Reliance JioFiber debuted in September last year in India. However, the fibre-based broadband service could only garner a lukewarm response from the Indian broadband users. The reason for this was the pricing of the service and the limited data which the plans were bundling in this price point. However, to make the offering more attractive Reliance Jio launched the Jio 4K Set-Top Box along with the JioFiber connection. The Jio 4K Set-Top Box is available along with the JioFiber connection with no additional cost. This basically means that with every JioFiber connection, you will be eligible to get a Jio Set-Top Box and there are no restrictions for the same. Now with this being said, Jio 4K Set-Top Box is a Hybrid Set-Top Box from the provider, and there is no dearth of Hybrid Set-Top Boxes as well in the market right now. But, there are some things about the Jio 4K Set-Top Box which make it stand apart from the rest of the crowd. Here are some of these pointers.
Jio 4K Set-Top Box Pricing
The most attractive thing about the Jio 4K Set-Top Box is the zero price tag with which the company is offering this with. With the JioFiber connection, the subscribers only have to pay Rs 2,500 as security deposit and the monthly rental for JioFiber. This is enough to get them a Jio 4K Set-Top Box. Whereas, in the case of other offerings, for example, the Airtel Xstream Box which is another hybrid Set-Top Box, the subscribers have to pay Rs 3,999 upfront to get the STB, or Rs 2,249 if they are already an Airtel Digital TV customer. Similarly, Tata Sky subscribers wanting a Binge+ Set-Top Box will have to spend additional Rs 5,999 just to get the Set-Top Box only.
Bundled OTT Services
Another attractive point about the Jio 4K Set-Top Box is the bundled OTT services. While all the other boxes simply give you the ability to stream OTT services and pair it up with DTH channels, the Jio 4K Set-Top Box also comes bundled with the OTT services. Right now, the Set-Top Box comes with services like Hotstar, Eros Now, SunNXT and more. The subscribers get these apps and their subscription as part of the JioFiber connection when they are subscribed to the Rs 849 per month plan or more.
Support for Cable TV
This is another area where the Hybrid Set-Top Boxes will fall behind. The subscribers getting Jio 4K Set-Top Box will have to get a separate Cable TV connection, which means that they would be able to choose from the local cable TV operator like Hathway or DEN. Although the subscribers will not be able to choose DTH operators to work with the Set-Top Box, this means that the subscribers will enjoy a little more freedom to choose with the Jio 4K Set-Top Box. In case of the Set-Top Boxes issued by the DTH operators, the subscribers have to stick to the DTH operator for the lack of interoperability. But, with the Jio 4K Set-Top Box, the subscribers can have a choice of cable TV operators.
