Cheapest DTH Service in India

India is the largest Direct-To-Home market in the world with about 70.26 million active paying subscribers (Courtesy: mint).

While the market is attractive, competitive & healthy with many service providers offering a variety of meaningful options to choose from. The Cheapest DTH Service in India attracts a lot of users.

Maybe we could jump in here and make a small effort to turn the job of selecting among the cheapest DTH services in India, which suits you the best.

How DTH works in India?

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Fourth Amendment) Regulation 2007; the rules require all broadcasters to offer channels on an a la carte basis.

A la carte ( French for ” from the menu ” ) is a pick and pay pricing model for television services. In this customers subscribe & pay to individual television channels.

As noted by TRAI, the total number of pay channels are 330, which includes 232 SD (Standard Definition) channels and 98 HD (High Definition) channels.

The regulation states, “All broadcasters will compulsorily offer all their channels on a la carte basis to DTH operators, that is all channels are available via any service provider with almost the same monthly charges. ”

“Additionally, they may also offer bouquets, but they will not compel any DTH operator to include the entire bouquet in any package being offered by DTH operators to their subscribers”.

This empowers the users to customize a bundle of channels which meets their interest & preferences. With this, you can strip off some of the least viewed channels from your plan & save some extra bucks in return on your monthly bill.

To customize your bundle of channels you may visit the website of the DTH service provider or download your service provider’s app, or download the TRAI channel selector app available from Play Store & Apple Store.

TRAI Channel Selector

As per TRAI’s new regulation for the Television and Broadcasting Sector having come into force, Consumers have the freedom to select Television (TV) Channels they wish to watch.

The App offers the functionality via which consumers can view their DPO’s offerings, fetch the existing subscription details, choose & optimize channel and Bouquet selection, modify the existing selection, and set selection with respective DPOs.

The App will suggest an optimum configuration i.e. combination of Channels/Bouquet based on consumer’s selection so as to reduce the total monthly bill.

In addition, will suggest a combination of Channels/Bouquet based on consumer’s interest keeping in view geographical, regional, language, genres, etc. preferences.

Initially, consumers of the following DPOs shall be able to avail of the services:

• Airtel
• Asianet
• InDigital
• Sun DirectDish TV
• D2H
• Hathway Digital
• DEN NetworkSiti Network
• Tata Sky
• GTPL
• TCCL
• Kerala Vision Digital TV

TRAI Channel Selector for Android ( users having Android version 7.0 onwards shall only be able to download and use Channel Selector App )

TRAI Channel Selector for Apple (compatible on devices having iOS version 9.0 and above )

What do DTH service providers offer?

DTH service providers offer Set-top boxes, antennae & other accessories, installation, channel bundles, and other after-sales customer support services.

To make the selection process among the cheapest DTH services in India a better experience let’s categorize all the products into four segments.

Here are some of the cheap & best DTH service providers in India. Thinking of a low price but you get it for free instead, good enough?

We found just the exact same thing.

Cheapest DTH Services in India

TATA sky

TATA sky is a joint venture among  Tata Sons (60%), The Walt Disney Company India (30%) & Temasek Holdings (10%).

In March 2009, Tata Sky became the first Indian DTH service provider to be awarded the ISO 27001: 2005 accreditation, the benchmark for information security.

In 2012 ET Brand Equity recognised TATA sky as the Best DTH brand & In 2013 ET Brand Equity recognized Tata Sky + HD as the Product of the Year.

When it comes to DTH services in India TATA sky is the market leader having a  32 % of market share & also the introduction of 4K DTH in Inda was by TATA sky back in 2015.

All channels broadcasting in India are available.

TATA sky Set-top ranges:

Tata Sky Binge+ Set Top Box

Tata Sky Binge+ is an Android TV-based Internet-connected Set-Top Box from TATA sky that gives you access to different Apps in addition to regular TV channels.

It comes with Google Assistant, built-in Chromecast, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth support, and Voice remote.

With this, the company also offers six months of free subscription to ten OTT apps. These include Disney+Hotstar Premium, Sony Liv, Zee5, Voot Select, Voot Kids, Eros Now, Sun NXT, Hungama Play, Curiosity Stream and ShemarooMe.

Additionally, customers also get three months of free Amazon Prime membership.

After the initial subscription offer (i.e. free trial of 30 calendar days from the date of activation ) to continue with the OTT apps, OTT bundle subscription will be charged Rs 299/month.

DTH subscription will be mandatory & without it, OTT services can not be availed.

It is not mandatory to spend Rs 299 for the OTT apps. If you have a separate subscription of Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar Premium or any other video streaming services, then the apps will still be accessible on TV.

You will be required to pay an additional Rs 129 per month for Amazon Prime, once the free period is over.

