SunDirect DTH services are provided by Sun Network. I got SunDirect installed on June 1st of 2008 and my experience with them has been good so far. The installation guy was very friendly and came promptly at a previously agreed time. He had all the equipment to set up the receiver dish on my roof top and got it erected in no time. He gave a detailed info on the service, Dos and Dont’s etc., Also, we were given information on the technology, customer support info, activation method, recharge options and much more.
Sun Direct uses the latest MPEG-4 based technology to increase broadcast capacity. Where as the other DTH providers in India like TataSky and DishTV are currently using MPEG-2 technology. SunDirect picture and sound clarity is certainly better than the other players in this market.
Now, let me write about the channel options and pricing. SunDirect costed me Rs 1999/- which includes Installation and activation charges as well as 1 year subscription for their Freedom package. In this package you can select any one of the regional languages as your basic pack. This pack comes with approximately about 80+ channels including all major south indian linguistic channels along with few limited Hindi and news channels. SunDirect basic package also includes a good number of radio stations operated by Sun FM and AIR. SunDirect’s pricing is comparitively less. A couple of days back, they have introduced many sub packs for movies, kids entertainment, regional language top ups etc., Thats a good sign for customers. There are few more good things about SunDirect, there is no dependency of using a given smart card on any other Sun DTH STB. This is not the case with other players as on date.
Now coming to the drawbacks, the major miss is wrt sports channels like Star and ESPN, BBC. Not sure when they are going to bring those channels into their packages. I would look forward for individual channels pricing instead of getting them in a package. This option provides user with full freedom of paying for only those channels which they opt to view. SunDirects Customer call centre isn’t that great either. They were struggling to provide information when I called them. May be it needs a bit of improvement as it is the early days of their evolution. Reliance’s BigTV DTH service launch is just round the corner. This will bring in a healthy competition among DTH players in the market and customer would be the beneficiary at the end of the day.
sabu says
hi,
I was getting some channels four days back , now completely blank . i don’t know whom to approch or what to do ???? . did they changed statalite settings ????
Naresh says
Hi, I still get “Nothing to update” even after a reset to factory settings and a auto scan after that. My STB is SN9000IR. Any help in greatly appreciated. Im in India only. The auto-scan runs upto 100% but finds no channel and returns Nothing to Update.
jay says
well during day time some of the channels will be having a problem until this dumb ass don’t fix it once and for all. dear friends if any of your friends planning to go for Sundirect just let them know that sundirect is piece of shit and don’t go for it, it is almost 20 days and still these people cannot fix the problem…means these satellite provider is rubbish.
jay says
well during day time some of the channels will be having a problem until this dumb ass don’t fix it once and for all. dear friends if any of your friends planning to go for Sundirect just let them know that sundirect is piece of shit and don’t go for it, it is almost 20 days and still these people cannot fix the problem…means these satellite provider is rubbish.
Mari says
I am in Qatar..We are getting signal quality very low…Only kalaignar tv, channel V, ESPN(Sometimes struck up).. only getting….
When this problem will be rectify..?
Any re allign the dish to new satellite???… Pls can you tell anybody….
Mari says
I am in Qatar..We are getting signal quality very low…Only kalaignar tv, channel V, ESPN(Sometimes struck up).. only getting….
When this problem will be rectify..?
Any re allign the dish to new satellite???… Pls can you tell anybody….
bijai says
aparna, where are you from?
aparna says
we are not getting a single channel … any idea when will the sun direct services resume???
aparna says
we are not getting a single channel … any idea when will the sun direct services resume???
bijai5707 says
Dear friends, i got all my channels back since last 4 days so how come you guys are not getting? even my friends are getting them…
bijai5707 says
Dear friends, i got all my channels back since last 4 days so how come you guys are not getting? even my friends are getting them…
Air Media says
Signal loss in Gulf: SD has not yet blocked any of their customers, and the signal loss in Gulf area is faced by all users, this is becuase of the satellite issue, hope ISRO will rectify it soon or we need to re align the dish to new satellite once SD officially conform the change of satellite. Until then NRI friends, please wait….
Air Media says
Signal loss in Gulf: SD has not yet blocked any of their customers, and the signal loss in Gulf area is faced by all users, this is becuase of the satellite issue, hope ISRO will rectify it soon or we need to re align the dish to new satellite once SD officially conform the change of satellite. Until then NRI friends, please wait….
Vishnu says
Check this link at TRAI:
Vishnu says
Check this link at TRAI:
Vishnu says
Any idea whether Sun Direct has restored full services? If not, when? I am seeing changes in their add-on packages. How long does people have to wait? Is there any escape route?
jay says
sreedev and rafeeq you are using sun illegally in gulf so the telecast it is been blocked…
Naveen says
Hi Jay nobody has blocked the signal here in the Gulf…. coz there are people who still can watch and tune channels….. they cannot block the signals for a few people….
jay says
sreedev and rafeeq you are using sun illegally in gulf so the telecast it is been blocked…
Naveen says
Hi Jay nobody has blocked the signal here in the Gulf…. coz there are people who still can watch and tune channels….. they cannot block the signals for a few people….
