I have completed the installation of a New Design for my blog. It is called "Minyx" and was created by B-THEMES.
The new design uses a large amount of external graphics. This could cause future problems if this blog gets high traffic, as other blogs may be using this design with the same graphics. The graphics are stored on an Image Hosting service.
There are three columns in the design, unlike many other Blogger templates. This design itself is based on a template made for WordPress, but it has been converted to Blogger-compatible format.
Unfortunately, due to my own ignorance, the Poll Information has been lost. If anyone does have a record of the previous Polls, please inform me.
Many thanks go to B-THEMES for creating this wonderful design.
I've also created a Poll for all visitors inform me of their experience with the new design. If you have any ideas for improvement, please post a comment.
Finally, I hope you like the New Design for the Year 2008. Happy New Year!
Manufactured and Packaged in Sri Lanka with the Finest Sri Lankan Material.
New Design for TechnoGuy's Blog
The New Dialog TV Decoder
Today is Chrsitmas, and I celebrated it with my friends. I also got the opportunity to use the new Decoder built by Technosat (UAE) for Dialog Satellite Television. The New Decoder is a major improvement over the Coship CDVB5110D Decoder originally chosen by CBNsat.
The New Decoder, as I assume, is specifically designed for Dialog TV by the U.A.E.-base company Technosat. I assume so because the Technosat Website does not show or mention the Dialog TV Decoder.
The New Decoder follows in the footsteps of major DTH services such as Sky (UK), Dish TV (India) and DirecTV (USA). The interface is mostly made up of blue colour, and is more simpler than before (debatable).
Physical Aspects
The Decoder is physically shaped like a regular slim DVD player, only less wider. It is silver/gray in colour. It also has the Dialog Satellite TV label pasted on it.
Connections
The connections in the Old Decoder and the New Decoder are the same, except for the Digital Coaxial Output. I've listed out the connections I can remember:
1 x Satellite In
1 x Loop Out
1 x RF In
1 x RF Out
1 x Composite Out
1 x S-Video Out
2 x Audio L+R Out
1 x S/PDIF Optical Out (TOSLINK or Digital Optical Audio Cable)
1 x S/PDIF Coaxial Out (Digital Coaxial Audio Cable)
1 x RS-232 (COM)
The Blue Information Dashboard
The blue dashboard that appears when you change the channel or press the "i" (Info) button displays the usual information. But only the current programme is listed, not the next programme. And also the current time is included in the dashboard, not in a seperate window on top of the screen.
By pressing the "i" button a second time, it is possible to get information on the current Satellite, Signal Quality, etc.
Electronic Programme Guide
The Electronic Programming Guide now has its own full screen window. The current channel is displayed in a small window on the top-left side of the screen. The current time and date are displayed below that. On the right side is the list of channels and the current programme. By selecting a channel with the "OK" button, and then pressing the Red button, it is possible to see its weekly EPG.
By pressing the "OK" button while watching a channel, you can access the usual list of channels. But in the New Decoder this is a full screen window, with the current channel displayed on the top-left side and the list of channels on the right side, similar to the EPG.
Pressing the "i" button when selecting a certain programme on a channel will allow you to view its description. The description can cover many page (the most I saw were 4 pages). This explains why we sometimes see only the last few words of the description on the Old Decoders. When there is no description the Decoder politely displays "No Extended Information", without showing a plain black box.
It is also possible to set a Reminder for a programme on any channel. I could not experiment with this, though.
Snapshots
There is also an attractive feature which allows a user to view snapshots of 9 channels at a time. The name of each channel is displayed on the lower part of each snapshot.
Zoom
The Zoom feature allows you to magnify the current video up to 4x, just as in most of today's DVD players.
Menus
The menu system of the New Decoder consists of colourful graphics to denote each submenu. Unfortunately I did not have time to look around there.
Satellite Chooser
By pressing the "Sat" button you can select the satellite you want to use. Of course, in Dialog TV there is only one satellite: IntelSat 12.
The Logo
And I nearly forgot: almost every full screen page has the Dialog Satellite TV logo on the top together with the Title of the page.
Bugs
The Decoder can sometimes be a bit buggy. I once surfed through the channels and pressed the "Zoom" button, only to get an odd picture on the screen. The pictures was replaced by the normal television video after changing to another channel.
Purchasing the New Decoder
I do not know about any exchange programme for the New Decoders and Old Decoders. If you do want the New Decoder, it may be possible to purchase one for money (although you will still lose the Old Decoder). If you want to keep both the Old and New Decoders then you will have to pay for two connections.
Dialog will probably not open an exchange programme for these this decoder. If you know anything on this subject, please inform me.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I'm impressed with the New Decoder. Dialog designing and manufacturing their own Decoder together with a popular foreign company is a great thing. And the Decoder itself is almost on par with the ordinary Decoders of other DTH services, although not offering DVR capabilities.
But it is not worth exchanging the Decoder unless it is given free-of-charge or for a very low price.
Eventually I believe that Dialog TV will introduce another new Decoder, especially if they upgrade to MPEG-4 compression. And possibly Digital Video Recording capabilities too will be introduced.
As I do not have the New Decoder at home, I may be wrong at some points. Most of this was written by memory. I you do have the New Decoder, please correct me and provide more information.
The End of the Year 2007
It has been a great 2007 after launching this blog in February and actively blogging for 10 months now. Just two months more for the 1st Birthday of TechnoGuy's Blog. Time flies...
This Christmas season I've posted some new information. I've also added new ways to keep up with my blog via RSS/ATOM Feeds, thanks to the popular Feed Burner service. I've only got around 3 subscribers to my feed at the moment, but I hope for some imrpovements in 2008.
So see you next year. For now I wish you a
Let Them Know Its Christmas Time Again
Christmas is here. It is the season for Joy, Peace and Harmony among all. The Christmas spirit is not limited to the Christians. Have you not felt the happiness within and around you in December, even though you may be a Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim. Whoever we are, whatever religion we belong to, this is a season to show Love and Kindness to our neighbour.
Be Together For All
They protect our motherland and are the reason many of us live to celebrate Christmas this year. Just as we smile, joke and spend our time celebrating with our friends and family, the Guardians of Sri Lanka are watching fearlessly and giving their lives to save ours.
We can never repay to them what they have paid for us, but let us do what we can. Donate today to the "Be Together For All (Api Wenuwen Api Wemu)" Fund and help build a house for a soldier and his/her family.
You can donate to the fund by Cheque or even through your Dialog Mobile Phone.
Click Here for information on how to contribute.
Do They Know Its Christmas?
Do you know that many adults and children are dying of hunger in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa today? Do you want to even look at their wrinkled bodies and sad faces during Christmas? They have no food, no water and no clothes. Do not turn away, do not hide it at the back of your head, when you can do something.
The above song was sung by Band Aid 20. The original Band Aid created and sung the song "Do They Know Its Christmas? (Feed the World)" in 1984. The song became an instant hit in the Christmas of 1984, taking the #1 position in the UK Charts. The latest Band Aid was formed in 2004 under the name "Band Aid 20", including the newer pop stars and adding rap features to the song.
All proceeds from the purchase of the song "Do They Know Its Christmas?" go to Ethiopia to save a life. You needn't be a hero to save someone elses life. just purchase and enjoy the music.
Both the 1984 and 2004 editions of the song are now available for sale in Audio CD format, and well as on many online stores such as the iTunes Store.
Speed Test: Sri Lanka
Many users from Sri Lanka have tested their internet connections with Speedtest.net, a free download/upload speed testing service. The service also lists the Continents, Countries, Cities and Internet Service Providers according to the highest download and upload speeds.