It is not mandatory if you don’t want to pay, as per Tata Sky. This is the original monthly price of Prime Video.

For basic TV channels, you will have to spend Rs 153 per month. This means that customers will need to pay around Rs 581 if they want all the mentioned OTT apps, access to basic TV channels, and Amazon Prime membership.

If you don’t want to pay for some of the popular subscriptions, then you should consider buying those prepaid or postpaid mobile recharge plans that offer Prime, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, and Netflix for free.

This way, you will only have to pay Rs 153 per month for regular TV channels.

Tata Sky Ultra HD 4K Set Top Box

Taking TV viewing to a previously unimaginable level Tata Sky 4K beams content at a resolution of 3840 x 2160, which is 4 times the pixels of full HD.

With the smallest details standing out in crystal clarity, even colors take on a whole new life with the 10-bit true color.*4K content can be viewed only on 4K TV.

The Tata Sky Ultra HD 4K set-top-box will set you back to Rs 6,400, while the +HD Digital box is the most expensive one.

Of course, a 4K set-top-box makes more sense for people who have a UHD TV at home, so that should be considered before getting a new connection.

Though all SD and HD features are more or less included, it misses out on the company’s VoD and Karaoke services.

Also, there is no 500GB hard disk or support for recording shows from mobile, Series Link, and the rewind, forward, and pause features.

Tata Sky+ HD Set Top Box

Tata Sky+ HD set-top box is an expensive and more inclusive variant which includes additional features such as Video on Demand (VoD) as well as the company’s Karaoke service.

Of course, all benefits of Tata Sky SD and HD set-top boxes are included as well, in addition, there is support for 500GB hard disk, and the ability to record one’s favorite shows from mobile or Internet.

Plus, users get access to Tata Sky Web apps and support for pausing, rewinding, or forwarding TV shows and movies. For Tata Sky’s VoD service, the user will need to connect to the Internet.

The Series Link feature allows users to record all episodes of the TV series they like, and skip the repeat telecasts.

Surround Sound and record up to 3 shows or programs simultaneously.

Tata Sky HD Set Top Box

High definition viewing with Dolby Surround Sound

Enjoy cinematic experience with 1080i resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio along with Dolby Digital Surround Sound & all benefits of Tata Sky SD set-top boxes are included as well.

Tata Sky SD Set Top Box

Tata Sky SD Digital set-top box offers content in DVD picture quality. Features included are access to Tata Sky Services such as Cooking, Music, FunLearn as well as parental control, and auto standby.

Tata Sky’s pay-per-view movie service Showcase will also be available for its SD Digital set-top box users.

All TATA sky Set top boxes are covered with free dish & free installation.

Courtesy: TATA sky

Dish TV

Dish TV owned by Essel Group (alternatively referred to as the Zee Group) ( 55% ) &  Videocon Industries (45%).

The first DTH service provider in India was launched by the Zee Group on 2 October 2003. It ranked # 437 and # 5 on the list of media companies in the Fortune India 500 roster of India’s largest corporations in 2011.

Dish TV was also voted India’s most trusted DTH brand according to the Brand Trust Report 2014, a study conducted by Trust Research Advisory.

They now have a market share of 29%.

All channels broadcasting in India are available.

Dish TV Set-top ranges:

DishSMRT Hub

DishSMRT Hub is an Android TV based Internet connected Set-Top Box from Dish TV that gives you access to different Apps and Games in addition to regular TV channels.

It comes with Google Assistant, built-in Chromecast, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth support and Voice remote. 

A minimum subscription plan of DTH would be mandatory and for the add on OTT services you will have to additionally subscribe for OTT apps of your choice.

Except for Netflix many OTT apps can be downloaded from Android TV play store.

DishNXT HD

High definition viewing with Dolby Surround Sound

 Picture Resolution: 1080i

Aspect Ratio: 16:9

DishNXT SD

Enjoy DVD Picture Quality ( Standard Definition ) and CD Quality sound.

Activate the recording feature of your DISHTV Set Top Box to record any program and watch it at a convenient time.

Unlimited Recording: With every Dish TV set-top box , you can plug an external USB device and record up to 2 TB of information at a time.

Standby Recording: Easily record an on-going program even when your television set is switched off.

Event-Based Recording: Simply program your set-top box to record the latest episode of your favorite show when it gets aired on television and watch it later.

Tap here to activate the recording feature of your DISHTV Set Top Box

Courtesy: DishTV

Zing Digital

( A daughter company of Dish TV ) is a Direct to Home (DTH) television operator. It is a subsidiary of Dish TV.

Provide access to regional language channel packs at an affordable cost, The service currently operates in states of Kerala, West Bengal, and Odisha.

