Officially proposed channel lineup

Comet Cable has officially released their proposed channel lineup for their digital service on their website (Link: Proposed Channel Line Up). They have also said that they will include value added services along with high speed internet services. Given below are the proposed channels on Comet Cable as per their website.

Movie
HBO
HBO Signature
HBO Hits
HBO Family
Cinemax
Star Movies
Hallmark
Z Studio

Sports
ESPN
Star Sports
Star Cricket
Neo Sports
Neo Sports Plus
Ten Sports

English Language Entertainment
Star World
AXN
Discovery Travel & Living
Australia Network
Z Cafe

Children
Cartoon Network
Nickelodeon
Disney
Toon Disney
Chutti TV

Education
Discovery Channel
Animal Planet
National Geographic Channel
History Channel

Music & Fashion
Channel V
Music TV
VH1
Z Trendz

News
CNN
BBC World
Channel News Asia
Bloomberg
Al Jazeera
NDTV 24X7
NDTV Profit

Religious
God TV
EWTN
Islam

Tamil
Ktv
Sun TV
Star Vijay
Jaya TV
Podhigai
Win TV
Sun Music
SS Music
Raj Digital Plus
Raj TV

Hindi
Star Gold
Star Plus
Z Cinema
Zee TV
Zoom

Other
ETV
Star Chinese
TVM
Pakistan TV
NHK
Surya TV
TV5 Monde
Arirang TV
DW-TV

+ Local Channels

The above list has a few additional channels to the list that was posted by us a few weeks back under the post titled "Probable channel lineup on Comet Digital".

Digital testing to commence today?

According to unconfirmed reports it seems that Comet Cable is commencing Digital testing from today September 19th 2007. The announcement is said to have been scrolled during the Australia vs Pakistan Twenty20 match last night.

We hope that anyone who is able to confirm this information would comment here. At the time of posting this article there is no information on the Comet Cable website regarding this digital testing.

Initial reports did indicate that Comet Digital will be launching by September/October however no official announcement has been made yet.

Will it be this month?

Comet subscribers are eagerly expecting the launch of Comet Digital which was initially rumored for this month. Comet Management has not made any official announcement regarding the launch dates as yet however we are lead to believe that they may be carrying out testing which is probably resulting in some channels being taken off air from Comet Cable.

There may be chances that the launch may be postponed to October but in any case the launch will not be a commercial one initially, since they will first concentrate on converting their existing subscribers to digital.

We hope that Comet management will make an official announcement regarding their digital plans and would officially release the names of the channels that will be on the new platform.

We take this opportunity to request our fellow bloggers to strictly adhere to the rules set out for comments that are listed at the bottom of the right hand column under the title "Commenting Rules". In addition we have also disabled Anonymous commenting which means that anyone who wants to post a comment will require to get a Blogger Account.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Comet Cable as the days progress.

Probable channel lineup on Comet Digital

We have received information on the probable channel lineup of Comet Digital. The soft launch is expected to be held in September/October.

1. HBO
2. HBO Signature
3. HBO Hits
4. HBO Family
5. Cinemax
6. Star movies
7. Hallmark
8. Z Studio
9. ESPN
10. Star Sports
11. Star Cricket
12. Neo Sports
13. Neo Sports Plus
14. Ten Sports
15. Star World
16. AXN
17. Discovery Travel and Living
18. Australia Network
19. Z Cafe
20. National Geographic Channel
21. The History Channel
22. Discovery Channel
23. Animal Planet
24. Cartoon Network
25. Nickelodeon
26. Disney Channel
27. Toon Disney
28. Channel V
29. VH1
30. Chutti TV
31. MTV
32. Z Trendz
33. CNN
34. BBC
35. Channel News Asia
36. Bloomberg TV
37. Al Jazeera
38. NDTV 24x7
39. NDTV Profit
40. GOD TV
41. EWTN
42. An Islamic Religious Channel
43. KTV
44. Sun TV
45. Vijay TV
46. Jaya TV
47. Poodigai
48. WIN TV
49. Sun Music
50. SS Music
51. Raj Digital Plus
52. Raj TV
53. Tamil Box Office
54. Star Gold
55. Star Plus
56. Z Cinema
57. Zee TV
58. Zoom
59. TVM
60. NHK
61. Suriya TV
62. TV5 MONDE
63. Arirang
64. DW-TV
+ Local Channels

