Tata Sky Plus has MPEG4, HD, PVR and discount upto Rs 5000

Update

Comparison of Dish TV, Tata Sky, Digital TV, Big TV and DD DTH

Mr. Channel (Nov 15, 2008)

http://www.saveondish.com/
comparison-of-dish-tv-tata-sky-digital-tv-big-tv-and-dd-dth/

SaveOnDish.com’s moderator and top contributor Mr. Roh_Style has posted a comprehensive comparison of all the existing DTH services in the market today. We at SaveOnDish hope that this official SaveOnDish comparison of DTH services will help you decide which DTH service to go for.

This review contains the advantages and disadvantages of each of the DTH services, point by point, and enables you to minutely observe the good and bad so that you may see through everything before actually taking the decision of buying a DTH system.

Tata Sky+ is a premium set-top box with a personal video recorder that allows you to record up to 45 hours of live TV. Tata Sky+ gives you the power to record one programme while watching another, pause a live telecast and even rewind a TV programme that you are watching. Digicomp (hardware): Rs 8,999 . Standard installation* + installation warranty + activation charges: Rs 1,000 Tata Sky+ usage fee: Rs 50 per month (Launch Offer includes Lifetime Waiver) Monthly subscription fee: Packages starting from Rs 99 per month (inclusive of all taxes) Presenting The Grand Tata Sky Exchange Offer : Annual Base Pack Subscriber Save 40% on Tata Sky+ with The Grand Tata Sky Exchange Offer Pay only Rs 5,999 Annual Mega Pack Subscriber Save 50% on Tata Sky+ with The Grand Tata Sky Exchange Offer Pay only Rs 4,999

Check the IMEI code before purchasing a mobile phone

DoT to bar calls from Chinese handsets

Jayesh Limaye
Oct 21, 2008

http://www.techtree.com/India/Techtree_Notes/551-94325-889.html

Low cost Chinese or even locally assembled phones either have an invalid IMEI number, or lack it altogether.

It may be hard to believe, but the Chinese handset market today constitutes 13.3% of the total handset market in India, with a market share of $88 million (Rs.4,000 crore) and is on the rise. But this may be cut short, as the DoT moves to bar calls from such mobiles. The Indian Cellular Association President, Pankaj Mohindroo says “At least 1 crore users of Chinese handsets will be affected as they might start seeing their calls getting barred.”

Low cost Chinese or even locally assembled mobile phones may no longer be an option for buyers, as these handsets either have an invalid IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number, or lack it altogether. Such mobile phones without an IMEI number or ones which do not have a valid 14 digit IMEI number (IMEI without any zero is deemed invalid) will be barred from calling to any phone on all networks.

Latest DTH in town – Airtel Digital TV

Update

Comparison of Dish TV, Tata Sky, Digital TV, Big TV and DD DTH

Mr. Channel (Nov 15, 2008)

http://www.saveondish.com/
comparison-of-dish-tv-tata-sky-digital-tv-big-tv-and-dd-dth/

SaveOnDish.com’s moderator and top contributor Mr. Roh_Style has posted a comprehensive comparison of all the existing DTH services in the market today. We at SaveOnDish hope that this official SaveOnDish comparison of DTH services will help you decide which DTH service to go for.

This review contains the advantages and disadvantages of each of the DTH services, point by point, and enables you to minutely observe the good and bad so that you may see through everything before actually taking the decision of buying a DTH system.

Airtel Digital TV

With DVD quality picture and sound, your TV viewing experience will change forever with Airtel digital TV. Now witness the magic of television with best and widest variety of channels and programmes ranging from Sports, Music and General entertainment to best on-demand content on Airtel Live. What’s more, you can choose from the best movies of Bollywood and the world, listen to radio, play games, along with a host of other interactive features and change the way you watch television.

Tata Sky Grand Festive offer Rs 2699, 2999, 3999

Updates

Comparison of Dish TV, Tata Sky, Digital TV, Big TV and DD DTH

Mr. Channel (Nov 15, 2008)

http://www.saveondish.com/
comparison-of-dish-tv-tata-sky-digital-tv-big-tv-and-dd-dth/

SaveOnDish.com’s moderator and top contributor Mr. Roh_Style has posted a comprehensive comparison of all the existing DTH services in the market today. We at SaveOnDish hope that this official SaveOnDish comparison of DTH services will help you decide which DTH service to go for.

This review contains the advantages and disadvantages of each of the DTH services, point by point, and enables you to minutely observe the good and bad so that you may see through everything before actually taking the decision of buying a DTH system.

Tata Sky unveils personal video recorder service

Sify Business Line (Oct 15, 2008)

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14777082

DTH service provider Tata Sky has announced the launch of its PVR service. Branded Tata Sky + (Tata Sky Plus), the personal video recorder (PVR) service implies that users need no longer worry about missing the programme of their choice or give up watching it if a family member wants to watch another one.

