Dor has launched India’s first subscription-based smart TV. It promises a lot of things like 4K resolution, 40w speakers, 4 years of warranty, and a subscription to many premium OTT services. All for a super low price tag of ₹10,999 and a subscription of ₹799/month. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver on most of them. We went through the fine print, did the math, and tested the product so you don’t have to.
Here’s why you shouldn’t subscribe to Dor TV.
Table of Contents
Problem 1 – No 4K
Yup, you read that right. Dor says their 43″ TV supports 4K resolution. It is one of the key highlights of the products as you don’t get that kind of resolution at this price point.
All the subscription apps come with a basic plan activated and they do not support 4K. You need the top-tier plan to play 4K content. One way to play 4K content is using Fire TV Stick but then it will cost you around ₹5000. So now your upfront cost is ₹10,999 + ₹5k = ₹15k. And we haven’t even added the cost of a monthly subscription yet. More on that later.
Problem 2 – Speakers are 20W, not 40W
This is weird. Dor’s Flipkart sales page says speakers are 40 watts (RMS) but the TV’s manual says it is only 20 watts (RMS). How do we know? Because we bought the TV and read the specs sheet. Note that both the manual and sales pages mention RMS watts but even that is wrong because RMS is always lower than peak wattage.
RMS is the sustained load a speaker can handle whereas peak wattage is what the amplifier can output. So RMS should always be lower. Take a look below.
Problem 3 – No Netflix, No 3rd-Party Apps, No Sideload
Dor claims you will get a subscription to 24+ OTT apps which sounds like a big number. In reality, most of these apps are basic, half of them you may have never heard of. The only good apps that you do get access to, as part of the monthly subscription plan, are Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, Jio Cinema, and Hotstar.
And no Netflix. You can’t download or install it either. Dor says they are working on it but there is no word on when you may get it if at all. In fact, no third-party apps are supported either. So you can’t download any app from the Play Store or sideload it. We tried sideloading the app but got an error sound instead. You must do with whatever they offer.
Problem 4 – Warranty Is Tied to Subscription
A lot of features are tied to their subscription plan so let’s discuss the elephant in the room. There is a lot of chatter about India’s first subscription TV. However, the subscription plan itself raises more questions than it answers.
Their Terms of Use page says you get 4 years of warranty but only if you are subscribed to their monthly subscription plan. So in a way, they are forcing you to subscribe by holding basic but important features hostage. In fact, you will be locked out of the TV even if you fail to subscribe for at least 12 months. Not only that, even the HDMI ports won’t work so no more Fire TV Stick. You might get a call from the call center, as per their Terms of Use page, asking you to return the TV. You have rented the TV, don’t own it yet, remember?
Here is something interesting. Failing to pay the subscription within the grace period (7 days) will not only lock the TV but also the HDMI ports rendering the TV completely useless. You get 3 HDMI ports but can use them only with an active subscription.
Problem 5 – Terms of Use (Subject to Change Anytime)
There were too many red flags at this point so we decided to dig a little deeper. We found their website and eventually landed on the Terms of Use page. Most people don’t read them but they should. It contains important information and disclaimers. We found some shocking terms. Here they are:
No Reviews Please
We buy and review hundreds of products and gadgets every year. Some are sent to us by the brands. This is standard practice. However, Dor doesn’t want anyone reviewing their products. Have a look:
You Can Buy the TV but but but…
You are not buying Dor TV when you pay the initial ₹10k or the subsequent subscription fee. Nope. You are renting a TV. Dor’s Terms of Use state that you may buy the TV at any time for an additional one-time price. However, they never mention the price anywhere on their site. Also, you can buy it only if the subscription plan is active and after the “Initial Term”. Go figure.
Subscription Price Can Change Without Intimation
Yup. There are so many features including basic ones tied to the subscription plan. But here comes the kicker. Dor reserves the right to increase or decrease the subscription amount at any time after the “Initial Term”. What are the odds that they will decrease it, eh? And if you don’t pay, the TV is locked and the warranty is void.
Let’s say you fail to pay the subscription or don’t pay for some time as you are traveling. Dor will give you a grace period during which time, you must renew your subscription. Dor may charge a penalty for not paying the subscription price.
If you don’t renew your subscription, your user agreement and access to Dor products/services will be terminated. So whatever amount you paid so far will be gone along with the TV. Yes, you must return the TV.
