Any Old C-Band Folks Here?

[Gordoco]

I had it before there was a Sci-Fi net and watched the kaleidoscope test pattern they ran for a month or two.

Oh, I remember that Sci-Fi test channel. I think it went on for two months or so prior to Sci-Fi launch. Very creative. Then when it finally went live, I think they only had two sponsors, so that first night's movie had the same two annoying commercials, alternating and shown twice per commercial break IIRC.

I still have the BUD but haven't used it in many years. I miss the 4DTV picture quality, but I prefer the convenience of Dish - especially not having to tweak the BUD every month or so to keep it working.

 

[bobvick]

I do not think that there is much of that "BUD" quality left from what I read over at 4dtvROCKS.com. It seems that NPS pretty much runs the C-Band/4DTV subscription show now.
The only "master" feeds that seem to be left are the SD DCII feeds of the premium channels. I believe that HBO E&W, Showtime W, and HD Theatre are still avaialble in DCII MPEG-2 HD, but most everything else is DCII megapipe or MPEG-4 HD with DCII encryption.

 

[whatchel1]

4 sure

Used to sell and install them.. I miss those good ole days when people actually knew that a service call meant that they had to pay, and no one expected everything for free.

+1

 

[Kb Cool]

I do not think that there is much of that "BUD" quality left from what I read over at 4dtvROCKS.com. It seems that NPS pretty much runs the C-Band/4DTV subscription show now.
The only "master" feeds that seem to be left are the SD DCII feeds of the premium channels. I believe that HBO E&W, Showtime W, and HD Theatre are still avaialble in DCII MPEG-2 HD, but most everything else is DCII megapipe or MPEG-4 HD with DCII encryption.

The G3 uplinks that NPS provides are of poor quality. The master SD feeds that 4DTV provides are much better than the E* equivilents. Are they better than E*'s HDLITE feeds? No. So, basically NPS is in real trouble considering they are raising prices for SD services that can't compete w/ the HDlite that is found with other sat providers. Fios i'm sure is what 4DTV could be with a new receiver. But, its a little too late now as most people are starting to figure out that 4DTV is getting antiquated fast. FTAhd is where you'll find amazing quality but don't expect to plop down on your couch and tune to a channel and find it. It requires a little work on the users part. But it doesn't cost nothing either.