C Band losing subs, why?

[cablewithaview]

I often wonder why there is so many people leaving C Band. I know there is a lot of reasons, but I wanted to explore this so people at NPS and other providers can read this and get ideas. bring all of it to one place to get it all out and to be read instead of being mixed among other discussions. would part of the problem be the fact it takes longer to get a channel back up after it changes format (power vu, etc.), the cost of equipment, IPG problems ??? what would be your reason if you left c band? and what was your reason why you left c band?
what would help? offer something dbs doesn't offer? could Scientific Atlanta save c band by releasing a residential power vu receiver?

 

[Perfesser]

Probably a combination of things...
One, the initial cost of a C-Band setup runs over $1k unless you 'inherit' one as I did; it was left behind by the owner of the house so I got mine free - can't beat that.
Repairs cost a bunch because it's all yours; $150 for a positioner.
Two, the best channels are going either 4DTV or scrambled MPEG (means another receiver to buy).
With Dishnet supplying the receiver the economics don't work out very well for C-Band users considering that the good channels are going away. I'll probably go Dishnet in a year or two and just use the C Band dish for some FTA and whatever network feeds I can find.

 

[fayrich]

Dropped C-Band subs in favor of DBS several years ago because I could see the handwriting on the wall regarding C-Band. Continual drop-off of big dish owners, and disappearance of or merging of program providers. Less competition, higher prices. Granted, C-Band is still around and available, but I still feel it is just a matter of time til it will disappear completely for the residential consumer. No longer worth while for the present few providers to continue to do so. I still subscribe to one 2 channel service on T6 if you get my drift. Heh, heh. Pretty damn expensive though!!

 

[rtt2]

Motorola never bothered to produce an updated 4DTV box. Without Digicipher II with megapipe capability the ability to subscribe to channels has shrunk. In addition many channels have gone PowerVu.

But the biggest reason the big dish's demise is simply the invention on the small dish. Once the pizza pan came along C-Band did not stand a chance in the American household.

 

[JerryK]

well, I'm the one guy here who went the OTHER direction.

I had D* for 3 years, then dumped it (and just went to a rooftop antenna) because I didn't feel like spending 44 bucks a month for tv.

When my brother moved and gave me his dish, I upgraded all the electronics and got a dsr922 (total about 600 bucks)

It was a chunk of money, but now I pay just 200 a year. If I pay the 200 with a small chunk of my tax return, I have essentially NO cable bill.

The pizza dish may be good for city-dwellers etc, but I have NO desire to go back to it.

 

[Diamond Jim]

Valid reasons, but I wouldn't trade mine for anything. I might be moving and if I do the only thing that will be left behind will be the pole in the ground.

 

[highway2]

I left Cband because of the 4x3 format on my 9 foot projector screen.
unable to change screen to 16x9. Small dish allows you to stretch the
picture to fit 16x9 format.

 

[Spike]

I loved my C-Band. But I move too much to have kept it. The small dish packs well. The large on does not.

 

[tdti1]

I left Cband because of the 4x3 format on my 9 foot projector screen.
unable to change screen to 16x9. Small dish allows you to stretch the
picture to fit 16x9 format.

How can you watch small dish on a screen that big? I would get sick.

 

[iammike]

How can you watch small dish on a screen that big? I would get sick.

I have a projector with an 8 foot screen, and the only way I'll watch small dish on it is if I upconvert it through my MyHD card first. It's watchable, but is terrible compared with the digital picture I get from my local channels. A lot of FTA beats the Dish signal all to pieces too. Particularly sports. I think as more people go to projectors and high-definition sets, there's going to be some backlash against the crappy small-dish picture.