You Can Buy Dor TV But Ony If
There is an option where you can buy the TV and stop paying that subscription. But can you? Nope. Dor TV is “not sold but made available to you” – states the Terms of Use page. Once the ‘Initial Term’ (12 months) is over, you may buy Dor TV but unsurprisingly at this point, they don’t mention the price on their website.
So if they quote a high price, you have only two options – continue your subscription or cancel it. If you continue the subscription, you will end up paying a lot more than a regular brand 4K TV and if you cancel, you must return the TV immediately ending up losing money.
Buy Back Plan
There is also a buyback plan that has been shared on Dor’s sales page on Flipkart. There is no mention of it on their site at the time of writing this. You can return the TV to the company for a maximum price of ₹5000 after 12 months end.
Many 4K 43″ TVs cost around ₹23k right now and the price can be brought down to near ₹20-21k level using discounts and cards. And that’s 4K for real, not 1080p.
Micromax Has a History of Abandoning Products
Micromax wanted to rewrite history by becoming India’s first successful smartphone and smart TV brand. It was off to a good start too but then faltered along the way. They have a history of abandoning projects in between.
Micromax had a major stake in Revolt that sold itself as India’s first electric bike. It was abandoned soon after. Micromax smartphones and TVs met the same fate and soon fizzled out.
Not many people know this but Micromax is a major shareholder in Dor too. Looking at their past performance, we hope Dor doesn’t meet the same fate.
Conclusion – Let’s Do the Math
What we see is a TV that comes with 1.5GB RAM, and 8GB internal storage (less than 5GB useable). It comes with a proprietary App Store, no Netflix subscription (can’t even download it), and no real 4K support and warranty as claimed.
We did the math and break it down below for you:
You are paying ₹10,000 for the TV and ₹799 for the subscription for 11 months totaling ₹8789. Now, you will also need internet, so let’s take a basic 30 Mbps Jio plan for ₹599. The total comes to ₹7188.
- 1st year cost would be 26,776 (for simplicity we’ll avoid GST on both comparisons).
- For the next 4 years, the cost of the subscription will go down to ₹299.
So, it comes down to ₹14352 and 4 years of internet plan of ₹699. The final cost comes to 28,752 The 5-year ownership cost comes down to ₹69,880 for DOR TV.
Now, let’s see how an average Indian consumer will buy a TV.
I can get a similar and even better specs TV with more RAM and double the storage from KODAK (43″) QLED (4K) TV which costs ₹20,999. Now, I will get the same Jio fiber 30 Mbps plan at ₹7188 for internet. But here’s the thing – this plan also comes with 10 free OTT apps like Jio, Sony Liv, Hotstar, and zee5.
The only major app it doesn’t have is Amazon Prime Video, which will cost ₹1000 extra for a month, and we’ll come to that soon. So, my 11-month subscription cost will be free.
And 1-year ownership will come down to 28,187, which is slightly higher than DOR TV for 1st year. But let’s do it for 5 years now. My 4-year subscription would be free since it’s part of the bundle and the 4-year internet cost is ₹28,752.
So, the total 5-year cost will come to ₹56,939 – 20% cheaper.
Don’t forget you get better specs 4K TV + option to play Netflix + total Ownership + access to an open ecosystem with Google Play Store.
Here’s a table to quickly brush through everything.
| Payment | DOR TV | Other TV |
| One Time Cost | DOR TV (43″) ₹10,799/- | KODAK (43 inch) QLED Ultra HD (4K) ₹20,999 |
| 11-Month Subscription Cost | ₹799×11 = ₹8789/- | Free with Jio fiber (Jio, Sony Liv, Hotstar, zee5) |
| 1 Year Internet Cost | ₹599×12 = ₹7188 30mbps plan | ₹599×12 = ₹7188 30mbps plan |
| 1st Year’s Cost | ₹26,776 | ₹28,187 |
| 4 Years Subscription Cost | ₹299×48 = ₹14352/- | Free |
| 4 Years Internet Cost | ₹599×48 = ₹28752/- | ₹599×48 = ₹28752/- |
| 5 YEARS COST | ₹69,880 | ₹56,939 |
| Plus 4K + Netflix + Ownership + Open Ecosystem |
You can easily find a good 43-inch 4K TV like Mi TV for ₹23k. This will be an actual 4K TV with the freedom to choose subscriptions, no lock-in period, an open ecosystem, and of course Netflix. People buy TVs for at least 5-7 years and in the long run, this is just a bad financial investment. Plus, you lose on several key features, and for what?
