Quite nice. Now, if only it's available on Astro too...

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Dec 7 2011, 06:31 PM

Here are a few more pics. First dedicated business channel broadcasted in HD for Malaysia I guess.

LoL if Bloomberg tv is available on both Astro and Unifi, why can't Capital TV? Atleast there's new HD channel for news package on B.yond.

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Dec 7 2011, 06:55 PM

Heat over satellite dish crackdown in Sabah

Azman Habu
| December 7, 2011

Astro's monopoly and recent seizure of parabolic satellite dishes has come under attack in Sabah.

TAWAU: The seizure of 193 satellite dishes around Sabah by the Customs Department has drawn into the spotlight the federal government’s continued bias towards KL-based satellite service provider Astro and its victimizing of Sabahans.

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Yee Moh Chai as well as several senior opposition leaders, in voicing their shock, have also branded the seizures as “ridiculous”.

“After all we are subscribing to the Prime Minister’s ‘People First Performance Now’ dictum,” he said after making known his unhappiness with federal government’s continued policy of not allowing people to use parabolic satellite dishes.

The state Customs Department announced over the weekend it had launched crackdown on the use of unapproved satellite dishes last month under Customs Act 1967.

Those caught in possession are liable to a fine of not less than 10 times the value of the seized items or imprisonment of up to three years or both.

A total of 64 dishes were confiscated from residences in the districts of Beaufort, Papar, Kota Kinabalu, 76 in Keningau and Tambunan and 48 in Tawau, department deputy director Hamzah Sundang said on Saturday.

Each dish costs between RM300 to RM500 making the total seizures worth about RM200,000.

Yee, who is also Sabah Resource Development and Information Technology Minister, said it was absurd that the use of such dishes was still banned in a borderless world.

“We should accept the fact that the world is getting smaller. For a runner, for example, they cannot be asked to use only one type of shoes. We cannot allow a monopoly,” he told the reporters here..
Astro monopoly criticized
He said preventing people from using any satellite dishes apart from those supplied by Astro did not make sense and was also a monopolistic exercise condoned by the government.

Yee said that the rational for not allowing the public to use such dishes in the past was because the federal government wanted to control information.

“But now people can access information from anywhere,” he said, adding that disallowing the use of satellite dishes “is like the ostrich burying its head in the sand … it is not tenable and against the interests of the nation.”

Sabah DAP leader Jimmy Wong also slammed the seizures as an affront to freedom of information.

He said there was nothing wrong in people buying parabolic dishes as they are doing what the government wants them to tap on more information to gain more knowledge and achieve the government’s vision of becoming a fully developed nation by 2020.

“Parabolic dishes are cheap and can help people gather three to four times more information than is available. In China there are more than 100 stations.

“The government should get rid of the policy prohibiting the people from using these dishes,” he said.

He also criticized the monopoly held by Astro.

“At the moment we are only limited to Astro … there is no competition, a total monopoly.

“If the government really means the words – ‘People First’ – the government should be open to other satellite channel providers, just like the many cellular phone companies.

“In Sabah, we have used parabolic dishes for the past 20 to 30 years without problems,” he said reminding the authorities that the devices were initially allowed in areas in Sabah and Sarawak where telecommunication services are spotty at best due to the terrain.

There you are ! astro is here to rule...astro wanted control of sabah and sarawak and the attack has begun i think!

---

Added on December 7, 2011, 7:48 pmAstro got one crap which wants to be CNN/BBC etc....its Awani !!!

This post has been edited by smileguy: Dec 7 2011, 07:48 PM

The tycoon monopoly attack is begun. Let's vote PR in GE13 for a change of this...

If we didn't change the current gov., there's still Astro to monopoly.

This post has been edited by Qash-M: Dec 7 2011, 07:52 PM

Yes pal, the rakyat have to wake up......things are getting out of control! Fixing a dish to get FTA channels is an offence ? WTF!The cheapest mode for the poor who cannot afford BB streaming and paid tv ,More the 50 years given the govt never changed its time we change it!

This post has been edited by smileguy: Dec 7 2011, 07:57 PM

I dream of when PR rules, there's no limit of how big the sat. dish we want to use (depend on space).