There are a few more channels that have to be added onto the list and we will add them as we receive more information. The lineup is a mix of English, Tamil and Hindi Channels. We are not sure of the feeds (Asian/Indian) that will be available but it is likely that it is the same feeds given by the other pay television companies in Sri Lanka which is a mixture of Indian and Asian feeds.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Comet Cable as the days progress.

Comet Digital Officially announced on website

Comet Cable have officially announced the launch of Comet Digital on their website http://www.cometcable.com/ plus some of the things we can expect from "Comet Digital". Rumors indicate that the soft launch of Comet Digital will take place in September. Initially the existing subscribers are expected to be converted onto the digital platform before promoting it to attract new subscribers. According to sources Comet will actively promote Comet Digital to attract new subscribers from December onwards but if all goes well they may do this earlier.

Comet Digital is expected to contain the following features

• 60 Channels.
• Free Digital Decoder
• Same Antenna
• No Change in Subscription
• Razor Sharp Pictures
• Lifelike Surround Sounds

Comet is also planning to include an Electronic Programme Guide as well as increase the number of channels to above 60 as they roll out their digital system. What is interesting is that the present antenna will be retained but the decoder will be changed free of charge for existing subscribers. The subscription will also not be increased at the moment. Certain Comet Subscribers would certainly like to reduce the height of their existing antenna since it is very high, we hope that Comet will take steps to reduce the height of the existing antenna once the digital system is in place. However if line of sight is a must then this may not be possible. Comet should also take steps to increase the coverage of Comet to cover more regions in Sri Lanka.

The launch of Comet Digital will certainly add value and increase competition in the pay television industry which is at present limited to Dialog TV and LBN.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Comet Cable as the days progress.

September is close at hand

So with only a few days to go for the month of September it seems that many subscribers are looking forward to the launch of Comet Digital. At the moment there is no publicity is being carried out regarding the launch of Comet Digital. There is some information that suggests that the digital launch has been delayed but we are unable to confirm this and this time it looks like Comet is on track for the digital launch. However anything is possible since this has not been publicized as yet.

According to information received last it seems that Discovery Channel has gone off air on Comet Cable for the second time this year, but we are not sure whether it has returned and we hope that our readers will be able to shed some light on this.

We hope that Comet will publicize its plans for the digital launch and announce the official launch date soon. Hopefully Discovery Channel went off air due to some upgrading being done in relation to the digital launch and not some petty payment issue.

Please keep us updated on the latest regarding Comet Cable as the days progress.

What can we expect when digital comes

And if it does come and when it comes, then Comet subscribers will get a much better service than they are getting now, which is stating the obvious.

By going through the comments on the blog it seems that subscribers are raising questions about the new digital service.

Will a Dish replace the tall antenna?
Highly unlikely since Comet we believe would opt for DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial) instead of DVB-S (Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite presently used by Dialog TV). We are not sure whether the antenna will need to be at the present height though but since DVB-T also needs line of sight the height may remain the same. You may not have to use the same antenna and they might change it to a new one but if the antenna is kept the change over to digital from analog will be cheaper.

Will their be a limitation in capacity?
Yes, since they are operating on a wireless frequency they will be having limited capacity and will be able to carry only a certain number of channels per frequency but this can be overcome by adding other frequencies to expand. This is not only for Comet the same limitation exists with Dialog TV too since they can only add a limited number of channels per transponder and they also expand by adding new transponders and adding channels to the other frequencies. The operator who has the highest bandwidth at the moment and can expand without adding anything is LBN since they are operating on DVB-C (Digital Video Broadcasting - Cable). We are not sure how the limitations works for digital services over copper cables and we hope that someone can enlighten us on this.

