If you thought the good old set-top box (STB) is only about accessing channels from the satellite via the outdoor dish antenna on your TV, think again. Tata Sky+ Transfer, a new high-definition smart STB, will enable you to watch the latest episode anytime, anywhere.
Apart from streaming live TV, the STB also works as a personal video recorder (PVR)—users can record movies and TV shows from channels—and plays well with your smartphone or tablet. The previous version, Tata Sky+ HD PVR, did not allow you to transfer these recordings to a mobile device.
Mobile takes centerstage
Using the Tata Sky Mobile app (available for Android and iOS, and will soon be available on PCs too), you can transfer these recordings from the STB to the phone or tablet.
We paired the PVR with an old Apple iPad, and the transfer process was smooth. It is a bit time consuming though, because the PVR re-encodes each video to a smaller sized file that would take up less space on a mobile device—30 minutes of content takes up about 200MB space. For high-definition (HD) recordings, the reconversion takes a minute for every minute of content, and around 30 seconds for every minute of standard definition (SD) recording. What we would like to see is better control over what quality of transfer—anyone who has a 64GB smartphone or tablet may not mind a bigger sized recording being transferred, if it indeed takes less time to convert.
Uncomplicated setup
The setup is fairly simple. Tata Sky bundles a Wi-Fi dongle with the Transfer box to connect to the home Wi-Fi network. The smartphone or tablet you wish to pair the box with also needs to be connected to the same Wi-Fi. Once done, download the Tata Sky Mobile app (Google Play Store or Apple App Store) and log in with your subscriber ID. On the home screen of the app is the Transfer menu. Tap that, and the app will detect the STB—you will now be able to see all the recordings currently sitting in the Tata Sky+ Transfer’s hard drive, with clearly laid out options.
While the home Wi-Fi network is used to pair the app with the STB, it does not connect to the Internet at any time during this process. And when you are viewing the transferred content on the phone or tablet on the move, your 3G or 4G data is not used.
Future proof elements
The Transfer PVR is packing some features that were not available in the previous generation PVR.
Firstly, while Tata Sky+ HD required connecting two wires from the dish antenna installed outdoors, Tata Sky+ Transfer needs just one.
Secondly, Tata Sky+ Transfer is capable of recording content from three channels at a time. At present, two recordings can happen simultaneously, but Tata Sky confirms they will enable the third with a future software update.
The wireless remote has a touchpad too. This will come in handy with newer apps and services.
The Transfer is compatible with resolution of 1080p, while Tata Sky+ HD was limited to 1080i—1,920 x 1,080 pixels in both, where “i” stands for interlaced while “p” means progressive. Interlacing is slightly inferior, as it only scans every alternate line of pixels in a video. This allows some fine distortion to creep into the picture. By going to 1080p, we immediately noticed an improvement in terms of clarity and colour—TV, HDMI cable and picture settings kept constant.
Falls short in some areas
Tata Sky+ Transfer has a 500GB hard drive, the same capacity that the previous PVR had. Frankly, we expected at least 1TB space in the new-generation PVR.
Another aspect where we feel the Transfer falls behind is the lack of 4K compatibility. While there are no 4K channels at present, this would have been ideal for future-proofing.
Cost
The Tata Sky+ Transfer PVR will cost Rs.9,300 for new subscribers, Rs.8,900 for existing subscribers and Rs.7,200 for existing users who already own a Tata Sky+ HD and wish to upgrade.