I too dream so but the govt has to honour 15 years more granted to astro, all i hope we can hv more media players which wl cover almost all satelite channels thru BB.BB streaming seems to be the best choice here,cos they wl never agree to our own dishes.

Look at Indonesia. Can even setup 7-8ft dish for "shooting".

dudes this is not general election's campaign thread.

voicing some disatisfaction about the crackdown, thats all bro!The bottom issue is still abt broadcasting monopoly here.

---

Added on December 8, 2011, 9:00 amDespite those dishes there are still 2 or 3 providers providing exclusive paid tv service,so i dont see why inmalaysia we must ban the big dishes afterall its for FTA channels.

This post has been edited by smileguy: Dec 8 2011, 09:00 AM

My friend has a 1st gen byond decoder and only found out that there is a way to do recording of His HD channels

called up Astro service ctr and they say need to upgrade the service for a small fee.. which is fine... but to pay for a PVR is Rm300.. if not then need to attach a specific external HDD (WD Passport 320Gb) which is sold by astro at Rm300 as well...

So he wanted to source for the WD passport 320Gb (got certain type??) at a cheaper price, upgrade the service to get the recording function and set this himself

is it do-able?? anyone can verify this? any guide I can refer to?

http://freedom2info.com/ Vote for malaysian to have the freedom to install large parabolic/satellite dish !!!

Online petition against policy
Published on: Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Kota Kinabalu: An online petition will be launched to register what people feel about a Federal policy that restricts the use of parabolic discs.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai, who was clearly upset over the restriction, said the petition would serve as a platform for everyone to register and share their views on what needs to be done.

"I'm doing this as a person who is in charge of ICT and who understands the importance of ICT," said Dr Yee, who is also Resource Development and Information Technology Minister.

"It signifies the importance of freedom to access information, including that of from parabolic discs," he said after officiating at the Innovation Day 2011, here, Tuesday.

Dr Yee said the ruling only frustrates the progress of the country and does not comply with the desires of the real world and that it should be changed or better still, abolished.

"People realise the merits of ICT and innovative ideas as it illustrates the importance of freedom to access information.

"The position of the regulators of the country is not acceptable from the angle of the country's development."

Towards this end, Yee said the policy would only create a monopoly situation and does not augur well in terms of competition and freedom of information. The online petition comes on the heels of a recent crackdown by the Customs Department during which it confiscated some 193 parabolic discs worth RM200,000.

The Department's move was in accordance to a Federal policy that restricts the use of parabolic satellite discs.

"I do not accept the excuse given by the authorities that they want to dismantle the satellite discs because they do not comply with rules.

It doesn't go well with the Prime Minister's vision of the nation (of People First, Performance Now)," he added.

The website would be made available soon and the results compiled and forwarded to the relevant authorities, he said. He said the online petition will prove "how ridiculous the existing law is".

"So as a result of the majority, it will make available the parabolic dish to anyone in the country without being penalised by any rules," he added.

Undi untuk kebebasan informasi \ 请投选开放资讯自由 \ Vote for freedom to information
Link for Vote:
http://freedom2info.com/

This post has been edited by se3333: Dec 8 2011, 07:38 PM

Good move, I just signed to show my support !

imho not goona happen..i just happy if the price reduced or we can select channel that we want only

recording service = rm5
unfortunately only wd passport AV is supported..current price maybe below 300..
downloadable? no

my opinion..get astro PVR box
more space. more feature, more value

Been using Unifi IPTV for 2 days now I gotta say it is probably the strongest competitor for Astro. IMHO the HD channels on HyppTv have better PQ compared to Astro HD channels. Moreover, Fashion TV HD broadcast certain programs daily in 3D. Something different besides EPL matches. Hope this will make Astro push more quality HD channels for Byond subscription.

Great !!! if someone expert can bring this info to Facebook or open a special page on Facebook the response will be great !!! who know's can dream come true

I knew it. Astro HD channel didn't look HD enough. (maybe 'cause their bitrate is half than the Unifi HD channel)

aiiiyyyaaa..when la want to have new channel astro??

This post has been edited by dxjb: Dec 9 2011, 01:06 AM