What are the new features?
Electronic programme guides, Internet Access, Movie on Demand, Pay per view and a whole host of others. These are the general features but it depends on what Comet decides to implement and what not to not to implement but according to a website they had earlier for Comet Digital some of these services were listed.

Will there be rain fade?
Not sure but it is highly unlikely

The above is from the information that we gathered from external sources and it was not supplied by Comet Cable. We are not technicians and not experts in DVB-S, DVB-C, DVB-T and if there are any factual errors please highlight them to us.

Comet Digital according to the rumors is expected to launch in September 2007 and we would like our fellow bloggers to keep us updated on the latest on Comet as the days progress.

Star Cricket introduced

Comet Cable became the second pay television operator behind LBN to introduce Star Cricket on their platform according to unconfirmed sources. The introduction was carried out during the weekend at the expense of removing VH1/MTV. We believe that the channel that was replaced will return to Comet once they launch digital operations.

Star Cricket which is part of the ESPN Star Sports package is a dedicated 24 hour cricket channel which has the rights for some of the major ICC cricket tournaments over the next 11 years. The addition of Star Cricket is welcomed by many Comet Cable subscribers.

We are receiving conflicting reports regarding Comet Digital and we hope that the management of Comet Cable will make an official statement regarding the launch of Comet Digital. We hope that the Comet Digital campaign is not being carried out in order to retain subscribers from switching over to LBN or Dialog TV since they have an impressive lineup of channels and Dialog TV have launched the Star Package and are expected to launch Star Cricket within the next few days.

Please keep us updated on the latest developments regarding Comet Cable as the days progress.

More on Comet Digital Plans

Rumors indicate that Comet will be launching Digital Services by September 2007. Comet is not giving any information regarding the new channels or subscription rates and connection rates but it seems that after several years of being delayed Comet Digital will be a reality soon. We also received a scanned copy of the Comet Newsletter and we are publishing it below for your reference. We hope that will also not get stretched like any of the previous announcements. If this becomes a reality, there will be three companies (Dialog TV, LBN and Comet Digital) vying for the spot of leading cable television operator in Sri Lanka and soon they will be joined by SLT IPTV. All this will mean that the subscriber will reap the benefits from the competitive offers.

Comet unveils digital plans?

According to unconfirmed sources it has come to our notice that Comet Cable has revealed their digital plans along with their August schedule. We are however unable to confirm this and we request any Comet Subscriber to scan the information and email it to tvradiosrilanka@yahoo.com as soon as possible.

If this is true then it is great news for Comet subscribers and also for subscribers of other operators since increased competition would mean a better deal for the subscriber.

Discovery Channel, Animal Planet return

Discovery Channel and Animal Planet have returned to Comet Cable according to unconfirmed sources. We believe that this was a payment problem and it seems that they have sorted it out. We hope that this does not happen again and all the renegotiation and payment are made before the contract expires. We are unable to confirm who the new owners of Comet Cable are. As soon as we have the information we will update this blog with it.

Comet is facing some severe competition from the likes of LBN and Dialog TV and soon competition will come from SLT IPTV. Comet should upgrade their broadcasting technology and provide their subscribers with a better choice.

Discovery Channel, Animal Planet now off air

It seems that Discovery Channel and Animal Planet are now off air on Comet Cable. According to reports received it seems that Customer Service is saying that they are in process of negotiating with Discovery Communications and the problem will be solved in about two days.

We hope that Comet stream lines their renegotiating process so that the channels are not taken off air during the negotiations. It looks like Comet has not paid their dues to Discovery either which is why the channels have been taken off air otherwise there is no need to take the channels off air to negotiate. We hope this is solved soon.

Please update us on this latest development on Comet Cable.

