Nov 25, 2009 06:10 PM
14956 Views
I applied for BSNL IPTV in chennai a week back and the person came to collect the money. He asked me to first get the set top box on rental and not on an outright purchase. I did not understand why he was saying so then. This is a whole crappy thing of viewing TV, let me summarize my issues with it.
It takes 2 - 3 minutes for it to completely boot up until it makes your TV set behave like a TV. So if you forgot to switch on the TV when your favorite program starts, you will have to wait for another 2-3 mins to see the first video of the program. You wont have the delay if you keep the STB(Set Top Box) powered on always, but I guess India is still not a country where we have the habit of keeping applicances powered even when its not required.
Well the previous point was about having to wait for 2-3 mins during start.you wont get rid of this. Even when you are watching a program the images can get frozen and the STB will hang(by product of being connected to a computer network). The remote signals will also wont be sensed then. Since there is no power switch on the STB also, you need to physically unplug and plug the power cord and wait for 2-3 mins. So the time for the breaks between the programs is decided by IPTV:)
On Demand Channels - The concept is quite attractive where in your program starts whenever you want it to and you have complete control over it, like forward, reverse, pause. I should really appreciate them for this since this is the first time such a concept is being brought in india. But with frequent hang ups this does not really add value since you have to restart the STB so many times in between.
Another good thing about this IPTV is that if you face problem continuously you get call from their customer service inquiring about any issues. Since there is a two way communication possible between the end user and the service provider they are able to make such calls. I really felt good when someone was able to figure my problem(Only IPTV) and ask for details by themselves
This technology has to mature a lot for being used in India. I have DTH connection from Tata sky, Doordarshan DTH. I tried to go for BSNL IPTV since I thought Tata sky was charging more, but I guess he can charge more simply for the convenience they are providing. BSNL should know how to maintain the technology and make it even user friendly. For now looks like a good technology is in bad hands to be properly implemented. Am going to cancel the subscription(though initial 3 months were told to be free), since atleast I will free up some space.
Generally: Not recommended
Recommended for: people who feel strongly that everything can be done out of internet.
