The expense of 4dtv.

[123tim]

Could anyone tell me why digicipher (4dtv) receivers are so expensive compared to straight FTA receivers? Is the extra price for the proprietary codec (a guess) used for descrambling digicipher?
I also wonder why there doesn't seem to be a 4dtv PC DVB card available?

Thanks.

 

[mkm4]

Could anyone tell me why digicipher (4dtv) receivers are so expensive compared to straight FTA receivers? Is the extra price for the proprietary codec (a guess) used for descrambling digicipher?

Limited market and the fact that they are only made by one company. There is a big market for FTA outside of the US. We are just piggy backing on that.
The primary market for Digicipher equipment is cable TV operators.

I also wonder why there doesn't seem to be a 4dtv PC DVB card available?
Thanks.

Nobody wants to pay the licensing fee to make one and again, the limited market.

 

[Shawn95GT]

Besides all that, most of the content has gone digital. Now you have to have a 4DTV to get many of the channels you used to be able to get with a regular analog reciever. Used 4DTVs (especially the 922s) get near the cost of a new one these days.

I got my 922 right before Starz cut off the analog feeds.

If you are lucky, you might stumble on a 4DTV in a thrift shop. My 922 was bought by a co-worker for $7.99 in a thrift shop. I traded my Pansat 3500s for it and he felt bad (for me) about the deal. I figure he got a smoking deal on a 3500s, and I got a 922 on the cheap.