Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

4DTV Subscription-Based C Band HD Discussion

15K views 50 replies 17 participants last post by  tdti1 
#1 ·
Alternate Sources of HD

While I have a DSR500 and a BEV6100 I rarely watch them due to poor picture quality on SD as well as HD programming. My choice in order of preference:

HD DVB/ C Band - Typically broadcast at 30 Ms/s or higher.

4DTV / C Band - Typically broadcast at 19 Ms/s.

ATSC/OTA

I find it interesting that people will spend a bundle on their HT gear but cheap out on the reception side.

Also, unless people complain to Starchoice or Bell their pictures will not improve. Their American counterparts (LSDs) are doing the same thing. Turn the compression up until people complain then back off a little appears to be their policy.
 
#27 ·
dialog_gvf said:
They do if they have DTheater. I've never seen a compression artifact on any of the 20 or so tapes I have. Do those using 4DTV ever see artifacts?
Are you referring to the Bell owned Discovery HD?
If so I didn't think they had run that much HD programming yet. :p

I'm referring to Discovery Home Theater that plays 1080i 24/7
I've never seen an artifact. It's the channel I use to compare all
others to.
 
#28 ·
This from NPS:

Mav TV is now up and operating on GB-400 and is available to all Absolute Digital subscribers.

Country Music Television on GB-801
VH-1 on GB-800

Both these channels should be on by anytime on Friday, the 8th. Any current subscribers that have these channels in their existing analog
packages or have the Absolute Digital, will get them.
 
#29 ·
Frank6926 said:
Hi guys and gals and greetings from Owen Sound Ontario. I have resurected my Cband system and used it for a couple of weeks when it got hit by lightning. I have noticed a few members from my area Barrie, Kincardine and so on and I hope to find someone who can fix my receiver. It is a fairly new Motorola 450 i. the transformer circuit board was broken by the power surge and was fixed so that power was restored and is working. The front panel does not light up. No one in my town that I have talked to can do anything else. What I would like to do is fix it, buy a 4dtv unit or a side car and put them together. I live in an area with no cable TV so I have only to watch one rabbit ear chanell and I'm going mad. Any help would be appreciated. thanks Frank
Best thing to do is buy a 4dtv now, the old analog channels are slowly going away.
 
#30 ·
Oh No

I started this thread to watch it go way over my head. I have been told that my 450i isn't worth fixing, however that is the only way to move my BUD. I also have numerous digital receivers - Dish 3100, BEV 2700 and DTV - it's upstairs in the closet. I am getting the feeling that these types of receivers can be used to look at FTA stuff on the different satalites if they are tuned in. Yes or No??? All in all I'm not a happy camper. My 450i was getting everthing my Family wanted and more. Now we get nothing except rabbit ears. I need someone from the old school. Someone who dosn't mind getting their hands dirty and knows a something about CBand.
It is too easy nowadays to say that something isn't worth fixing. Sometimes I think that is a cop out to sell something else. I paid about $400 for this boat anchor about 2 years ago and now I can't see spending another $400 to move my dish. Does anyone have a cheap Cband Receiver for sale??? Thanks Frank
 
#31 · (Edited)
Best thing to do is upgrade to 4dtv, moves the dish gets analog and digital, later on you can slave a dvb to it cheap, I have had my big dish for over 20 years and love my 4dtv and dvb :)

920 is not worth it unless the battery has been changed, though with it you will not get 5.1 unless you watch HD.

905 not bad but a pain in the but to use for some people, you will need to use two remotes, the 905 and a old analog IRD.

922 best choice, gets channels the 920 will not get, and is the latest model in the 4dtv line.

921 Canadian model made for star choice, can't sub to hbo showtime starz, waste of space unless you want to watch star choice an analog C-band that will soon all be gone.

Though if you can get a 921 cheap, you can contact ATS electronics, send it in and they will replace the board with a 920 board, and you will have a 920, but to be honest the price for shipping and work you will be better off getting a 922.
 
