Mann Udhan Varayache...मन उधाण वार्‍याचे

मायेच्या हळव्या स्पर्शाने खुलते, नात्यांच्या बंधात धुंद मोहरते...
मायेच्या हळव्या स्पर्शाने खुलते, नात्यांच्या बंधात धुंद मोहरते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे गुंज पावसाचे ,का होते बेभान कसे गहिवरते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे ...


आकाशी.. स्वप्नांच्या.. हरपुन पान शिरते,
हुरहुरत्या सांजेला कधी एकटेच झुलते,
सावरते बावरते झडते अडखळते का पडते...
कधी आशेच्या हिंदोळ्यावर मन हे वेडे झुलते...
मन तरंग होउन पाण्यावरती फ़िरते...
अन क्षणात फिरूनी अभाळाला भीडते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे गुंज पावसाचे, का होते बेभान कसे गहिवरते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे गुंज पावसाचे, का होते बेभान कसे गहिवरते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे...


रुणझुणते.. गुणगुणते.. कधी गुंतते हरवते..
कधी गहिर्‍या डोळ्यांच्या डोहात पार बुडते..
तळमळते सारखे बापडे नकळत का भरकटते..
कधी मोहाच्या चार क्षणांना मन हे वेडे भुलते...
जाणते जरी हे पुन्हा पुन्हा का चुकते...
भाबडे तरी भासांच्या मागुन पळते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे गुंज पावसाचे, का होते बेभान कसे गहिवरते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे गुंज पावसाचे, का होते बेभान कसे गहिवरते...
मन उधाण वार्‍याचे..

To hear Online go to below URL
http://www.in.com/music/track-mann-udhan-173417.html

Video from Youtube

Trailer of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Trailer of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi

Rab Ne Bana Di... SRK doing Amol Palekar !!??

After looking at promos of 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', 1 thing comes to mind, is SRK trying to do Amol Palekar of 70's. His dull shirts, moustache gives a look of 70's done by Amol Palekar in movies like Golmaal, Chitchor, Choti si baat

After Salman & Amir going stylish in looks in Yuvvraj & Ghazni, it would be interesting to see how 'RNBDJ' performs with SRK in gloomy looks

Change...Is it India's turn now?

US recently voted for a CHANGE. A change for Govt, change for economic crisis.
Change Obama could probably bring may be in foreign policy, which during Bush regime US developed by attacking Afghanistan/Iraq & was to follow with Iran. May be Obama will stop this attacking series. Then about economic change which has promised (hope it doesn't go against India's interest).

Can this happened in India? India is also recently going through economic slowdown. And many heads working on to rescue from financial crisis. And in a interesting move, L K Advani, the PM candidate for opposition party had meeting with several top industrailists & businessmen of India. Many matters were discussed and BJP now promising to get country out of economic gloom. NDA/BJP also plans to reach out to trade unions & farmers to discuss their issue (Just like Obama did before elections).
Will India vote for BJP/Advani and show Cong door? If BJP comes to power can it bring any drastic changes in current economic slowdown (which financial experts like Manmohan Singh & Chidambaram couldn't do)
Most contrasting thing is US voted for Younger/minority community person as a president, while our PM candidate is above 80 years of age. If at all Advani is elected as PM, we certailnly can say 1 change we did like US, US voted younger person as President, while we would vote oldest person as PM

Laurel & Hardy And The Boat

Video from Laurel And Hardy & The Boat
I like this video very much, especially the end in which Laurel innocently goes & checks if his trumpet is there :)
Enjoy the video!!!

DTH in India

Here is the summary of DTH operators in India regarding technical aspects and some advantages & disadvantages which user may face depending upon their views about the service
As of 18 Jan 2009. Number of channels may vary as channels added/removed by operator

DD Direct Plus
Owner: Prasarbharti (Public Broadcaster)
Satellite: Insat 4B at 93.5°E (Earlier on NSS 6 at 95°E)
Encryption: Un-encrypted
Encoding: MPEG-2
Channels: 50 TV, 21 Radio
Advantages: Completely Free (Free to Air), Good Audio/Video quality, Can be received any parts on India and neighbouring countries, Users can also enjoy local AIR audio channels in part of country, Carries many popular Hindi music channels
Disadvantages: Mostly DD channels and less popular Hindi private channels, appears monotonous as mostly carrying music & news channels, very slow in adding new channels, no EPG, no interactive services

