johanson
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Dec 14, 2005, 7:55 PM
Post #2 of 10
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C band is not, I repeat, IS NOT giving way to DISH. Whomever told you that is trying to get you to give up your C band system and convert to DISH. Rather C band analog programming is converting to C/Ku band digital programming. I happen to have C band, Star Choice and DISH. And DISH is my least favorite satellite system.
Shown below is a recent article I wrote for the Guadalajara Reporter about C band:
""In previous articles you learned there are 60 to 80 satellites that a moveable satellite dish can point to from here in Jalisco, and that the majority of these satellites retransmit 12 to 120 video and/or 10 to 50 audio channels to subscribers using one of several receiver types. Today we’ll look at C band, the big satellite dish perhaps 12 feet in diameter, that many people incorrectly assume has been replaced by such small-dish systems as DISH and Star Choice. The typical C-band user gets programming from 15 to 20 different satellites. Ten years ago these satellites retransmitted more than 250 different channels of information. Today that old-fashioned analog C-band receiver gets about a third that many. The signals are still there — it’s just that they are now being transmitted in a more efficient digital format and can no longer be watched on these older receivers.
Today’s modern C-band viewer has upgraded to a Motorola 4DTV receiver. It can receive both the old fashioned analog and the new digital programs, for a total of more than 400 stations from these 15 to 20 satellites— appreciably more than what is available on the typical, legal small-dish system.
While the small-dish systems only offer a few different HBO, Showtime, Starz or other movie channels, a 4DTV receiver provides 16 unique HBO feeds, 18 Showtime channels, 10 Starz (etc) — a total of 88 movie channels. There are another 100 or so channels to choose from (court, Discovery, Travel, PBS, VH1, etc.), 27 sports channels, hundreds of audio channels, 8 HDTV channels, the US network feeds from the East Coast and more. I could go on. The signal quality is excellent, often better than what is available on the small dish.
A Motorola 4DTV receiver is not cheap. The suggested retail price is $799. But the National Programming Service (www.callnps.com) is offering it for only $399 delivered in the United States.
Is C band for you? The programming is excellent — many think much better than small-dish systems like DISH. Check it out by visiting the above Web address or looking at Orbit Magazine. The disadvantage to C Band is that you have to move your dish from satellite to satellite and if you have a multiple receiver package, you can only point at one satellite at a time, limiting what the person operating the second receiver can tune in. If you want the best and already have a big dish, don’t abandon it, upgrade to a 4DTV receiver. Big-dish owners know the golden rule. If you have the space, bigger is better.
One of these days you may want to add a small dish system to your home. If you do, I would recommend you consider the Canadian small dish system called Star Choice. Not only does it provide me with US network feeds from both the East and West Coast, but many are in HD, something DISH does not do. Check out the programming at www.starchoice.com
(This post was edited by johanson on Dec 14, 2005, 8:02 PM)
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