Yasar says
Can i add discovery channel in this time….Anybody do that ?
Yasar says
Can i add discovery channel in this time….Anybody do that ?
Sreedev says
Hi,
I live in Bahrain, and i reset my STB couple of days back , now i am not able to install channels. It shows 58% signal, but when it reaches to 10% of the channel searching it goes back to the main menu, where i can see the factory reset and other options. Any solution to get atleast the currently available channels installed ?
Thanks
Rafeeq says
Hi Sreedev.. we all are facing the same problem. Are you getting signal quality? Here in Dubai I am getting 68~75% signal level but quality is always 0%. We cannot scan for channels without squality quality. Hope it will be fixed soon. My sadness is I installed SD on 6th July and I was very happy with audio and video quality. On the next day I bought LG Full HD LCD TV. On the same day all the problems started. I could not watch my favourite channels in my new tv even for one minute.
Sreedev says
Hi,
I live in Bahrain, and i reset my STB couple of days back , now i am not able to install channels. It shows 58% signal, but when it reaches to 10% of the channel searching it goes back to the main menu, where i can see the factory reset and other options. Any solution to get atleast the currently available channels installed ?
Thanks
Rafeeq says
Hi Sreedev.. we all are facing the same problem. Are you getting signal quality? Here in Dubai I am getting 68~75% signal level but quality is always 0%. We cannot scan for channels without squality quality. Hope it will be fixed soon. My sadness is I installed SD on 6th July and I was very happy with audio and video quality. On the next day I bought LG Full HD LCD TV. On the same day all the problems started. I could not watch my favourite channels in my new tv even for one minute.
Maverick says
Hi
I was told to reset the factory settings, and i did the signal strength went till 37% and Progress till 20% and it returned back to menu. After exiting from menu a message appears as no services available. I cant even go to info channels, we have Insat 4B and are in dubai. Any idea as to how long should we wait till its restored???
R
Mohan says
In dubai the signals aren’t reaching it seems. Look at the comments by fellow readers on this blog. Wait till some official confirmation from Sun DTH.
Maverick says
thanks mohan for your quick response but any info as to by which date will sun DTH provide some confirmation or by which date services would be restored. I did read the comments from similar users at dubai and all are facing the same situation, in my building setting asiasat is doubtful, we have only insat 4b. just wanted to know how long should we wait..
Maverick says
Hi
I was told to reset the factory settings, and i did the signal strength went till 37% and Progress till 20% and it returned back to menu. After exiting from menu a message appears as no services available. I cant even go to info channels, we have Insat 4B and are in dubai. Any idea as to how long should we wait till its restored???
R
Mohan says
In dubai the signals aren’t reaching it seems. Look at the comments by fellow readers on this blog. Wait till some official confirmation from Sun DTH.
Rafeeq says
I don’t have signal qulity here in Dubai. Level reaches 65% but quality is 0% always. My brother in Kerala said he can watch some channels, but nothing for me. Any updates like satellite changing/factory reset?
Vishnu says
Sun Direct is still unable to tell when full services will be restored. This means that you cannot do any add-ons!
Vishnu says
Sun Direct is still unable to tell when full services will be restored. This means that you cannot do any add-ons!
Mohan says
Ok folks.. i got back all the channels 🙂 I had to re-align the dish back to old satellite INSAT 4B. Now I am an expert in setting up the dish too! more details on how to align the dish sometime soon. stay tuned.
Rafeeq says
Let us know how you got all channels back. It is from old Insat4B or a new satellite?
Mohan says
Hi Rafeeq, it is from INSAT 4B. Looks like my dish was not properly aligned before. I fixed that and now the singal quality is always above 85%.
Rafeeq says
Hi Mohan..
I am in Dubai and I installed my SD on 6th July and enjoyed the service for only one day. Last wee I was able to watch some of the channels. Now nothing. Signal level reaches 80% but quality is always 0%. Do you think I have re-align the dish (I have to call a technician and he will charge 75Dhs) or I should wait for some more days till they finalize to go with Insat 4B or shift to Asiasat5? I am using C band metal dish (180cm) with Ku LNB.
Mohan says
Rafeeq, i suggest you wait till they make a final decision. Reliable sources reveal that they are planning to move on to Asiasat 5.
Pradeep Kumar says
hi friend.please send me the info to re-align the dish back to old satellite INSAT 4B.
Mohamed says
if i switch on my coship stb.just the splash screen comes and after that there is no display how i will select info channel.
Mohamed says
if i switch on my coship stb.just the splash screen comes and after that there is no display how i will select info channel.
Vishnu says
I think it is better that you do not change the dish direction. Just go to Info Channel, wait for a few minutes, and then to a channel of your choice. On enquiry, I was told that the Sun Direct technicians will come next week to adjust the dish so that I can receive all channels.