Lets have a look at how Sri Lanka rates.
Internet Service Providers - Download
1. MTT Network (Dialog Broadband) - 994 kb/s
2. Sri Lanka Telecom - 432 kb/s
3. Unknown - 413 kb/s
Internet Service Providers - Upload
1. MTT Network (Dialog Broadband) - 309 kb/s
2. Sri Lanka Telecom - 147 kb/s
3. Unknown - 134 kb/s
Cities - Download
1. Kelaniya - 677 kb/s
2. Kotte - 658 kb/s
3. Colombo - 458 kb/s
4. Battaramulla - 458 kb/s
5. Kandy - 413 kb/s
Cities - Upload
1. Kelaniya - 233 kb/s
2. Kotte - 171 kb/s
3. Kandy - 168 kb/s
4. Colombo - 160 kb/s
5. Battaramulla - 148 kb/s
Interesting. Evidently Dialog Broadband takes the first place because they have only high speed connections. SLT lags behind Dialog, and what is the Unknown ISP in Sri Lanka? It comes very close to SLT. I can guarantee that the City-based lists are not very accurate.
As more and more Sri Lankan surfers test their connection speed, the listings are likely to change greatly. So keep checking Speedtest.net for the latest ratings and see if SLT can improve with their Mobitel Broadband.
Speed Test: SLT
Today I came accross a free online service named Speedtest.net which allows internet users to measure the download and upload speeds from the current location to a selected server. The closest server to Sri Lanka was Male in Maldives. The free service helped prove how awful the SLT ADSL service was becoming.
My home connection is SLT ADSL 512k download and 128k upload.
I tested my home connection in two stages: Daytime and Nighttime. Nighttime results are generally better as there is less internet traffic in Sri Lanka in the night.
Home Test: Daytime (1430h-1530h)
Home Test: Nighttime (2030h-2130h)
Webcam Business
I have three Webcams at home:
1. Logitech Quickcam Chat
2. Logitech Quickcam Pro 4000
3. Kodak ...
The Quickcam Chat is my latest webcam, and is not an improvement over the others. My good old Quickcam Pro 4000 stopped showing video after about a year of use. When in operation it shows a black, sometimes flickering screen. Only the microphone worked properly. After research on the internet, I came to the conclusion that the sensor in the Pro 4000 was dead and gone.
So I bought a Quickcam Chat looking for a cheaper deal. Big mistake. The Quickcam Chat's picture quality was light years behind my Quickcam Pro 4000. The picture was even worse than the front camera of my 3G phones.
My Kodak webcam (1999) never works under Windows XP or Vista, so that too is useless to me.
Can anyone suggest a good webcam to buy, which has less chances of dying within the first few years?
Mobitel 3.5G
Mobitel too introduced their Thrid Generation network last week. They announced an improvement over Dialog 3G's services as Mobitel has 3.5G, a newer version.
Mobitel M3 boasts 7.2 Mbps downlink speed and 1.9 Mbps uplink speed, which is a large improvement over the ordinary 3G. However, only 512 Kbps downlink and 128 Kbps uplink is available for mobile users. The higher speeds are available under monthly subscription for home and office users, not for mobile users. The subscription packages range from LKR 400 (512k) to LK 15000 (7.2M).
Free Data Bundles on 3G Home Usage
But unfortunately all the subscription packages have download limits. SLT once more cheats the customers, by calling these limits "Free Data Bundles". Once you pass the limit, you have to pay LKR 10 for every 10 MB downloaded.
I personally believe it is better to get Dialog WiMAX 4M for LKR 14000 and download without limit, than use Mobitel Broadband for LK 15000 and pay even more for "excess" downloading. Its simply not worth for users like me, who download a lot of data every month. I should get around to measuring my downlink usage.
For Mobile Users
M3 is slightly faster than Dialog 3G, and equal to SLT Home ADSL at 512K. Dialog 3G is at 384K, although it has been faster at times. M3 has a session charge of LKR 2 whilst Dialog had removed it some time ago. The prices are equal between the two at LKR 0.02 per kilobyte.
Oh, I almost forgot! There is a "Free Data Bundle" of 200 MB for mobile users too. Customers say that this provides 200 MB of free downloads to all customers. After passing 200 MB the normal data charge will be applied. That's nice of Mobitel. But then why give the same name "Free Data Bundle" for the "download limit" on 3G home usage?
Video Calling
M3 provides Video Calling T LKR 3 per minute and higher to M3 customers, according to the package. It was also said in the M3 launch speech that "this is probably the lowest price you will ever get". LKR 3 is definitely cheaper than Dialog 3G Video Calls (LKR 5 per minute), but whether it will remain so is yet to be seen.
Mobi TV
Now is the the Mobi TV service available in the Americas or Mobitel's own service under the same name. Most likely it is the latter (copyright issues?). This is the competition to Dialog Mobile TV. The picture quality on M3 could be improved because of the slightly faster downlink speed. Other than that, I do not have any information on the channels available.
We are the First in South Asia (NOT)
Mobitel has been proudly proclaiming that they are the first in Asia to provide 3.5G and HSPA (High Speed Data Access) in South Asia. There is a flaw in this advertising. Mobitel is the first to provide 3.5G, but not HSPA. Dialog was actually the first to provide HSPA in South Asia.
This is only a summary of the information that Mobitel has provided, but as with all advertising there are and will be misleading details. Please tell me about your experience with M3 if you have used the service, and about the Mobi TV service. And also some understanding about the "Free Data Bundle" business will be happily accepted.
For the moment I think I will stick on with Dialog because they have not set download limits, etc. And their service has not created much problems for me so far. I do not always trust SLT and their services, especially with the great fake price reducation they issued on landphones (benefits were only for businesses; we paid the same old amount).
Anyway, we must be happy that Dialog and Mobitel are the first to introduce 3G Networks in South Asia. A great milestone for both companies and for Sri Lanka.
UPDATE: Thanks to K FLYER and Tao 365 for further information.
Hands on with Dialog 3G
Dialog Telekom was the first to introduce the Third Generation mobile systems to Sri Lanka. In mid-November this year, Dialog began providing 3G facilities to all Dialog Mobile customers. All customers can now use 3G facilities if they have a compatible 3G Phone.
Soon I received the 3G service on my Nokia N80, and began to wonder if there was a mistake somewhere. When I checked GPRS, it turned out to be very fast. But Video Calling did not work.A few days later, the Press Release on Dialog 3G was made available on Dialog's Corporate website. It explained that 3G was now available to all Dialog GSM and KIT customers. I enabled Video Calling too under the given instructions.
So how was the Dialog 3G experience? For me, it was mostly trouble-free and interesting. However, some of my friends with 3G did say they have problems. But since I have not seen them first-hand, I cannot comment.
3G Internet
Internet on the Dialog 3G network was like heaven after suffering GPRS for over a year now. According to my research, 3G (not 3.5) could reach up to 1.5 mbps. Even though Dialog stated on 384 kbps as the speed on their website, I believe it surpassed that limit at certain timed. One reason for the high speed would be that few people are using 3G services at the moment, although this will change as 3G phone become cheaper.
An interesting fact is that Dialog 3G Internet surpassed the speed of my home SLT ADSL 512k. When downloading a video of about 5 MB, ADSL crawled at a speed of 5 kbps. But when I connected my computer to the Internet via my phone, it downloaded at around 20 kbps. I'm starting to consider moving to Dialog Broadband too (Dialog 2 Mbps is cheaper than SLT 2 Mbps).
