Canada’s largest direct-to-home satellite broadcaster, Bell TV has informed its dealers that it will no longer sell or rent its 3150 and 5900 standard definition (SD) satellite receivers. (http://www.digitalhome.ca/2009/12/bell-tv-dropping-all-standard-definition-satellite-receivers/)

Smart move.

NOTE: This may have been premature as the 4100 will likely still be offered.

Not before time.

Funny that they are now following Telus's business plan, the 6131 or the 9241, nothing else.

SD receivers have not been made for some time. It's probably taken Bell years to get rid of their (and Dish's) old stock. So which would you rather buy, a 6131 that will be usable for the foreseeable future or a 3100 that will be obsolete with your next TV purchase? Then consider that there is very little difference in price between the two.

So SD would be as good as HD if they gave it more bandwidth? And HD is a way for them to jam more channels on a sat? Do you even know what your talking about???

What happens to all the Subscribers who own 3100 and 4100 receivers. Will they be replaced for free by Bell? I own two 3100's and one 4100. I have had the 3100's since Oct 2003 and the 4100 since May 2007. I do not own a HD TV. If bell does not replace these receivers for free I will be switching to Shaw Cable or Shaw Direct the only two other options I have where I live.

Bell is not ceasing SD broadcasts. They are just no longer selling the receivers. Bell will still be broadcasting SD for many years. They probably will also have replacement SD receivers for some time as well. Though why someone would pay $99 to get a refurbished 3100 instead of buying a new 6131 for $150-$200 is a mystery to me. The 6131 and 9241 both work with SD TVs so that is not an issue.

I have to say that this is a good move on Bell's part.
People are going to shell out a little more, but they'll end up with better equipment.

It will put pressure on Bell to reduce the cost of the receivers too, especially to entice new customers. The 6131 becomes the new low end.

-Mike

NOTE: This may have been premature as the 4100 will likely still be offered.

Sorry Guys, this may have been premature as I have been informed the 4100 will still be offered. I am told this will likely change but not immediately.

For those that are wondering what a 3150 is.....

The 3150 was introduced as the 2 TV Solution, it comprises of 2 x 3100 model, refurbished receivers.

I am glad that they are phasing out SD receivers. The more HD receivers out there the more oppurtunity for people to see how much better HD is.

All SD equipment should be phased out eventually. Even for folks with no HDTVs yet the current slate of HD hardware is backwards compatible.

They can replace my 4500 anytime. :)

Good news.. I was wondering why there were even bothering anymore with the straight SD receivers. Hopefully this will drive the price down a bit or the rental rates down a bit on the 92xx series.

All SD equipment should be phased out eventually. Even for folks with no HDTVs yet the current slate of HD hardware is backwards compatible.

The 6131 doen't have an RF output. An RF modulator would be required for older TVs that don't have at least composite inputs.

I don't think that someone who has a TV without a video input would be buying either a 6131 or 9200, they would most likely get a 4100. My parents recently got rid of their 20 year old Electrohome TV, even it had an S-Video input.

I don't think that someone who has a TV without a video input would be buying either a 6131 or 9200, they would most likely get a 4100. My parents recently got rid of their 20 year old Electrohome TV, even it had an S-Video input.
I've got a 20 year old RCA ColorTrack 2000 down in my basement and it has S-VIDEO with a Comb Filter. It was top of the line in 1989 when I bought it.

In January 2009, Bell announced to its CSRs that is inventory of SD-PVRs (model 5900) was impared and availability was restricted to new clients only.

I'm glad to see that Bell has run out of its refurbished 3100 receivers. Does this mean if your 3100 or older receiver is not working, will Bell send you a 4100 as a replacement?

Nope, there are piles of them waiting for Customers as replacements.

does it mean they will do the same for the 5900? what they will replace it with?