"They... threw themselves into the interests of the rest, but each plowed his or her own furrow. Their thoughts, their little passions and hopes and desires, all ran along separate lines. Family life is like this — animated, but collateral." ~Rose Macaulay
An evening sketched in time, eternal and enduring. I would not say that you never really know how time passes but when you look back at it, you surely wonder if it has been that long. Maybe it’s the pulchritude of those memories that make them last forever. Maybe they are meant, not to be forgotten. Maybe they are made, not to be forgotten. As to me, it is as fresh and as vivid as the previous sentence that I have typed on this word editor. We would all sit around near our television, the big lovely family we were, and wait for the Hindi feature film on Doordarshan to begin. Soon we would be totally absorbed into the drama of it. We would watch Amitabh Bachchan surviving out of all odds and stones life throws at him and come to believe that no matter what happens tomorrow, the day after will be beautiful. There would be moments that would make Maa shed a tear and I would see it just before it has left her tender face and catch it. I would tell her that it’s all drama and that nothing in it is real, much like she used to tell me when I got scared of that evil villain in that soap. She would tell me she isn’t crying because she is sad but because she has learnt a lesson. I would ask her what it was and she would tell me that I would myself learn it one day when I become a parent and watch the film again.
Back in those days, it didn’t matter who has the remote in hand. It would just be used to tune up the volume anyway. All of us would know that Saturdays would begin with Lord Krishna and end with a new Hindi feature film. All of us would know when Chitrahaar played and would tune in just in time to listen to our favourite songs. All of us would know that weekends are special and have to be made the most of.
But things must change. Because if they don’t, you will never form new memories. Sometimes, I wonder how far we have come since those simple, beautiful times. The first one surely came with the cable. It came into our lives with the swift winds of change, transforming everything on its path. Schedules were shuffled and favourites were replaced. Clashes began and the remote came to life. Those were the days when soaps really started to take over everyday conversations, multiple opinions found their way into our minds with the different news channels thrown in and a new sport took over the play hours- Wrestling. Those were the days when television no longer remained a part of entertainment and became a part of our lives.
Then came the hyperband. If you do not know what that is, then you haven’t really missed anything except the experience that comes with it. We have had an old Television, one of those manufactured in the early nineties and as such it did not accommodate the technology of hyperband which came a bit later in India. And so, for a long time, we were bereft of many amazing channels like the Cartoon Network, the English movie channels and premium sport channels. Only the channels that formed part of the standard brand were telecasted on our television until the day Dad finally called the cable guy and got it installed. This was our first shot at a magical gadget that spoilt us for choice. No points for guessing, the horizons were widened especially for me as I gained an ever so abundant supply of entertainment. Soon, Jack Nicholson took a seat with Amitabh Bachchan and Maa’s soap hours started to clash with my sport shows. This was when we knew the crisis had begun.
Spoilt for choice; photo courtesy the ever so giving Tata Sky
Later on, we shifted to a new home in a new city. Here, the choices were further widened but the time at hand contracted. I had access to shows and channels I had always dreamt of watching but as much as I wanted to watch them, there were more important things that took precedence. I would get a shot for some time in the evening to grasp on the day’s quota but much like me, everyone had their own quota’s to fulfill and so most of the times, things ended in a hassle. Big lives indeed are busy lives.
Three years followed the same suit. And then came redemption. I finally had three months to myself at home and luck smiled on me at this. With the city getting digitalized, it was finally decided that we too would be getting the Tata Sky STB installed. And it would go perfectly well with our old, little beautiful television as it would run on the Audio Visual mode, notwithstanding the limitations of our TV set in terms of number of channels and also, the picture quality would be heavily improved. We bought it the first chance we got.
And so I enjoyed three months’ worth of unperturbed television and that too on the oh so awesome STB, courtesy of Tata Sky. The family had an impression somewhere that I would be leaving for higher studies after this to a new place and so they took care not to have those remote fights during the best of my moments with the Television.
