Friday, October 10, 2008

Boomerang activated for Rs 1949/= and Rs 1400/= premium packages?

According to information being received the Kids cartoon channel "Boomerang" has been added to the premium packages of Rs 1949/= and Rs 1400/=. An advertisement in the Daily News indicates that the channel is activated for the Rs 1949/= premium package, however it is available on the old DTV Rs 1,400/= package too. The Rs 1,400/= package may not have been mentioned in the newspaper advertisement since it is not valid anymore.

If all the other channels are added to the Rs 1400/= and Rs 1949/= premium packages it would certainly indicate that the reason Bloomberg TV was added to the Rs 1949/= package was to make business organizations and businessmen who may require the news broadcast by this channel upgrade to the Rs 1949/= package.

Only time will tell whether this is the tactic adopted by Dialog TV.

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

PS: We take this opportunity to welcome indi the administrator of the Sri Lankan Blog aggregator Kottu to this blog.

164 comments:

Unknown said...

@Observer,
Send me your e-mail address. I will give you a good DTH supplier.

Lisura said...


DTV banana shop

12 bananas - 250 (20.83 a banana)
28 bananas - 500 (17.86 a banana)
42 bananas - 1099 (26.17 a banana)
47 bananas - 1499 (31.89 a banana)
53 bananas - 1949 (36.77 a banana)

What kind of a economic theory is this ?

The usual way is when you get more bananas the cost per banana should come down ! In the DTV banana shop it's the other way around !

Now it's clear how the DTV banana "mudalali" steals your hard earned money !

Lisura said...


@ Indi

I ask you a simple question.

Can you give all the Dish TV channels (194 at the moment) for their prices ?

Forget about the HBO pack and other Asian feeds.

Can you take up this challenge ?

I hope your banana selling tactics wont apply here. Isnt it ?

Your bosses think that we are monkeys who can be fooled by showing more bananas !

Why r u silent ? Having some bananas in your mouth ?

දිමුතු said...

@ Lightning_Struck_Tower

CS = Card Sharing.

I don't think this is a good place to discuss about that.

Refer internet, there are many places for you to learn about it.

As always don't forget that Google is your partner.

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

dimu,
Thanks for the info. I in fact did a google search for 'CS server' before i posted here. Didnt know CS stood for card sharing. Found the wikipedia entry now. Thanks.

Nokia said...

@ Lesura,

Plese note that HBO Banana's are expencive. And INDIAN CRAP Banana's are not that much. So there can be a price differ. your economics is a crap....

IP TV also the same. HBO 400/= additional. :)

indi said...

Please note that whatever I write here is completely separate from any role I have in Kottu.

There is one broad point expressed in this forums, which is that Dialog TV is trying to 'rip people off'. This is completely incorrect and contrary to the values and actions of Dialog. I'm not sure how to go into this further, but Dialog provides connectivity to millions of people, at some of the lowest rates in Asia and the world. The company has brought international TV and is making broad investments in the Internet and the future, even in these dark economic times.

A second point seems to be that the old 1,400 package holders seem to want to be the 'premium' package till the end of time. That's simply not going to happen. The 1949 package is the new topline, and there may be a 2,200 package in the future, who knows. More channels will continue to be offered for a fair price. It's bad for both the company and consumers to freeze the top at 1,400. The company needs to grow, as do the Sri Lankan people. The peak of our experience doesn't have to be Rs. 1,400. We can grow up.

Lisura said...



@ Nokia

Your comments itself show that you dont read the blog well. My name is mis-spelled and this banana theory is not mine.

It's brought to us by indi @ DTV

Take HBO off and can DTV give the rest @ LKR 750/= ???

Vishkid said...

"Please note that whatever I write here is completely separate from any role I have in Kottu.

>> Indi - welcome to the blog mate. Whatever said and done - on several fronts, it's good to see you here.

There is one broad point expressed in this forums, which is that Dialog TV is trying to 'rip people off'. This is completely incorrect and contrary to the values and actions of Dialog. I'm not sure how to go into this further, but Dialog provides connectivity to millions of people, at some of the lowest rates in Asia and the world. The company has brought international TV and is making broad investments in the Internet and the future, even in these dark economic times.

>> You got it right mate. Dialog is NOT ripping people off - they are merely being pretty incompetent - aren't they? I mean DTV is supposed to be the biggest loss making entity in the Dialog group and it has the most unsatisfied bunch of customers in Sri Lanka. I can't believe Nushad is involved in something this messed up. You need to put some serious thinking caps on as to how to solve this dilemma.
Also they offer relatively lower prices on DTV - but definitely NOT the LOWEST prices - that's beyond your EOS.


A second point seems to be that the old 1,400 package holders seem to want to be the 'premium' package till the end of time. That's simply not going to happen. The 1949 package is the new topline, and there may be a 2,200 package in the future, who knows. More channels will continue to be offered for a fair price. It's bad for both the company and consumers to freeze the top at 1,400. The company needs to grow, as do the Sri Lankan people. The peak of our experience doesn't have to be Rs. 1,400. We can grow up.

>>Err dude - more channels-more cost logic is easily understood but you hv not answered the question repeated several times in the blog - how the hell can an FTA channel can be added only to the 'premium' package? FTA = no cost except overhead - innit?
"

indi said...

There were some question on the other thread. I've tried to answer the more reasonable ones in a blog post here.

Unknown said...

@indi,
Is there a DTH company in the world who charges a fee to down grade your package? Tell Dialog tv to charge a fee for upgrading also.
Do dialog tv refund any money if you don't want to continue with the service or do the cusotmer have to pay a fee to disconect the service????

sanjan said...

@ podiman
my e mail sanjcal@yahoo.com
please send me a contact number of a tata sky dealer. should be able to pay online.
thanks

Unknown said...

Another point..

Is DTV entitled to take away the STB "purchased" by the customers of CBNSat, and early DTV customers who signed up on the same agreement format, simply by introducing another agreement format when mpeg4 decoder was given, stating all equipment belongs to DTV?

Someone knowledgable pleae answer due to my ignorance on the subject. Thanks.

Stay cool.
Micheal

Unknown said...

@ Podiman,

Mate, kindly inform me the details of your DTH supplier.
Thank you.
My email: micheal.mister@gmail.com

Micheal

Mario said...

my my isnt this blog getting very interesting now!!!

Radikal Zee said...

@podiman
plz send the details to radikalzee@hotmail.com as well, if u dont mind.

Lisura said...



@ Indi

You are a person who gets paid by DTV and we cant expect any good from you. You are here to protect DTV bananas !

But most of us here including the Admin are doing this to enlighten the general public with true facts. You are a DTV sympathizer !

Thanks Admin for correctly identifying the man. Now he is promoting his banana blog here too !

You keep your DTV to yourself ! Dont try to whitewash it here.

Dialog TV is NOT "trying" but definitely "ripping subscribers off".

As you say DTV needs to grow. But the problem is you are going to do it in a very dirty way !

You grow your banana tree ! We'll mind our business. But don't try to fool the people here !

Unknown said...

@ podiman,

Thanks mate.

micheal.

Vishkid said...

@ Micheal

I also am not aware of the specifics - but from the looks of it you certainly can hold an argument in the eyes of the law as to the ownership of the equipment.
And be rest assured that, messed up as they are, it will take Dialog TV a hell-a-lot of time to make a legal claim for equipment if you decide not to return them. In short - they will need a court order to remove the same from your premises. A highly unlikely event.

@ Indi

Read Dialog Blogs - it contains facts as well some nice spin. :)
If you want to know the fact mate - the fact is MOST OF YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE UNHAPPY. And they are there due to lack of options. How good/bad these options would be - one can only tell as they materialize. It's no use lying about "great customer care" etc when the service is absolutely bull.

@ Lisura
Mate you're hot all of a sudden! :)
Anyhow, it's a good thing.

Only concern being that we should not write-off Indi's comments just like that. His words carry some substance even though part of it is coated by spin.
I guess as DTV customers we are all frustrated and fed up. But we should not let that cloud our judgment.

I just hope that some real competition in terms of Airtel or whatever-tv comes and gives us some options, rather than being stuck in this rut.

We are basically paying a 'premium' and a 'pain in the ass' for DTV management's incompetence.

Larukh said...

@podiman

please send me the DTH provider you mentioned in an earlier post.. thank you......

Lisura said...



Indi is getting paid to do the DTV mag, the blog and even to comment here and try to cool the subscribers by telling various stories.

This is an independent blog which belongs to DTV subscribers !

alf said...

IS DTV A "BANANA" REPUBLIC? HANS DOESNT EAT BANANAS BUT SUCKS THEM,THIS BUGGER INDI MUST ALSO BE A BANANA SUCKER.

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

I'm glad they added Boomerang to Rs 1400 pkg. Does anyone know which feed they are using? SE Asia?

Btw Nick is now complete garbage. It's in Hindi 24/7.

Unknown said...

If you have the new MPEG4 decorder and if you are not happy with Dialog TV don't retune anything to Dialog. I reckon now in India all new DTH packages (MPEG4)can not marry the card to the decorder. It should be open for the customer to decide what package he takes. If that is the case you might be able to use an Indian card on the new decorder. I am not very sure about it but I reckon I am right. Lets give sometime and see experts will find a way out.

alf said...