For Zing set top box

Courtesy: Zing Digital

d2h

d2h [ owned by Dish TV (55%) Videocon (45%)] is an Indian direct broadcast satellite service provider owned by Dish TV and Videocon.

As of December 31, 2017, d2h has a market share of 19% among the pay DTH operators. Dish TV India and d2h merger has been concluded, which has created the largest DTH service provider in the country with a subscriber base of about 29 million.

d2h Stream

d2h Stream is an Android TV-based Internet-connected Set-Top Box from d2h that gives you access to different Apps and Games in addition to regular TV channels. It comes with Google Assistant, built-in Chromecast, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support and a Voice remote.

Unlimited Recording

This is a feature unique to d2h HD STB, which enables you to record any program if you are busy at that time. You can either record a Live TV program or you can even record a scheduled program.

Digital HD Set Top Box

This variant is a regular set top box with 1080i ( high definition ) resolution & crystal clear surround sound.

Tap here for HD set top box with radio frequency remote.

Digital SD Set Top Box

The SD variant set top box from d2h viewing at 16:9 aspect ratio with clear sound quality.

Tap here to explore d2h HD|SD subscription plans.

Courtesy: d2h

Airtel digital TV

[ Bharti Airtel Limited (80%) Warburg Pincus (20%) ]

Airtel digital TV has a market share of  24%. The set-top box is compatible with 7.1 Channel Dolby digital Plus surround sound and is the first HD set-top box in India to be compliant with the standard.

Airtel announced that its digital TV HD and HD-DVR boxes are software-enabled to view standard definition (SD) content up-scaled to 1080i HD

Airtel Xstream Box

Airtel Xstream Box is an Android TV based Internet connected Set-Top Box from Dish TV that gives you access to different Apps and Games in addition to regular TV channels.

It comes with Google Assistant, built-in Chromecast, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support and a Voice remote.

The offer is available in select cities like Delhi, Noida, Mumbai and Bangalore. Users can also look up Airtel’s website to see if their city falls where the company is giving this offer.

In order to avail the features of the Airtel Xstream Box including accessing OTT apps and online content, you have to keep your Airtel DTH account recharged with a minimal monthly amount. Monthly packs begin as low as Rs 153.

It is not mandatory to spend on the OTT apps. If you have a separate subscription to Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar Premium, or any other video streaming services, then the apps will still be accessible on TV.

Airtel says the Android 4K TV Box offers 550 TV channels and OTT content from the Airtel Xstream app that includes over 10,000 movies and shows aggregated across 7 OTT apps and 5 studios into one. ( Courtesy: HT Tech )

Airtel HD Set Top Box

This set-top box provides HD Premium Video Quality with 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound and features like record, play & pause live TV. In the box there is a universal remote which makes the TV & set-top box accessible with the same remote.

Courtesy: Airtel

Sun Direct

ONE of the low-cost DTH service providers with a market share of 15%. Purchase of their product can be made in 3 modes.

ENTRUSTMENT MODEL: In this model, Sun Direct owns all the rights on equipment and accessories.

OUTRIGHT MODEL:  This model allows the customer to own a DTH connection-Set Top Box and accessories.

RENTAL: This model allows customers to avail a new DTH connection – Set Top Box and accessories on a monthly rental basis. The customer is required to pay a security deposit which is refundable.

DD Free Dish

DD free dish by Prasar Bharti is India’s only free DTH service provider. It is owned by state broadcaster Doordarshan.

DD Free Dish has a reach of more than 38 million households, which is about 15% of the total TV Households in the country.

It requires only a small one-time investment in purchasing a Dish Receive System containing Set-Top-Box and a small-sized Dish Antenna with LNB from the open market at a nominal cost.

There is absolutely no further recurring expenditure in terms of monthly subscriptions or rental charges for viewing DD Free Dish Channels, enabling the DTH experience to reach every home.

Suitable users: If you’re into retro sources of national & local entertainment, a bit of music, or maybe you’re detoxing from binge-watching & focus on other aspects of life but wanna stay updated with meaningful NEWS, then this might fit in with your requirements.

Or if you wanna meet your commercial purposes like TV for the waiting room of your company  DD Free Dish is a one-time investment solution with  106 SDTV + 2 HD & 48 Radio channels.

These are mostly Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in clear (unencrypted) form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription.

List of authorized DD Free Dish Set-Top-Box manufacturers

• BGM Holding company
• K.M.T.S Engineering Pvt. Ltd.
• Millenium Technologies
• Modern Communication and Broadcast System Pvt. Ltd.
• Velankani Electronics Pvt. Ltd.
• BECIL, Exza Infosystem Pvt. Ltd.
• Catvision Limited
  

Check Pricing!

The Creative Advertiser

STB Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Laxmi Remote India Pvt Ltd.