Star Package Back? Reason for disconnection - non payment

Unconfirmed reports say that the Star Package has returned to Comet Cable from last night. We hope that some of our bloggers will be able to confirm this to us.

Anyway the reason Comet Cable lost the Star Package is confirmed as non-payment of dues. According to information obtained from a source who wanted to remain anonymous, we are able to confirm this. The emails forwarded to us by this source out of which we have copied one below without revealing the names and email addresses, gives us the whole story. According to the email received last afternoon the discussions are continuing but it seems that things have worked out by last night. This is indeed great relief to the subscribers of Comet Cable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: XXXXXXX (STAR India) < XXXXXXX@in.startv.com>

Date: 05-Jul-2007 14:54
Subject: RE: FW: STAR distribution
To: XXXX <XXXX@gmail.com>

Dear Mr. XXXX,

We are close to finalizing the deal with Dialog TV and STAR services would be on shortly.

With regard to Comet Cable, we have deactivated our services to them on account of large outstanding and non-payment of our dues. We are in discussion with them and hopefully the same would be resolved shortly.

Regards,
XXXXXXX

Comet Cable please clarify

It is being several weeks since Star Plus, Star World and Star Movies was taken off air from Comet Cable. Assurances were made that the channels will return on June 2nd but as of now nothing has happened.

Several subscribers may not pay their subscription this month and many are contemplating a move to either LBN or Dialog TV. The Star Package and Ten Sports is what kept many existing subscribers from making the move, but Dialog TV have already acquired Ten Sports and will be introducing the Star Package during the course of this month or next. LBN too have the Star Package but no Ten Sports and it is not that Comet Subscribers have no choice. So if Comet does not reintroduce the channels then we may see the end of this company.

OR has the end already begun with the disappearance of Star Movies, Star Plus and Star World. We hope that Comet Cable Management will take immediate steps to rectify the situation.

First Star Movies, Star Plus and now Star World off air

Comet Cable the pioneer pay television company in Sri Lanka which is now in the hands of new owners who have not being identified as yet, has lost Star World on their lineup.

Initially a few days ago, Star Plus, Star Movies and Star World were taken off air and reports suggest that they were disconnected due to non payment. However on the same day Star World returned and rumors were that this channel was being telecast illegally via a Tata SKY connection that is owned by Comet Cable. However on Wednesday June 27th 2007 Star World was also taken off air and has not returned as yet. Many subscribers who had called the company had been told that Star World will return by last evening and according to reports reaching us, as of this moment the article is being posted Star World and the other two Star channels are not available.

We urge the new management of Comet Cable to carry out a press release regarding this situation and take immediate steps to bring relief to the subscribers of Comet Cable.

What is happening no Star Movies, Star Plus yet?

We are receiving reports that Star Movies and Star Plus are still not yet available after they went off air on June 21st. According to initial reports Star World is being telecast via Tata SKY which is not legal but we wonder why they do not do the same with Star Movies and Star Plus. One reason could be because the Star Movies that Comet Cable shows is the East Asia feed but Star Movies on Tata SKY is the Indian feed. Maybe the same reason applies for Star Plus. Hopefully a Comet Subscriber could enlighten us whether they were receiving the Indian feed of Star Plus or some other feed. Star World would not have been a problem for Comet Cable since the feed they telecasted is the same Indian feed that is being carried by Tata SKY.

Comet Cable had promised its subscribers that the problem will be sorted out within the day but so far nothing has happened. At the moment they seem to be telecasting some DD Hindi channels as a replacement.

Comet Cable has to get its act together soon since rival pay television provider Dialog TV have signed up with Star and will be providing their channels by the end of this month. For Comet to survive Comet Digital is a must or else they will be fighting a loosing battle since more competition is in the horizon from SLT IPTV and a probable expansion of LBN Digital services.

Star Movies, Star Plus off air?