LST.

THESE ARSHOLES AT DTV CANT SELECT THE ENGLISH FEED AND DISH TV HAS THE ENGLISH FEED IN THEIR BROADCAST.

THEN SOME SOB CALLED INDI COMES AND TRIES TO WHITE WAS HANS AND NUSHAD HERE,WE KNOW ALL ABOUT THEM WHAT THEY DO AND HOW INEFFICIENT THEY ARE,JUST DO YOUR JOB.

Unknown said...

Looks like alf is having a ball. Keep going M8.

Agent - Zer08 said...

@ Lightning_Struck_Tower:

South East Asi - Add free Cartoon channel

SLP said...

@dimu

Regarding your cs issue, please contact lakmalslp@yahoo.com if you dont mind or let me know your mail address instead.

Thanks

indi said...

I identified myself at the beginning, I guess take it or leave it. I think it's better for both Dialog and the community to have communication, but up to you guys.

On the per channel breakdown, it's apples and oranges. As per the SET plans, different channels have different values (mostly dictated by their international costs). HBO is more expensive than CitiHitz for example.

Regarding myself, I do work for Dialog. I think that's pretty public information, as most things about me. I do so because I believe in the company and support it. I also make the greatest effort to verify the stuff I say and give you actual information.

For example, there are a lot of falsehoods flying around that CBN Sat cost 50 billion (it's more like 500 million), etc. I'm following up on the MPEG questions and the disconnection fees and can give you some posts on that.

I think a lot of concerns are legitimate and I spend a lot of my time complaining about Dialog (and trying to fix it). I do think that the company's values, mission and vision are good so I'm not writing anything I don't believe.

One of the concerns I don't think is that valid is the constant refrain that the premium package should be capped at 1,400, which I think fundamentally misunderstands the nature of premium. Dialog TV is expanding premium at the same time as all the other packages, so no one really loses (except the status of being the top). 1400 subscribers have more channels than when they started, and a stable service provider (actually rare in SL).

There's also this comparison to Dish TV and numerous services which are not legal. I had friends use illegal US satellite in Canada and it was fine, except their SIMs kept getting fried and it was generally a pain. If that's the level of service people want then that's what they get, but Dialog TV is a legit company. There are costs to that, but I think it's worth it cause it means the service won't disappear overnight.

Etc. And that banana comment was obviously genius on my part. Ye gods.

indi said...

vishkid, understand what you're saying. I have my own frustrations with Dialog as a customer as well.

I don't know how to immediately resolve those issues, but I do think that communication can help. If you feel like you've been listening in the wilderness, it's not like that. People are listening. And people at Dialog really are working hard to continually improve.

Fahim said...

Indi, perhaps from where you stand Dialog seems to have high ideals and a great vision but from the vantage point of average customers, I don't believe a lot of Dialog customers would agree with you. What we see is deceptive marketing practices, clueless customer care agents, promises which are never fulfilled, and management which seems apathetic and seems to only care about how much they can squeeze out of the customer in the short term.

I might be wrong but your Canadian Dish TV analogy might be slightly off. I know of people on the Canadian border who buy Dish TV from the US and use it. But in this case, correct me if I'm wrong, aren't there authorized Dish TV dealers here in Sri Lanka? So the people using the Dish TV connections (maybe not all of them but at least some) are I believe legit customers. Of course, being in the biz, you might know more about this than I do.

As far as the "premium" issue goes, I believe you're again missing the point. While it might seem that the people on this blog are clamouring for the Rs. 1,400 package to remain "premium" for ever, I don't believe that is the crux of the matter. If I am not mistaken, Dialog sent a letter out at the time they were going to upgrade their rates yet again and make the highest package the Rs. 1,949 one and promised that anybody who upgraded to the Rs. 1,400 package would have the same benefits as the new Rs. 1,949 package. Of course, I don't have the letter with me and so can't verify the wording to verify that this is indeed what was said but a lot of people on this blog are of the opinion that that was what was said. That is why they are incensed when they upgraded to the Rs. 1,400 package at that time but don't receive new channels as promised in that letter.

And if such promises were made (since I don't have the letter, I can't verify that this was so), then it was a shoddy marketing tactic. But then again, there's no law against such practices in Sri Lanka, is there? :)

Unknown said...

Hi Indi,

I went through (ur) the Dialog Blogs (http://www.dialogblogs.com/?p=54) &thank u very much for the prompt reply. & I thing ur not aware with DTH or DTH related stuffs.

Coz… I’ll list down the way u answered to my questions….

Question:
As per my knowledge Dialog TV is the most expensive DTH provider in the world. Dialog can invest 50 or 60million or billion to provide the service, but you ppl can’t expect the same amount within a year.

Ur answer:
These facts are incorrect. The numbers are wrong, and DTV is by no stretch of the imagination the most expensive DTH provider in the world. The Rs. 250 package (about $2.50) is actually one of the cheapest in the world. Haven’t done a broad search but just a look at DirecTV’s website shows that their cheapest plan (about $29) is still more expensive than our top package (about $20). Their premier package is $81, or about Rs. 8,000.

What is the catch?

I agree, the numbers are wrong, doesn’t matter to me or DTV cx’s. Leave it…

But u said that the world cheapest & economical pkg is available only from DTV for just Rs. 250 package (about $2.50). Great joke… Ru really in Sri Lanka….? :)

Dear Indi, Pls take a note…

:: Tata sky’s Super Hit Pack is available for Indian Rs 99 per (SL Rs 224.73cts or 2.8$) month with 53+ channels.

:: Sun Direct India Basic Pack is available for Indian Rs 99 per (SL Rs 224.73cts or 2.8$) month with 100+ channels.

:: Dish Mini Pack is available for Indian Rs 60 per (SL Rs 136 or 1.26$ month with 80+ channels*

These are the real facts & got it from their Web & CC &….. Hope now u got the point & who’s providing the best service.. That’s why I told you ur not aware with DTH or DTH related stuffs.

DTV is the one & only company is asking customers to pay for FTA channels.

If ur in Sri Lanka??? Just go to Pettah & buy a FTV DISH & see... u can get up to 60 channels in 1 direction. Include ur Rs 100 Set plan Kalainger TV. (Only for one channel).

Typical Dialog TV marketing strategy…

So from now onwards don’t talk about ur cheapest or economical pkg in the world. P.S

Unknown said...

Question No 2:

Lets come to the point… what’s we are looking from Dialog TV? 1. Reduce the Rental

Ur answer:
As mentioned, our rates are some of the most affordable in the world while using international standard technology. We have reduced rental drastically with our Rs. 250 and Rs. 500 packages.

Replay:
Ohh really...

What the hell? What u mean by international standard technology?
Is DTV has the international standard technology such as VOD, Interactive services, Games, Multilingual service & Multi channel view facility? Mind it… we are not fools to hear ur m*** jokes here.

& u said Dialog TV has reduced rental drastically with ur Rs. 250 and Rs. 500 packages.

u know… Rs 100 Pkg is now available for Rs 250 with 4 International channels. Is this ur reduction?

Unknown said...

Question No 3:

Take off all the unwanted Hindi craps & replace with good English channels. Kind request; currently (as of 09th Oct) dialog has 4 cartoon channels & out of 4 only 1 channel is available in English.

Ur answer:
We recently added Cartoon Network’s Boomerang to our 1499 and 1949 packages.

My replay:
It’s already there in my statement… Doesn’t matter...

By the way we are talking about the Indian HINDI Cartoon craps. At least try to give the Indian ENGLISH feed (which is available in all Indian DTH) using ur international standard technology.

FYI: Boomerang channel is only available for the 1949 & 1400 customers & not for 1499.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JPL 244 said...

Let me enlighten you with the other DTV scandal. It is called the MPEG4 Scandal.

Dialog sent me (all premium and cheap premium) a letter saying that they will reward us for loyalty and will upgrade out STB to MPEG4. I was very happy. After a delay of about one month I got my advance, state of art MPEG4 box. But MPG4 is still pending.

In the meantime dialog managed to change my contract (so that if I leave DTV they can take back the box without giving me a refund).

But what is more worrying is the bulky, ugly decoder is lacking many features an advance STB should have. Above all, it is s piece of crap which doesn't do its functions right. When you put it to standby, switch off and then plug it back again, it is not in standby.
If you leave it on standby during the night, and if there is a power failure, after power is back it is running!

Unknown said...

Question No 3:

Introduce some more good English & Tamil channels

Ur answer:
We recently introduced Bloomberg TV (English) and Kalainger (Tamil). We have almost doubled the amount of channels in a year. NDTV Good Times is now available on MyTV (mobile) as well, along with quite a few other channels.

My replay:
Dear Indi, mind it Bloomberg (FTA) Television is a network that airs business and financial news 24 hours a day. So……

Kalainger (FTA) – after a long battle got 1 Tamil channel. Now totally DTV has 3 Tamil channels include the useless TBO. u thing this is enough?

Regards,

Kido-CMB

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

Ok none of the channels are showing the Canada cup.