Courtesy:  Prasar Bharati

JIO Fiber

Jio Platforms Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, established in 2019 came out to be a game-changer by delivering channels through Internet Protocol television (IPTV) i.e a broadband connection. 

As of now, it has an 8.4 lakh subscriber base.

Jio Fiber is a comprehensive package that compiles WIFI Router + Set-top-box + landline connection.

The broadband connectivity is delivered through an optic fiber network.

The plans offered by jio starts with as low as 399 per month @ 30Mbps( without an OTT app subscription ), plans with an OTT app subscription start at 999 per month @ 150 Mbps and go all the way up to 8499 per month @ 1 Gbps.

For more details about Jio Fiber plans :

Check More Information!

to know from The Indian Express or Tap here to know from Jio.

Courtesy: The Indian Express

With such a comprehensive service & wide price range the only limiting factor is if a Jio optic fiber network is available at your doorstep.

Courtesy: Jio

Conclusion

While exploring the DTH market of India is a time-consuming challenge; we’re glad to provide simplified yet comprehensive insights on a variety of brands and the kind of product & services they got to offer you.

This should enable you to understand the services & identify the one which fits your requirements.

Regulations from TRAI have further made the market user-friendly & competitive by making it mandatory to provide all the broadcasting channels on an A la carte basis so you can customize a bundle of channels and pay according to your requirements using the TRAI Channel Selector App or go to the website/mobile app of the service provider.

Subscription rates of channels were found similar across all service provider platforms.

Prasar Bharti’s DD free dish broadcasts all the Free To Air channels, this is the bottom line DTH experience level in India, it’s a one-time investment solution if it’s meeting with your requirements.

This does come with its own disadvantages like; other than FTA channels are not available, with just two HD channels your viewing experiment definitely stands compromised.

For a cheap & best SD viewing experience with a possibility of viewing all the channels broadcasting in India, go for any SD set-top box of other than DD free dish. Here all your entertainment needs are met. This is most suitable if your screen size 32 inc or lesser.

With all the content you wanted is here but you still won’t be settled with the viewing experience if you have a medium or big screen TV.

According to The Hindu Business Line, 85% of Indians prefer to buy 32-43 inch TVs, to get the best out of your screen go for an HD set-top box with a subscription of the HD channels. Here you can customize your channel bundle with a mix of HD+SD channels.

This is the most balanced option where you don’t compromise upon any aspect and at the same time, your monthly bills seem worth it because here the performance by price is at its max.

3D enabled HD set-top boxes are also available if you have a 3D enabled TV you might look towards this 3D+HD set-top boxes are not often talked about as lack of 3D content and 3D enabled TVs to stand a limitation.

4K Set top boxes provide the ultimate viewing experience over a DTH. they are expensive and is only worth if you have a screen size of 48 inch or higher.

Don’t have a big screen at home ? Well , still a near to theater like experience can be enjoyed in your home.

Here’s how, most of the digital set top boxes comes with HDMI & VGA ports, so all you got to do is bring home a projector connect it with your set top box and enjoy your favorite movies & TV shows on really large screen.

Do check out the 10 best projectors under 10000 review.

Currently, D2h Life 4K, Star Gold 4K, Star Sports 4K, Sony SIX 4K, Nat Geo 4K are the 5 channels in 4K format. These channels are currently available from Tata Sky with a 4K set-top box.

Putting it straight , there is a lack of significant improvement in terms of over all DTH experience except for the price when it comes to 4K Set top box.

HD set top box with a channel bundle of SD+HD channels stands the most meaningful option to go for.

Jio Platforms Ltd is an Indian technology company and a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited known as a game-changer in the telecom sector has now entered the broadcasting industry with Jio Giga Fiber. They broadcast over Internet Protocol television.

Unlike the DTH which satellite-based Jio delivers channels through an optic fibre network. In this, you live stream channels through a bundle of OTT apps which are put together as JioTV+.

Jio TV+ is a content aggregator that brings Over the top (OTT) platforms, TV channels, various apps, and services together to its Jio set-top-box users.

Courtesy: The Indan Express

This is the most attractive product as of now; Jio brings a package of broadcasting services ( Jio Set-top box ) + broadband services ( Jio WIFI router ) + telecommunication services ( Landline connection ) packed in a single optic fiber wire coming into your home with an attractive & wide price range.

On similar lines, Bharti Airtel has come up with Airtel Xstream Fiber, the most basic plan is, unlimited data at 40 Mbps with streaming app subscriptions, unlimited Local/STD calling priced at Rs 499 per month.

Where as the top line plan goes all the way to1Gbps @ Rs 3999.

Let us know in the comments which one are you planning to go with and why?

Courtesy: Airtel