TV, Cable, DVD, HD, Media - Bangalore yet to get there!

There is a reason why I am writing about TV, Media etc. Its been almost 8 months and it took us that long to figure it all out. Well, not all of it, but most of it. We were in denial and took several futile attempts to finally admit that you can only do so much with that you get here.

If you are a total movie freak and like to be glued to your home theater, then prepare yourself well before you R2I. There are lot of little annoyances and a lot of money to be spent to get the basic home video viewing experience to be well established here. I think most of this applies is all of India, could be worse in smaller cities.

For a decent home theater setup in Bangalore - you will need the following.

TV
AV Receiver
Speakers
DVD player
Cable Box

If you are planning to R2I from 110V countries, don't bother to bring a TV. Unless, you can figure out the complications of voltage, system, regions etc etc etc. There are too many factors including customs to take care of. Although the TVs are considerably more expensive in India and you might think of spending the difference in doing the patch work, trust me, Its a lot easier to buy is all here and I will tell you why. If you are into the flat screens - you get LCD and LEDs everywhere. There are more TV stores / dealers that you will need. Everything is Negotiable! So remember to bargain and ask them to throw in deals/DTH/cable etc.

If you are looking for a HD experience with your flat screen, these are the issues with it.

1. No cable or dish provider has HD. There are not HD broadcast channels in India. There are just Nat.Geo provided by SUN HD services and they have a few regional channels. Please note, most of the regional programming is just upscaled. So do not expect high quality HD consistently.

2. HD quality is limited to DVDs and that too only Blueray. Most movies are available in India as they are realeased in Region C or All regions. Make sure your DVD player plays Region C, otherwise, you are in for more frustation. This is another reason to buy your equipment in India. If you buy your own Bluray collection, then its worth investing in teh whole nine yards to get the true HD experience.

3. Upscaling to 1080p is often called as HD quality here. Alhtough they are not the same at all. None of the upscaled videos come any where near HD quality. A lof the DVD players claim to have upscaling. Also, all the upscaling devices do nothing to analog signals from cable. Barely any difference. The regular DVDs look a bit better on the upscaled versions, assuming its an original DVD :-) Which again is uncommon to find at DVD rental stores.

4. If your primary source for movies are local DVD rentals - don't bother to get anything HD or FullHD or 1080p or any of the cool stuff. The local DVD gusy never ever have the real thing. All you get in crappy copies!

5. Online HD media - We are used to watching all US prime time stuff online on the respective websites. None of these work in India! All the online US Channel websites, Netflix online, etc etc are all blocked. Unless you have a super fast web connection (which is not possible) and good enough to go through a proxy or vpn - online HD viewing is impossible. Of course there is bit torrent and illegal downloading etc... but again the bandwidth use, will make you pay much more for your internet bills. There is no unlimited internet plans in the affordable range. So, don't rely on the internet of rich media.

Now for the Receivers, Speakers, etc. You get everything here. Except for the price. Everything is super expensive. A decent receiver with all the basics and HD stuff starts at 30K. Speakers are good to bring - watch out for powered sub woofers. That will post a conversion problem. Receiver brands commonly in India in order of pricing - Yamaha, Denon & Marantz.

DVD players are alright. The basic DVD players are easy to find and cheap. Bluray is expensive - minimum of 13-15K! But again for region issues etc, its best to buy local. Philips, Sony, Samsung etc. Blurray players are again not commonly found. Most stores carry one or 2 models on the floor. Best is to nail down the model, call and order it from a dealer. Getting a PS3 is another option to play your Bluray. Again,. get it locally - region issue.

One thing to keep in mind, you can ofcourse not worry about the region issue - if you are ready to wait long enough to get the all-region Blurays. They take time and some of them never get published in all-regions.

Well, thats my 2 cents on home theatre experience in India. Good luck with your quest to make the most out of your home theatre!

Side note: There is a booming business for home theatre set-up companies. They design, automate and set-up equiment etc. They literally build your home theatre in your apartment or home. Their packages start at 3 lakhs and up. You get a lot of cool stuff, automated/intelligent lighting, customised furniture, etc. You name it! So, if you do not want to figure it all out, there are professionals who do this for a living!