Addressing a press conference, Vikram Kaushik, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Sky, described it as a “life changing product” that would end the “war of the remote” in homes. The PVR technology will enable users not only to record TV shows but also pause, rewind and then forward the shows as they are being broadcast on television. It allows up to 45 hours of recording on TV and has capacity of 160 GB.

It allows the user to record one channel while watching another channel, record two channels simultaneously and watch one of the channels being recorded, record two channels simultaneously when the TV set is not in use, record two channels at the same time and watch a previously recorded programme and record a TV series automatically.

Priced at Rs 8,999, the PVR is a “premium but affordable” service, Kaushik said. It involves a set-top box with an in-built PVR and a hard disk.

For existing subscribers of Tata Sky, the company will announce special schemes and deep discounts as they already own set-top boxes.

The service will be rolled out in a phased manner and be available across the country by the end of the year. It will first be rolled out in 12 big cities and metros and then go on to more places including tier-II towns, Kaushik said.

Grand Festive Offer

Terms & Conditions:

Grand Festive Offer (“Offer”) can be availed of ONLY by New Tata Sky subscribers (hereinafter referred to as “You”) wherein, you can purchase a Tata Sky connection comprising of Tata Sky digicomp + Standard Installation + Festive Promo Pack, all together at a special concessional price. The special concessional price shall be Rs 2,699, Rs 2,999 or Rs 3,999 depending upon your choice of the Festive Promo Pack.

Compare India’s price drop feature

Compare India’s price drop feature is available here:

http://www.compareindia.com/price-drop/

Prices displayed here indicate the latest drop for the products listed. ‘Was’ represents MRP and ‘Now’ represents either special dealer price in Mumbai or a fall in MRP. For more details, visit the product page.

BIG TV STB, installation and 3 month subscription Rs 2490

Updates

Comparison of Dish TV, Tata Sky, Digital TV, Big TV and DD DTH

Mr. Channel (Nov 15, 2008)

http://www.saveondish.com/
comparison-of-dish-tv-tata-sky-digital-tv-big-tv-and-dd-dth/

SaveOnDish.com’s moderator and top contributor Mr. Roh_Style has posted a comprehensive comparison of all the existing DTH services in the market today. We at SaveOnDish hope that this official SaveOnDish comparison of DTH services will help you decide which DTH service to go for.

This review contains the advantages and disadvantages of each of the DTH services, point by point, and enables you to minutely observe the good and bad so that you may see through everything before actually taking the decision of buying a DTH system.

BIG TV Model 2 STB Pictures

Kannadiga (Oct 24, 2008)

http://www.saveondish.com/forum/big-tv-model-2-stb-pictures-t-6903.html

Friends i got a Big TV Model 2 STB

Here is the Pictures of New STB

This STB is Verry Small compared to old ones

Big TV slashes entry price to Rs 1490

Indiantelevision.com (Oct 16, 2008)

http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k8/oct/oct162.php

The fight for customers is being fought by direct-to-home (DTH) operators on price. Barely two months old, Reliance Communications’ Big TV has brought down the entry price of its service by Rs 1000 to Rs 1490.

The offer includes installation and a three-month free subscription. The package, providing for 64 channels, also includes one month free subscription video-on-demand (Svod). Earlier, customers had to pay an installation charge of Rs 1000.

Says Big TV president Arun K Kapoor, “This very special festive offer, valid for a limited period, will further accelerate the growth momentum by making DTH services more affordable and appealing to the 125 million TV Households in the country. The package includes Star, Sony and ESPN Star Sports’ channels.”

Big TV has also introduced a new price point at Rs 2190. The offer will have free subscription for 12 months and Svod for three months. “Since the customers under this scheme are being tied up for a longer period, we are offering Svod free for three months. The channel offerings will be similar to the Rs 1490 scheme,” says Kumar.

5 year Warranty Program on LG LCD Monitors

LG is offering 5 year warranty on 19″ and 22″ LCD monitors (up from the regular 3 years) for a limited time only. This offer is valid for purchases made between 16th Aug 2008 and 30th Sept 2008.

http://www.in.lge.com/valueoffer/main.htm

5 year Warranty Program on LG LCD Monitors

Top Ten Reviews for Shareware decisions

The Internet has been most beneficial to the providers and consumers of software products and services. Software comes in all shapes and sizes. The choice can get to be very confusing indeed.

The three main categories of software are Commercial, Shareware and Freeware. Commercial software must be purchased before we can start using it. Shareware must be purchased after a limited period of trying it out (usually a month). If we are not satisfied, we are required to uninstall it. Some Shareware authors choose not to rely on users to perform such uninstalls, so they build in conditional functionality which monitors the duration of installation and cripples the same once the trial period is over.

