We will survive

The last two days has seen a lot of unnecessary fighting in this blog. The allegations that have been leveled against us are surprising, they accuse us of being religiously biased. We refute all those allegations and we insist that they are false. It looks like an organised campaign was carried out to cause confusion among the bloggers and destroy the credibility of this blog. Even though they have been successful in causing some bloggers to leave, we state that this will only strengthen our resolve to provide our fellow bloggers a place where they can discuss the latest developments or problems associated with Dialog TV.

If anyone thought that this blog or any of our sister blogs will be closed over this issue, then they are gravely mistaken. We are in the process of formulating a set of rules which will be enforced strictly over all our blogs.

We wish to state that this blog and all our other blogs will be left open for our bloggers to exchange information. Please note that certain comments in previous posts may be deleted but we will try our best not to delete that have information in them. In the coming days we will be introducing a set of rules over commenting and will inform our bloggers as and when they are implemented. If any blogger make unnecessary comments we request our fellow bloggers to just ignore the comment and focus on the discussion on Dialog TV.

On the latest developments on Dialog TV, we are getting unconfirmed reports that the Star Package will be added tonight failing which it should be on air during the next two days. We hope that Dialog will take every effort to introduce the Star Package soon.

We like to leave you with this saying "Keep blogging and focus on Dialog TV".

Programme Guide received early

Oh finally, Dialog TV have sent their August Programme Guide before the month commences, ensuring that most subscribers will receive it early. After being criticized several times for late arrival of the printed guide it is great that subscribers have received it early. Now Dialog should concentrate on getting more channels on the guide. We hope that this is looked at during the next few months.

One of the most significant information revealed in the guide is about the Star Channels and it says that Star Movies, Star World, Star Plus, Star Vijay and Star Cricket will be available soon. According to unconfirmed information it seems likely that the Star channels may be on air during the course of this week.

Speed is a very important factor

Well Dialog TV started their channels additions some time back towards the end of May and we are still waiting for the Star Package. Delays in introducing new channels has been a feature of this company from the days of the previous management. Even when introducing ESPN-Star Sports last year, the company faced several delays attributed to technical issues. Now after a lapse of almost two months we have got all the channels that we were informed of initially except for the Star package. This is a matter that has to be seriously looked into by management.

Whilst understanding that the technology used is complicated we are also aware that it isn't exactly rocket science.

We hope that Dialog TV management will do any required restructuring in order for their technical department to run smoothly and deliver results on schedule. It should be said that LBN is delivering channels without taking too much time. Even if due to the differences in the platforms Dialog TV would take more time than the other operators, taking too much time is totally unacceptable.

We hope that the Star Package channels channels are introduced as soon as possible without any further delay and steps are taken to minimize delays hereafter. If Dialog TV is to become a trendsetter in the pay television industry as they did with the mobile telecommunications industry then they should be able to deliver channels much faster than this with a high level of quality. Not to mention that a much more knowledgeable customer care is also important.

LBN has beaten Dialog TV by introducing HBO Hits, HBO Family and Star Cricket first and also taking less time to add channels that they have signed up with. Dialog TV can reverse this trend by doing things much faster.

Please update us on the latest information on Dialog TV as the days progress.

God TV now on air

God TV was added to the Dialog TV platform from last thursday (19th July) at about approximately 10pm according to the information that we received. This is old news to some of you but we were unable to update the blog because we were out of colombo and unable to obtain access to the internet.

God TV becomes the second religious channel on Dialog TV after The Buddhist. All Sri Lankan pay television operators have this channel except for Comet Cable. This channel along with The Buddhist has been termed as channels available on request in the Dialog TV website and we are unable to ascertain to which package onwards God TV is available. However it is likely that this channel is also available free to all packages. Many are able to view this channel and those who are unable to view this channel may call customer care and ask them to activate it, if required.

It should be said that all the channels that were in Dialog's plans have been introduced except for the Star Package, which could be expected in a few more days.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

God TV Website : http://uk.god.tv/
(Please select the appropriate region after the website opens)

Dialog TV updates STB software

Yesterday several Dialog TV subscribers have been sent messages that their STB (Set Top Box commonly referred to as the decoder) software will be updated and that the screen will go blank for about 10 minutes. The update was made automatically at 3pm, 6pm and 9pm (all times are approximate). The new software update changes the on screen names from CBNsat to Dialog TV and changes the "loading screen..." that sometimes appears when the decoder is turned on. In addition "multi day" Electronic Programme Guide is available with a host of other features. The default password has been changed to "1234".