Now that I am at a new place and it has been a couple of years at that, I turn back to those wonderful moments with the television and realize that no matter how good an internet connection I may enjoy, some things are irreplaceable. For most of it, I miss the channel surfing and impromptu finding something of my deepest interests on an unexpected channel. Whenever I go home, I try to work on my ‘quotas’ for the months I am at college but it is never enough. Times like these make me lose all hope.
But like before, it seems redemption has finally struck. With the all new Tata Sky ‘Transer’ STB, it looks like I can really get those quotas kick in fast and easy. If you ask me what I can do with this talisman of a gadget, the list would surely get big and wild-
Reliving those lovely evenings with our favourite films on Tata Sky Showcase
First and foremost, there is nothing that beats a good movie for this Cinephile and of late a movie blogger. I could go on watching those classics again and again without fail and applaud each of them every time I do that. Whether it is Epic TV, Manoranjan, ZEE Classic or our good old Doorarshan, the movies and the picture quality that television has to offer still remain unparalleled. Still, when I’m home, I can’t help get everything in. At some times, there are clashes while at other, there are just too many things to do. I used to miss many films earlier but not anymore. With the transfer feature thrown in, I can record all the films I want on this mammoth sized 500 GB HDD on the box. I can sift through the recorded content at a later hour either on the television itself or, and this one is a game changer mind you, on my hand held device anytime, anywhere. How? I just need an Android or Apple ( I can only wish :p) device at my disposal, have the Tata Sky app installed on it and then transfer the content to this device from the STB using the ever so cool Wifi dongle with the STB. What’s more is that there is absolutely no internet data required to browse the recorded content on my device.
If I am staying at home for 5 days, it makes for a good solid collection of Old is Gold songs that I can record on the STB along with the video and then transfer the same on my phone. Now, even if we have to visit a relative’s home in the evenings, there is absolutely no need to worry. I can very well set reminders for some particular show to be recorded. Also, imagining a scene when I am at a relative’s house and he browses to a channel that is playing the favourite of my old classics but I have not set the reminder for it to be recorded, the transfer talisman saves the day once again. I can simply give a command to record it using my smartphone which the STB at home will promptly execute. How cool right?
Like it or not, I have always been a fan of Pro-Wrestling even though it’s scripted or as they sometimes like to call it- ‘fake’. I loved it when I thought it was all real, I loved it when I started finding out the predictability of win-lose scenarios in it and I love it now that I know better. Still, my parents wouldn’t let me watch it when they are sitting near the television and so recording the episodes and watching it alone later is an enormously flexible way for me. Moreover, the television streams some WWE shows earlier than even YouTube does and hence, the transfer box aces the internet without making me use any data whatsoever.
Letting go the selfish streak and thinking about my Maa and Papa here, the box has a little something for them too. After I have sort of owned the television for nearly five days, they can still watch their favourite shows that have streamed on those days, hassle free without any fret and fume. So, family fights over the television remote are owed enough.
Another use of this STB, and this one is a bit explicit and meant for special occasions, is for me to be able to record my favourite cricket matches, complete and flawless, on the box. It doesn’t appear a worthwhile proposition on the first look but just imagine going through that entire match once again to finally see M.S. Dhoni hit that winning six and lift the world cup. The mere thought gives me goosebumps. Sadly, we didn’t have this feature then L . But no problems, there would always be another world cup, right?
Recording the best matches on Transfer STB (Source)
All of this and more is offered to you in HD recording capability with 1080i resolution. The aspect ratio of 16:9 remains intact too. Dolby Digital sound also does its part in making you sign the deal to get this talisman.
The talismani features of the Transfer box
We have come a long way in life and in this blog post (that is if you have read the whole piece J ). We have seen the television evolve from mere Doordarshan to cable to STB and finally to the transferkar STB. All this while, television, like life, has perplexed us. We are getting shorter on time and still higher on life, courtesy of talismani gadgets like these. And still, you never know what revolutionary piece Tata Sky would bring you next. I can’t really guess some specification at this point. All I can guess is that it remains to be seen with anticipating eyes. Isn’t it?
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