Dialog Mobile TV
Dialog Mobile TV was launched a few years ago and has been one of Dialog's unique features so far. It provide CNN, Cartoon Network, and several local channels over the GPRS and 3G networks. On GPRS it would be a waste of money to watch television, as there was hardly anything to be seen or heard. But on 3G this experience changed for the better. Television on 3G loaded fast and worked smoothly without any bumps, and it was much clearer than I would ever imagine. I could actually read the text on the newsbar of CNN (although I do not encourage you to do so; the text is small and you can damage your eyes trying to read it).
Video Calling
Soon I got hold of my old N70 and enabled Video Calling on that too. I took my first ever Video Call from me to myself (later I tried with a friend). The quality of the video transmitted was good, although not crystal clear as shown in the deceiving advertisements.But it was good enough to recognize the face and even the background. And the video was transmitted within approx. two seconds. Audio did not always synchronize with the video.
So far Dialog 3G is quite satisfactory for me. With the recent reduction of prices, 3G has only become more affordable. But with 3.5G now in the market with higher data rates from Mobitel, and Airtel coming withing the next year, it will be interesting to see what happens. Competition will work to the customers advantage, although I will not be switching to another mobile network anytime soon. I encourage you to try out 3G now if you have a compatible phone.
Windows Vista: The 256 Experience
Windows Vista officially supports on 512 MB of RAM or higher. The setup itself stops you from installing without the necessary amount of RAM. But fortunately this can be bypassed using a certain crack.
I am currently working on a friend's laptop, on which he wanted Windows Vista to be installed. But its RAM and Graphics are nothing much to be spoken about. 256 MB of RAM definitely did not appeal to the Windows Vista Setup program, so I cracked the setup. Next time it did work.
Almost everything on the internet warned that using Vista on 256 MB of RAM was very foolish, and would be fruitless. But I used to run Vista with 512 MB of RAM on my own computer some time ago, and it worked very well! So I beleived that Windows Vista could run on 256 MB at a reasonable speed as well.
Setup
First I reformatted the computer and installed Windows XP. Then I copied the Vista setup files to the computer and cracked it to work with 256 MB of RAM.
The setup ran at the speed I was used to. Took about 45 minutes to complete. No problems whatsoever. I was very pleased.
First Startup
The "Welcome" screen appeared and stayed on for about 30 seconds. Next it loaded the desktop. Although the system could now be used, it was loading stuff in the background for about 5 minutes, and everything was slow. After that, everything ran smoothly and without any system errors.
Boosting the Speed
The Speed of Vista greatly depends on the Processor and RAM. The processor, in this case, was a Intel Celeron M with a 1.3 GHz clock speed. The RAM was, of course, only 256 MB. So one way to speed up was to increase the RAM.
I could not waste money on buying new RAM for the laptop. Instead, I used Vista's new and powerful feature named "Windows ReadyBoost".
What does it do? It uses a USB Flash Drive (min. 64 MB of free space) as extra RAM. So I plugged in completely empty 256 MB Flash Drive and enabled ReadyBoost. Voila! The system sped up like I never expected.
Tweaking
Actually, so far I have not done any tweaking to the computer. The current speed of Vista on the laptop is satisfactory. Maybe I will get on to it later.
Gaming
This too I have yet to test. The graphics card itself if not very powerful, but games like Grand Theft Auto used to work earlier on XP. So now I must see how it works on Vista.
I will update this blog post with my future experiences with Windows Vista on my friend's low RAM laptop. For now, I am pleasantly surprised on Vista's performance.
The Fat Green Bar
Have you ever recoded or made a DVD on Windows Vista using the bundled applications (Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker)? Did the final result include a fat green bar covering the bottom half of the video? Were you using Xvid Videos?
Say hello to one big problem with Windows Vista's bundled software! A green bar coveres the bottom half of the screen and squeezes the poor video in to the top half. You get a beautiful squashed video.
This often happens to those who download Xvid encoded videos from the internet and try to burn them to a DVD or just recode them to WMV (Windows Media Video format). I, myself, sacrificed an expensive Dual Layer DVD to Windows DVD Maker when trying to burn a cool film on to DVD. The result was horrible and I beleive no movie ever deserves such treatment (OK, maybe I am wrong).
**Note that Nero 8 Ultra Edition never worked with DivX or Xvid files for me. Anyone with a solution is more than welcome to comment here and educate me. Thanks.
Solution
Download and install the Xvid Codec (Click Here). Then go to All Programs > Xvid > Configure Decoder. In the "Output" section, enable "Compatibility Renderer".
Voila! Your videos will finally get the proper treatment. No more Fat Green Bar. But still I hope Microsoft does something about this.
Digital Video Broadcasting
Here I will mention a few of the DVB standards and describe them briefly:-Digital Video Broadcasting over Terrestrial networks (DVB-T)
DVB-T uses MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 (H.264) for broadcasting. This system is used worldwide for broadcasting free to air channels. It is mostly used by national broadcasters. Around the world, many countries have made it a law to upgrade national television to digital, the deadline being around 2009-2015. After the deadline, all analogue networks will be forced to shut down in these countries. The same also applies to radio networks, but those are not being discussed here.
In the U.K. (where I am now), the government has ordered the public and the broadcasts to "Switchover to Digital" by 2012. In 2012, all analogue networks will be shut down. Therefore the people are moving to services such as Freeview (also DVB-T) and Sky (pay television DVB-S) in order to avoid wasting money on a new television set or separate digital tuner.
Other countries too are making "switchovers" and moving to digital.
In Sri Lanka - Rupavahini Corporation announced a few years ago that they will go digital by 2008. But afterward, plans seemed to be cancelled and nothing seems to be upgraded. But behind the scenes, Dialog Telekom and another group called Sumathi have obtained licenses to broadcast digitally. Sumathi is already quietly broadcasting 4 channels, whilst Dialog is testing their systems with local channels. Dialog will soon launch a pay television service through DVB-T in Colombo and soon in other parts of the country, providing around 40 channels including 6 local channels (the ones already on Dialog Satellite TV). But no sign of national television broadcasters going digital themselves. Same applies for the radio broadcasters.
Digital Video Broadcasting over Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (DVB-MC)
All right, this system is basically Microwave broadcasting using MMDS. But in digital. This system uses the UHF frequencies, and broadcasts in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4. I've mentioned it here because of its presence in Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka - MMDS is used by the pay television operator Comet Cable in analogue form. But the service has been planning and promising to upgrade to DVB-MC for ages now. The latest promise is to upgrade by September 2007. But nobody can really be sure this will happen, as many false promises have been given before. But we should wait and see what happens.
Digital Video Broadcasting over Satellite networks (DVB-S and DVB-S2)
This technology is used for satellite television worldwide. It can be used with MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 encoding (nothing new). The newer version of the standard, DVB-S2, provides more features and facilities to save bandwidth and give more interactivity.
In Sri Lanka - Dialog Satellite Television, TV Lanka and Srilakvahini. These are the main companies which broadcast using DVB-S in Sri Lanka. Dialog TV is possibly planning to upgrade to DVB-S2 soon (not sure though).
Digital Video Broadcasting over Cable networks (DVB-C)
This standard allows for unlimited broadcasting of channel over a cable network. There is simply no limit to the number of channels broadcasted, and the total bandwidth is only the maximum of the cable used. That means the total bandwidth can fit almost two HDTV channels simultaneously on a coxial cable. Imagine the bandwidth and possibilities with a fibre optic network!