#32 ·
switching to 4dtv

I think now is the time to move to 4dtv,cband over xmas took another fall all the starz channels are gone and one hbo feed.
I'm going to switch --looked at cable,looked at express view and at direct tv (too many scams) and the old c band is the way for me anyway ,as I have a 10foot dish with c/ku head on it and running fine ,weather does not bother it etc..
The motorola 922 is $880.00 canadian,my chapperal 90 is going to have to be laid up .
I would like to see the install manual for the 922 though,just to see what sort of outputs there are and how automatic is it for setting to find all the satellites.
woodman
 
#33 ·
model 920

I did not realize that the old 921 could be picked up a future shop cheap,this would be good as a second receiver ,has anyone stup a second receiver,also where can one purchase a new remote for the 922.
Seems a lot of dealers only sell the 922 and rmote ,no remotes alone
 
#34 ·
woodman said:
I did not realize that the old 921 could be picked up a future shop cheap,this would be good as a second receiver ,has anyone stup a second receiver,also where can one purchase a new remote for the 922.
Seems a lot of dealers only sell the 922 and rmote ,no remotes alone
I have the 922 hooked up accross the house, I have a remote in every room, I got them from www.rpssat.com in Montreal.

That sucks, I bought my remotes from them a few months ago for close to double the price they have them for now :( oh well...
 
#35 ·
dsr 922 questions

When you program the dsr922 say fine tune a channel does it get saved because you do not cancel it.
Is there a need to check and program each channel.
Which sat does the download come in for the guide G1 channel 3 or G9 channel 9,wondering just where to leave it parked and it does have to be shutdown right for it to move.
Is the clock controlled by the provider,mine is out , trip counter 0 and channels 4582
Also I have the colortor head from chaperral c/ku is this called a standard lnb and should i have a bit of offset on the lnb setup.
Lots of questions,do you have to program all the satellites KU and C.
I was real spoiled with the chaperral 95 it was all auto.
Thanks
woodman
 
#36 ·
woodman said:
When you program the dsr922 say fine tune a channel does it get saved because you do not cancel it.
Is there a need to check and program each channel.
Which sat does the download come in for the guide G1 channel 3 or G9 channel 9,wondering just where to leave it parked and it does have to be shutdown right for it to move.
Is the clock controlled by the provider,mine is out , trip counter 0 and channels 4582
Also I have the colortor head from chaperral c/ku is this called a standard lnb and should i have a bit of offset on the lnb setup.
Lots of questions,do you have to program all the satellites KU and C.
I was real spoiled with the chaperral 95 it was all auto.
Thanks
woodman
The 922 finds all the satellites for you with the easy sat locator, when setting it up the first time, the guide comes off of Galaxy-1 transponder-3 you should select it to allow dish to move for updates so it does it on it's own, you should go to http://forums.satforums.com for big dish stuff.
 
#38 ·
4dtv update

I want to thank everyone that gave me tid bits on 4dtv start.
The guide on zapit.com is great.
I ordered new lnb's from Ohio and installed them sat and now i have a much better picture and the X4 ku is coming in good.
My next step is to try and tune up the dish but i'm waiting for better weather.
So new coax new lnb's new receiver (922) and i'm watching movies again.
 
#39 ·
Great news.

I will be upgrading my lnb's this summer, I will also be putting up a wideband feedhorn, for feeds on NSS-806, big dish is the best :)
 
#40 ·
4dtv question

I may have placed this in the wrong spot.
I've had my hands full getting the 922 4dtv programmed and working.Replaced coax leads,replaced lnb's had the dish physically re-aligned and all was working excellent up to sat afternoon ,then i lost the dc light on G1 03 and G1 167 where the 2 downloads are.
Seems I have lost a lot of channels but no one can sort out why as signal strengths are good ,picture is great.
Seems i may have a reciever fault,anyone had this ---still no dc light on g1 03 ,167
 
#41 ·
Are you keeping an eye on you position numbers? your reed sensor in you arm may be bad, and so the 4dtv is losing counts.

