Value for money. Excellent after-sales service. Review on Tata Play

Update in Aug-09:

It's been 2.5 years now since I purchased Tata Sky and I'm impressed with Tata Sky's after-sale's service and the quality of the product. No problems with the set and the reception quality is more than satisfactory. Since I was happy with the product, I had the connection extended to one more of the rooms. Here again, TataSky gave me the additional connection within 24 hours. The second Set Top box seemed like it was lower in the quality ('China make' kinda material) and it stopped powering on after 5 months. But, Tata Sky promptly attended to my service request and replaced it with a working one (the new one looks of better quality) - so, this is something that you may want to be aware of.

And, Tata Sky is offering all the channels out there (no limitation like before such as Sun TV not offered). All in all, I am a satisfied customer and the technicians are well trained/qualified. I recommend Tata Sky without a doubt.

Update in June-07:

It's been 3.5 months since we purchased Tata Sky and up until now, it's been a pleasant experience.

I'd done my research about both Tata Sky and Dish TV. While I wasn't too sure about the differences in product quality, the only reason why Tata Sky had an edge (in my mind) was their better customer service. When I went to the Dish TV dealer in BTM Layout, they sounded very plain and were not aggressive and convincing. They seemed to give me a "Take it or leave it" attitude. So, I decided to come back home and read some of the reviews at MouthShut. After going through the reviews, I ultimately felt that most consumers felt Tata Sky's customer service was better.

I went to the local eletrician shop and purchased the set from the dealer. The electrician gave me the complete set along with the DigiComp (device that decodes the channels received from the Dish and transmits it to the TV). He informed me that the Tata Sky technician would be home the next day to install the equipment. The very next day, the Tata Sky technician was at my house and had everything installed in a professional manner. The workmanship (drilling holes on the terrance and on the window frames and subsequent installation of the equipment) was all very thoroughly done. The technician took extra care not to damage the window frame and I was very pleased at his attention to details. The dealer took the money from me (Rs 3990/-) only after the complete installation was done and a demo was given.

Ever since the equipment was installed, the telecast has been flawless and we've not faced any issues. Even when it rained heavily in Bangalore in April-May, there were no interruptions except for some momentary loss of signal during thunderstorms. But, this was very momentary (about 2-4 minutes). On all days that it rained, I've never experienced a loss of signal for > 5 minutes. So, I'm happy that the equipment does work fine when it rains too.

Coming to the quality of the product now, the picture quality is definitely better than your local Cable TV -- you will feel the difference. Picture quality is awesome! Sound quality is on par and good enough. After the 3 free months subscription, the re-charding process was a breeze. You just need to call the Tata Sky helpline and run through the IVR (or talk to a representative)-- it is simple and easy. I found no hassles with the re-charging process (I recommend online re-charging). There is a grace period of 2 days for you to re-charge in time and avoid de-activation and the customer service folks are kind enough to remind you in advance. The remote too is easy to use (the Online help provides added support) and the facility to navigate/browse through all the channels without having to actually change channels is really useful.

I've gone for the "Super Saver" package, which costs me Rs 300/- per month for all the channels. There are other packages ranging from Rs 160/- to Rs 300/- a month and you can pick the one that suites you. You can run through the options explained at the web site and make your decision. However, be informed that there is no Sun TV as part of the list of channels telecast by Tata Sky. This turned out to be a drawback for my parents who understand and like to watch Tamil movies.

All in all, so far, so good. To gather details of how Satellite television works, visit the Tata Sky web site. There's adequate information available.