The high bandwidth allows for the best picture quality and sound quality possible. And there is little cost in operating a cable network, resulting in a very low price of pay television on cable networks.
In Sri Lanka - The cable television network Lanka Broadband Networks (LBN) uses DVB-C in its digital network. LBN is speedily expanding their channel collection and their only limit is coverage. They are the best pay television network in Sri Lanka because of this.
Digital Video Broadcasting for Handheld devices (DVB-H)
This standard uses almost the same technology as in DVB-T. However, the DVB-H television is suited to be used on battery powered devices with limited processing power and small screens. DVB-H allows for devices such as mobile phones to view television without wasting battery power.
Many countries have already deployed DVB-H networks, and many mobile phones already support the system (including some phones in the Nokia N Series).
In Sri Lanka - Dialog is planning to launch a DVB-H network soon.
Discuss Dialog TV Here
All non-racist, non-fighting, peaceful bloggers are welcome to peacefully discuss Dialog TV affairs here, in comments under this post.
This is only temporary, as the Dialog TV Forum is in a huge mess.
I will not allow any racsism and religious affairs to be discussed here. No fighting. Comments will be moderated.
I hope you all find good place to talk until the problems at Dialog TV Forum are solved.
Thank You.
Dialog TV Unofficial Website - Now Open!
I have just completed the first stage of my new Unofficial Website for Dialog TV. This website provides the information Dialog takes a long time to provide, or never provides at all. Also, it is a much better alternative to the main website if you want to find the correct prices and packages according to the real name of the channel. In the Dialog TV website, TEN Sports is marked as "10 Sports". And... well, just go there and see. I hope they fix it soon.
Returning to the subject of the new website, it is the successor to a failed project named the Dialog TV Wiki. Failed means that there was no one to help maintain the wiki, whereas a wiki should be maintained by community, not one person.
Therefore this website will only be maintained by me. But of course, all are welcome to email me or post a comment in this blog about any mistakes or updates.
So I hope you all consider visitng the site. Note that you should enable ActiveX on Internet Explorer before-hand, or when asked, to access the website properly.
Also note that I have no relation with Dialog TV exept that I am a mobile and pay television customer. The unofficial website is maintained by me, not Dialog. I hope Dialog has no objection to the unofficial website.
Dialog TV wins the Poll!
Dialog TV has won the first poll of this blog.
Here are the details of the poll:-
- Q - Which pay television service do you think is the best in Sri Lanka?
- A - Comet Cable, Dialog TV, Dish TV India (via SATnet or Telecave) and LBN
Here are the final standings of the poll:-
- Dialog TV - 64 Votes - 51%
- LBN - 54 Votes - 43%
- Comet Cable and DishTV Tie
New Domain for TechnoGuy's Blog
I am pleased to announce that this blog is now accessible on its own domain.
http://www.technoguy.tk
I obtained this domain for free from a service named "Dot TK". The will provide free domains under the ".tk" suffix for anyone who signs up, provided the domain they want is available.
Please visit this blog through this domain, as it will ensure that I can keep the domain for myself. Or else the domain might expire if not enough people visit through it.
Thanks to everyone who visits this blog and helps me in my work.
TechnoGuy's Poll
I am introducing a new poll every week on this blog. Just check on the right side bar and the poll should be on the top. Each poll will be open for 6 or 7 days. If your IP address is recorded (works most of the time), then you can change your selection.
This weeks question: Which pay television service do you think is the best in Sri Lanka?
The answers: Comet Cable, Dialog TV, Dish TV India (via SATnet or Telecave) and LBN
Remember that you can always change the answer if you change your mind.
Channels on Lanka Broadband Networks
Lanka Broadband Networks operates a cable based television network providing over 70 channels with the best picture quality in Sri Lanka. There are both analog and digital networks covering certain areas of the Colombo district.
This is a accurate list of channels on LBN. Channels available on both the analog and digital networks are listed. Where I know, I will mention if the channel is available on only analog or digital. Please comment on this post with any new information or with any corrections for this listing.
Paid International Channels
- HBO
- HBO Signature
- HBO HiTS
- HBO Family
- STAR Movies
- CineMAX
- Zee Studio
- ESPN
- STAR Sports
- NEO Sports
- NEO Sports +
- STAR World
- AXN
- National Geographic Channel
- The History Channel
- Discovery Travel and Living
- Discovery Channel
- Animal Planet
- Cartoon Network
- Nickelodeon
- Disney Channel
- Toon Disney
- Channel [V]
- MTV
- Vh1
- Zee Trendz
- CNN
- Bloomberg Television
- NDTV 24x7
- KTV
- Sun TV
- STAR Vijay
- Sun Music
- STAR Gold
- STAR Plus
- Zee TV
- Zee Cinema
- STAR Chinese Channel
- Surya TV
- Dubai One
- Saudi Channel
- Chutti TV
Free International Channels
- Channel NewsAsia
- Al Jazeera International
- GOD TV
- EWTN
- Islam Television
- DD Podhigai
- Jaya TV
- Win TV
- ETV
- TVM
- Pakistan Television
- TV5Monde Asie
- DW-TV
- Arirang
- NHK
- Zee Muzic
- B4U Music
- Dharmavahini
Local Channels
- Rupavahini
- Channel Eye
- ITN
- ARTv
- Swarnavahini
- ETV
- Derana
- Max Television
Total Channels
Paid Int. Channels = 42
Free Int. Channels = 18
Local Channels = 08
Total Channels on LBN
= 42+18+8
= 68 Channels
New Channels on Dialog TV
During the months of June and July 2007, Dialog TV has been introducing new channels to their lineup. A total of 13 channels were to be added (excluding STAR), and 11 have been launched so far. These channels are available on the third transponder.
Updates: HBO Family was added on June 15. NDTV and SRTV were added on June 17. GOD Channel was added on June 19.
Here is the list of the 11 available new channels, according to channel numbers on the decoder:-
CH37 - TEN Sports - WWE, Cricket, Le Tour de France and more
CH38 - Hallmark Channel - Family friendly and other interesting programming
CH39 - SET - Indian Idol and Hindi entertainment
CH40 - HBO HiTS - Seven new HiT movies for each day of the week
CH41 - Australia Network - Entertainment, movies, news and more direct from Australia
CH42 - SET SAB - Hindi entertainment for the younger generations
CH43 - NEO Sports Plus - Sports
CH44 - NEO Sports - Channel dedicated to cricket (mainly Indian cricket)
CH45 - The Buddhist - Sri Lanka's first Buddhist television channel
CH46 - HBO Family - Family friendly movies
CH47 - NDTV 24x7 - Indian English news channel
CH48 - SR TV - Tamil movie channel
CH49 - GOD Channel - Christian religious channel
Here are the channels which are yet to be tested:-
STAR World - American Idol, Oprah and other English entertainment
STAR Movies - English movie channel
STAR Plus - India's No 1 Hindi entertainment channel
STAR Vijay - Popular Tamil entertainment channel
Picture Quality
As in all test transmissions, you can expect low picture quality at the beginning. Normally, correcting this would be one of the main focuses of test transmissions. However, in Dialog's case, with most channels distributed in digital technology, it is not a matter of picture quality. But Dialog has a wide variety of technical problems such as picture freezing. Picture freezing was first seen on the SET channel after DialogTV's launch in February 2007. It then seemed to spread on to other channels. This was possibly the case for the new channels as well. Therefore the main focus of the Dialog TV test transmissions is getting the technical problems solved.
But enough of technical details. Of course, at the beginning the quality of the new channels was plain awful. This made me rather reluctant to boast about Dialog's new channels. This lasted until Monday this week.