Can you get the analog channel on Galaxy-1R transponder-5 (G1-5) how does it look? what was your quality on the digital on Galaxy-1R before, if the quality was below 40 then you dish or feed are not properly set, or you lnb is not stable enough.
 
#44 ·
Info/parts

For those looking for info on big dish:
http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=5050-8100

For those looking for parts and service:
www.rpssat.com
www.kusat.com

For those looking to record HD off there 4dtv/hdd 2xx:
http://www.nextcomwireless.com/r5000/home.htm

I can't watch small dish on my big screen, or lisen to the poor audio they send out, for those who want quality, and no problems with rain big dish is the best to go, I know two people that just got a new system put up, though it was not cheap, if you already have a big dish upgrading is a snap and will not cost much, for those wanting a system I would recommend looking for a used dish, or contacting one of the dealers I posted, I do know they stock new and used dishes.
 
#45 ·
4dtv

Thanks for all the info tdti, I think I talked to you on another forum awhile back.

Heres where I am at. Bev 6100 absolute crap, sorry but it is, hd sucks and so does the audio, I have now cancelled.

I know I can find a 10' dish for free, and I know if its mesh they need to be smaller than a pencil size holes to receive the ku stations.

Is it illegal to have a cband dish in city limits?

Whats it gonna cost me for someone to install it?

The 4dtv in $800, now what happens when everything goes to mpeg4?

How many channels ae there?

Do you get a lot of sports feeds for free?

Any word on a fta hd?

thanks and I will keep reading.
 
#47 ·
I am in calgary, nw in the city, so just curious if I can put a dish in my back yard, I am also wondering how do I know if I can see all the sats viewable with a cband dish.

I am always seeing these guys giving them away in the bargain finder, basically just come take it away.

I also just cancelled my bell cause the 6100 just sucks and 600 and a two year contract for the 942 is just a joke.
 
#48 ·
ClgShaft said:
I am in calgary, nw in the city, so just curious if I can put a dish in my back yard, I am also wondering how do I know if I can see all the sats viewable with a cband dish.

I am always seeing these guys giving them away in the bargain finder, basically just come take it away.

I also just cancelled my bell cause the 6100 just sucks and 600 and a two year contract for the 942 is just a joke.
Yea,lots of old c-band to give a way out there. A lot to set them up and for the serious surfer,but it is a geat way to go.A lot stonger siginal,clearer picture.I run several BUD'S.Have a 12 footer with a special dbs eye I made for it running my Ecostar sats and Bev* on my Pansat.I have another to run my old C-band analog reciever with the black cage card(6.52 auto roll).Then another for KU band.If you get one for free,Don't stop there .Get as many as you can for parts(You will need them!)Happy hunting!(p.s make sure you have a good clear shot to the west!)
 
#49 ·
ClgShaft said:
The 4dtv in $800, now what happens when everything goes to mpeg4?
Existing C Band 4DTV SD channels will not go MPEG4 because they have long term transponder contracts with the satellite owners. What is happening is that existing C Band analog feeds are being turned. They are going to formats that are unavailable to backyard dish owners. C Band programmers try to access the HITS signals to replace the lost feeds. The PQ of HITS signals is about the same as DTV and Dish. In no way is it comparable to C Band 4DTV or analog PQ.

As for HD, what you see on 4DTV now is all you will ever get. Programmers are opting either for PowerVu or a form of DCII unavailable to 9XX receivers for all new HD services.

The good news is that price of used HDD20X HD decoders has decreased radically since SC dropped the price on integrated HD receivers.
 
#50 ·
As for HD, what you see on 4DTV now is all you will ever get. Programmers are opting either for PowerVu or a form of DCII unavailable to 9XX receivers for all new HD services.
We may have NFL network HD soon, and we can hope and pray for NESN HD but with local laws and blackouts not sure we will see it.

Spice HD is 4dtv compatible but Playboy does not want us to have it :(

FTA HD receivers when they come out will be a nice addition to anyone with a big dish.
 
#51 ·
NFL networks master SD feed is now mapped on Galaxy-11, the master HD feed is mapped on Galaxy-13, 4dtv owners should be able to subscribe soon.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top