Watch here:

http://www.justin.tv/widgets/jtv_live.r9763.swf?channel=cricketasia

sanjan said...

@ indi
whatever you say to justify dialog is in vein untill you remove your cheating marketting team. i dont have DTV , luckily, but i m still suffering from your GSM. any day when number portabillity is offered i ll move. and you all recently promoted mobile broadband saying its 7.2 mbps. but in reality you dont have network strength for more than 1mbps and that also is fluctuating. your uplink speed is worse than simple dial up! i just escaped from that thankful to one of my friends who got it and reminding "mother of dialog" since then.why you do this? simply because you cant compete with mobitel M3 speed! since M3 is expensive you try to play the numbers game and selling network locked modems to catch more customers who cant affored to go for M3. its ok if you say that you can give lesser speed. but remember they are not happy as these DTV customers!check your real speed here and i challenge you to justify this with your banana theory if you can.
http://sinhala.kalingasblog.com/2008/09/16/dialog-unlimited-mobile-broadband-hsdpa-vs-mobitel-m3-borodband/

yakuza said...

@lst

thanks for link

this one also work, same quality

http://www.viewlivecricket.com/

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

yakuza,
Nice find. I got my link from MyP2P. Check it out there are many other live sporting events as well.

http://filenetworks.blogspot.com/2008/09/watch-your-favorites-sporting-events.html

Observer said...

Podiman,

will this person fix a C Band Dish ?

Unknown said...

@observer,
Please send me your e-mail address.

Fahim said...

Podiman, can you please send me your alternative satellite provider info to: fahimf (at) gmail (dot) com

Thanks in advance :)

Unknown said...

Hello Guys,

@ kido,

You sure make a valid point.
Are you sure you are 'kido', and not 'adult-o'? :-)

point to ponder:

Has DTV installation teams taken away customer purchased STB's illegally, as nowhere in their newer contract does it state that customer must return originally customer purchased CBNSat decoders to get the mpeg4 one.

Stay cool newly non premium dudes.

Micheal

Unknown said...

@ Micke,

Tsk man... hehe... ya rite..

Unknown said...

@ ALF,

Nice to see that you are adding the much needed colourful banter to this exceedingly hostile, yet promising blog...
I enjoy your comments dude!
It puts me in a good mood.

Stay cool people,
after all its just another subject in the cycle of life.

Micheal.

SP said...

@all
which satellite Airtel useing to their DTH service ?
thanks.

indi said...

@kido

Thanks for finding the regional prices. They seem to be between Rs 100 - 300, so I think DTV can still fairly claim to have one of the cheapest packages in the world.

I just checked out the TataSky pack and it's almost all Indian language channels, though it is great that they offer so many. India enjoys great economies of scale that Sri Lanka does not, newspapers cost a few rupees there. I'm not clear as to how this is a great package for Sri Lankans though. I'm sure DTV could buy a bunch of random language channels to increase the count, but they've chosen to develop local channels like Channel C instead.

You can go to Pettah and buy a pirate dish at any time. That can also be cut off anytime.

@sanjan

There's a post on Dialog HSPA here.

I personally have an M3 and a Dialog HSPA connection. I've found that the speeds are pretty much the same. The 7.2 thing is silly, IMHO, I don't know why we advertise the maximum speed of the unit and not the reality, but that's the nature of competitive advertising. My experience is about 100k down at best, and I can upload 30MB to Vimeo in about 10-15 minutes.

I haven't honestly noticed much speed difference between Dialog and Mobitel. Mobitel was more competitive on price, but I use Dialog more now that they introduced the Unlimited package.

දිමුතු said...

@ SP

Airtel Digital TV DTH service is using Insat 4CR (74 East) satellite.

sanjan said...

@ indi
what is the M3 speed you use? must be 512kbps! then also M3 is faster
dont lie please
all can see speed tests from above link. mobitel is far ahead. see the upload speed of dialog! its terrible. dont try to give false information here. same link, mobitel 1mbps speeds are there. its better than your so called 7.2mbps. when you cant justify dialog broadband you try to downgrade others! its an uncivilized act! if speed is ok why modem is network locked? please dont lie, why dialog employee use mobitel broadband? either dialog is slow or you just try to cheat bloggers by saying a false comparison. everyone should think

sanjan said...

@indi

For access through your M3 Data Device



Post Paid Packages Zoom
512 Zoom
1024 Zoom
3600 Zoom
7200

Subscription (Rs) 400 1,500 5,000 15,000
Free Data Bundle 250 MB 1.5 GB 5 GB 15 GB
Downlink Speed Up to 512 kbps 1 Mbps 3.6 Mbps 7.2 Mbps
Uplink Speed Up to 384 kbps 384 kbps 384 kbps 1.98 Mbps
Excess Usage Charge - - Rs. 10 for a block of 10 MB - -
Connection Fee (Rs.) 500 500 500 500
Deposit (Rs.) 1,500 1,500 6,000 15,000

above are the charges of mobitel M3
http://www.mobitel.lk/broadband/tariff.htmlyou say it is compititive! truth is that its too expensive. according to your comment you should use 15,000 package to compare with dialogs so called 7.2mbps connection. why you pay 15,000 unnecessorily if you mostly use dialog one as you said? dont try to cheat us any more. we had enough! find a job before airtel comes! soon dialog might charge you also for "life time salary"!

Observer said...

podiman,
kindly email info to observer_lk@yahoo.com. Thanks a lot

Observer said...

Indi,

You mentioned about the price of Dialog TV 250 package ois one of the cheapest. But where on earth people pay 250 for a bunch Free to Air channels.Can you name a single operator who does this.

At the same time you seems to be working in US dollars. One thing you convieniently miss out is , at least a protion if your costs are incurred in Sri Lankan rupees and you pay Sri Lankan salaries to your Dialog employees. do you by any chance think Sri Lankans earn american slaries to compare the prices that americans pay for their DTH ? Then my friend you are in the wrong market !

As for CitySh*t and Channel C, dialog has never said they would give these channels free for 250 package in future. They might start charging for this anytime. I remeber once they tried to do that but failed miserably.

I think it helps if you understand that people in Sri Lanka can distinguish between garbage anad quality channles. Only problem at the moment is, as you correctly pointed out we lack legal suppliers of quality TV services. That is why , I as said in a previous post, in the absense of any formidable competition, Dialog Rips off customers. There is no point in trying to white wash dialog here as most of the people who who post here are unhappy with Dirty Tricks that dialog play

indi said...

@sanjan

M3 prices are the same regardless of package - Rs. 1 per MB. The speed and the deposit varies.

Dialog Unlimited Mobile Broadband gives you 5GB under the Fair Use Policy, and caps the speeds thereafter. You can resume the speeds for Rs. 100 per day. It's discussed further on this post. Hence you'll never really pay more than Rs. 6,000.

There's even a package which includes a laptop, modem and 300MB data for Rs. 6,477 per month.

I used M3 (and keep an M3 modem) because it was cheaper at the time. Now the Dialog package is better, for me.

The Dialog HSPA product was neglected for a while (in terms of pricing), but management has noticed and marketed it better. The speeds and network coverage were always good, and now the price makes sense.

indi said...

@observer

I'm not sure this is the place to get into global macroeconomics, but the cost of many things - including energy and imports - is higher in Sri Lanka. We also don't benefit from the same economies of scale as India (1 billion people) or America (lots of rich people).

Competition is good for any marketplace and hopefully legitimate TV operators will come into play. The cost of entry into the Sri Lankan market is high (especially in terms of licensing and taxes, etc) so I don't know how that would impact price.

That said, I reiterate that Dialog is in no way 'ripping people off'. You can get basic Satellite TV for Rs. 250 and you can get a pretty good range of channels for Rs. 1949. The company continues to bring channels and service to Sri Lanka, and the service works and doesn't disappear overnight.

The crucial fact is that Dialog is here, delivering legitimate reliable service to thousands of Sri Lankans at a variety of price points. I understand that you want the price to be lower (or perhaps free), but I also hope you understand that these are the prices Dialog has set to run a sustainable business that delivers the quality you expect.

rupavahini said...

sri lanka cricket mach live in ARY ASIA channels (pas 10 68.5)

Observer said...

Since there was a broadband discussion on the sidelines I just did a speedtest with my Mobitel M3 - Zoom 512 connection.

Here are the test results.
Download speed : 398 kbps
Upload speed : 342 kbps


I used http://www.speedtest.net to conduct the test and pointed to the server in Male, Maldives.

I can tell you that this is a very good service by Mobitel and I have been using this since April. I test the speed once in a while and the speed pretty much remained around the above numbers throught the period.

Unknown said...

@ Indi,

Happy to see u again…

No thanks.

Mind it; Regional packages are available on their respective website separately. I’ am talking about the starter or the basic packages. Most of Indian DTH starter packages available from Rs 60-99.

Guys pls comment on this & confirm…

… & u said “I just checked out the TataSky pack and it's almost all Indian language channels”

OIC… that mean ur telling Dialog TV 100/250/500+ Rs Package customers are getting the 1st class Asian pacific pay channels. Isn’t it????

Hahaha… same craps Mr. Indi same Indian shits.

