Bharti Airtel and Tata Play are two of the oldest Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators in India. Both the companies are considered the finest service providers because of the consistency they bring to the table and the innovation that’s always constant. The era for HD and SD boxes is gone. This is the time for Android STBs (Set-Top Boxes) or Smart STBs in general. With a Smart STB, you can watch both satellite TV as well as OTT (Over-The-Top) content on the go. Both Airtel (Airtel Digital TV) and Tata Play offer Indian consumers an option to purchase their Android STB.
Airtel Digital TV calls its Android Box – Xstream Box, while Tata Play calls its Android STB – Tata Play Binge+. Let’s take a look at which box would be your best buy today.
Airtel Xstream Box from Airtel Digital TV
The Airtel Xstream Box is available for Rs 2,000 right now. It is an Android TV Box, and thus you can access thousands of applications directly on the TV. There’s an in-built Chromecast for casting content on the screen, and users can leverage Google Assistant by activating it from the remote for searching content.
Getting a subscription to the Airtel Xstream app will allow you to access content from several platforms in a single login. To check the price of an Airtel Xstream subscription, click here.
The Smart STB from Bharti Airtel allows users to view content in up to 4K resolution. So, if you have a 4K resolution TV, you can get the best experience out of the Airtel Xstream Box. You can also get the Xstream Box by purchasing an Airtel Xstream Fiber connection, but that would also involve charges. The STB runs on Android TV 9. Let’s see how Tata Play’s Smart STB compares.
Tata Play Binge+ STB from Tata Play
Tata Play Binge+ STB is available for customers for Rs 2199. It can be purchased at a discount of Rs 200 if the customer is buying online through the website and completing the payment online itself. So, the cost of the STB will come down to what the Airtel Xstream Box costs.
The Tata Play Binge+ STB is also an Android box which can allow you to watch both satellite and OTT content on the go. There’s an in-built Chromecast, pre-loaded OTT apps, support for Google Assistant and more. There aren’t too big differences between the STBs.
However, Tata Play Binge+ STB owners will get one month of Binge subscription for free. It is a bundled OTT offering which is very different from what Airtel offers through its Xstream service. Binge subscription is actually a deal-breaker and gives the edge to Tata Play Binge+ STB.
At the end of the day, you need to decide whether a Tata Play Binge subscription is something you would want regularly. If not, then you can go for either of the STBs as both are very similar and are available for the same price.
