More newb questions...

[Schwipp]

First of all- this is my first post - this forum is awesome...

I am strongly considering signing up with Bell or SC, and have some newb questions - I found alot of my answers in other threads, but instead of responding multiple times, I thought i'd put everything in one post...

So here is my situation and what I'm looking for in choosing Bell or Star Choice:

hockey in HD! - pretty much the sole reason I am researching on this forum! Better/more HD NHL coverage and of course, Hockey night in Canada in HD is a must.

For the most part, I just watch the NHL but seeing some junior games would be cool also.

At some point (maybe next season), getting NFL ticket (HD) would be nice to have also - but I think I will get additional games through the regular network feeds....

I plan to buy just one HD box/DVR, and am considering going through CanAM for the equipment/broker fee etc. (feel free to comment)

here are my questions:

1) I was leaning toward Bell since I see that Center Ice offers games in HD - but then i read in another post that Star Choice will be rolling those out soon? If so, when?

2) I live in Maryland, will I have any issues with a standard size dish for either service - I'm assuming I will be OK picking up both Bell satellites?

3) Do I need to use a phone line with either service? (i.e. like with direct-tv)

4) I think i read in another post that there are no DVR fees needed for either service, but can someone confirm?

5) I've read in many posts that Bell is moving toward MPEG-4 as early as next year - how much life would I get out of a current Bell receiver? Does Star choice have the same hardware considerations now?


sorry for the long post! i grew up in a house that had the old 10' dish in the 80's (back when nothing was scrambled!) so it would be great to get those canadian channels again!

thanks for reading all of this.

 

[Satellite Expert]

There are better brokers than CanAm - pm some posters here for info - keep it discreet. Many southern subs have bought hardware from Kusat.

1) Sept 27 or so; SC will add 2 HDPPV channels that will be used for CI (channels 469/470)

2) You should get all the satellites

3) For SC - no with less than 3 receivers

4) No DVR fees with either

5) Who knows what will happen with Expressvu. There will be new owners in the new year at BCE who own Bell. It will be chop, chop, chop time as Cerberus is one of the main players.

Who knows what the footprint of the new Expressvu satellites will be. Lots of talk but one thing for sure is that they will strengthen signal in west coast of Canada where rainfade is a big issue with Expressvu.

The other issue is security on Bell - Latest rumour is that all SD + HD receivers may be replaced with NDS encryption.

Other thing to learn is about "Simsub" and how it is enacted differently on SC vs Expressvu. Also check programming costs - Expressvu is charging far more for HD and for sports pkgs vs SC and Canadian cable companies.

 

[Schwipp]

Awesome, thanks for all of the info! I will most likely go with SC, and will PM someone on the board for broker info, once I have everything ready to go.

And thanks for the heads up on Simsub, I will research that some more on the net...

thanks,
Steve...