We had a very large cable operator strike which lasted for a full 3 months. All the operators joined and there was a complete blackout in our city. We were surviving on Doordarshan. It was not easy to do so as when one becomes used to a particular luxury it is very difficult to go without it. We all had severe withdrawn symptoms.
We also spent a lot more quality time together. In a way it was great. But still the thought of something lost was always there. We used to sigh at times and wonder what will be happening in our favorite shows now. Then we came across Dish TV, a DTH (Direct To Home) solution by Zee people. It is a small dish antennae that we can put on the terrace, and a small set top box which you can put on the TV set.
The whole setup cost me around Rs. 4000 and someone installed it for us. Immediately we started receiving 48 channels. The monthly expenditure was of the range of Rs. 110 pm. We were back on the circuit!!!!!!! They gave us a smart card and told us that it will be activated within a few hours and only then will we be able to watch TV.
Surely it got activated in 4-5 hours and the whole family adjusted themselves in front of the TV in anticipation. The quality of video received was crystal clear and I had never received such quality from any other cable operator. We also had 6 radio channels (Radio Mirchi , Red FM etc all Delhi editions) which we could listen to. Now we did not have to depend upon the operator for our TV. But there were problems too. The channels were either Zee channels or News channels. So, all Star TV and Sony TV channels were gone. We had the option of paying Rs. 100 pm extra and receiving Star Sports and ESPN. So now we are paying Rs. 230 pm and we are receiving all the channels of Zee, Star Sports & ESPN and a number of FTA (free to air) channels like Aaj Tak, NDTV, and DD etc.
There are also four exclusive channels that are available only on Dish TV and nowhere else. These are movie channels and each catering to a niche. One shows new movies, one shows action movies, another shows really old gems, and another shows English ones. (The English one is not so good, otherwise all show decent material) There are some other problems too. If the weather is heavily overcast, the signals are interrupted and there may be outages too.
But the outages last only for a while. What I liked about it was the quality of picture and sound. It was comparable to a DVD. It would have been really nice if it showed all the channels (Star & Sony) and reduced their prices a little. Otherwise, a nice product which was a godsend in the times of distress.