Pls go through the below link & confirm in ur next comment; wither Dialog TV is (currently) offering the 1st class Asian pacific channels to 100 & 250+ Rs Pkg customers or not. (At least one or two channels?????)

Link: http://www.dialog.lk/en/tv/tariff/tariff.html

As u know… if they (100 & 250+ Rs Pkg customers) have invest the 12500 Rs to one of the FTA Dish; they can enjoy 60+ channels without any monthly subscription.

I am repeating the same thing again “DTV is the one & only company is demanding their customers to pay for FTA channels or Indian shits & the one & only company demanding their customers to pay for downgrading the packages also. Is this fair???

Make sure we have enough Local channels in here, so better concentrating on developing or adding new Asian pacific English channels using ur international standard technology.

Also u said that “You can go to Pettah and buy a pirate dish at any time. That can also be cut off anytime.”

Hehe… excuse… who said that’s pirate. Man Come-on… FTA Dish is not pirate & it’s Legal in Sri Lanka worldwide & I’ am also using the (CBN sorry Dialog TV &…) same FTA Dish for the past 1 & ½ without any problem or interruption.

Awaiting for ur feedback… & stay cool…

Kido-CMB

Observer said...

indi,

Its good that you talked about the Laptop offer.

Lets do some math here,

Quoted Price for the Laptop+Modem+Data Plan = 77724 ( 6477 per month * 12 months )

If we take the components of the product one by one

Price of the data plan for the year = 3600 ( 300/- per month X 12 )
Modem Cost = 12000 ( Can be less than that )

charged Cost for hte Laptop = Approx. 62124/- ( 77724 - (3600+12000) )

Dialog is giving a Dell laptop with Celeron processor and the normal market price for such a laptop is quite the same.

I do not think there is a "Offer" to the consumer here. Its just that they are bundling and selling the stuff.

This is like when you can not sell the Broadband Connection, you try to sell a Laptop, a Modem , A Dataplan to see if it works. Here you are trying to take the advantage of lack of knowledge of some of the ordinary folk regarding the overall pricing of the bundle. When did Dialog get into the business of seeling computer hardware ?

දිමුතු said...

If you have a C band dish, you can see Canada Cup live on ARY Asia. It is FTA on Intelsat 10 (68.5 East)

3863 H 19850 3/4

indi said...

The laptop deal is an offer. You can certainly use the HSPA offer with any computer you choose. It's 5490 with the unlimited package.

The laptop deal is a pretty simple deal which makes it easy for someone to start frm scratch, walk into an arcade and get on the internet. That's it. Of course you can use any computer you want. Simplicity has its value too, especially for people just getting on the internet

sanjan said...

@indi
i think dialog is better than you!!!!!!!

@others
dialog blaster OG 1000 minutes includes calls to call center

sanjan said...

@indi
see observers speed test above.thats 512kbps connection.
put a better dialog uplink speed of your so called "7.2mbps broadband" if you can!

Priyantha De Silva said...

Twenty20 Cricket In Canada 2008
********************************
Now you can watch LIVE Twenty20 Cricket In Canada 2008 using the this link in the web. As our TV "Star Lanka Online TV, this web site also coming from "Justin TV" Site.But you have to wait 2-5 minutes to load the page. Because this site is watched by thousand of people around the world. If you can register on " justin TV" site, you can chat on the box next to the TV box if you do not use Full screen mode.

enjoy ..........

http://www.justin.tv/cricketasia

ටෙලිපිස්සා said...

Hi,
I have been a dialog tv user since early 2005 (those days CBN Sat). after take over of the
company by dialog tv they send us a letter informing us about our connection which 1400/= is
equel to the 1949/= which called as premium.they told us that offer gave to good and long term users
which been with them.but now after launch of bloomberg they told me if i want to watch
bloomberg i have to be a 1949/= subscriber.i also have that letter. this is not a good behaviour
by dialog tv. they are not keep thier word honesty.if they launch another few chaneels i
think i have to up grade my package around about 3000/=

yakuza said...

bookmark

Unknown said...

Inability by DTV to add-on content to cheap premium due to the excuse of escalating costs on one hand...

Promising in writing to ensure that
previously 'premium', and currently 'cheap premium' customers remain as 'premium' customers, and collecting 'premium' rentals from them over a long period, on the other....

Are we seeing a new trend of Dialog accumulating 'short term financial gain' in the macro sense, as per the 'upgrade to premium', 'blaster', and 'Lifetime discounts' activation for a fee, especially if totally outgoing free for a monthly rental is next on the cards anyway? have they not made their money then?

This is from an ignorant laymans point of view...

indi said...

Inability by DTV to add-on content to cheap premium due to the excuse of escalating costs on one hand...

DTV has almost doubled channels across the board.

Per the 1400 premium issue, can someone please post that letter? I'm trying to track it down internally.

The 1400 will not be the top package forever. I'm sorry about that, but you guys have to get used to it. There's this weird feeling of entitlement here, as if this package is something you can pass on to your children even as the rest of the world changes. DTV will continue growing up and packages will change.

The top package may be 1949, or 2200, or higher as inflation rises and as DTV is able to offer more channels. Hopefully Sri Lanka will develop economically such that 'premium' will not remain stuck at 2006 levels forever.

I'll try to address the 'short-term' and internet speed questions over the course of the week. Going to Negombo.

alf said...

INDI

STOP WASHING "HANS" AND "NUSHADS" PANTIES AND MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING JOB

Agent - Zer08 said...

@ Sanjan:

Not true… dont lie man... It’s a rumor… as we know; from the beginning ur promoting mobital in Dialog Blog.

buddhi said...

@ podiman

i have emailed all the Indian DTH operators (Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct & Big TV) about 2 months ago asking about the availability of their services in Sri Lanka. I received replies from all of them except Big TV. I believe it's due to the fact that Big TV just started their operations during that time. All the others have replied me saying that they haven't appointed any agents in SL to carry out their businesses except Dish TV who said they've appointed Sat Net (Pvt) Ltd as their agents in SL. Recently I have emailed Airtel DTH also asking the same question & im yet to receive a reply from them. When I contacted Sat Net people they said that they're offering only one pkg with 60 channels for a connection fee of 17000 LKR & a monthly rental of around 1000 LKR. But that pkg doesn't include the channels like ESPN, Star Sports, Ten Sports, Star Movies, HBO etc. So I realized its not worth the deal & gave up the idea of buying from them. Im using a Dialog TV premium pkg (Rs1949) at the moment & I got the free 2nd decoder & also received the MPEG4 box recently. But I still think that i'm paying too much for DTV. So I'm looking for an alternative now. I found that LBN offers the cheapest rates among SL operators but unfortunately i'm out of their coverage area. So the only option left out for me is SLT's IPTV. But again if I move into IPTV I think it'll cost more than DTV once they introduce all the premium channels like ESPN, Star Sports, Ten Sports, Star Movies etc. So I would like to know your opinion about buying an Indian DTH pkg from pettah or any unauthorized dealer. Can we trust them? Do they give us web access to our account? what about the after sales service? what happens if something happens to the dish or the set top box? do they carry a one year warranty or something like that?

Unknown said...

@buddhi,
Please send me your e-mail address.

Unknown said...

Anyone know a website to get the program schedule of Boomerang?

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

Harindu,

http://now-tv.netvigator.com/eng/full_schedule.html?channel=446


There is a time difference though. The schedule above is in Hong Kong time (or i think it is). Convert it to SL time we are getting the same feed as that.

sanjan said...

@transporter
if its just a rumour sorry for that. but better confirm from the hot line.
but i must say that i m not promoting mobitel. in a dialog blog we have to compare them with slt and mobitel. we have to mention the better one and its not promoting them. read my above comments. if i promote mobitel why should i say that its broadband is expensive! since their speed is good we have to accept that my friend!if someone posts correct facts and by that indirectly product gets promoted, its fine. but what we should not do is to publish false facts like indi does for dialog! why dont you question those comments?

sanjan said...

@transporter
if its just a rumour sorry for that. but better confirm from the hot line.
but i must say that i m not promoting mobitel. in a dialog blog we have to compare them with slt and mobitel. we have to mention the better one and its not promoting them. read my above comments. if i promote mobitel why should i say that its broadband is expensive! since their speed is good we have to accept that my friend!if someone posts correct facts and by that indirectly product gets promoted, its fine. but what we should not do is to publish false facts like indi does for dialog! why dont you question those comments?

buddhi said...

@ podiman,

its buddhika_77@yahoo.com

Agent - Zer08 said...

@ Sanjan,

Its ok brw.. Its confirm. :)

Unknown said...

@buddhi,
Pls check your e-mail.

sanjan said...

@transporter
thankx.
sorry for mistake

Unknown said...

@ Indi,

waiting 4ur feedback...

Kido-CMB

Duffy said...

@Podiman

Hi! Please be kind enough to give me some Dish TV/Tata Sky dealer info.....
duffyinsl@gmail.com

And pls note that I need to have Web Access. I mean if I purchase a Dish TV STB and a Card from one of these dealers, I should be able to pay my rentals and stuff directly to Dish TV via the Website using my Credit Card.....