The NEO Sports, NEO Sports Plus, SET SAB and CNN channels were removed temporarily on Thursday last week. CNN had picture freezing, but now it seems to have been solved after the reappearance on Monday (July 9). The NEO channels returned on Tuesday (July 10), together with no picture freezing and with much improved picture quality. Then the other channels too were given better compression and thus better picture quality.
Update: SET SAB is back, as of June 12 2007.
During fast movements on TEN Sports and Hallmark Channel, the picture would previously be covered in black and white blocks as a result of very heavy pixelation. It was worse that watching a video on a 56k internet connection. But since Tuesday, the fast movements were very clear and 90% of the pixelation had disappeared. The overall picture qualiy had improved greatly.
Sound Quality
Sound quality has rarely been an issue on Dialog TV (yes, surprising). Even with the new channels there is not much of a problem.
But in some channels only one side of the audio is provided. Stereo sound incudes at least 2 sides (channels). It is not yet clear as to why this is done by Dialog TV.
In case of HBO HiTS, it is a feed coming from Hong Kong. Therefore these is commentary in both English (on one side) and Chinese (on the other side) during advertisements of their programming. Therefore it is suitable to block the Chinese side during advertisements. But this has to be changed during the movie, as otherwise there will be an awful sound quality with only one side of audio.
But yesterday I noticed Chinese and Englich commentary going one after the other. Mybe HBO has stopped the dual language on dual side thing, because then people or services have to block the unwanted commentary. One language at a time is much better.
EPG
The Electronic Programming Guide for seven days was introduced for most channels in Dialog TV throughout this year (2007). The EPG for the new channels are already being introduced.
TEN Sports and Australia Network had EPGs when I checked around 3.30 pm today (July 11). Hallmark Channel surprisingly did not. But probably the EPGs for other channels will appear throughout this week, or month.
Update: EPGs are also available on HBO HiTS and SET, after the evening of June 11. Also the Australia Network, HBO HiTS and many other EPGs of older channels have descriptions of the program.
STAR Channels
Due to technical problems the launch of these channels have been continously delayed. But it is confirmed that they will appear within this month (July) or the next (August). Lets just hope that they do not have heavy pixelation, or the much feared picture freezing when they arrive.
For now, I congratulate Dialog for the introduction of the new channels. I hope they sort out the package structures properly and introduce the right channels to the right packages. At the moment, the package settings are creating a bit of a revolt among Dialog TV customers.
TechnoGuy's New Account
I, TechnoGuy, have officially changed my Google Account.
My new account ID in Blogger is 14060990618786669599 . You can verify my posts and comments by matching this ID with the ID included in the link to my profile. The profile link always appears with my name, in both Blog Posts and Comments.
My new email is technoguy.lk@gmail.com .
My new self is, well, me. It is still the same person behind the computer, who delivers interesting information, ideas and more. Just got a new account.
Also, my old comments go under the name: TG's Blog Owner.
Thanks for making this blog popular. Somewhat popular. I've got over 1000 viewers now!
Thanks a lot, everyone.
CrossOver - Windows Applications directly on your Mac or Linux desktop
CrossOver is a powerful software developed by CodeWeavers, which allows Mac OS X and Linux users to run Windows application directly on their desktop. CrossOver is based on the open-source Wine project, but with a few additions. The additions over Wine include a user-friendly interface and auto-detection of officially supported programs (when you insert its installation disc). CrossOver is also a commercial product. However you can enjoy a 30 day trial of either the Mac version or Linux version for free.
The main difference between CrossOver/Wine and VMware/Parallels Desktop is that CrossOver is not virtualisation software. CrossOver only converts and executes Windows code within the main operating system. VM software like Parallels Desktop (Mac) emulate the entire Windows operating system, and therefore you need to pay for the VM software as well as the operating system. In CrossOver, you just insert, install, run! (Insert the Disc, Install the Windows Software, Use the Software) Of course, software support is very limited, and only a few Windows products are actually confirmed to run properly on CrossOver.
There are two versions of CrossOver for each operating system it runs on: CrossOver Linux and CrossOver Mac.
CrossOver is actually easy to use. If you have proper installation disc of the software (including Pirate CDs too, in most cases), CrossOver will automatically detect the Windows disc. If the software is detected as one in CrossOver's supported software list, CrossOver will ask your permission and then download related files such as fonts. After setting up the CrossOver system to receive the software, the actual Windows software installation will begin. And if the installation is done correctly, links to the new program will be made in the CrossOver software folder.
If the program is unknown to CrossOver you may still continue. But if even a single file required by the Windows software is missing, you will not be able to install or run it properly, if at all. In case of known applications, CrossOver will download all necessary files beforehand. CrossOver can even automate the entire installation process for some known application, including Microsoft Office 2003 and 2000 (sorry, no 2007 yet).
I tested Microsoft Office 2003 Professional on CrossOver Mac. First when I inserted the Office 2003 installation disc, CrossOver opened itself automatically and announced that the Microsoft Office 2003 disc is inserted. I choose to install it. Then CrossOver begins to check if its emaulated Windows directories have the necessary files for the installation. In my case, I had just installed CrossOver. So CrossOver downloaded some important system files as well as a load of Windows fonts (free of charge, of course). Then CrossOver executed the Office 2003 setup program. Things continued to go smoothly. At the end, however, CrossOver only produced a link to Microsoft InfoPath 2003 in its Windows Applications directory. Where were the other programs? I had to make links to them myself.
So what happened to the programs?
Microsoft Access - Opened like a saint, but crashed when I attempted to create a database.
Microsoft Excel - Perfect.
Microsoft InfoPath - Crashed when creating a new form.
Microsoft Outlook - Perfect.
Microsoft PowerPoint - Perfect.
Microsoft Publisher - Perfect.
Microsoft Word - Perfect.
Only Access and InfoPath did not work. But it is likely that other bugs and errors were hidden underneath somewhere. I did not have much time to go through the whole suite.
So my opinion is that CrossOver is a great program. Many of its bugs will soon be fixed and more software will be officially supported. The only problem is that it is not free. But the US$79.99 will not go waste. And also keep in mind that a large amount of the CrossOver funds go to development of the open-source Wine project.
If you want, there is a free alternative to CrossOver, also using the Wine base, named Darwine. But be warned: Darwine is nothing like CrossOver. It is as difficult to use as the original Wine, and does not support even half the programs CrossOver does. However it, like CrossOver, is a promising project.
Now Available: Final Cut Studio 2
Apple Inc. has now released its latest version of the professional film editing software Final Cut Studio. This collection of applications are used all over the world by Hollywood film makers and Corporate video creators alike. The Studio suite includes:
- Final Cut Pro 6 - Create time lines with virtually any video format
- Motion 3 - Add attractive 3D effects to your videos
- Soundtrack Pro 2 - Add music in to time line and professionally synchronise video and sound changes
- Color - Improve the quality of your videos with state-of-the-art colour grading
- Compressor - Save your work in to any video format
- DVD Studio Pro 4 - Master the perfect DVD for your SD or HD projects
This software directly competes with the upcoming Adobe Production Premium suite, which provides equal functionality to Final Cut Sudio. The main downside of Final Cut is that it works only on Apple computers. Not on the Windows-based PCs. Therefore this is one method Apple is using to attract customers to use its own computer systems. However, Adobe's suite of production applications run on Windows. It is yet to be seen if Final Cut Studio will make the cut, or if Adobe will beat them to it.
