C/Ku Band large dish systems - not dead yet! An article for media lovers.
Dec 18 '04 (Updated Dec 26 '04)
The Bottom Line Looking for that somewhat obscure entertainment idea? Here's one that is still a winner!
Some are calling these systems dinosaurs, but their decline is only another notch on the gun handle of small dish providers and cable providers who have discouraged and fought them for years. Many have, and may be still be wondering just what happened to the Big Dish systems that were easily found in the 1980-'90's. Well they are still around and offer multiple true HDTV channels of Showtime, Starz, HBO, and others at lower prices for these premium channels with better quality transmission. More digital channels are being added all the time. The new kids (small dish systems) aren't always better for many reasons, not the least of which is uninterrupted high quality viewing.
An economic boost here would send a loud message about ever increasing programming costs, leaving cable companies screaming yet again.
Don't run and plug in that old analog receiver if you have one - it needs a digital "sidecar" from Motorola to get these channels and an additional converter from Motorola, who seems to have exclusive rights here now. Well not really.
A bit about digital receivers.
All types of digital receivers are available for free off-air programming as well as for free and pay digital satellite programming. Those for off-air don't require an additional converter, but those for satellite; well they will require a bit more equipment.
Remember the rain fade with small dish systems? It doesn't exist with large dish systems because of the large antenna, but space requirements and your cash flow will make the difference in your decision initially.
Some math will allow you to quickly see how much difference exists between small dish and large dish programming. Over a period of years it is quite possible to surmount with a large savings and a superior viewing solution using a large dish system. Check pricing at http://www.skyvision.com/programming.
Those old laws concerning large dish systems in neighborhoods have now been struck down on a Federal level, and this will not be a problem. So if a "Big Old Ugly Dish System" is beginning to look attractive, it just may be for you. The mesh dishes don't necessarily look that bad anyway, and they perform as well and better than some of those old solid dishes. Wind loading won't be affecting its accuracy as bad either.
To get the digital C/Ku band programming with a large dish, here's a shopping list which can be handled easily by the people at http://www.skyvision.com. You may want one of their complete system deals.
First you should get a Horizon-to-Horizon C/Ku dish of 8-12 feet diameter in the continental USA and an unobstructed view of the southern sky from east to west with the lower angles of about 30 degrees (this will assure all satellites will be available). Skyvision can also help you with the exact angles for your area to view the satellites you want. Once you have this in place, with the necessary cabling, you will want a Motorola HDTV converter and a receiver such as their DSR 922 model. As much of this programming is scrambled, you will also need a descrambler module to install in the receiver for old standard analog C-band. After programming the satellites, which is not that difficult, you will simply need authorization from providers such as NPS, or Skyvision. A credit card and a phone call will be necessary and a phone connection to the receiver for Pay-Per-View. If you just had a professional installer do the install it will be much easier on you as antenna alignment is critical. For long life and to prevent unnecessary repairs, get a quality antenna and components for the feed horn (where the LNB/s and polarizer reside for signal collection).
Guess what? You can also add another receiver for free MPEG broadcasts along with the Dolby Digital programming you already have on the digital channels. There are still a number of free channels available using only the Motorola receiver, which includes Dolby encoded music of all genres. The sound is usually 5+1 and I have it routed through my surround sound system for theater quality, which I can also control for realism and the best music enjoyment. With the added MPEG receiver you can get many more added free channels from all over the world and this area is growing.
Reliability, you ask? Well, I installed my system in 1986 using quality components; a Dark Star 10' H-H dish, California Amplifier C/Ku LNB's, and an early Janiel receiver. My system has needed almost zero maintenance, and required little before or since I upgraded to the strong new C and Ku band LNB's that have been available since 1998. With the descrambler I had purchased in 1995, in the Star Trak 800 receiver I also purchased
at that time, it was a simple matter of inserting the descrambler from the Star Trak into the General Instruments DSR 920 receiver I purchased in 1998. (Motorola has since bought them out replacing this model with the DSR 922)
Using surge protection with a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) I have had zero problems from lightning and power outages other than the few times power has been off for an extended time (this requires the 4DTY receiver to be returned to its download satellite dish position to renew its excellent Programming Guide - done automatically over night about 3-4AM or by request from a message prompt). There are also surge protectors now available for those LNB's at the antenna.
How about new satellites and changes to older ones? Well Motorola sends this information to these units and re-programs them for the changes automatically.
What I have is and has been an unbeatable system for lower cost premium programming. Of course these large dish systems are authorized individually so added rooms increase programming costs 100% with no discounts which is why I also have multiple DirecTv systems in my home with basic programming, This way everyone benefits and my bills are lower with premium channels available in my den and pay-per-view throughout my home controlled by me.
Visit Motorola at http://www.4dtv.com/ to read about the great features their DSR 922 receiver and other equipment has.
Still unsure of getting one of these systems? Well remember there are always the MPEG receivers, that receive large numbers of channels for free, that also work with the "Big Old Ugly Dish", and MPEG channels are staying around. These large dishes also offer high speed internet service (up to 400 Kbps.) as a low monthly service cost alternative (about $29 mo. from SkyXpress.net) with an inexpensive external or internal modem (internal about $99 for your PC and there's even a PC card for viewing MPEG free channels on your PC).
Note some of the items I've mentioned do not appear at www.skyvision.com but are in their catalog which can be ordered free at their site. Read from the Skyvision catalog what some would rather no one knew about.
Is this old technology? Well yes, but certainly not dead and it is still expanding as C/Ku bands continue to go digital increasing the number of channels per transponder. Just multiple the number of satellites by the number of possible channels and it's no wonder my DSR 920 has over 4000 channels to surf or how large its Program Guide is.
Wouldn't one of these be a nice present for someone!
Alex
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