Thank you :)
Duffy!

yakuza said...

peotv users please comment about your experience. interested in peotv.

http://peotv.blogspot.com/2008/10/peo-tv-too-expensive.html#links

thanks

Lisura said...



@ Indi and all concerned

THIS IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS "PREMIUM" ISSUE !

In August 2007 DTV sent a letter to all subscribers regarding their packages. In that they have introduced 3 Packages.

Super (500)
Great (900)
Value (1400)

They have persuaded old CBNSat Subscribers to join the new packages before the 30th of September 2007. And these rentals were applicable for the new subscribers also till the said date.

In the same letter DTV have mentioned that after the above date the retail value of the packages will change like this :

Super (550)
Great (900)
Value (2100)

What DTV marketing told people is that once you upgraded your package to one of them above Before 1st September 2008 you'll continue to get the channels added to these packages despite the price change after the date.

If you have noticed the bills during that time you will see the package of us as "Value"

Then after few months DTV introduced a different package structure. It's like this

Lite (100)
Super (500)
Great (1099)
Value (1499)
Value Plus (1949)

And later on they again increased the Lite package rental to 250.

So as of today if you look closely in your bill your package will be as "1400 OLD"

This is where DTV had played the dirty game.

We never subscribed to a "1400 OLD" package. We subscribed to "Value" package. And that is too with the promise of adding all the new channels to it despite the future package changes.

This is the same trick they are going to play now ! So after sometime DTV will introduce another "New" Value package and persuade people to get that to see the new channels.

DTV is trying to blind the subscriber and "RIP THEM OFF" in style !

Lisura said...



@ indi

I admit i made a mistake by stating the price of CBNSat is 50 billion. I meant to say 50 Crore !

It's a typo and don't try to capitalize on that. You have plenty of other issues to answer.

I don't know from which sense you are telling DTV is a world class operator. Still you could not get the EPG straight.

No active content
No Movie on demand
No Games
No Interactive servies !!!

As I've said before Communicating with DTV is useless on these issues.

Indi is at least getting paid for writing these. But we ?

We just waste our time here !

Unknown said...

Are we then privilaged Sri Lankans to see the introduction of the'Delux Super Duper Sucker Premium Package', finally.......

You know what I think,..

DTV is sure to increase the package rental of the 'Old Premium Rs. 1400/- + vat (Rs. 1610' sooner, than later. This will be another marketing coup, aligned to the new agreement signed by customers with the intro of the mpeg4 decoders.

This is just an assumption, based on sound judgement,and on my freedom of speech.
So guys, please spare me :-) lol

Radikal Zee said...

@indi,
ok, i know ur just acting like a dumbhead when you can't admit something. typical dialog behavior.

1. What we wanted was not the 1949 or CBNSAT 1400 package to be the premium package forever! What we wanted was since dialog promised CBNSAT 1400 customers will be treated same as 1949 customers, we expect the same channels on both packages. Of course you can introduce more high end packages with more channels and hindi crap, but that is not the issue. Issue is making the 1949 and 1400 packages similar since that's what was promised. Stick to the argument please!!
I hope you understand English.

2. You have failed to answer the question, "why do you have to charge for FTA channels?". The question is repeated several times on the blog and you pretend you don't read that section. No wonder you are an employee of dialog.

3. Finally, just because you work for dialog doesn't mean you should defend everything they do and make a fool of youself. Think independently.

Cheers!

Mario said...

@ INDI & others

Just look at the state of Sri Lankan TV & DTH providers ...

None of the local tv stations took any intertest of the 20 20 Canada Cup, or did DTV or LBN. Now we know its being shown on a FTA channel - ARY digital. Didnt we get Cable & Sat tv so that we dont have put up with all the crap thats being shown on local tv in the 1st place ? & like me im sure most of us got it to watch cricket & other sports matches "LIVE". Now look at the pathetic state of affairs!

INDI - Any comments ? Couldnt ull do a "SET MAX" exclusive like ul did for the world cup !!!

yakuza said...

wassup niggas??

yoyo

Vishkid said...

Hey guys - I'm not defending Indi or whatever (hell no, I'm too fed up with all things Dialog to do such a thing) - but we hv to understand simple market economics. 1400 will NEVER be equal to 1949 - no matter what DTV promised.
When the ownership migrated to DTV I was simply glad those nuts did not remove our old CBN packages NOR remove any channels from them (I have the 900 package - if you wish to see my comments at that time, pls refer the blog archive).
I had a better package than the DTV 950/- at that time but I did not expect that to be the case forever.
In the end, simple market economics prevail. So I really don't see 1400 being equal to 1949 at any stage - if you do so it's only an illusion.

Where DTV has terribly gone wrong is their management of the channels and the their service as a whole.
It is true that they don't have the same economies of scale as Indian DTH providers, but with what they have - they are not doing the optimum job. So we are paying, in part, for their inefficiencies ... and part of their incompetence lie in not being able to obtain the English feeds for a few key channels.
And to cap it off - their customer service sucks big time.

Hence Dialog is stuck with a loss making entity with a terribly unhappy customer base. and they are not helping themselves by adding FTA channels to higher packages.

The best thing they can do is populate the lower valued packages with FTA and local channels and introduce some top-notch stuff to higher valued packages (or as a premium SET!).

They must understand what true service is (clear direction, courteous service, abolishing of arcane 'downgrade' charges etc, scrapping the hindi crap where possible) .. and only then can they increase their value addition, the package rate and ultimately the profitability.

In being stuck in a short-term financial rut - DTV is going to make some unpopular decisions that gonna hurt in the long run.
And the worse thing is - they will be hurting us .. the whole of the way.

indi said...

Ah, OK, just doing a cursory read here, don't have time to respond to everything.

@sanjan

what we should not do is to publish false facts like indi does for dialog!

I am many things, but I'm not a liar. I make mistakes but for everything I write (especially here) I try to make phone calls and verify the facts. I don't knowingly deceive anyone and if I make errors I hope you'll point them out so I can correct myself. But please don't call me a liar without some proof.

@Lisura

In August 2007 DTV sent a letter to all subscribers regarding their packages. In that they have introduced 3 Packages.

I hear you, trying to track down a copy of this letter.

@Radikal Zee

why do you have to charge for FTA channels?

DTV charges for packages which include selected Free-To-Air channels along with other channels. Those channels are effectively a bonus. They could theoretically be removed if they offend your sense of fairness, but viewers are, in effect, getting something for free along with their pay channels.

As to whether I'm consciously ignoring questions, I'm not. I simply don't have the human capacity to read and respond to everything here, but I try my best.

@AMD

It is annoying that we can't watch those cricket matches. I also really wished we had a better feed for the Olympics. I hope you understand that putting a new channel on the transponder for a one-time sporting event is a decision which may or may not make sense. In this case I guess it didn't.

@vishkid

interesting and lucid comments.

Unknown said...

@ Indi,

Waiting 4ur feedback...

Guys..

I am the one who told that DTH operator (DTV) has to pay the rebroadcasting charge for FTA channels. But this is too much…

Indi If u can pls pass this blog URL to respective. Hans & Mr. Nushad Perera. I thing only they can give a solid answer...

Kido-CMB

Lisura said...



DTV management is reading the blog. That's why they have planted a paid person to fool the subscribers here !

He himself have understood that even he cant do it all alone !

Lisura said...


What DTV is trying to do is to cover-up the issues which subscribers raise. For simple issues they slip like the banana shell !!

Indi is answering the Q's which he can capitalize ! For others he slips like banana !

He only took my 50 crore / 50 billion Q.

Other Q's he simply ignored !

And even the answers he had given reminds me of the same old DTV strategy "Yanne koheda malle pol" correctly identified by ALF !

alf said...

INDI (THE BANANA SUCKER)

HOW MUCH DOES NUSHAD PAY YOU FOR SUCKING THE BANANAS,WE KNOW THAT THIS GUY "BANANA NUSHAD" HAS A MYTH THAT HE CAN BUY THE GOVERNMENT STUFF AND ANY LEGAL ACTION CAN BE NEGATED BY PUTTING PRESURE THROUGH THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNEMENT.PONSIYAS LIKE YOU SHOULD BE HANGED FOR CHEATING THE SUBSCRIBER AND DOING THE DIRTY WORK TO GET INCREMENTS AND PERKS,SHAME ON YOU MAN.

I THINK CJ AND THE SUPREME COURT WOULD DO THE SAME THING TO THE BANANA BOYS AS THEY DID TO JKH AND SUMAL PERERA.

STICK YOUR BANANAB IN YOUR ARSE,YOU DESERVE IT MORE BECAUSE YOU HAVE SHOWN YOU NOT ONLY LICK THE BOOTS OF NUSHAD AND HANS,BUT EVEN THEIR ARSE.

Mario said...

@ INDI

Q 4 U.

DTV is has always being giving the ASIA feed of Cartoon Network on MY TV. This feed temporarly replaced the Indian feed on DTV some months ago when there was a technical issue.

1. Why cant DTV continue to give is the ASIAN FEED ? At least there wont be any annoying HIND bla bla bla.

2. As some bloggers have mentioned, there is a time with the HINDI version of a programe in CN or NICK is going on, but the same program ( same feed as well ) is going on DISH TV but its in English. Why cant DTV select the English Audio Feed ?