DISH TV
Owner: Essel Group by ZEE
Satellite: NSS 6 at 95°E
Encryption: Conax
Encoding: MPEG-2
Channels: 140 TV, 4 Radio including 6 PPV MOD channels (50 TV & 21 Radio receivable from DD Direct Plus) + Interactive Channels
Advantages: First private operator to launch DTH service in India, user-friendly affordable packages based on regional languages, Carries DD Direct Plus channel in its EPG
Disadvantages: Slow in adding newly launched channels, NEO sports channels not available, not at par in customer service (as per various forums), delay in updating website

TATASKY
Owner: TATA (80%) and SKY (20%)
Satellite: Insat 4A at 83°E
Encryption: Videoguard
Encoding: MPEG-2
Channels: 147 TV including 6 PPV MOD channels, 0 Radio + Interactive Channels
Advantages: Good Audio/Video quality, fast package activation & account recharge, aggressive in adding newly launched channels, EPG in Hindi
Disadvantages: Costlier compared to other service providers, Lack of language based channel packaging, missing few ZEE channels & ZEE SPORTS, Missing popular music channels, No Audio channels

SUN DIRECT
Owner: SUN group (India) & Astro (Malaysia)
Satellite: Insat 4B at 93.5°E
Encryption: Irdeto
Encoding: MPEG-4
Channels: 110 TV, 3 Radio (50 TV & 21 Radio receivable from DD Direct+)
Advantages: First operator to use MPEG-4 encoding so can carry more channels, South Indian market targeted hence carry more south Indian channels then other operators, can receive DD Direct Plus channels as both use same satellite
Disadvantages: No ESPN-STAR SPORTS, NEO channels, no interactive services, less presence in other parts of India

BIG TV
Owner: Reliance ADA group
Satellite: Measat 3 at 91.5°E
Encryption: Mediaguard
Encoding: MPEG-4
Channels: 186 TV including 30 PPV MOD channels, 10 Radio + Interactive Channels
Advantages: Uses MPEG-4 encoding, carries more number of channels then any other operator, Carries more number on PPV channels, Carries most of popular GEC, Movies & Sports channels
Disadvantages: Confusing channel packaging for beginner users, may end up costlier if channel package not selected wisely

AIRTEL DIGITAL TV
Owner: Bharti Airtel group
Satellite: Insat 4CR at 74.0°E
Encryption: Mediaguard
Encoding: MPEG-4
Channels: 144 TV, 10 Worldspace Radio + Interactive Channels
Advantages: Uses MPEG-4 encoding, 1st DTH provider to provide worldspace radio, Universal remote control provided
Disadvantages: Not identified yet

Joining soon to the list VIDEOCON DTH.

Source:
http://www.lyngsat.com/in4b.html
http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/dish.html
http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/tatasky.html
http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/sundirect.html
http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/big.html
http://www.lyngsat.com/packages/airtel.html
http://www.saveondish.com/forum/dish-networks-india-f-1.html
http://broadbandforum.in/direct-home-cable-fm-iptv-television/

My Nokia N95

I am a quite techy person from childhood. From electronic cars/toys to calculators, FM radio, I had them all. When I got job in Dubai I got familiar with mobiles and Nokia 2100 was my 1st phone. It was a cool & simple phone sufficient enough to satisfy my curiosity in mobiles. Then I got Samsung E730 & X700 which were a good color phone with Media player, FM radio, MP camera. They were a stable phone. But I still wanted some more like Java kinda stuff, internet browsing, etc, which I found it all in Nokia N95 (after lots of net surfing) and finally I got my Nokia N95.

I ordered it from Nokia UK site and while ordering it was mentioned as ‘sand’ color. I wondered how it looks and after getting it, it was bit golden (and nice indeed). First thing I noticed was that compared to size, the phone was light in weight. I powered ON the phone and started exploring my ‘new Nokia N95’.

2nd most curious thing was about camera. As mentioned 5 mega pixel camera, camera was very good and now I felt there is no need for me to buy any digital camera. (Later in a trip the photos taken in sunlight were as good as any digital camera). Next thing was multimedia. It supported MP3 songs (as usual), but it also supported MP4 videos I created for my IPOD. It had most features that any MP3/Music player has with Song Artwork support too.

