First these guys say they are upgrading their cable network to digital. Those who want to stick to the plain old coax analog cables are given the raw deal by consistently degrading signal quality of everything else EXCEPT regional (kannada, tamil, telgu) channels. All this to force the consumer to buy a set top box.
This piece of junk costs Rs 500/- but they push it for 650/- (150 is called as installation charge where the same person who collects the monthly bills comes and just puts the box between the TV and coax cable - 1 min job. Remember the good old days s/w consultants used to be paid by the hours they put in..). Well the buck doesnt stop here.
The STB is from Cisco (yes the Cisco we all know). I had mine replaced in the first 3 days as it just wont initialize. Well thats the easy part. The real deal is as you start your shiny new toy and play around with it, you quickly realize that all your fav channels (all non-regional channels NGC, History, Discovery, Zee, Star Plus, Movies ...) have a queer behavior.
The signal is lost every few seconds and the moving picture just halts momentarily. Sometimes the same happens with sound also. Many times, entire channel list is empty - just shows a blank screen. I have been having all these complaints since day-1 and reported them to these jerks every single time. The common reply is - I will fix it! and it never happens. So this time I have decided not to pay until I am sure I get the desired quality and consistently.
Friends, those of you who are being persuaded into getting a STB - beware! Its just not the STB thats the problem, it could also be the equipment sitting at the cable office. Ask for a week or 2 weeks of trial and then decide.