In Sri Lanka - Final Cut Studio 2 may be available from the authorized Apple dealer in Sri Lanka. But Adobe is likely to win the Sri Lankan market, since hardly anyone has a Mac computer in Sri Lanka. And I doubt that half those idiotic film makers know that such software exists. They can't even make a film properly, let alone special effects, good sound and proper editing. Good luck to Apple, anyway.
Choosing an High Definition Television
HDTV is becoming more and more common around the world, with a few exceptions like Sri Lanka. Unfortunately we are still stuck in the Analog age. But that has not prevented HD Television Sets, Xbox 360s and Blu-ray/HD DVD Players getting in to the country.
Therefore it is suitable that we prepare for the future, which has already arrived in other countries. After all, we can have a much more enjoyable experience with HD on our Xbox 360. And it gets better if you hook up a HD DVD extension drive to the Xbox, and watch some imported HD DVDs. Even watching cricket on a Standard Definition Television will look nice (although not very clear from nearby).
Here are some famous and trusted Television makers, and their local dealers:-
- Sony - Siedles
- LG - Abans
- Samsung - Sinhagiri
- Panasonic - Softlogic
- Singer - Singer Sri Lanka
Now, there are four types of HDTVs currently available in the market:-
- Tube based HDTV (CRT)
- LCD Flat-Panel HDTV
- Plasma HDTV
- Projection HDTV
Tube based HDTV
This is the good old, space taking Cathode Ray Tube Television, like your old one. But it has 4 times more pixels to provide a HD experience. These are currently the cheapest HDTV Sets around today. But due to the space and energy requirement, I do not recommend this.
LCD Flat-Panel HDTV
This is the slim, beautiful television set that may look like your computer monitor. These are more expensive, but the Eco-friendliness, space requirements and beauty will be worth it. They may also be more reliable than CRTs. Recommended for sizes under 50".
Plasma HDTV
These are similar to LCD HDTVs but have better clarity, sharpness and colour quality. But this comes at a price. Plasma screens are best suited for screens over 50", as they become cheaper than LCDs at that level.
Projection HDTV
A Projection HDTV is based on Front Projection or Rear Projection.
Front Projection uses a separate projector to project the image on to the screen. These are not really suitable except when you want an extremely large size, since the image need to be correctly aligned with the screen (sold separately).
A Rear Projection HDTV is fully built into a single case. It can be made of a CRT, LCD or use DLP or SCoS. Click here for more information on these rather complicated systems. The advantage is they have a larger screen size, and become cheaper than Plasma or LCD at over 80". But it is best suited for a theatre room.
Windows Live Messenger for Xbox 360
Microsoft announced on Monday that the well known Windows Live Messenger software will be made available for Instant Messaging on the Xbox 360. Users may IM with up to 6 other users, including PCs and other Smart Devices. The update will be available through the Spring Update 2007, releasing on May 7th.
In Sri Lanka - I've managed to sign up for Xbox Live from Sri Lanka through the Singapore service. Just connected up to my router and sgined up. Could have done better with a USB keyboard though. Users in Sri Lanka can do so and enjoy the same experience other Xbox users are enjoying around the world.
Xbox 360 Elite
Microsoft, on March 28th 2007, announced the new, long awaited Xbox 360 Elite edition. It contains a 120 GB Hard Drive and a HDMI port for full HD functionality, as well as a better cooling system.. But these will later be incorporated to the Xbox Premium system. The main selling point here is the fully Black colour system cover of the 360 Elite. This is unique, as the entire body, not only the faceplate, is black. The system will be available from April 29th onwards in limited numbers, priced at US$479.99. Bit too expensive. Maybe, maybe not. At least the cooling system is useful, because by 360 is going to fry up one of these days.
But unfortunately the new Elite does not have support for some other features that customer awaited, such as Streaming IPTV and a cooler (temperature-wise), cheaper 65nm processor. These features will probably be made available later this year, or even next year.
Yet, the Xbox 360 Elite is still US$20 cheaper than the basic Playstation 3, and $120 cheaper than the premium PS3 at the moment. Therefore I recommend that customers who want an all-round entertainment experience should buy the Xbox 360 instead of the PS3. I say so because Xbox 360 currently has some features yet to be released by Sony for the PS3, and also has some good features coming up soon. Otherwise people can wait for the PS3 price to go down.
In Sri Lanka - Oh, didn't I mention that Xbox 360 Elite will only be available in USA. Thats bad. But on the bright side, shops like Galaxy and Nastars are likely to get hold of two or three systems from somewhere. Of course they will be twice the price in Sri Lanka. I prefer buying from Singapore or Dubai, but in this case there is no choice.
Adobe says: No Vista Compatibility. Wait for new versions.
Adobe recently informed its customers that they will have to wait for new versions of their expensive products for problem-free running on Windows Vista. This is because Adobe is not placing any interest on upgrading their latest professional applications such as Photoshop, Flash (Studio), InDesign, etc. for Vista compatibility. This is a major inconvenience to customers as they have to wait a while for the new versions of these applications to be released. Also, they will have to pay hundreds of dollars to buy the new versions. Adobe is making use of the situation to sell and earn more.
However, free and cheap products like Adobe Reader 8 and Photoshop Elements 5 will receive free updates. Lucky for them.
In Sri Lanka - This will not make a difference to Sri Lankans as majority (around 95%) of customers buy cheap pirate copies. But if Adobe launches an anti-piracy movement in Sri Lanka(not likely), we too will go down with the rest of the world. Lucky Asia, for the moment.
Nokia N95 with GPS: Now Available
Nokia has recently began shipping out their new N95 mobile to Europe and Asia. The phone sports a 5 megapixel camera, DVD-like quality video recording, built-in GPS system and more. It is likely to be Nokia's most advanced phone released so far. And it comes with a US$ 700 price tag to match. Also Nokia's priciest N Series mobile phone.
The N95 also has the ordinary N Series features, such RealPlayer, Bluetooth, Visual Radio, Infrared and WiFi connectivity. But the major attraction in this phone comes from its built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) software. The GPS is able to find your current position anywhere in the world within 20-40 seconds. Over 150 maps are stored in the phone, to be utilised by the GPS and by the Nokia Maps application.
Nokia treats the N95 as the son of computers; what computers have become today. The reason for this is that Nokia has packed in a high resolution camera, complete GPS system, mobile phone, organizer and much more in to 120 grams of plastic. However, it is yet to be seen how this computer will score in the mobile race, especially with a high price compared with other phones. But this phone defintely scores well in Looks, Functionality an Portability, three fields that are taken in to consideration when choosing a phone or a PDA.
In Sri Lanka - It is yet to be seen if the new N95 will have GPS support for Sri Lanka. If it does, wow! We are eagerly waiting for this supernova phone to get to Sri Lanka...
MTV Networks Sri Lanka: Our country's top Cheater and Loser
MTV Networks Sri Lanka, what is said to be the premier TV network in Sri Lanka, is up to their usual tricks of getting publicity and money, as well as having a few major failures. Why Maharaja Organization jumps straight on to the road to failure is still a mystery. Before coming to the latest topics relating MTV Networks, let us look at their history of cheating and failure.
The Satellite Sirasa
Sirasa TV launched its satellite service to the U.K. in December 2002, begining their service by announcing election results of that year's election. Maharaja spent much on advertising on local newspapers and setting up their agreements with Sky (BSkyB U.K.). Finally the service was launched, with Sirasa TV and Shakthi TV broadcasting on Channel 816 of Sky Digital. After 3 months of free trial, Sirasa encrypted its signals and charged 10 sterling pounds to view the channel.