Low-cost Internet-centric computers

The success of the ASUS EEE PC and now Apple iPhone 3G has ushered in the era of Netbooks and Mobile Internet Devices. The demand for Nettops and set top boxes too, is all set to explode in the coming years. The major share of processor uptake in this market might be divided between:

Intel Atom

http://www.intel.com/atom/

AMD Bobcat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat_(processor)

NVIDIA Tegra

http://www.nvidia.com/page/handheld.html

VIA Nano

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/nano/

The future of online shopping

Internet shopping is undergoing a revolution. We are slowly moving from objective catalogs to subjective options. Nothing demonstrates the power of subjective options better than like.com

http://www.like.com/

like.com offers shopping based on a “visual search” technology.

How many times have we stared at a watch in a shop window and thought to ourselves the subdial is nice, but the colour could have been better. Guess what, like.com makes it possible to refine our search by showing us a similar watch but with a different colour. Click here to see it in action:

http://www.like.com/menswatches

http://www.like.com/womenswatches

Microsoft plans to stop selling Windows XP

This post is not about an enticing tech deal, it is about a disappearing one. Microsoft plans to stop selling Windows XP on June 30, 2008. This is bad news because Windows Vista hasn’t really proved to be a worthy successor.

While everyone knows that Vista would eventually improve through better hardware support and software service packs, the question is should one purchase a copy of Windows XP before the above mentioned deadline?

Techdealz recommends purchasing the OEM version of Windows XP Home edition for those strapped for cash. And the OEM version of Windows XP Professional edition for those rolling in cash. Fans of Windows XP Starter need not worry because this particular edition is not affected by the June 30 deadline.

As is true of all decisions, the story is not as simple as that, take for instance, the Vista-to-XP downgrade licensing program. So please read the following articles to make an informed decision.

CHIP Magazine contest prizes worth Rs 3 lakhs

Update: The winners have been announced. Read Aug 2008 issue. Click here for more info:

http://www.chip.in/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35268

Intelligent Computing Chip magazine is running a Monsoon contest with prizes worth Rs 3 lakhs. Last date for entries is 30th June 2008.

http://www.chip.in/chip-contest/

Prizes:

• Graphic cards from Zotak
• Motherboards from Biostar
• RAM upgrade kits from ZION & G.SKILL
• Webcams from ZEN
• Laptop coolers from Evercool
• Pen drives from Toshiba
• Printers from Lexmark
• TV Tuners from Tech-com
• Black Cat data security software from Stellar
• Antivirus sofware from Kaspersky
• Notebook from Intex
• EEE PC from ASUS and lots more!

PayMate and GiftMate for online transactions

PayMate is a mobile payment service accepted by over 3000 online and offline merchants. GiftMate, a virtual voucher accessed via mobile phone, can be used in varying denominations over multiple purchases and the balance amount gets carried forward.

For more information about PayMate and GiftMate, visit the pages below:

What is PayMate

http://www.paymate.co.in/web/Default.aspx

An easy to use mobile payment service that offers you unmatched convenience and security so you can pay on the go, anywhere, anytime.

• Convenient: Pay online, across the counter, over the phone or from just about anywhere
• Secure: 2-factor PIN authentication keeps you in complete control of every transaction
• Easy: Works on any mobile handset or operator without any SIM change or GPRS
• Free: You don’t have to pay a single extra for using this service, it’s absolutely free

Assembled Desktop PC might be best deal overall

An open system (for instance, a razor which uses standard blades) is better than a somewhat open system (a razor which uses proprietory blades) which, in turn, is better than a closed system (a razor which has a fixed blade).

The more parts we can change and the the more third party parts we can use, the more open the system. The more open the system, the better it’s price performance (because of competition from third party parts).

This is why the Linux operating system has evolved to such a high degree. For the same reason, an assembled personal computer might be the best deal overall. It is literally the most open appliance we can buy.

Tech portals and mags for news and reviews

Tech 2.0

http://www.tech2.com/

India’s Technology Guide – News, Reviews, Videos, Downloads on Tech Products. Tech2 is Network 18’s personal technology media label that unifies the information delivery and brand communications across multiple mediums. The core of the brand is the website, which leads the way, and provides audio / video and textual content to multiple television channels and branded shows on CNBC Network18, and CNN-IBN (and soon on Awaaz and IBN7, in Hindi), and mobile services ranging from SMS based services on Network18’s 2622 short code via the keyword TECH2, to mobile apps and multimedia content like podcasts and RSS feeds for cellphones. Tech2 will also launch an exclusive fortnightly print magazine in the near future, and power a nationwide newspaper supplement on Personal Tech with Hindustan Times. Tech2 fulfils the need for easy to understand information on finding more about, buying, and using technology products from cellphones to PCs, gaming consoles, games and home electronics like home theaters, HDTVs etc. that are more and more becoming a part of our daily lives. It provide the latest updates on launches, products that are coming up in the near future, and analysis on what’s worth buying across product and price ranges. The website also provides the ability to watch the latest videos, photos and listen to the latest podcasts about personal technology.