Dialog TV, Sri Lanka’s leading Pay TV and only DTH service provider has completed adding new channels for the recently activated transponder. A total number of 18 channels have been launched. The much awaited new channel line-up includes the all important STAR bouquet, the Classic favourite HALLMARK CHANNEL, TEN SPORTS the rights holder for WWE programming, HBO Network’s latest additions and AUSTRALIA NETWORK which explores the culture and lifestyle of Down Under.
Newly launched English channels
* STAR WORLD
* STAR MOVIES
* HALLMARK CHANNEL
* HBO HITS
* HBO FAMILY
* AUSTRALIA NETWORK
* TEN SPORTS
* NEO SPORTS PLUS
* NEO SPORTS
* STAR CRICKET
* GOD TV
* NDTV 24/7
STAR Bouquet
The highly anticipated STAR bouquet which includes STAR WORLD and STAR MOVIES was added on 3rd August 2007. The addition of STAR bouquet was welcomed by all subscribers of Dialog TV as they have been waiting for it since the days of CBNSat.
Most of these channels especially STAR, HALLMARK CHANNEL and TEN SPORTS were available in Sri Lanka via other Pay TV platforms such as SatNet and Comet Cable. But if you're accessing the channles for the FIRST time, here's a brief sneak-peek as to what you can expect...
* STAR WORLD
Star World is the premiere English-language TV channel of the Cable network Star TV. The channel is probably the most popular Cable-Entertainment channel in Sri Lanka. It mainly brings U.S and British entertainment programming content to Asia. The channel distributes programs of leading American TV networks such as CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC and CW covering everything from Dramas and Soaps to Sitcoms, Talk shows and Reality shows. The current show-list of Star World includes Ellen, Grey’s Anatomy, Prison Break, Falcon Beach, The O.C., According To Jim, Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, Scrubs, Bones, Law & Order, TNA Wrestling and many more. The channel carries exclusive live coverage of the hit reality show American Idol which has a wide audience in the country. And Star World is the home for many Award shows and Beauty pageants such as Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards and Miss World.
(Website)
* STAR MOVIES
Star Movies is the exclusive Hollywood movie channel of Star TV Network. The channel brings audiences across Asia the biggest blockbusters from Hollywood. The channel has acquired broadcast rights for many film production houses such as 20th Century Fox, Colombia Pictures, Universal, Disney, MGM, DreamWorks, Miramax Films, Canal Plus, Buena Vista and over 100 independent distributors. Star Movies has also been given official rights to broadcast live events such as The Academy Awards. The channel is well-known for airing the latest in movies and productions.
(Website)
* HALLMARK CHANNEL
Hallmark Channel specializes in family Entertainment. It’s a Classical Entertainment channel which mainly airs older TV productions and made-for-television movies along with past episodes and segments of present shows. It brings back a lot of memories from the 90’s with some of TV’s longest running shows such as ER, The Nanny and Walker Texas Ranger. The channel currently airs the day time talk show Oprah Winfrey Show which was previously on Star World. Hallmark Channel which broadcasts in over 100 countries across the globe is owned by Sparrowhawk Media. If you are in the mood for some quality TV, Hallmark Channel is the place.
(Website)
* HBO HITS & HBO FAMILY
HBO Hits and HBO Family are the latest additions of HBO Asia Networks. The channels have partnered with major Hollywood studios and distributors such as Columbia/TriStar, Paramount, Universal, New Line Cinema and Screen Gems. HBO Hits is completely dedicated to Hollywood blockbuster hits. The channel delivers US 100 box-office movies in the year they were released and hits that garnered Oscar/Golden Globe wins or nominations. The channel also features behind-the-scene footages, making of movies, Box-Office countdowns and gossips. HBO Family focuses on more family oriented movies. At late night HBO Family carries a segment called Nightwatch where more advanced content airs. Both channels are commercial free. The movies on HBO are scheduled at different timings. So that if you missed out the premiere of the movie, you can always catch a rerun.
(Website) (Website)
* AUSTRALIA NETWORK
Australia Network (formerly ABC Asia Pacific) is the place for everything Australia. The channel explores the rich cultural diversity of Down Under. On Australia Network you can watch a variety of programs including the latest regional news & current affairs, home-made documentaries, business reports, Australian dramas & soaps, lifestyle programs, sports and children programming. The list of Aussie dramas includes the highly popular Home & Away, medical series All Saints, Stingers and more. The channel also carries live coverage of events from around the region.
(Website)
* TEN SPORTS
Ten Sports is the most popular sports channel in Asia reaching an estimated 48 million homes in the Sub-continent, Middle East, Europe & Asia. As mentioned above, Ten Sports is the only pay network in the territory which holds exclusive rights for WWE events. The WWE content are being aired on a regular basis. Ten Sports also airs popular Magazine shows such as Gillette World Sports and Rally World. Ten Sports distributes hundreds of hours of sports content via satellite multiplex to broadcasters around Asia.
(Website)
* NEO SPORTS PLUS
Neo Sports Plus is a 24-hour Sports oriented Entertainment channel launched by Neo Sports Broadcast Ltd. The channel broadcasts Live Sports events, Magazine shows and Reality shows. Neo Sports Plus carries a variety of sports. It also has some of the best motor sports action in the form of V8 Supercars and Superbike World Championship respectively.
(Website)
* NEO SPORTS
Neo Sports is a channel dedicated to Cricket programming. The channel has exclusive rights to broadcast all cricket matches played by the Indian cricket team and domestic games. The channel showcases various cricket related programming, interviews, analysis and other shows around cricket.