Unfortunately, Sirasa's programming consisted of the same programs being repeated three times a day. No proper market research was done. The entire system ran on a computer, without any professional studio in the U.K. itself.
Soon Sirasa began to suffer financially, and introduced more Tamil programming in a move to survive. It only made the remaining customers sick. Why should a Sinhala channel broadcast more Tamil than Sinhala programming, especially when there were plenty of other better Tamil channels on Sky Digital itself.
Sirasa stopped its service soon and cancelled all plans to extend out further to the world. By their "Sirasa International" project, Maharaja had only lost money and popularity. They never truly reached out to the Sinhala people in the U.K.
The Sinhala Channel which shows mostly Hindi programming
Sirasa is well known for dubbing Hindi programming in Sinhala and broadcasting it on their network. Why? Who knows. Probably to attract viewers. But only the younger generations were attracted. Older generations stayed back with the local tele-dramas, even though boring and all repeating the same storyline, instead of praising India for good entertainment. In case you have not noticed, most of the programming on Sirasa today is Hindi programs dubbed in Sinhala. In the afternoons you see
News First, but Biased too
Who wants biased news. Maharaja thinks that the people want it. Maharaja always puts in a pro-Enemy and anti-Government view whenever possible. This was very common in the past, but reduced significantly after the new president came to power. They expected the current opposition to win, but after the H.E. they were scared to attack him immediately. They are probably hatching up some new plan to fool the people in the next elections. Unfortunately, there still remains a group of people who praise Maharaja's News 1st and its biased reporting.
All the TV stations in Sri Lanka probably provide biased news reports, but Maharaja's are the worst.
Copy Cats and Bad Subtitlists
Whenever Sirasa broadcasts its own Sinhala programming which is not a news bulletin, it is sure to be a copy of an existing cable tv program. They think that they can fool people saying that it is their original Sirasa Nishpadanayak (Production). The people too fall for it.
E.g:- Just for Laughs: Gags on Pogo (cable tv) = Hina Hina on Sirasa TV
Exactly the same style of recording and playing tricks, with the trickster pointing at the camera at the end of each trick.
And also, "Channel One" MTV provides Sinhala subtitles on their English programming. This is a great inconvenience for people learning English, as they automatically read the subtitles rather than learn from the audio feed. The subtitles often tell a different story than what is said on the audio. I've compared the two and found large differences in what is said and what is written. This too is greatly misleading the unsuspecting public, except for those who can understand English well.
Superstars
This is probably Maharaja's greatest cheat in their history, which they got away with. They are even repeating it today for more and more money, in both Sinhala and Tamil.
First, Yes FM Superstar was held in 2004 in an attempt to copy the American Idol show. But the show gained little popularity. Immediately the next year, Maharaja launched a new Musical Reality show named Sirasa Superstar, copying exactly the same style from American Idol. The public were allowed to vote for their favourite singers, but the SMS charge was four times the normal charges. Another money gaining project by Maharaja.
Maharaja also added spicy rumors of murder attempts and controversy to raise reputation of the show, even going above the level of Americal Idol's reality. Finally, Ajith Bandara emerged as champion. I believe he was a good singer, but Sirasa kept him standing and sweating on stage for a good 45 minutes before giving him his price. Then they overloaded him with flowers so that he could hardly walk. His mother was in tears, most likely from seen all the trouble her son went through to end up waiting for a small price and a large shield It is possible that Sirasa rigged the results that he won, because some singers were better than him.
Today, singers like Ajith Bandara are used by Maharaja to earn truckloads of money form the young people who fall for such fake shows. The older generations once more turn a blind eye to it.
Poisoning the Young
MTV Networks are definitely bent more toward attracting the younger generations than showing some good quality, educative programming for everyone. For example, MTV removed Classic FM, a very good radio station with oldies, to launch the new Y FM (Youth FM, as expected). Y FM broadcasts mostly Sinhala rap from modern local artists. Poisoning the young. At least can't they broadcast something useful and valuable to the lives of the younger generation they attract?
Ignoring the Public Opinion
MTV Networks recently launched their Channel One MTV on a new frequency and separated it from Shakthi TV. Now the public in Colombo can watch Shakthi TV clearly but not MTV. That is because MTV's new transmitter is situated far from Colombo. All you could get is a heavily distorted image with no sound. And Maharaja still ignores the viewer's opinions that they should relocated the transmitter to a place within Colombo. They just tell people to buy a new antenna a turn it the opposite direction to which we turn our other tv antennas. What a waste of money. People are now missing their favourite English language shows, and are turning to Pay Television as the answer to their problems.
This problem still remains unsolved. Maharaja tells the people to call them on an hotline for instructions to get a clearer reception, but no one can even see the hotline at the bottom of the screen clearly!
IPTV
The latest step towards international fame and income is to launch an IPTV service. What is available in Sri Lanka for free viewing will be available to watch at a high price on the internet. Meanwhile, channels like Rupavahini can still be viewed for free over the internet. This promises to be another flop for MTV Networks.
Laughing at Pay Television
MTV really did so, many times during various interviews. But this was only a dream for them. Knowing that this dream would not come true, they began to reach out of Sri Lanka and slowly drop the local market.
Final Thoughts
I truly hope that someday soon the people will understand the danger of watching channels by Maharaja. It is real poison for the mind. They are real dogs and cheats, and also supporters of our enemies in many ways. They run for money, not for providing good entertainment.
I have now erased their channels off my television sets, and hope they will never hop aboard our pay television network. It is a shame that LBN has their channels, especially after they laughed at the concept of Pay Television.
Someday soon, MTV's English network will curl up and die with pay television becoming more common. Pay television will provide a complete English entertainment service, opposed to MTV's bits and pieces of English and what-nots. What will happen to the Sinhala and Tamil channels is yet to be seen...
New job vacancies at Dialog TV
- Sales Co-ordinator
- Administrative Executive - Wattala Office
- Billing Executive - Colombo Office
- Recoveries Executive - Colombo Office
- Telecommunicaions Executive
- Technical Officer - IT
- System Design Engineer
- Computer Draftsman (CAD)
- Secretary
- Technician
- Channel Development Co-ordinators
- Technical Officer
Applications should be sent within the next Seven days to:
Head of Human Resources Management and Development, Dialog Career Centre, Level 29, West Tower, World Trade Centre, Echelon Square, Colombo 01.
Email: careers@dialog.lk
Online applications: www.topjobs.lk
Source: Page 28, Sunday Observer - 11th March 2007
Dialog TV provides the full ICC World Cup experience
SET Max - All main cricket matches, warm up matches and special events in the World Cup
SET SAB - Multi-cast of SET Max matches in Hindi commentry
SAT Pix - Certain minor matches
However, the problems on SET Max and SAB were solved yesterday with the reported use of a microwave link from another Dialog centre (thanks to Dialog Broadband). SET still remians to have freezing problems, but does not catch the customers' eyes as it is not frequently watched. Dialog TV customers should have a fun and exciting month coming up with the ICC World Cup lasting till April 28th. Best of luck to all teams participating in the World Cup, and hope we customers will have a good time.
Unfortunately, VH1, the only 100% English Music and Lifestyle channel, was removed from the current Dialog TV channel lineup to give room for SET Max and SET SAB. This is a real blow for Dialog customers as it is one of the most imprtant channels on the platform. We sincerely hope that Dialog will replace some other unimportant channel with VH1 soon.