Vishnu says
I think it is better that you do not change the dish direction. Just go to Info Channel, wait for a few minutes, and then to a channel of your choice. On enquiry, I was told that the Sun Direct technicians will come next week to adjust the dish so that I can receive all channels.
Mohamed says
I reset my coship STB now it is not working .when i switched on the STB,sundirecet screen splash comes and nothing come in the screen.what can i do?
Appreciate your suggestion please.
Regards
Mohamed
Mohamed says
I reset my coship STB now it is not working .when i switched on the STB,sundirecet screen splash comes and nothing come in the screen.what can i do?
Appreciate your suggestion please.
Regards
Mohamed
Godwin says
I am able to see only kalaingar TV and TV all other channels are getting stuck? any idea? is there any official announcement to change the dish position ?
Mohan says
Looks like we need to move on to Asiasat5 @ 100.5° East. We may need the guidance of experts to align it properly. But this won’t be fully functional until 19th of this month is what I got to know from the dealer who installed at my place.
Godwin says
I am able to see only kalaingar TV and TV all other channels are getting stuck? any idea? is there any official announcement to change the dish position ?
Mohan says
Looks like we need to move on to Asiasat5 @ 100.5° East. We may need the guidance of experts to align it properly. But this won’t be fully functional until 19th of this month is what I got to know from the dealer who installed at my place.
Vishnu says
What a pathetic situation? No updates on what is happening. Info channel talks as if everything is all right. I am getting channels that are not part of my package, and not getting channels that are part of my package. What a mess and what a headache! Subscribers cannot change the position; the distributor has to come and do it for us, if everything is all right.
Vishnu says
What a pathetic situation? No updates on what is happening. Info channel talks as if everything is all right. I am getting channels that are not part of my package, and not getting channels that are part of my package. What a mess and what a headache! Subscribers cannot change the position; the distributor has to come and do it for us, if everything is all right.
Yasar ily says
How can i get 99% signal quality…Only 75% is coming for me…Can i adjust the dise ?…If anybody knw help me
Yasar ily says
How can i get 99% signal quality…Only 75% is coming for me…Can i adjust the dise ?…If anybody knw help me
ramesh says
no no there is no prblm, nw i get tensports and WB also these channels are not the part of my pack, and also informing you that sundirect starts test runnuing in asiasat at 100.5 E, frequency is 12522 vertical 43200. i get some channels like teja,gemini, sun news, sun music etc
Mohan says
How to change settings to that satellite and frequency? Appreciate your inputs. I am still getting ‘Nothing to update’ message with absolutely no channel even upon a reset to factory defaults!
ramesh says
first you scan ur stb with normal position(insat 4b) and select the channel named TEST 23 or TEST SERVICE or TEST HD or any other TEST named channel. and if use homecast stb (sn 900IR) it is easy to locate new position. press the info button to see how the signal is. then starts to change position . asiasat is standing left side of insat 4b, if you stand the back side of your dish antena you just turn left 40-50cm and adjust the elevation ( just down 5cm). then you can watch the cannels in new satlit
ramesh says
no no there is no prblm, nw i get tensports and WB also these channels are not the part of my pack, and also informing you that sundirect starts test runnuing in asiasat at 100.5 E, frequency is 12522 vertical 43200. i get some channels like teja,gemini, sun news, sun music etc
Mohan says
How to change settings to that satellite and frequency? Appreciate your inputs. I am still getting ‘Nothing to update’ message with absolutely no channel even upon a reset to factory defaults!
ramesh says
first you scan ur stb with normal position(insat 4b) and select the channel named TEST 23 or TEST SERVICE or TEST HD or any other TEST named channel. and if use homecast stb (sn 900IR) it is easy to locate new position. press the info button to see how the signal is. then starts to change position . asiasat is standing left side of insat 4b, if you stand the back side of your dish antena you just turn left 40-50cm and adjust the elevation ( just down 5cm). then you can watch the cannels in new satlit
Yasar ily says
All the channels are came and now u can view 100% of the channels…But one problem is there for me signal quality is only 75% is coming low picture quality and some channels had struck like ETC etc….What for all ?
Yasar ily says
All the channels are came and now u can view 100% of the channels…But one problem is there for me signal quality is only 75% is coming low picture quality and some channels had struck like ETC etc….What for all ?
Godwin says
Yes me too having the same problem ? Do anybody else facing this ? Any solution ?
Godwin says
Yes me too having the same problem ? Do anybody else facing this ? Any solution ?
Mohan says
All the channels are gone completely now! not even information channel #001 Anybody has an update on what is the latest now?
Vishnu says
As I said earlier, this is not going to end soon. Check this link
Vishnu says
As I said earlier, this is not going to end soon. Check this link
Yasar ily says
Pslv c15 successfully launched and all satellites are separated successfully