True Satellite TV vs. DirecTV (1 Viewer)

[Michael_Victor]

okay, I have DirecTV and am curious, is True Satellite that much worth it? I have an HD TV and HD Net from DTV, does True Sat. send a HD signal? any assistance would be great.

thanks

 

[Joel Mack]

I've never even heard of "True Satellite"...

 

[DonWinzen]

What he means is C-Band; C-Band is the truest definition of "satellite" while DirectTV and DishTV are satellite services that wrap products together in a offering. C-Band offers over 600 channels; it also does not compress the signal so the picture is said to be better. But the offset is that you need the 5 foot or larger dishes and you have to move the dish to point at specific satellites when you want other channels.

Is it worth it? Depends on if you want a huge dish in your yard; that would be the biggest obstacle.

 

[Robert Cranwell]

"C-Band offers over 600 channels; it also does not compress the signal so the picture is said to be better." C=Band and Ku-Band does some major compression right along the lines of Directv and Dish. There is very good receiver the 4-DTV that is able to decipher the digital compression out there along with DVB and a few other commercial reciever's for Cable companies and the likes.

Satellite dishes where very large in the begining about 30' across for the original HBO broadcast in the 70s because of the very low wattage uplink. Nowadays alot of Ku-Band only requires a 3' dish or less "Directv-Dish" also to note with most of C-Band and Ku-Band only about 2 degrees apart the mover on the dish moves very quickly from satellite to satellite.

Rob

 

[DonWinzen]

Cranwell, you are incorrect. There is no compression when it leaves the programmers, travels to the satellite then back to the C-Band owner. It is true to say there is original compression before it leaves the programmers but not added like there is with Dish and Direct, not to mention other services.
This is pulled directly from Motorola's site, "With C-Band, you receive the original, first generation signals directly from the programmers! No signal compression, no retransmission. Just the unadulterated, cleanest, most direct picture you can get."
Go to Link Removed and read it for yourself.
People like you piss me off with your lack of tact.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

So, if DirecTV and DISH are not "true satellite" systems, what are those things orbiting the earth doing?

 

[Joel Mack]

I thought that maybe that's what he was referring to.

Is there any place left (besides out in the country) that'll let you put up a BUD?

 

[Mike St.Louis]

People like you piss me off with your lack of tact.

That seems rather harsh and uncalled for.

 

[Robert Cranwell]

DonWinzen, The question was asked if there is compression on C-Band satellite. And the CORRECT ANSWER is YES. I have worked in a satellite teleport and worked overrall in the cable industry for many years. So I am giving my facts from hands on work experience. I am sorry your lack of knowledge in this field prevents you having any credibility in your replies.
A NTSC signal is 6mhz wide here in the good USA and this counts for satellite,cable,DVD,Laserdisc,and VHS. When you put more than one sourece onto this signal meaning 2,3,4,etc you are effectively compressing these carriers onto one NTSC signal. This is compressing.
www.skyvision.com is a supplier of C/Ku-Band satellite equipment and they sells books on satellite transmission. Maybe DonWinzen you should educate yourself better on a replied statement before you reply with a demeanoring statement.
Rob Cranwell
Comcast Cable

 

[Michael_Victor]

Thanks for the responses. Would I get many more English "speaking" not as in england, channels or are they all foreign? do people still buy these types of dishes? my wifes grandmother has a system from about 10 years ago or so, the motor that turns it doesn't work anymore but the system itself does. is it worth me taking it and buying one of those motors? and last. who exactly would i go to, to start service?

 

[Scooter]

I have experience with the 3 options listed here. For picture quality that is simply NTSC nothing beats C/Ku Band BIG dish satellite...period!!!!!

I got rid of Direct because it simply got too expensive and switched back to cable only for the convenience of running thru the whole house. Direct was ok...but the compression was simply too much and degraded the signal beyond what I found to acceptable.

I now have DISH Network but only in the main theater and only for the CBS HDTV. Again.compression keeps the signal from being all it can be..BUT..the CBS-HD can be breathtaking!!!!!

 

[DonWinzen]

To Cranwell and Mike StLouis: I was too harsh and I apologize. The response caught me off guard because I researched it first before I responded.

I quoted Motorola's site because out of all the different websites; theirs seemed the most credible.

 

[BobV]

Let's draw the picture with the right terminology...
Analog CBand has no compression... channels are usually 1-24 per satellite, corresponding with the amount of transponders or frequencies used. The majority of the services on the BUD (big ugly dish, or rather, big useful dish) have been transferred to the digital domain because more services can be placed on one transponder because of digital compression techniques.
Digital CBand is usually in one of two flavours, DCII or DVB. Most "cable" channels are broadcast with the DCII compression format, which can be received and decoded by the Motorola 4DTV receivers (along with analog).
Now, the reason why the video for the digital services are much better then the LSD (little silly dish) is because 'CBand' uses much less compression. Whereas the US LSD's usually compress around 10-12:1 (10-12 services per transponder), CBand rarely goes over 6:1 compression... the reason being that they are 'first generation' signals and their primary use is to be feeds for all broadcasters, cable and DSS/DTH. Usually there will be agreements where the signal can not be compressed any more than 6:1 to maintain the highest quality for rebroadcast. If the rebroadcaster does not use the DCII format in their broadcast system, they will need to convert the signal to their format (eg. DVB) and then broadcast with that compression format. That process further goes to degrade the picture quality.
By far, the best picture quality you will get with a satellite dish or cable company (save HD) is via a clean analog BUD signal. No compression, no coax grid to feed the signal through... nothing else compares (except a perfect analog OTA)
For HD on the BUD you have your choice of HBO and Showtime on C Band, and ASCN (sports) on KU. 'Slave' a Canadian Star Choice receiver (which is also DCII and receives linear FSS signals) to a BUD (which is painless) and you can also receive their 2 'best of' channels from Anik F1 with program offerings from CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, and premium movies.
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