Meanwhile, LBN and Comet Cable customers are criticising Dialog TV for not sharing their SET Max and SAB feeds with them. However, it should be noted that Dialog would have to pay an enourmous extra fee in order to share the rights with others, and in turn Comet and LBN would have to pay back Dialog.
Lanka Internet shuts down services - Thousands of employees and clients left in the dark
One of Sri Lanka's first ever Internet Service Providers, Lanka Internet, was unexpectedly shut down at the end of February 2007 after filing for bankruptcy twice in the previous year. Lanka internet was one of Sri Lanka's few trusted Web Hosting and Internet Access service providers. The company was established in 1994 by a group of Sri Lankans living in the U.S.A. Afterwards, ownership and management of the company was continuosly changed.
The company soon began having financial troubles. SLT too filed a case against Lanka internet regarding unlicensed providing of IDD services. However, the company survived even after filing for bankruptcy in 2006, until it shut down services without warning. Employees suddenly became unemployed, and thousand of clients lost internet access and hosting facilities. Until today, no one has yet been able to find the management of Lanka Internet who disappeared after stoping services.
See Lankan ISP goes Bust.
PS: This same story could repeat itself in the near future. Most of you can guess what it is. Comet Cable is on the verge of bankruptcy and will soon have to shut down their services, having money or not. There is hardly much hope left for customers. The higher management will disappear leaving customers and employees in the dark.
Microsoft Expression Web
Xbox 360 TV
- Download Television Shows and Movies
- IPTV (Internet Streaming Television)
Download TV Shows and Movies
Xbox Live already provides this service for registered users. Users first purchase Xbox points from Xbox Live. Then they use the points to purchase a TV Show or Movie. Quite similar to iTunes Online Store. The videos may be downloaded in the background while playing a game or doing something else (using the 2006 update).
IPTV
This was first a rumour, but now is confirmed by Microsoft. Microsoft will be offering streaming television through Xbox Live. This service will launch in the 2007 holiday season or later. Channels available will most likely be those which already use Microsoft TV IPTV Edition to distribute their channels. Features of this service will include recording tv shows in the background whilst playing a game, as well as a guide which sorts out channels according to your taste. The price and system requirements (larger HDD, etc.) of this service are yet to be announced. See IPTV on Xbox 360 is for Real.
Unfortunately, Xbox Live is currently not available in Sri Lanka. The closest country with Xbox Live services is Singapore. But knowing that Microsoft is eager to get a piece of the South Asian market, Xbox Live can be expected in Sri Lanka and neighbouring countries quite soon.
Edit: Sorry, wrong information. Xbox Live can be accessed in Sri Lanka thorugh the Singapore service or the service of any other country. ONly thign is that you have to enter false information about you living in the country of the service.
End of Road for Comet Cable?
This topic has been going round for ages, but now we are reaching the climax of the situation. Will Comet Cable (Ruhuna Multivision 2001) manage to solve its current problems? Will Comet ever go Digital? Will Comet subcribers ever know the truth about whats going on?
June 2007 is drawing nearer. Much too fast. Comet Cable subscribers (or at least who are left of them) are anxious to know what will happen. Last year, the TRC sent a letter to Comet Cable requesting to them to switch to a Satellite system or some other technology apart from Microwave broadcasting. This was because Comet's bandwidths are needed for SLT's WiMAX wireless internet system. The TRC threatened to take away Comet's license to broadcast if they would not switch by June 2007. This could have been done if there were not so many problems...
- Internal fights for leadership - these are now over, but have left scars on the face of the company
- Low customer base (and dropping further each day)
- Low finances
- Need to pay royalties to Southern Development Authority
- And therefore, the inability to transfer shares till royalties are payed
- Heavy competition from Dialog TV and LBN, for they all have better channel lineups
- Limited coverage of 50km aroung JAIC tower, Colombo (10km for best reception)
- Interference from other signals and even Microwave Ovens due to low quality "BBQ" grill
- Lasy useless staff in higher positions, and poor helpless customer service having to tell lies and get scolded
- Liers in higher positions of the company, trying to get the maximum out of whats left rather then keep going
How Comet will ever face these problems is a mighty question. Especially when nobody seems to be doing anything about it. The customers are helpless in this case, and this should not be the way of a proper service. Surely if Comet was doing something it would have leaked out by now. But all we get are false alerts from "Harrold" (real name should be Harold) and Scoobie.
At least the real Harold was nice enough to tell TV Radio Sri Lanka that he did not send those false messages. But E-Mails regarding other problems were not replied to.
So therefore, with Comet not revealing anything to its subscribers, we can come to a conclusion that this is the End of the Road for Comet Cable. The higher staff is just waiting to grab the money and escape. They are even asking for more ads on the channels to earn more. Its like a time-limited shopping spree. Get as much as you can before June 2007. Of course, the lower staff suffers and ultimately lose their jobs.
I express my deepest sorrow about this, and confess that throughout its lifetime, it was the pioneer of Sri Lankan Pay Television. It was also, so far, the only Pay TV operation to work non-stop, even though times of trouble, without any disturbances to the main broadcast. I guess they must have got used to it after a while. I hope that the customers go for alternatives LBN and Dialog TV and do not hold on for dear life on a sinking ship. Unless Comet springs up again...
SLT IPTV
SLT IPTV (Television over Internet Protocol) is planned to be launched within another 6 months. SLT is currently awaiting its license to broacast, as well as the stoppage of Comet Cable MMDS services to allow WiMAX services. The service will be avialble through WiMAX (when launched) and ADSL. Pricing of the service is yet unknown. The service is unlikely to be provided free of charge as the pricing of channels will be too high. The IPTV charge and ADSL charges may mix to make an unhealthy mixture.
Hope that SLT will soon give us an idea of the pricing, as current ADSL prices will be too high for the ordinary user, especially with the extra TV charges. Also, customers would need at least a 2 Mbps connection to get TV at a reasonable speed.
Norton 360 Coming Soon
Norton 260, Symantec's latest security software suite, is planned to be released in March this year. The suite will offer a Full Circle of Protection with features such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, back-up, firewall, encryption and much more. The suite will be introduced as an alternative to Microsoft Windows Live OneCare and McAfee Total Protection 2007. Norton 360 will be priced at $79.99, thats Rs. 7,900. Windows OneCare will still be the cheapest at $49.95.
But the options for Sri Lankan will be Norton or McAfee. We will also get to choose whether we buy a pirate copy, download it illegally, or buy the original.
Office 2007 Sales Excellent
The Microsoft Office 2007 suite was released together with Microsoft Windows Vista on January 30th 2007. In Sri Lanka too, there was a special launch event on 15th February. Sales reports indicate that Office 2007 is selling twice the amount Office 2003 sold during the launch week. With almost no advertising before its launch, Office 2007's high sales have surprised both analysts and customers. The average selling price too has risen by 23%, indicating that Microsoft's decision to sell multiple product versions was not a waste.
Apple TV - Is it worth?
The new Apple TV gadget is able to obtain downloaded movies, TV shows, music and other media from iTunes and show it on your TV. It sounds cool, but is it really worth it? Apple TV requires a Widescreen HDTV. Most people who have such a screen use it with their computers at anyrate. Isn't it better if Apple let us leaglly burn iTunes movies to DVD-Videos so we could watch our favourite films with our existing DVD players. Its not worth the price tag.
Anyway, this product is probably not coming to Sri Lanka in the near future. Why can't Apple make something good for us in developing countries. There is a good new market starting here with plenty of opportunity for Apple.
At least, credit goes to Microsoft for catering for our South Asian blooming markets. Once again, Microsoft will win if Apple does not do anything.
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