TATASky+ Transfer: Utility comes at a price

Uses your home Wi-Fi to transfer videos, but it takes time

The TATASky+ Transfer box (Rs 9,300 for new customers; those who already have PVR boxes can upgrade for Rs 7,200) for all practical purposes, looks like a slimmed down version of my TATASky+HD box.

The remote, though it looks similar at a distance, is an advanced version. For starters, it has a touchpad, though there aren't any apps etc to make use of this feature.

I connected it to a 65-inch LG LED TV via HDMI and while the menu was identical to my old TATASky box, the HD channels did seem clearer. A Wi-Fi dongle comes in the box, using which I connected it to my home Wi-Fi network. Next I logged on to the TATASky app on my iPad 4 and connected it to the Transfer box.

After the initial setup, which may seem tedious for some, I set the Transfer box to record a clip, in this case from Ankur, which was playing on DD National. Next I went to the app on my iPad. And sure enough, it gave me access to the programmes recorded on the Transfer box (the transfer functionality is available for Android and iOS devices as of now). I had two options: Stream or transfer. I chose stream and sure enough, I could watch the recorded video on the second screen. I chose transfer next and after sometime, I could access the video under the "My Pad" tab. But this was a five-minute clip. I needed to check out a longer clip. Thus I recorded a 30-minute clip of the same film. It took me a shade over 15 minutes to transfer it.

The next day Kahaani was playing on one of the channels. I set the box to record the HD version. I came back from office and wanted to transfer the recording to the iPad. The recording was 152-minutes long - and the time needed to transfer also showed as 152 minutes! The good thing was, the recording didn't take up too much space. A pity it doesn't support 4K as well.

The TATASky+ Transfer box makes for a great proposition for those who want to take their TV shows with them. But because of the pace of the transfer, one might need to invest in two mobile devices - use one while new videos are transferred on to the other.