Now advanced features. It has built in WiFi, which worked very fine in our SKY broadband (with initial connection glitches). With help of application from Yahoo, Gmail, Windows Live I had emails in my hand literally. Then it supported http web browsing, Youtube, etc web related applications. Interesting thing it has is VOIP on phone. I can make internet calls from various providers in WiFi area. Although it drained battery a lot.

It had GPS receiver which displayed maps based on information from satellite (although I guess it requires network/WiFi and don’t know how it will work in open environment or roads).
Playing with Games available on net for Nokia N95 was fun. I installed/removed/played lots of games. Same thing with themes.

Overall I am satisfied so far with the phone and still exploring more.

Internet phone VOIP update: Nokia N95 supports VOIP
If we are connected to wiFi network and registered & logged on to any VOIP provider then cheap (ISD) calls can be made via VOIP. The phone itself provide in contacts, option for making call as Voice Call (normal call), Video Call & 'Internet Call'. For using VOIP, SIP setting must be done on phone.
But the bad part, still I am not able to make successfuly use it, may be some problem in setting. Call is getting establish, I can hear other side person, but other side can't hear me. And battery gets drained off faster in VOIP call

MAPS update: Maps feature I accessed using NOKIA MAPS & GOOGLE MAPS application. For accessing maps N95 uses inbuilt GPS device & GPRS/WiFi connection. First I tried inside room using WiFi, but the mobile couldn’t obviously communicate with GPS satellites and I was not able to see anything, so I doubted about the feature. But later thanks to free GPRS by my provider, I tried MAPS outside. And after few minutes I got ‘map’ of my current location using both NOKIA MAPS & GOOGLE MAPS. So finally it works I said to myself. It was exciting to see the map software tracking our location as I moved along the road. Now I can confirm that GPS & MAPS works fine in Nokia N95

TATASKY - Time to Change!

Launched in August 2006, TATASKY (referred as TS later)has come far way now competiting with India’s 1st and only DTH operator (then) - DISH TV. Although started under shadow of SKY UK and channel lineup dominating from STAR group, it has now come long way with many popular and new channels onboard (some exclusive). But now as market continues to grow and with launch of BIG TV from Reliance ADA nearby, time has come for it to change
Some changes it could under go to become more consumer (viewers) friendly are such as

Channel Packaging: Its area where DISH TV still scores, if TS comes out with packaging based on language, it would help viewers to opt for channels based on regional language and bringing down its monthly subscription

Channel Genre: Some people may be interested in Sports while some in Religious channels only, some in Entertainment & Movies, while some in News & Information. So it would be good idea to distribute channels based on its genre which could again give benefit to viewers to select their channel of interest and opt out from rest thereby avoiding lesser monthly subscription

Movies On Demand: MOD is the main source of income and if properly managed and marketed could prove useful for viewers as well as for TS. For this TS should bring cost down (Rs 30 - 40) for old movies and not more than Rs 50 for latest movies. They should get right for Movie on MOD before being telecasted on any channel. Then they should include good regional movies on MOD. Also could be added popular TV serials episodes and lastly Sports content

Audio Channel: TS should consider adding AIR (Radio) channels as well as popular private FM channels from various cities or tie-up with FM providers for Audio channel on DTH

Advanced Interactive services: TS still lags behind services like SKY/DirectTV in providing Interactive services. They should include Tetetext service covering LIVE sports scores, Share Market rates, Forex/Comodity prices, Movie/Music review, Tour Guide, etc. (although some may be covered currently under ACTIVE STAR NEWS)

Subtitle: TS should look forward in providing subtitle (although it is based on content providers), TS can take initative by starting it on STAR channels

Still many points could be added, but hope TS comes out with some of changes mentioned above providing benefit to viewers and sametime adding profits to its pockets

HITS (Headend in the sky)

Features:
Delivers Up To 12 Digital Services
HITS digital cable uses powerful digital compression technology to transport as many as 12 digitally encoded video services into the space of a single 6MHz analog channel.
HITS uplinks digitized, compressed and encrypted programming in MPEG II format. The signals are received at the cable headend, where they are decrypted, re-modulated and re-encrypted for digital delivery to the customer via the existing plant, displaying richer pictures and sound than ever before experienced on cable or broadcast television.
Complement Current Packages with New Digital Programming
HITS' programming lineup is designed to be a complimentary addition to your current analog lineup. Digital customers can receive existing analog and new HITS-delivered digital services, along with digital audio, an interactive on-screen navigator and other control features through a single set-top box.
Addressable Set-top Services
Addressable set-top services offer a simple, reliable and economical means of authorizing set-top boxes to receive pay-per-view purchases, premium services and other programming services, and interact with the operator’s customer billing system.

