Wow, what an interesting thread. I find myself excited, frustrated, and a little disappointed in reading the comments here.
First, I want to commend Brian on his endeavors to improve the products he sells. If he was purely a marketing troll I would be suspicious about his motives. However, Brian offers help and support to many people here - especially in his Glorystar forum. Likewise, Sadoun offers a lot of help to people. I don't recall anyone taking him to task when he wrote about the new bandstacked LNB he offered...
There are some really great folks here who have helped me over the years as I have struggled to learn about programming, receivers, dishes, and other equipment. The list is long, but includes Iceberg, Anole, Stogie, Mike G, Brian, and many others. I don't have the time or resources to embrace the hobby as they do, but live a bit vicariously through them and many others here. And I do putter a bit with my mini-dishes and bandstacked LNBs.
I would describe myself as a newbie with aspirations. Maybe this is why the GEOSATpro equipment is so appealing. Someday I will own a GSp receiver, but for now am using used receivers I picked up at auction. All this to say that while I aspire to the advanced hobbyist side of things, the reality is that I probably fit the customer profile for SatelliteAV much more closely.
I have been a member here at SatGuys for quite a while now and truly value the resource and try to contribute when I can. Perhaps it is just my perception, but it seems to me that the general trend is to be less "friendly" to the newbies - unless they are wholeheartedly embracing the extreme hobbyist approach - than in years past.
Even if Brian's request for ideas does not match your personal needs, isn't there something you have picked up in your discussions with potential FTA folks that would be helpful? (The concerns about WUT programming and such are very valid, but I think Brian addressed them fairly.)
It seems to me that Brian is looking to bring more people into FTA at a basic level that is relatively pain-free for the purposely open programming. These are the types of users who may look to become more of a hobbyist if their initial experience is positive. If my interpretation is correct, then that should be a good thing. How could we not welcome that? Saying that we are here to help new users while also lamenting the potential loss of programming if too many users start viewing it is conflicting.
Now, I have defended Brian in his request for information. In fairness, I have to also concede that he is not always interested in the input he receives. I have responded to past solicited and unsolicited requests for features. From that experience I can conclude that he places a much different value on certain features than I do! I don't always like the answers I get from him, but respect his position as a knowledgeable person in the field with a business to run. In fact, while frustrating, these differences are part of what makes this hobby and site interesting and I am very glad that we have our differences.
In airing and discussing our differences, though, let's be sure to not create an environment where someone feels unwelcome to seek or offer input.
Respectfully,
Red
PS: I sure hope the future MPEG4 receivers are capable of many of the features debated here in other threads. Maybe I will finally be able to purchase a GSp receiver when they are released. Keeping my fingers crossed for my own personal wishlist of features...