Vishkid said...

"
2. As some bloggers have mentioned, there is a time with the HINDI version of a programe in CN or NICK is going on, but the same program ( same feed as well ) is going on DISH TV but its in English. Why cant DTV select the English Audio Feed ?"


Incompetence?

Man Indi - if there is one thing you can do - pls take a moment and give a clear answer to this Hindi thingy - 'cos it bugs most (all) of us?
EVEN WHEN THE ENGLISH FEED IS SEEMINGLY AVAILABLE (A SIMPLE SELECTION) WHY CAN'T DTV GIVE THAT TO CUSTOMERS???

Lisura said...

@ Indi

I ask you a simple question.

Can you give all the Dish TV channels (194 at the moment) for their prices ?

Forget about the HBO pack and other Asian feeds.

Can DTV offer the Dish TV packages for that price ?

Can you take up this challenge ?

Don't compare Sri Lanka with USA !

Because in USA DirecTV offers American content for that price.

Compare with other regional DTH operators like DishTV, TataSKY, BIGtv and Airtel Digital TV !

DTV is the most expensive !

Lisura said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisura said...


DirecTV USA gives US content at US Prices !

Dish TV India gives Indian content ay Indian Prices !

DialogTV is giving Indian content at US Prices !

This is the difference !

indi said...

Dudes, I'm going to visit DTV today around 3 or 4. Short notice, but if you have any specific questions you want to ask please post them on the Open Thread here.

@kido

I don't understand your question

@AMD

That Hindi issue is annoying. I'll see what's happening and what (if anything) can be done.

@lisura

There are price difference between countries. Newspapers in India cost like Rs. 2, for example. You can't simply transport a product from one country to another given existing legal and economic frameworks. Short, of course, of a comprehensive and specific free trade agreement between India and Sri Lanka. Barring that, businesses do what they can.

So no, DTV can't do an end-run around basic economics and national law and start selling product X or Y from India.

CSS said...

@Indi

DTV with their letter of offer to old customers offered the a package for 1400/=, which was to go up to 2100/= by 30th Sep 07, like Lusura has indicated. So, althought the price increased they were supposed to be the same package.

When DTV differenciates later by the money value, contradictory to what they have offered in writing, I would call it cheating, nothing else.

Of course they can declare a new package with the additional channels, but that is not the issue here. In that case they should advertise the new package and promote it by giving some consessions to the existing subscribers.

It's good Indi is here, as we can see their viewpoint as well.

BUT, is indi an offical representative. If not, we would like to have him or any other representative in the blog offically, as it will be part of customer care of DTV.

Let's not be rude to Indi, as he has been candid in telling us he is working at DTV. Isn't it better than somebody manipulating the site without declaring their alligence.

I think we should get the best out of Indi, as now we have a medium of communication, where at least our grievences are presented to DTV, without us getting organized & writing mails as a group, which only happened very rarely and under a great crisis only.

@indi

I think it's great to have you here. Please convey the views presented here to the managment and help to improve the service & the customer satisfaction.

I would like it much better, if we get an improved service, which will keep the customers in DTV, rather than chasing them away to other providers.

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

"Let's not be rude to Indi, as he has been candid in telling us he is working at DTV. Isn't it better than somebody manipulating the site without declaring their alligence."

I also agree. I dont think we should resort to profanity/offensive language while directing the issues we have with DTV. Doing so will only harm the credibility of this blog and the credibility of the comment.

Lisura said...



@ Indi

I cant retype all the Q's I posted to this blog in your blog again as i'm not getting paid for it !

Please refer this blog since this is the main blog of DTV subscribers. This has been there since the inception of CBNSat.

So please refer to the previous posts ! We do not want any banana type explanations ! If you cant deliver the product we wish we will find it with some other operator !

Anyway thanks for your concern !

Radikal Zee said...

do u guys see any risk of buying a DishTv or TataSky connection directly from india and using it here?

Mario said...

Agreed with LST.

At least we have somewhat of a an idea now of DTV's opinion now. So lets be constructive & discuss the relevant issues here. Lets see what INDI has to say & lets tell him what we have to say, & discuss things in an adult manner.

By the way, just in case some bloggers dont know, i did have DTV when at my parents place, ( 2 deocders ) but now im on my own & using LBN, but monitoring DTV of course as always.

Lightning_Struck_Tower said...

"do u guys see any risk of buying a DishTv or TataSky connection directly from india and using it here?"

I used a dishtv connection for several months and did not have any probs. I even paid directly to dishtv site via web. Anyway this is only my experience and I have not used dishtv in months so things may or may not hav changed.

Unknown said...

@ alf,

Colourful, to say the least.

I do enjoy your comments, I do!

@ Guys,
indi is being very diplomatic in his approach to a very hostile situation. As such his diplomacy suggests that he is trying to do something legit.
I am sure he would appreciate comments of a more subtle nature not directly targetted at him, as he has not officially declared himself DTV representative of this blog discussion, but likewise seems to be down playing all relevent issues.
If we put our points across in a more meaningful manner, it would help, I think, what say guys?
No offense whatoever to any of the cool dudes in here. I am just expressing my thoughts. Maybe I am wrong, maybe i am not...

Stay cool guys,
Micheal.

indi said...

@CSS, AMD, Lightning, etc

Overall I'm very impressed with the level of discussion here, people actual look stuff up and make reasonable arguments.

You do know that I work for Dialog (Group, not DTV directly) but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing for this forum. Please note that any comments I make aren't official. But do understand that this forum is valued by DTV and that the company is committed to improving its service. The first step of which is probably listening to customers.

@CSS

DTV with their letter of offer to old customers offered the a package for 1400/=, which was to go up to 2100/= by 30th Sep 07, like Lusura has indicated. So, althought the price increased they were supposed to be the same package.

I think this is a correct reading of the letter. Will have more on this anon.

@Vishkid

Per the Hindi thing, I'm looking into it more, but I think the issue is that rights are parceled out in bands. That is, a sports event approved for the Singapore band won't be approved for the Middle East band (without a separate agreement).

The general problem with Sri Lanka is that we have limited bargaining power on everything from price to channels. India's market is so huge that Cartoon Network, Nick, MTV, etc authorize a Hindi feed and to get the Singapore feed one would have to pull the feed from another band (with agreements, and paperwork, and payments). I'm not sure that makes sense, I'm learning about it as you guys do.

Did a post on the Hindi issue here

Unknown said...

Sorry about the previous post… saw ur “Free To Air Vs Free To Broadcast” thread. I thing I have already posted a reply thread in Dialog Blog regarding this FTA Rebroadcasting drama. So don’t waste ur time in copy & pasting, also you don’t need to teach me us (or me) about FTA & DTH service since we (& I) have enough experience on this field. Better you get the experience from us & convey to ur Heads.

Basically you don’t have enough knowledge on this & you’re just protecting ur DIALOG TV. That’s all.

Unknown said...

Happy that you also talking like our Load Anthony, Let’s talk about the real facts & Pleas answer for my question if you can……………?

• What DTV’s idea about Dialog (CBN) 1400Pkg customers? Are you all really going to treat our self as premium customers or not? If your answer is YES, my very next question is “from when we (1400Pkg) going to get the Bloomberg channel?

• Why can’t DTV reduce the rental & intent on increasing the Channel Quality? (P.S don’t tell that the cost of the service is very high & bla bla bla...) Seems Dialog TV is targeting only the High Class people.

You’ll simply blocking the potential customers putting these kind of barriers. Even we are not in the position to recommend Dialog TV to our family & friends.

• Why DTV is interesting in intruding HINDI Craps? This because of low cost???

Ill list down some channels name which is available (Foot print) for our region.

AXN BEYOND
BBC CBeebies
Nickelodeon (Asia)
Cartoon Network (Asia)
TCM
MGM
Super Sports
Euro Sports
Toon Disney
Disney
BBC Lifestyle
BBC Entertainment
CHANNEL [V] INTERNATIONAL (asia) & much more…
Most of the channels available on ASIASAT 3S (105.5oE) C-BAND

4togenic said...

Hi friends...

kalaignar Tv is scrambled for me... I have 1400/= package. Can you view this channel??

What is the radio channel in DTV line up ??? Still it's scrambled.

alf said...

TO OUR "BANANA BOY"

THE PROBLEM HERE IS,MUHUNTHAN HAD A VISION AND WHEN DIALOG TOOK OVER THEIR INTENTION WAS ONLY TO ROB THE CUSTOMER.NONE OF THESE GUYS AT THE BANANA SHOP KNOWS ABOUT DTV AND NUSHAD IS ONLY A "BLOATER" OR "ALL FART NO SHIT" KIND OF A GUY AND HANS IS NOT REALY INVOLED IN THIS PROJECT.THERE IS NO ONE AT DTV WHO KNOWS ABOUT DTH AND THIS TECHNICAL GUY "BANDARA" IS NOT CAPABLE OF SELECTING THE ENGLISH AUDIO FEED OF NICK AND MANY CHANNELS (ITS FREELY AVAILABLE IN DISH TV),THEY DO NOT KNOW ABOUT PRICING (THE "LORD" MOTTA ANTHONY WAS HANDLING THAT,AND EVEN A WORSE MOTTAYA MIGHT BE DOING IT NOW).