(Website)
* STAR CRICKET
Star Cricket which is a part of the ESPN-STAR sports bouquet is a 24 hour cricket channel targetting the audiences of South-east Asia. The channel is set to carry live cricket coverage from around the world with a showcase segment of feature content on cricket including reality shows, archival programming and magazine shows.
(Website)
* GOD TV
God TV is a religious channel which mainly caters to the rapidly-growing Christian community. GOD TV broadcasts material that inspires you including a range of programmes presented by leading pastors and evangelists. God TV also features worship from Australian Hillsong Church and gospel music sessions. The channel reaches a potential viewing audience of 387 million people in more than 200 nations and territories from its broadcast headquarters in Israel. God TV is operated by The Angel Foundation.
(Website)
* ISLAM CHANNEL
Islam Channel is the first English language Islamic-focused satellite channel available globally. Islam Channel provides innovative and exciting programming that personalizes Islamic themes as well as entertains the Muslim viewers of all ethnic backgrounds.
(Website)
* NDTV 24x7
NDTV 24x7 is the largest English language news channel from India. It mainly airs news and current affairs related to India. Apart from the news bulletins, the channel also produces documentaries and special reports on important news items.
(Website)
Current status
Now Dialog TV currently has over 50 channels. With the recent addition of STAR pack, Dialog TV has an impressive line-up of channels. With the addition of STAR MOVIES, Dialog TV now has a complete Movie package with 7 dedicated channels including the full HBO pack and ZEE STUDIO. And Dialog TV receives the original/Hong Kong feed for all the Movie channels. So you’ll end up watching quality movie content free of commercials!
Future plans
Dialog TV will introduce functions such as Pay Per View and VOD (Video On Demand) sometime soon. HDTV operations are reportedly being tested. A complete EPG is also expected. More channels are likely to come aboard after the activation of Transponder 4. A new package for a higher rental is likely to come out.
Accessing the channels
You must have got access to all the channels by now. The newly launched channels have allocated to different packages. If you have the premium package (1400/=) you should receive all the channels. God TV is only available upon request. If you’re interested in viewing the channel, give the Customer Care a buzz and get it activated.
The subscribers of Dialog TV should be happy about the present channel line-up as they have introduced most of the expected channels especially STAR bouquet and HALLMARK CHANNEL. One of the channels which have been left out was FASHION TV. The channel was on the test mode along with some other channels but disappeared from the line-up after a couple of days. Even the promotional broachers made available by Dialog TV prior to the launch stated that FASHION TV will be introduced. However, it may return along with Transponder 4. It should be mentioned that the channel was previously available on CBNSat.
There is still a lack of Entertainment, Music, Lifestyle and Business channels in the line-up. So they should at least consider adding the channels which are already available in other local platforms. These channels include Channel V International, Dubai One, Fashion TV, Sky News, Bloomberg Television and local channels ETV and Art TV.
EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
EPG is available for selected channels. Press the EPG key on the Remote Control to access the channel bar which displays simple EPG information including the time and program titles. Press INFO key and it will pop out a bigger textbox displaying a full description – Time, Program Title, Genre and Sypnosis. Use the Forward and Backward buttons to navigate through items.
STAR Struck
A commercial named STAR STRUCK which promotes the STAR bouquet on Dialog TV has been released to local media. You can access them here…
Print: http://bayimg.com/BafNiAABG
Radio: http://www.zshare.net/audio/3053789c3f32c6/
Pay Dialog TV bills Online
You can now pay your Dialog TV bills online using your Credit Card at payeasy.lk, a portal powered by Sampath Bank.
Problems and Issues
On the other hand, several issues occur when using Dialog TV. Here’s a lowdown of some of the current issues that you have to deal with.
1. Rain fade – Satellite beam/signal gets lost when raining.
2. Most of the important channels such as HBO and VH1 have been given low band-with which resulted in low quality pictures.
3. The present EPG is inaccurate and contains lot of errors.
4. Low picture quality most of the time comparing to other DTH providers in the territory.
5. Audio and Video comparison on certain channels.
5. Channels go off air without any prior notice / Channels get stuck sometimes.
6. Customer care has not been informed about new developments.
7. Channel activation and package transfers are not being handled on Weekends/Public holidays.
8. The Website doesn’t include proper information / No E-Mail newsletters.
9. An additional decoder (Set Top Box) has been priced at Rs.9000/-
10. The user/subscriber has not been given the opportunity to select channels by genre (Movies, Entertainment, Sports & etc).
I suggest you consider these issues in case you’re thinking of purchasing a Dialog TV connection. Hope the problems will be sorted out soon. And please note that some of the issues such as Rain Fade are common when it comes to Ku-Band Satellite transmissions.
Channel Line-Up
The whole channel line-up has been rearranged from yesterday onwards. The channels have smoothly allocated by Genre making it more easier to access. All the movie channels have been moved to Transponder 1. The new channel order can be viewed here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dialog_TV_channels
Sources
Log onto the following sources for more information on Dialog TV…
Dialog TV Official Website: http://www.dialogtv.com/
Channel line-up & frequencies: http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/dialog.html
Regular updates and scans on Channel band-with: http://www.satcodx3.com/0450/eng/
In the meantime, Comet Cable which is one of the pioneers in the local Pay TV industry has announced digital plans together with 60+ channel expansion. Suddenly, Sri Lankan Pay TV industry looks very promising. It has finally become one of the fastest growing businesses in the island of paradise. As the days progress, more operators both local and foreign are likely to commence operations in the country. That probably means we’ll have more options to choose from!
Last updated: Oct 30, 2007
