C-Band questions (1 Viewer)

[Michael_Victor]

anyone with c-band? do you find it more cost effective and more entertaining, as far as quality of channels you get, then having directv or dish network? i was quoted $3k for the dish, 2 recievers, and installation. does this sound fair? What, besides satellite jumping and the size of the dish, do you see as a downfall of this type of satellite.

thanks for your responses in advance.

 

[Gary_E]

Michael,
What type of receivers were you quoted? Analog? 4D-TV?
Remember, whatever extra money you spend on the equipment you will save on programming.
Take a look at this thread over at AVS Forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=168439
it may help you.
-Gary

 

[Michael_Victor]

4dtv, he said i would get both digital and analog, including 2 hd HBOs and 2 hd Showtimes. if i go with the full programming pakage, he said, he pays 750 a year for all his channels. not bad when you think about it.

 

[BrianShort]

What are the advantages to C-Band? Massive numbers of channels? Obscure stuff you can't get anywhere else? Just curious. To me it would have to be something good to spend that much money on a huge dish.

 

[Gary_E]

Michael,

4D-TV receivers cost anywhere between $600-800 each.
The actual dish, mounting pole, feedhorn, transport arm, and C-Band/KU Band LNBs probably cost about $800.00.
Installation is more complicted than DSS, usually involving a building permit from your local zoning board. The pole that the dish is mounted on must be set properly, according to code and grounded against lightning strikes.

Be aware that a 4D-TV receiver itself is not capable of decoding high definition signals. For that you will need an additional decoder that works in conjunction with the 4D-TV receiver. The HD decoder is another $500.00!

Ask if the 4D-TV receivers you're being quoted have UHF remotes so you can control the dish from anywhere in the house. Also worthwhile asking if the receivers will pass an MTS stereo signal over coaxial cable. I'm not familiar with the newest 4D-TV receivers so I don't know if the MTS stereo feature is available on them. My analog receiver does this and it is one reason I'm hesitant to switch over to 4D-TV because I feed the MTS stereo (DOLBY PRO-LOGIC) signal throughout my house over regular 75 ohm coaxial cable.

Brian wrote:


1. Programming is cheaper and contrary to DSS there is pricing competition between C-Band programmers.
2. Abilty to move dish and access the full spectrum of satellites.
3. First generation transmissions. You access the same signal that cable/DSS companies receive prior to their re-working it and distributing it back to the consumer.
4. Backhaul (in-the-clear) free feeds. Many raw feeds from sporting events, on location news feeds and television shows, which are fed to local affiliates can be viewed on C-Band.

C-Band is a major pain-in-the-ass at first to get installed and set-up but the sheer volume of feeds available and cheaper programming make it worth considering if you have the space to install the dish.

Hope this helps.
-Gary

 

[BrianShort]

Yes, thank you

 

[carl-s]

The other thing you can add on is a MPEG-2 free to air receiver in addition to the 4DTV. I currently get about 250 free feeds, with C and Ku as well as DBS. These are perfectly legal and can ad a bit more fun to the satellite channel search.
If you look carefully around your area, you will probably see a lot of big dished not being used. Most people will gladly let you have them and possibly a receiver for nothing, just haul it off. Some of the better mesh dishes are the Unimesh and Wineguard .Solid are nice but take more time and extra help.

Carl

 

[Michael_Victor]

Well, its funny you mention that, My Fiancee's Grandmother has one, that the motor to move it doesn't work. its just there, my question is, how much has C-band advancement changed over the years? she has had her dish for about 8 to 10 years. would you think all i would really need as an upgrade is a new reciever with DD capability?

once again, Thank you for your responses.