From yesterday we are receiving news reports that the Star TV channels are not operational on Comet Cable anymore. It seems that initially Star Movies, Star World and Star Plus were taken off air but then Star World returned but Star Movies and Star Plus did not return.

According to unconfirmed information seems that due to non payment of dues the channels have been disconnected and it seems that Star World is being telecast via a Tata SKY connection that is owned by Comet Cable. Customer Service says that due to a technical problem the channels Star Movies and Star Plus have been taken off air.

We are unable to ascertain the true cause and the above is from unconfirmed sources. We hope that our fellow bloggers will be able to update us via comments on the true cause of the channels being taken off air.

Comet Cable shares sold

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald of June 12th 2007 it is said that Ultrapay Limited has sold its share in Multivision that is owned indirectly by its subsidiary Chalmway.

The proceeds of the sale, a profit of nearly Aus $ 1.2 Million have been received by Ultrapay/Chalmway. There is no indication on who the buyer is. It is surprising that no Sri Lankan business report carried this information.

Please read the links given below.

Please update us the latest regarding Comet Cable such as who the buyer is and other related information as the days progress.

About Ultrapay - http://finance.google.com/finance?q=ASX:ULT
Announcement - Ultrapay sells share

PDF Document Detailing the Sale - Download Page

For those who cannot download, the PDF document reads as follows

UltraPay today announces that it has sold its share in the Sri Lankan Pay TV business indirectly held by its subsidiary Chalmway Pty Ltd. The sale will result in a A$1.2m profit on the transaction in the current half year. The sale terms were unconditional and sale proceeds have been received. The profit received on the sale of the Chalmway business was at the top end of our expectations. It is a pleasing outcome given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the sale and the difficult environment of Sri Lanka, Michael Boyd, Chairman of UltraPay Limited stated. The funds from this sale will provide the capital required for the London taxi mobile payments rollout and allow us to focus on the growth of this business The technical and commercial pilots have progressed extremely well, and we expect to be able to rollout in volume from October he added. The Company is also making progress toward the sale of the remaining holding in its other non-core business Telcogames. The anticipated cash return from this sale
should be in excess of $1.5m. Strong interest in the Companys mobile payments system from a number of European, Asian and South American countries provides further good growth opportunities for the Company.

Comet still continues........

Comet is still live and kicking, and is great news for those who thought that Comet may loose some of its frequencies on June 1st but as of now everything seems good and hopefully it will stay that way. Even we were under the impression that on June 1st something may happen since Comet was not replying to our emails either.

Now since the day has passed without any incident it is best for Comet Cable to get their digital transmissions off the ground and start competing with the rest of the pay television operators in Sri Lanka.

We hope Comet Cable management will confirm to us the date of their digital launch.

We hope that Comet Subscribers will make use of this forum to exchange ideas instead of concentrating on accusing and fooling other pay television operators and hopefully subscribers of other pay television operators will stay away from this forum.

Mixed information flowing in

With the deadline of June 1st for releasing some of its frequencies for Wimax services fast approaching, we are getting mixed information about the future of Comet Cable. Comet Cable has not taken any steps to reply our emails regarding their future plans or what the future holds for their subscribers.

Some reports indicated that a message was flashed across the Star Package on channels such as Star World, Star Movies, Star Plus on Comet Cable saying "THIS CABLE NETWORK HAS LARGE PAYMENT DUE AND LIABLE FOR DISCONNECTION" on May 7th/8th. We are unable to verify the accuracy of the said message.

Subscribers have informed us that they have received the programme guides for the month of May. What we understand is that Comet Cable will have to release a certain segment of its frequencies for the Wimax services and have therefore been asked to convert to digital to continue serving customers. What Comet may do is release those frequencies and drop some channels and continue on the remaining frequencies until they convert to digital. We are not sure whether this possible and a knowledgeable person in this field is welcome to give his/her thoughts.

Anyone with a better knowledge on this subject of the Wimax frequencies and the Comet frequencies is welcome to email us or make a comment regarding this matter.