Those who missed the upgrade yesterday can do it themselves by clicking on "IRD Update" option that appears when you press the "menu" button in the remote control. Once the upgrade has successfully completed the "IRD Update" function option will turn grey. Please remember not to turn off the decoder until the update is completed - do not press any buttons on the decoder either. If you are not confident about doing the upgrade on your own then you should Customer Care before attempting it, however this is a fairly simple procedure and a call will only add to your phone bill.

There are rumors that Rs 850/= package subscribers could call Dialog TV and get their packages upgraded to Rs 900/= and will be able to get Hallmark, Neo, Neo Plus, SAB, Australia Network in addition to retaining ESPN and Pogo but you MUST mention that you are a old subscriber who has ESPN and Pogo. We are unable to confirm this so we advice you to call Customer Care and confirm with them whether you will be able to retain ESPN & Pogo once the upgrade is done. We can confirm that Dialog is planning to upgrade existing Rs 850/= subscribers to the Rs 900/= package by giving them the new channels and also retaining ESPN and Pogo. This only applies for the old CBNsat Rs 850/= package subscribers and new subscribers will get the new channels but will not have ESPN and Pogo unless Dialog TV has a change of heart and decides to give their new Rs 900/= subscribers also ESPN and Pogo along with the official launch.

God TV and the Star Package are expected to be available on Dialog Tv along with Star Cricket very soon.

NDTV 24X7 and SRTV now on air

Indian English News Channel NDTV 24X7 and Malaysian Tamil movie channel SRTV have been added onto the Dialog TV lineup as of last night. SRTV was introduced a few weeks back and then taken off air to make room for "The Buddhist" and has now been reintroduced. This means that Dialog TV have to launch only God TV and the Star Channels from the initially planned channels. We are also receiving unconfirmed news that Star Cricket would be coming onto Dialog TV soon. It is highly likely that God TV may be introduced before the Star Package but who knows it may happen the other way too. We believe that in a few days time Dialog would complete adding all the channels to their lineup provided that there are no more technical issues.

The quality of the picture in these channels seem to be much better than what they were initially however it should be said that the sound levels across the entire channel base differs from channel to channel. The volume on some channels are loud and some are just too soft leaving the viewer to change the level from channel to channel. We hope that the engineering team of Dialog TV would take steps to get all channels to have the same volume.

Please update us on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

NDTV Website : http://www.ndtv.com/, NDTV Schedule Page

SRTV Website - http://www.srtvchannel.com/ or http://www.srtvchannel.com/aboutus.html

HBO Family now available

Dialog TV have added another HBO channel and this time it is HBO Family. The channel was made available from yesterday. With this channel Dialog has all the channels provided by HBO to the Asian region to date and they become the second pay television company in Sri Lanka to achieve this, the first being LBN. There are rumors that the Star Package will be available from today but we are unable to confirm this.

At the moment the quality on HBO Family is very good and we hope and believe that it will stay this way. We believe that Dialog TV have begun adding new channels again and we hope that the Star Package, NDTV, SRTV and God TV are added to their lineup very soon.

Please keep us updated on the latest information about Dialog TV as the days progress.

HBO Family Website : http://www.hboasia.com/family

More rambling on the EPG

Okay here we go again rambling on about the EPG on Dialog TV. Well this time round it looks like they have introduced EPG for HBO Hits and Australia Network. However the EPG on Discovery Channel and Zone Reality are pathetic. Discovery channel EPG is off by almost a day (even their monthly printed schedule for Discovery Channel is off by a day - please check against Discovery website) and Zone Reality EPG has been well, pathetic since the day they started it. It is either Zone Reality India EPG being flashed on DSTV Zone Reality or they have messed up the time calculation.

Like we mentioned before there are several mistakes on the Dialog TV July Schedule, another one is that AXN schedule is also wrong (not all programmes but some - for example the schedule does not list Pirate Master which commenced yesterday).

We are also told that the Zee Trendz EPG also needs an adjustment. It is best for Dialog TV to take more responsibility and care and appoint RESPONSIBLE personnel to make sure that their EPG and printed guide is accurate.

We hope Dialog TV introduces the other new channels as soon as possible. Please keep us updated on the latest as the days progress.

