DTH/CABLE is it time to CUT the CORD are they really of MUCH VALUE?
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Guys in spate of recent regulations in CABLE /TELEVISION/DTH sector the cost for access to LIVE/BROADCAST TV channels is getting out of the VALUE zone
Let me explain my views here,
Given the cost of owning a TV (LED HD READY/FHD/4K) has been a aspirational product in INDIAN FAMILIES, next in line is a MARGINAL COST of running it via ELECTRICITY has been decreasing in years given the power efficiency of those in recent years
So next thing is to get the content on it was the obvious reason for TV owners
Traditionally it was the cable guy who would anchor the services & then came the DTH but both were just charging a nominal fee of 3 – 10 Rs /day
Now viewing content on the TV isn’t restricted to these traditional content services, you can STREAM from myriad sources nowadays both offline & online
Coming to offline streaming it could be via pendrives/memory card / good old cd/dvd/blueray etc of which some are paid content while some are free (READ PIRATED prominently )
While online streaming is still in its infancy in INDIA it’s already full with options be it with the YOUTUBE /OTT PLAYERS /TV CHANNELS etc all of which have 2 main COST structures for their services ONE is for CONTENT another is for DATA
The content charge is PRICED in various strategic methods but at present IT’S primarily getting bundled with DATA like Jio /SERVICE PROVIDERS like ISP /E commerce like Amazon/Subscriptions like NETFLIX given the cost of these may vary from zero to 20/day or more
Now the second DATA cost is Much MUCH cheaper say from 15/day for UNLIMITED BROADBAND /FTTH or to ultra cheap JIO@4/DAY
Given the recent increase in prices on CABLE /DTH prices from mandatory 5/day going up all the way to couple of 10rs of rupees would it be prudent to CUT the CORD
SO my humble question is, does it make sense to just STREAM via alternate mode or STAY put with the good old CABLE /DTH or just cut the cord
dimers your views are very valuable & kindly share your views, I would appreciate your effort & time
Thanking you in advance
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Mee to have gone your way but only in one connection while for elderly I have an alive connection with bare bones
Depends on your family. I am only keeping it for my parent (read elderly, for those 10/12-year-old in the forum, LoL), who spends the time watching regional shites, its a old folk’s time pass. And taking that from them is a criminal offence.
If I were alone I would have kicked the F out of these greedy sods long ago. Wait, to what would I have moved though? I am not sure! I tried watching football 720p/1080p streams on reddit, while some are good, I still don’t like the quality provided. Like 1080p, at 60 frames is a absolute must for me, for sports obviously. And other than live sports a TV is a completely meaningless product to me. I watch my media contents on my desktop, that’s how I have been doing it since 2004, and absolutely no interest to change it whatsoever.
Again, it depends on your family, and also what you yourself prefer. Even if we take the parents factor out, I have even seen some mid-30 and mid-40s watching them regional soaps and other shites on TV, so if you are one of them then you need TV. I never could understand those, so thanks to me.
There are two types of people; one who must have TV/DTH as their time pass, and just Jio 4G or whatever to access their limited internet; and another type is like mine, who would simply die without proper internet, as that is their main time pass, be it Youtube, or movies, or online gaming or whatever (internet has no limit), and then TV/DTH as their additional time pass, like especially for watching sports contents. Quality is also another important factor. Like a lot of my friends can easily go through a 720p/45 frames stream of football, while I will not watch it at all! So I am, despite being a hater of TV/DTH am forced to keep it, because the 1080i stream provided is of excellent quality, at least on airtel DTH.
I had no problem whatsoever with old DTH pricing system though, as it was cheap, and my comment would be different if it weren’t for the new fake TRAI rule, which has made the tariffs go haywire for more than 75% of the DTH subscriber base. I am on an advanced rental package, which will continue for just over a year, after that if there is a massive change in DTH segment, I will carry on, but if it stays as it is, then definitely I will disconnect, no matter what, no matter my parent, no matter my quality-seeking mind of sports. I am never supporting any greedy corporate stupidities.
Your point on TRAI fare of 75%Subscriber going up is the clincher for long awaited FTTH/BROADBAND users
Stick to the good old way for some more time , if you have senior citizens at home or have ladies or chidren that are glued to tv programmes , and side by side educate them the new way of watching entertainment and then change as per thier adaptability.
I dont understand the need of paying 130 rs for the basic FTA channels. They r free right? TRAI says customers will hv to pay only for wht they select. But why do i hv to select the basic FTA pkg?.
Rs.130 will be for maintenance etc for the service providers i suppose. Plus taxes
I feel its better to buy n install a C band dish or a Ku band dish n watch desi n international FTA channels for free for life time.
The paid channels can be watched online free or with subscription.
What do u feel guys.
I cut the cord more than an year back and switched to Fire TV Stick. I shall try to justify it from my perspective.
1) Me and wife both hardly watched any TV channels so it was easy for me to make the transformation. Also HD channels were available in Jio TV which can be viewed via Fire Stick.
2) My son used to watch some kids channels but he is happy to view the same in Jio TV.
3) I have a high speed unlimited Internet which my company reimburses.
4) Parents faced a bit of problem when they used to visit us so I got them a Fire Stick and now they are fine viewing Jio TV in the same.
5) In the past one year maximum data usage is from Prime Video, YouTube and JioTV in that order.
6) In future Jio TV may stop working (may be after Gigafiber/GigaTV launch) and I am fine with it because of point (1). But there will be 3rd party apps available which you can sideload and install and get similar functionality.
I think if you are ready to cut the cord point (3) would be important.