R2idream\'s diary (images)

[r2idream]

Recently I was watching the movie Runaway Bride one more time on TV. A lady in the movie mentions India along with some other countries. Another lady responds saying some thing like - "you know, all these countries you mentioned don't have cable TV". That brought a smile to my face.

How things can change with in few years! Now Indian consumers have many choices when it comes to watching TV.



I believe we can save time, save a lot of time in fact, by using DVR or Tivo or some such service. So I decided to subscribe to Tata Sky as they were offering DVR service. There are some positives and negatives vis-a-vis American subscription plans.

First the negatives. The DVR set top box is quite buggy. If I rewind, pause, play a few times in random order the box freezes. A hard reboot will fix the problem. There is no HD service yet in India. Even if there is HD service, I believe HD content will be very minimal. Program times are not accurate. So, if my daughter tries to record Dance India Dance show, she may miss out the ending few minutes of the show(which are crucial most of the times), because of inaccuracies in published schedule. There is a work around - we end up scheduling recording of the next show also, thereby protecting ourselves from timing inaccuracies. There is too much advertising in Indian TV channels. An extreme example - E TV telecasts 15 minutes of continuous advertisements around 10:15 pm during their "second show" movie telecast. DVR is indispensable if you want to watch such shows/movies.

Now the positives. DVR service is reasonably cheap. I spent Rs 4,000 more to get a set top box(STB) that can work as DVR. That is all I have to pay to get DVR service for life. There is no rental for STB like in US cable plans. There is no DVR subscription fee like in US. Also, channel subscription plans are cheap. For Rs. 4,000 I got access to all channels for a year + 12 video on demand movies. Reception quality is good. There are some innovative features like - alerting the customer about up coming video on demand movies, Active darshan (where you can view some popular temples live), etc. Installation process is much better when compared to USA.

Satellite TV companies are integrating India in a unique way. For example, I can watch all Tamil channels (provided by Tata Sky of course) sitting in Hyderabad. Imagine a Tamil, living in New Delhi, having access to all Tamil channels.

Another advantage I see is this. This is happening in retail sector also. When people upgrade from local cablewallahs(unorganized sector) to satellite TV vendors(organized sector), government benefits from rising tax revenues. Since unorganized sector has a shoddy record when it comes to tax payments, this will result in incremental tax revenues for the government.

In India, I noticed inefficiencies or incompetence in one sector will effect your experience while using products/services belonging to another sector. For example, a power cut/failure will impact a DVR recording that is under way. Some times I noticed, inefficiencies in both the sectors will combine forces, and you will end up having a lousy experience. That happened to me few times.

Good thing is, now a days, if you decide to approach customer care/service guys, things are sorted out. It may take some time but issues are getting fixed.

Let me conclude with this -

52 inch LCD - $1,900
Subscription charges for 1 year - Rs 4,000.00
Watching Sachin score 200 runs in a ODI live on 52 inch LCD - priceless :))

[ajnj]

Hi r2idream,

When you have some time to spare, could you capture and post some screenshots from the TV/Sky? I am just curious to see how it displays on a big screen TV. I am assuming you are getting a 480i type of signal from the cable/sky box.

Thanks

[r2idream]

Hi r2idream,

When you have some time to spare, could you capture and post some screenshots from the TV/Sky? I am just curious to see how it displays on a big screen TV. I am assuming you are getting a 480i type of signal from the cable/sky box.

Thanks

Definitely it is not a HD signal from the Tata Sky box. Picture quality is good, equivalent to digital channels in USA.

I am not particular about picture quality(digital quality is ok), I like big picture though :). My TV supports only component input for PAL signal, no HDMI port available for PAL.

Just as many things in India, change is quick. Couple of days after posting my previous post, I saw a full page ad by Sun advertising their satellite HD offering. After that I read a news item saying that all satellite TV providers are planning to launch HD service by end of 2010. Subscription fees may be very high in the beginning.

[r2idream]

Sankranthi in India -







Yummy food of all types enjoyed by friends and family.





Time to remember departed elders -





Pictures from the "field trip".







(Continued in next post)

[r2idream]

Please see earlier post first. This is the second post in the series.

A future date tree(the one in the center).



Some pretty flower pictures.





A visit to Inorbit Mall.











Finally, a very yummy picture.

[My Roots]

r2idream , beautiful pics and what a clarity!
What camera are you using and can you share the specification?

[Sai_R2I]

Thanks for posting.. Wow, loved reading your diary. Keep them coming.

[Sai_R2I]

r2idream , beautiful pics and what a clarity!
What camera are you using and can you share the specification?

MR, there is this info in one of the posts - hope this helps:

I was using Nikon D40 with a 55-200 mm zoom lens.

[r2idream]

r2idream , beautiful pics and what a clarity!
What camera are you using and can you share the specification?

Just wanted to add some more info regarding my camera equipment. I use a 50 MM prime(fixed focal length) Nikon lens some times. Flower pictures were taken using that lens. I use an external flash when shooting indoors. The birthday cake picture is an example.

[r2idream]

SiliconAndhra recently conducted 2nd International Kuchipudi Convention in Hyderabad. A Maha Brinda Natyam was performed during the convention. Around 2,800 (mostly) youngsters performed Kunchipudi dance, which was declared as a Guinness World Record. You can Google to read more about it.

I am posting some pictures below. Conditions were not right to capture such a humongous spectacle, I tried to capture what ever I can.


Performers waiting before the performance.







Dance performance -











Relaxing and watching other performances after the Maha Brinda Natyam.



If any of you are interested, you can attend the next convention to be conducted in 2012 during the month of December in Hyderabad :)