Has Anyone Ever Seen Or Used Star Choice Canada
- Thread starter Bowtieman
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In another post it is being said that ExpressVu is having some subscriptions in the U.S. shutoff while StarChoice is not going that far at this time as ExpressVu is.
Stargazer said:
I don't think that is correct. ExpressVu has contacted certain people in the US who advertised reselling BEV products and asked that such advertising be pulled. But no one that I know of has had a BEV subscription in the US shut off permanently. But BEV's policies are making it very difficult to get their equipment into the US.
I had StarChoice before I subscribed to BEV. At the time I thought that SC had better SD picture quality than BEV, but I went with BEV because at the time it had more US Network HD and because the BEV 6000 receiver was a much better equipment choice than the Navigo 405/HDD201 kludge from Motorola. Now, however, SC has caught up in HD offerings, and I hear that the Motorola DSR500 receiver is pretty good - still some bugs, but nothing of the "killer" variety. Also, SC says it will have an HD-PVR solution out by summer, which is possible since Motorola already has a PVR in the works for VOOM and currently sells cable boxes with PVR's in them. BEV will eventually get the DISH921, but given DISH's problems with that unit (both in supply and with bugs), it's not likely to be available from BEV any time soon.
But if you're into HD, you might want to make sure that SC's second satellite (Anik E2, I think) gets a signal down to your location. Their main satellite, F1, will be no problem (you can get it fine in Mexico!).
John C.
jcolombo said:
Thanks John for your response,
I called and talked to Freeway support to hook up to BEV and the csr said that BEV was shutting down customers in the lower 48 and she recommended Star Choice. I signed up for it and ordered a HD receiver and the proper programming. She confirmed that I would get the HD networks from Buffalo. At this point I was happy with it.
Later that day I started checking on SC and their broadcast capabilities. I wanted to make sure that SC could deliver HD to my location without loss of signal. I found that I could get Anik F1 without any problems but I would probably not have the same luck with Anik E2R which is where the high definition is.
I called Freeway back and told the csr of my dilemma and asked her to make sure that I could the Anik E2R satellite in southern california. She was to find out and let me know. Never heard from her....
Wrote them an email advising them of what I had found and the only reason I wanted this was to get HD and have the ability to time shift. Told rep if she could guarantee me that I could get the HD stations I would stay with SC. Otherwise I wanted to get hooked up with BEV or credit my credit card for the HD receiver and any other charges. If she wtill couldn't hook me up with BEV then I told them I would be back in August when they get the Anik F2 satellite up and running as it will cover the same area as the Anik F1.
I have yet to hear anything back from Freeway Support...
Has anyone else had problems with them or is this just someone not following through at Freeway.
Bowtieman said:
Service from Freeway (I use them, too) is variable. Sometimes good, sometimes not.
You should visit the following web site:
www.global-cm.net
and click on "The Canadian Solution". Bunch of info there. If I were you, I'd e-mail the owner, Mike Kohl, about your situation. Mike's web site indicates that Anik E2R reception in San Diego is iffy without a fairly large dish. But Mike is a great guy to deal with and is actually a satellite dish engineer by trade, so he'll give you the straight scoop.
I have BEV myself. I have not been shut off by BEV. I think the CSR is not fully informed about what Bell is doing. They indeed are making it difficult for folks in the lower 48 to get equipment and service, but I have no evidence that they are shutting anyone off - and I read enough message boards, including AVS (where a bunch of us HD'ers live) that I think I would have heard very quickly if this were indeed true.
John C.
Do they offer SuperStations in HD? Sounds like a great service to get for those with HD tv's and wanting to get smaller packages that would be closer to getting ala carte.
Stargazer said:
Go to the Star Choice Link below and click on "Read our weekly HD highlights".
It's in PDF format and you will have to click on the zoom several times to be able to read it. It will show you the shows that Star Choice offers in HD for a one week period.....
You have to get the Local Package which includes the HD channels. It runs around 22-23 dollars a month and gives you a lot of SD and HD channels to look at. The HD receiver is around 500 bucks and their is a yearly fee from Star Choice of $110 dollars for their services.
Right now they have six HD channels and are adding two more next month..
You can see why I wanted to get this service but I really wanted to get it with BEV for I know I could get a singal where I live. Star Choice would be ok if I was sure I could get their HD signal where I live.
Bowtieman said:
I would suggest that you wait til the fall before investing in either Star Choice or Expressvu.
RE: Star Choice: The Motorola DSR 530 is scheduled to be released soon after Anik F2 is operational (F2 has the same footprint as F1 - meaning to all of Canada, lower 48, Mexico + Hawaii). Rumors are that there will be a very special introductory price for the DSR530. It will have the same "All outputs always on" feature as the DSR500
RE: Expressvu
Simultaneous substitutions have now started with Expressvu HD - first with CTV and CityTV - soon with Global and Craig's Toronto One.
Unlike Star Choice, Expressvu does not have the ability to institute Simsubs by Canadian CRTC regulations. As a result, whenever any Canadian station, anywhere, asks for a simsub, ALL Expressvu subscribers EVERYWHERE lose the American station carrying the program. Star Choice has the ability to follow regulations exactly; as they can remap receivers, on the fly, by postal code (subtitution to be made only to customers who can see the substitute requesters signal OTA)
Contrary to postings on AVSforum, all Canadian stations can get HD substitutions, as long as they are not at lower rate than US originating network - ie 1080i subs are okay, but they cannot substitute a Canadian 480i or 480p feed for a US 1080i feed. There is no requirement for the substituted signal to be of "equal quality" or bandwidth.
In addition, since Charlie has been unable to meet delivery schedules of 811s for his own company, the launch of the Expressvu 811 has been delayed.
I would suggest to purchase a Starchoice DSR-500 because you will be waiting for over a year until 530 comes out. As a starchoice dsr-500 owner, I waited over a year for that unit and it was worth the wait. I had a VU 6000, the biggest piece of charlie crap ever made, the starchoice system went up to the suite and the 6000 went down to the street. The HD will inprove when starchoice gets more transponder space with new bird and we will see tsnhd/ctvhd/sportsnethd and many more having there own channel in lineup. The picture quailty is alot better on Star where as compressvu sucks most of the time. I also sub to the new voom service and most likely one of the first 100 to do it in canada and its is the best. Over the years I have had dish and directv, bell and the two best, best of both worlds are Starchoice and Voom.Don't get me wrong about Vu, they offer alot, being a stock holder of BCE and I am not talking a little bit of stock. There have been talks about creating are own set-top boxes or going with hughes, charlie's stuff is being put out to the public with bugs and those customers are testing it for him. Go with starchoice you will not be dissappointed.