The HITS Advantage
Low Capital Investment - Efficient use of existing bandwidth eliminates the need for expensive plant upgrades and lengthy, disruptive rebuilds.
Speed to Market - HITS offers delivery of a vast array of new services to paying customers sooner rather than later.
Enhanced Competitiveness - HITS offers operators the means to meet the competition head-on while retaining cable’s inherent advantages: whole-house delivery; local signals; local customer service; and limited equipment investments for customers.
Increased Revenue Opportunity - HITS offers a full slate of new and exciting products that translate into incremental revenue opportunities. Digital addressability means greater signal security and, consequently, more paying customers.
Customer Satisfaction - Research shows that customer satisfaction improves dramatically when new programming services are introduced. Features like on-screen navigation, impulse ordering and customer messaging further enhance the entertainment experience.
Positive Image - Offering new service technologies like those offered by HITS can help operators project a more progressive, consumer-response image.
Account Management - HITS Account Management Department makes the complex process of launching digital cable as simple as possible. Beginning with the initial planning stages, they guide the operator through the entire process to a successful launch. HITS Account Management services include: launch planning, site surveying, system configuration, headend equipment acquisition, headend installation, employee training and consumer marketing and creative support.
Programming Flexibility - Each digital channel is individually addressable, enabling flexible packaging or ‘a la carte’ sale of services to best meet operator and customer needs.
Economical Set-top Box Control - Addressable set-top services offer a simple, reliable and economical means of authorizing set-top boxes.
Simplified Launch & Operating Process - HITS takes the complexity out of launching digital cable from "A to Z" with flexible service packages and proven processes.

Most of the HITS programming is available on G-16 Ku-band. HITS also uses C-band satellites C


HITS Programming Advantage
HITS delivers the broadest selection of MPEG ll Digital Cable Programming from a single source—nearly 200 channels in all!
HITS provides a complete array of digital video and audio programming needed for a comprehensive programming strategy. The networks are grouped to efficiently address different market needs.
Premium multiplexing is expected to be a leading driver of new digital revenue by increasing pay subscriptions, reducing pay churn, and boosting digital set-top box penetration.
HITS offers Enhanced Pay-Per-View (PPV), with start times formatted for high availability of hit titles and events.
HITS complements its video offerings with a package of commercial-free, CD-quality, digital music formats
These networks can be attractively packaged on a bundled basis, or offered a' la carte to help drive demand and penetration for your digital offering—and it's a great retention tool!

Electronic Program GuideEasy access to all the new programming and features of digital TV is key to providing a positive viewing experience for your digital cable customers. An interactive electronic program guide allows viewers to browse the vast array of programming choices, in real time, using simple commands and user friendly features. Viewers can search on-screen by channel, genre, title or time; set reminders to appear before a program begins; order Pay-Per-View movies or events on impulse; and lock out programming by title, channel or rating.


http://www.hits.com/

DD Direct Plus - How can it be improved?

DD Direct Plus (DDD+) - The DTH service launched by Prasarbharti, as FTA which could been cheap source of entertainment for people of India reaching whole of nation. But after 3-4 years of its launch (Dec 16, 2004 - Wikipedia), is it settled?
When launched it promised to be a good source of entertainment, with good FTA channels on board, but with time most of popular channels like AAJ TAK, ETV Marathi, SUN TV has left the platform. And the PB has no offer to attract popular channels. The channels currently available are either those who don't find place on pvt. platform (DISH TV/TATASKY) or channel recently launched.
Some suggestion for popularising the service & improve the quality
1. Launching exclusive quality entertainment channels on DDD+, which can telecast new shows as well as old previuos shows.
2. Launching Movie channels showcasing good movies from bollywood, Regional (& ofcourse hollywood)
3. Program Guide service - after 3 years in service PB should manage that now
4. Improving regional channels programming quality in par with pvt. channels
5. Interactive services like Teletext, subtitle, News, weather, Cricket scores, Sensex- For reception of this, PB can approve few STB models compatible for reception of interactive services
6. Acquiring sports content from F1, Soccer & other sports to improve DD Sports