DIALOG IS A "BLOATED" UP BANANA SHOP AND NOT EVEN SUCESSFULL IN MALAYSIA,"BANANA" NUSHAD THE JOKER THINKS HE KNOWS EVERYTHING AND WHICH HE DOESNT,THE MARKETING PEOPLE ARE LEAVING DIALOG WHO PAY 10,000/- AND HAS TO DO 100 CONNECTIONS TO GET COMMISSION TO PEO,AIRTEL WHO PAY OVER 30,000/-

I THINK THE WHOLE PROBLEM LIES WITH PEOPLE LIKE BANANA "NUSHAD" WHO HAVE AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM (THIS BUGGER IS GOOD TO SING SONG WITH HIS JOKER FIL "OLBON PERERA" OF STEAM BOAT NAWALA"

SO A BANANA PEEL LIKE "INDI" WHO IS PLANTED HERE BY "BANANA NUSHAD" IS A REAL JOKER.

JPL 244 said...

@ INDI

Here is a crucial question that you can ask from DTV.

The new decoder has a major problem.

Most electronic equipments can be put on standby to save power. Then we can also remove the power from wall outlet by pulling out the plug or swicting it off from the wall outlet.

When you switch it back either by plunging to the wall outlet or by switching the on from the wall outlet, it should remain in standby.

The new decoder is not doing this. It does not start in standby,when power is restored.

This is a major flow. You put it is standby to save power, then there is a power failure (common in SL), and when you come back, the decoder is running (not in standby). This is specially annoying during nights

I hope you can raise this and come with a acceptable answer. I think this has to be fixed ASAP.

yakuza said...

sorry guys, i don't see this conversation going any where.

yakuza said...

and any of you know launch dates of AIRTEL???

heard that someone saw their prepaid card somewhere in the blog.

දිමුතු said...

@ yakuza

AIRTEL Digital TV already started on 09/10/2008

Channel EYE is telecast FTA on EDUSAT (74E). This broadcast is in DVD quality.
Dialog telecast this with an avarage 1.3 Mbps but EDUSAT is 2.49 Mbps. Dialog is Single channel & EDUSAT is 320 kbps Stereo. Why can't Dialog TV atleast get this feed to their platform as the existing Channel Eye feed is all ghosty looking.

yakuza said...

@dimu

not AIRTEL tv.

AIRTEL mobile in sri lanka

Unknown said...

Does anyone know what happened to the dialog questionnaire competition or the winners?

shit said...

Call MOHAMED on 0777236961 for IPTV connections & inquires

Observer said...

Idni,

Since you repeatadly said Dialog is not ripping customers off how do you explain this ?

There was this 100 rupee package and one fiune day dialog raised its price to 250.

Now thats a 150% increase in the price. How can this be justified ? Did your costs rise 150% overnight ? I think the word "Rip Off" is too good to explain this.

SRI LANKA MUSIC & CRICKET said...

I THING NOW MIENING LESS WE WATCHING DIALOG TV, AFTER FEW MONTH WE CAN GET AIRTEL DTV,,, UP TO THAT TIME WE CAN WATCH MOVIES,,, Now sinhala movie...
ASAI MAMA PIYABANNA,,, SULAGA,,,WESIDALA...SOME MORE..
VISIT www.srilankamusic.magnify.net

FULL MOVIE YOU CAN WATCH CONT..

sattvmania said...

guys it is waste of time trying to get a better deal from dtv. I for one would get max out of dtv and have a another dth to get what dtv doesn't offer. HAVE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Unknown said...

Dialog tv is just a rip off. They will add FTA channels and increase the price.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisura said...



@ Sattvmania

Yeah ! thats the best solution !
I keep DTV and DISH TV both !

I wanted to downgrade my package only to watch cartoon channels. But then I'll have to pay more due to the one of a kind DTV banana policy !

So I stick to what I have and shall not change my "Value" package to see the new channels.

Plenty of business news channels are there on DISH TV. So I don't need bloomberg.

And boomerang is there along with animax and 2 Disney channels ! FTV and Zoom (Dropped by DTV by making lame excuses) are also there !

indi said...

@prasanna

Will look into the decoder. It seems like a hardware issue, though.

@harindu

Made a call to track down the DTV Questionnaire issue, they should get back to me soon.

@observer

Why did the Rs 100 package increase to Rs 250? In short, because prices of everything have been going up and it no longer made business sense at Rs 100. I do apologize for any confusion, but every business from a Tea Kade to petroleum giants has to change prices sometimes.

@podiman

As mentioned, free-to-air is not free-to-broadcast. DTV pays hefty royalties to rebroadcast (commercially) channels like Bloomberg. That discussed further on this post.

Mario said...

@ Prasanna & INDI

I hav LBN & the same issue is there with the LBN decoder. Its made by the same co. TECHNOSAT. Dont know if this has something to do with it.

Lisura said...



Receiver issue of not being on standby after power off and parental control could be corrected by a software upgrade.

Anonymous said...

STC is trying come up with a package similar to UPAHARA for SLT broadband IPTV for state sector!

There will be a DTV price revision after that

In other news, number portability is going to be implemented soon.

Lisura said...

Indi is very clever in selecting the questions which he can answer. Others he just ignore and be silent. Real DTV attitude !

You have a bright future at DTV !

Observer said...

" In short, because prices of everything have been going up and it no longer made business sense at Rs 100. I do apologize for any confusion, but every business from a Tea Kade to petroleum giants has to change prices sometimes."

indi,

you are convieniently ignoring facts here.. I was talking about a 150 % increase here for a bunch of FTA channells. This is not like your tea kade mudalali increases Tea/Banana prices

indi said...

@observer

as mentioned elsewhere, free to air is not free to broadcast. DTV still pays hefty USD royalties for the right to rebroadcast these channels commercially. I'm pretty sure its not making money on the low end packages.

you have to understand that DTV made a business decision to make the entry package 250. Existing Rs 100 package holders weren't affected, but 250 is the new entry package. I'm not sure how to explain it further. That's the price point that makes sense for a sustainable business. channel royalties (even free to air) are in dollars, as is transponder space, etc. Regardless, the company is still offering a package effectively below cost so more people have an entry point.

@all

I try to answer as many questions as I can humanly read and reply to. Being polite doesn't hurt. Some questions are just rude or asked in bad faith and I don't feel obliged to answer them.

In short, DTV is a business situated in an economy and you're not going to get everything you want for cheap or free. I am a human with a life and I can't answer every question.

sanjan said...

@janaka
is it reliable source?

Unknown said...

Hi Guys,
@ Indi,

"you have to understand that DTV made a business decision to make the entry package 250. Existing Rs 100 package holders weren't affected, but 250 is the new entry package."
- you have said that 100 package holders were not affected due to price revision in the 'Entry Package'. Does this mean that they continue to be 'Entry Package', at the same time would receive all channels being allocated to the
'250 New Entry Package', with no increase in rental?

I would value an answer from you in this regard.
Thanks.

Stay cool.
Micheal

sattvmania said...

@Lisura

You are a wise man. i am still with DTV .wasted money on comet so waiting for prices to come down,tata sky,dish tv,big tv,now airtel surely sooner than later.

@indi
what is going on with set plans and why pay a fee for pkg downgrade? you seem to avoid answering important ones.

Looser said...

@indi
Do DTV charge a fee for disconnections

indi said...

@looser

No, DTV does not charge for disconnection. Just need to settle the outstanding. That includes installments on the decoder.

There is a downgrade fee for the premium packages (ie, if you switch from 1949 down).

indi said...

This thread is a bit long, it's making my mobile browser explode. I've continued the subject of the 1400/100 price change issue

here

That includes the downgrade charges as I could verify them over the phone.

poor_creature_hurt said...

@ indi,

Okay, clear. Now you tell us that DTV cannot cut prices (as the competition from Indian DTH operators and IPTV is creeping in).

Then, you are compelled to add value. So I want to know as to what are the areas you are going to add value in.

1. Is DTV planning to bring in any interactive services?

- On demand movies
- Pay per view services
- Interactive games
- Email through TV and other
such add-ons
- Any time shift facility (this
is possible in Satellite TV
as well as IPTV)
- Channles on customer requests

2. What are the future additions to the channel line up?

- BBC Entertainment
- MTV Europe
- Supersports channel lineup
- Movie Magic lineup
- Fashion TV and FTV for men
- Discovery, NGC, History
(European or Asian feeds -
Pls watch discovery channel
these days, it all about
India-their cities, temples
and monkeys- if we need that
we would have gone for a
Indian DTH provider at
cheaper rates)

Please don't misunderstand. We are READY to pay for these additional services. We are not asking these for nothing.

But I would like to know where we can look for improvements (if any).

Lisura said...



@ Deshal

Your suggestions are excellent !
But the package cost would be Rs. 5000/= + VAT

:-)

indi said...

@deshal

Thanks Deshal. It'll take me a while to look into all of those points.

