Dish TV HD Reviews
If you are living in India, you might be aware of the fact that Tata Sky and Dish TV are the best and most popular DTH (Direct-To-Home) television service providers in India. There are a few other DTH services in India such as Airtel Digital TV, Videocon D2H, Reliance Big TV, Sun Direct, etc but Tata Sky and Dish TV are at the top of the list.
My work doesn't allow me to stay in India but due to my health problems which I mentioned earlier, currently I'm staying in India. Some of you might be knowing that I have Tata Sky DTH connection at my home as I have posted about my interesting discovery in Tata Sky STB. I have an HD+ set top box of Tata Sky which allows me to watch HD channels as well as record them. Recently I posted about present in Dish TV which I found while checking a new Dish TV connection purchased by my cousin sister. It was also an HD+ connection.
It helped me in comparing both Tata Sky and Dish TV quality and performance. I found many differences between both the services. In some areas Tata Sky is the best but there are some features which are exclusive to Dish TV.
Today I thought about sharing my experience with Tata Sky and Dish TV with you all. I hope it'll help many Indian readers in choosing between Tata Sky or Dish TV DTH services.
I'll try my best to cover all possible points in this small review. Feel free to share your experience and thoughts in your comments.
So without wasting time lets start the review and comparison between Tata Sky and Dish TV DTH services:
Point 1: Hardware and Look
First impression is the last impression and Tata Sky clearly wins in this area. Tata Sky set top box (STB) looks better than Dish TV set top box. The front of Tata Sky STB is sleek, it shines and looks like a branded product. One the other hand, Dish TV STB looks basic. It looks like a local brand FM purchased from a local market. Some people might like Dish TV set top box more as its very small in size compared to Tata Sky set top box.
Dish TV STB gets hot very soon but Tata Sky STB doesn't get hot so much as it contains a fan inside the box.
Tata Sky STB comes with a 500GB internal Hard Disk to store program recording which is a huge amount of space to record your favorite TV shows, movies, etc. On the other hand, Dish TV STB doesn't contain any internal hard disk. Although Dish TV provides a 4GB USB pen drive to attach into Dish TV STB but its very small in size. You can attach other USB drives if the existing USB drive runs out of space.
Tata Sky STB contains 3 extra light indicators to show recording progress, new messages and remote activities. Dish TV STB doesn't contain any such extra indicators.
So in hardware and look area Tata Sky is the clear winner.
Point 2: Number of Channels and Picture Quality
If we talk about HD channels count, Tata Sky beats Dish TV. Tata Sky provides maximum 72 HD channels, on the other hand Dish TV provides 51 HD channels.
NOTE: Since all DTH companies regularly add new channels, it would be better to visit following topic to know the current status of HD channels availability on various DTH services:
If we talk about SD channels, both Tata Sky and Dish TV provide almost equal number of SD channels.
One more thing to mention! Dish TV is also showing an adult only PPV (Pay-Per-View) channel "Fresh! TV" which broadcasts adult TV shows and movies from 11:00 PM to 2:30 AM every night. But most of the adult content are removed from programs as per government guidelines. Dish TV is the only DTH service provider in India having such kind of TV channel.
There is also one French GEC TV channel "TV5 Monde Asie" which broadcasts uncut and uncensored French movies. Since movies are telecasted uncensored, you may see a few adult nude scenes (such as topless scenes) in some movies.
UPDATE: TV5 Monde Asie is no longer available on Dish TV but Tata Sky has added TV5 Monde Asie channel on May 05, 2016.