the same video and audio quality.

The company also claims that the only difference is in the cost of set-top boxes (STBs), which is much higher for MPEG 4. But as we know Big Entertainment has procured a huge quantity of set top boxes so the prices are comparable with the MPEG 2 STBs.

But since Big TV has still not spoken about a launch date the competitors are making hay while the sun shines, Dish TV is giving away free STB’s with their connection to expand their customer base and probably get rid of their MPEG 2 STB stock. Dish TV also recently lost its CEO Arun Kumar Kapoor, who has now been hired by Big TV.

Read more » Dish TV to Provide MPEG 4 STBs, Not Service

Reliance Complains over DTH Set-top Boxes

In its attempt to gain an edge over its competitors, Reliance Big TV has accused existing DTH operators - Tata Sky and Dish TV - of not complying with the latest set-top box technology and trying to block out from bringing the revised norms.

For instance - if you have Tata Sky and want to switch to Dish TV or vice versa, you would have to throw away your old set-top box and get a new one. This is because the STBs provided by these operators aren't interoperable.

Reliance has complained to the I&B ministry that the current DTH operators are using an obsolete format, therefore jeopardising comusmers' interest. Tata Sky and Dish TV use MPEG-2 technology as compared to Big TV, which will use MPEG-4 format. This will offer better video quality and save over 30% transmission bandwidth allowing more channels to be telecast.

Reliance has also asked the government to revise the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) norms and implement TRAI's guidelines, which says that the existing subscribers need not change their STBs.

Read more » Reliance Complains over DTH Set-top Boxes

Big TV Purchases Set Top Boxes in Bulk

Everything seems rather big with Big TV, Reliance seems to have placed an order for 5 million set top boxes in an attempt to make them cost as much as a MPEG-2 set top box that its competitors sell in the country.

Reliance ADAG has placed orders from vendors in Korea, China and Taiwan at a cost that's lower than the market price by around 25% this would help them sell their STBs at similar if not lower prices than the ones being sold in India.

Big Entertainment has already acquired 2.5 lakh STBs and the remaining amount is expected to reach them in a couple of weeks. There will be a variety of STB models including some with video recording facility in an inbuilt memory disk or DVD drive.

Recording-enabled set-top boxes will allow a user to record any program even when no one is present at home. Reliance has set a team to procure these models as per their target market, to also tune and modify features as per feedback provided by their customers.

Although all this sounds really good on paper there has not been much news over the Internet, on the set top boxes performance. Although there are some complaints of the set top box overheating and channels hanging while they are being changed, is this the reason why the Big TV launch has been postponed yet again?

Read more » Big TV Purchases Set Top Boxes in Bulk

About Big TV

Big TV is the brainchild of the Reliance ADAG group, spearheaded by Anil Ambani. Big TV is set to take on the existing Direct to Home market in India.

The company claimed to already have forty thousand customers with its marketing through various internal sources like its employee offer, Reliance PCO Scheme and Reliance Energy Customer schemes.

The launch of the product is suppose to finally launch in July 2008 after many previous rumoured launch dates, some rumours that we caught on to. So you know by now this is not the official companies blog, but this is the aam janata's Reliance Big TV Blog!

We have been covering everything revolving around Big TV from the set top boxes, picture quality, problems and everything that this DTH service has to offer.

Read more » About Big TV