Of the top of my head, the main value addition will probably be quality. The fourth transponder (once deployed) should increase quality for the top-line channels dramatically. That shift is pending until all the relevant subscribers are upgraded to the new decoder.

Per your first set of points, I personally think time-shifting (like TiVo) is very cool, but I don't know if there are any developments there (or a market for it).

There are constant channel negotiations, but I'm not sure exactly what (often until its released). I'll look into those points.

poor_creature_hurt said...

@ indi

Thanks. I await your reply. I understand it takes a bit of a while to dig info.

However, these are few value adding suggestions long overdue on DTV if you seek to add value without cutting your prices.

If you neither cut prices (and increase and consolidate share)nor compete based on value, you are going to loose.

Nokia said...

Now the blog is on the correct track... rather than talking about Indian DTH, Lets talk DTV and Locally authorized products....

We are waiting for your reply Indi.

BTW keep your management informed about our expectations..... :)

We know that your GSM call centre is one of the best cc in teh reigion and we expect the same in DTV CC as well as it's all a crap at the moment :(

indi said...

Tracked down that letter to 1400 subscribers

Posted here: Dialog Blogs.

It's pretty self-explanatory, but can discuss it if youse wants.

Observer said...

Thanks indi for tracking the letter.

If you read the last section of the letter with future retail values of present packages, it is obvious that, it will be the same Value 1400 package that will be re-priced at higher level at a future point in time. ( I hope you will not come up with the childish argument that 2100 is not equal to 1949/- which is the current premium package ).

This is essentially giving the cutomer if you upgrade to 1400, you will be spared from a future price hike. If they did not mean this I can only say this is cheating

JPL 244 said...

I posted this dialog blogs

AS I have mentioned before, when we called the CC they assured that 1400 would remain the premium and all additions will come to that. They further told that if you remain in a lower package and wants to get new channels after September, 2007, you have to go for 2100. Since we take CC response as official DTV positions we assumed that we would remain premium customers if upgraded to 1400 before the deadline. It is logical to assume that the prices would go down as the customer base expands and there was no reason to doubt what CC told me. DTV also indicated that this is true by adding all new channels to 1400 package until Bloomberg came few weeks ago.

Either the CC guy has lied to me or DTV has made a U turn.

and Indi said

Aren’t we moving the goalposts a bit? There were rumours that this letter guaranteed ever-premium status to the 1400, which it doesn’t.

Per your CC interaction, I think there may have just been a misunderstanding.

As I have mentioned before, when we called the CC they assured that 1400 would remain the premium and all additions will come to that. They further told that if you remain in a lower package and wants to get new channels after September, 2007, you have to go for 2100

The part in bold is, I think, the correct information and you may have just misunderstood the first part. It’s pretty clear from the letter that the new premium package was the 2100.

and my reply

It means that you will be revising the cost of the 1400 package to 2100 after 30th of September. Old customers will get the same package at 1400.

This is what you have done for 100 package. Old customers get it at 100 and new people, the same thing at 250.

But you will notice that your recent price revision is totally different to what you have suggested in the letter. This is why I am saying that DTV has done a U turn.

I believe what the CC care told me was the standing of the DTV at that time. I repeatedly asked the question from the guy before I upgraded and he assured me.

I sorry to say that DTV has cheated the customers by playing this dirty trick

Unknown said...

Guys,

Don’t trust INDI, he doesn’t know anything about CBN Packages or DTH Service.

CBN Sat’s primmer Pkg is Rs 1375, After Dialog Take over the company; 14th August 2007 Dialog TV has sent a letter to all subscribers to upgrade their PKG to 1400 (Max) on before 1st September 2007 in order to get the full bouquet channels.

I’m wondering whether INDI is working for Dialog or not?

Correct me, if I’ am wrong.

JPL 244 said...

This letter (for price hike) is similar to the letter sent to us on MPEG4 upgrade recently.

The deadline was mid September for the MPEG 4 upgrade and new channels. Month later, no promised channels, no MPEG4 and still there is no explanation from DTV.

In the meantime DTV has changed our contract, taken a fairly good decoder and given us some defective/cheap decoder.

The same applies for the questionnaire. No winners announced yet!

Any reputed company cannot operate like this. These are more like scams.

Indi, is it still worth defending Dialog?

indi said...

@prasanna

This is essentially giving the cutomer if you upgrade to 1400, you will be spared from a future price hike. If they did not mean this I can only say this is cheating

The document is pretty clear. We got these new channels. Everyone that came from CBN Sat, we added new channels free of charge to your existing package. You can even upgrade your package to get these channels. It's about a very specific set of channels, not an unspecified set of future channels.

Please point out any reference to future channels. This letter simply says we got these channels, you can have them, and our packages are changing. That's it. It's pretty clear.

In the meantime DTV has changed our contract

You're not on a contract.

@kido

CBN Sat’s primmer Pkg is Rs 1375, After Dialog Take over the company; 14th August 2007 Dialog TV has sent a letter to all subscribers to upgrade their PKG to 1400 (Max) on before 1st September 2007 in order to get the full bouquet channels.

I’m wondering whether INDI is working for Dialog or not?


I work for Dialog. That was literally the first thing I said on this forum.

I knew the CBN Sat CEO before and I was in CBN Sat pretty much immediately after we bought it. Good people, a lot of whom left, sadly.

Again, read the letter. It doesn't specify full bouquet for ever, it lists a very specific set of channels.

Lisura said...



@ Indi

You can twist the letter the way you want. But the truth I post again :

THIS IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS "PREMIUM" ISSUE !

In August 2007 DTV sent a letter to all subscribers regarding their packages. In that they have introduced 3 Packages.

Super (500)
Great (900)
Value (1400)

They have persuaded old CBNSat Subscribers to join the new packages before the 30th of September 2007. And these rentals were applicable for the new subscribers also till the said date.

In the same letter DTV have mentioned that after the above date the retail value of the packages will change like this :

Super (550)
Great (900)
Value (2100)

What DTV marketing told people is that once you upgraded your package to one of them above Before 1st September 2008 you'll continue to get the channels added to these packages despite the price change after the date.

If you have noticed the bills during that time you will see the package of us as "Value"

Then after few months DTV introduced a different package structure. It's like this

Lite (100)
Super (500)
Great (1099)
Value (1499)
Value Plus (1949)

And later on they again increased the Lite package rental to 250.

So as of today if you look closely in your bill your package will be as "1400 OLD"

This is where DTV had played the dirty game.

We never subscribed to a "1400 OLD" package. We subscribed to "Value" package. And that is too with the promise of adding all the new channels to it despite the future package changes.

This is the same trick they are going to play now ! So after sometime DTV will introduce another "New" Value package and persuade people to get that to see the new channels.

DTV is trying to blind the subscriber and "RIP THEM OFF" in style !

Lisura said...



@ Indi

Why are you slipping the point like a banana shell. You DTV guys are very good at that !

"YANNE KOHEDA MALLE POL"

indi said...

you'll continue to get the channels added to these packages despite the price change after the date

You do. 1400 customers got 14 channels free. Because you don't get even more you're calling this a rip-off?

You can get more if you pay more. A lot of reasonable people on this forum are OK with that. I apologize for any confusion with the past communication, but isn't this basic point clear?

indi said...

What DTV marketing told people is that once you upgraded your package to one of them above Before 1st September 2008 you'll continue to get the channels added to these packages despite the price change after the date.

Where was this ever stated?

indi said...

perhaps that wasn't clear. You get those 14 channels. It doesn't say anything about future channel additions, and it logically shouldn't. Have those 14 channels been taken away?

Unknown said...

There is hardly any point of talking about this. If you want to stick with Dialog tv stay there. They will rip you off until there is a good DTH competitor in SL. If and when another DTH company comes Dialog will bring the subscription down.
Or try to get an Indian DTH package or other options. Still it will be cheaper if you can invest 12 months Dialog tv subscription at once.

Anonymous said...

perhaps it is good if you remove the following line in the given link.

There are much more to come!

http://www.dialog.lk/en/tv/tariff/tariff.html

It is indeed misleading

Observer said...

It seems there is no point in further talking with these Kalu Kada Madulalis.

I think its better to either disconnect or watch till some competitor comes to the market rather than waisting time here. I have heard that LBN is very good. That is if you are fortunate enough to be in their coverage area.

I very much hope Airtel will start selling their DTH package here in SL soon. If somebody from Airtel is reading the blog , they would realize that there is an ample opportunity for them to provide a good service to a large number of frustrated customers.

poor_creature_hurt said...

@ indi

I still await your reply on the future value additions (features and channels).

If you look at other DTH providers (globally), they keep their customers informed of what is to look for. But you guys don't.

MPEG4 is good. But my point is, DTV is far behind on various fronts and they will have to catch up pretty fast with incoming competition.

I really want to know as to what I can look forward with DTV.

yakuza said...

hi

anybody found "dark knight" dvd rip?

thanks

Unknown said...

Local banana man doesn’t know anything & ru new to Dialog?

Indi:

This forum is ok to us & don’t waste Dialog money in hosting useless thing. We’ll stay here
Better u start ur banana business there…

Guys… pls comment…

TV & Radio Sri Lanka said...

Please continue commenting under the latest post titled "the premium saga and more......"

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