Channel launch should take place soon

We are now heading towards the middle of July and we believe that it is high time that Dialog TV launches the new channels that it has got lined up for its subscribers. Viewers of Tamil channels have been disappointed for the second time (the first was when Raj TV, Raj Plus were removed) since SRTV was removed a few days after it was introduced for testing purposes and replaced with "The Buddhist". What could have been done was to move SRTV into one of the slots occupied by the Hindi channels since SRTV is the only Tamil channel on Dialog TV and there are more Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka in comparison to Hindi.

For the past few days CNN, SET SAB and the Neo Channels were off air but CNN resumed yesterday and we are getting unconfirmed reports that the NEO channels are also back on air. Now it is time for NDTV, HBO Family, SRTV and God TV to be introduced since testing can be carried out on those channels too and then the Star Channels can be checked and the official launch can take place soon.

This has to be done soon since the subscribers who are on the older CBNsat package of Rs 850/= are unable to view certain new channels and are unable to move to the Rs 900/= because they will lose ESPN and Pogo. It is learnt by us that Dialog TV will move these subscribers to the Rs 900/= with ESPN and Pogo at the official launch. So due to the delay in the official launch these subscribers who have been faithfully with this company during the controversial times are unable to reap any benefits. We understand there are technical difficulties then the Rs 850/= packages subscribers should be allowed to watch the Rs 900/= new channels until the official launch takes place or else their packages should be upgraded to Rs 900/= with ESPN and Pogo after due notice is given to them.

Subscribers of Dialog TV are requesting Dialog TV to replace SET SAB (a Hindi channel) with SET Pix (an English channel). This is a fair request since Pix will be more popular than SAB. We hope Dialog TV will consider this request do the needful. We request the subscribers who want the replacement to go ahead, to convey their request to Dialog TV and also to Subscribers Unite. In addition Star Cricket is a must and steps should be taken to introduce this channel even at the expense of a Hindi Channel. Do not replace any of the English, Tamil or Religious channels rather replace the Hindi Channels.

Last evening the Dialog TV logo was on Ten Sports and it was blocking vital information on screen. If it was done as a request from Ten Sports, since some content providers want the logo of the distributor to be displayed to prevent piracy of the channel then we hope Dialog TV will reduce the size of the logo or reposition it in a manner that will not block any on screen information. However removing it is the ideal result.

Please keep us updated on the latest information regarding Dialog TV as the days progress.

Star Package will be on Dialog TV says Star TV

According to information obtained from a source who wanted to be remain anonymous, we are able to confirm that the Star TV Package will be available on Dialog TV soon. According to the emails forwarded to us by this source out of which we have copied one below without revealing the names and email addresses, Star TV and Dialog TV are close to finalizing the deal and service should be available shortly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: XXXXXXX (STAR India) < XXXXXXX@in.startv.com>
Date: 05-Jul-2007 14:54
Subject: RE: FW: STAR distribution
To: XXXX <XXXX@gmail.com>

Dear Mr. XXXX,

We are close to finalizing the deal with Dialog TV and STAR services would be on shortly.

With regard to Comet Cable, we have deactivated our services to them on account of large outstanding and non-payment of our dues. We are in discussion with them and hopefully the same would be resolved shortly.

Regards,
XXXXXXX

HBO Family, NDTV, SRTV, God TV and Blog Improvement

After the initial fast paced updates of new channels, things seem to have slowed down a bit on Dialog TV. According to rumors the Star Package may be delayed to the end of this month and in the next few days HBO Family, NDTV and God TV will be introduced. SRTV which was taken off to include "The Buddhist" will be also brought back.

It also seems that the programme guide is reaching subscribers early this month but there are errors in the guides for channels such as Discovery Channel and AXN. We hope that errors in the channel list in the Dialog TV website will be corrected since they have indicated that "Zone Reality" is a new channel, this may be due to an oversight by the person who is updating the site.

The new channels seem to be pixelating still but they are much better that when initially launched and still the problem of sound coming on only the left sound channel still exists for many new channels plus AXN. We hope that these are sorted out soon by Dialog TV and we believe that they are working hard at it.

In addition we are planning to improve this blog to provide our fellow bloggers with an enhanced experience, we require your feedback on how to carry out these improvements. Please tell us what areas of the blog should be improved and how we should improve it. Please email us these suggestions/ideas since we might need clarification from you when they are submitted to us. We thank you in advance for all your suggestions and ideas and will be implementing the improvements from this blog and then implement them to our other blogs.