# Could This Be C-Band's Big Break?



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Despite the thrashing the C-Band industry experienced at the beginning of the year (56,560 net de-authorizations for the month of January), the subsequent months have taken a dive&#8230;for the good.

Showing progress toward the foretold "C-Band De-Authorization Drop-Off," the big dish market has recently seen some well-deserved breaks: February 2002 inked 17,476 net de-authorizations, March sank to 17,058, April posted 18,795 and May dropped 16,072.

These numbers aren't relative signs that point to a champagne and finger food party; however, they do prove that C-Band still has relative merit in the satellite industry and has a product that sells conservatively.

If one should add-up all the gross authorization results so far this year, it comes to a hearty 522. That's 522 consumers who decided to seek the benefits of C-Band despite the volatile economy and the DBS onslaught.

From SkyRetailer (Used with Permission)


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

Well, if you have space to put up a 10' dish, they can be fun especially if you add Ku FSS band capability as well as the C band. I have a 7.5' which is not too great. My second one is a 10' and it is great for C and Ku. I got both of them just for going and getting them. Of course, I had to dismount and remount them. Receivers came with. I have some VideoCipher subscriptions on both of them. The most useful being GoodLife TV, A&E western feed and USA western feed. Also have WGN, KWGN, WPIX and KTLA Superstations Have a couple of others. There are plenty to choose from. There are many religious services and a few secular services such as Outdoor Channel and Wisdom which are free.

If you check the sports forum, you will find the C band analog Major League Baseball game backhauls which appear in the clear most days. During the fall and winter there are several College games(football and basketball) on analog Ku and C band, mostly Ku, though. Most of these are in the clear, i.e., not scrambled or encrypted. If you add an Mpeg2/DVB FTA receiver, some of the Fox Sports Net feeds are in the clear as well as many newsfeeds and some of the Yankees backhauls. Of course, there is the 4DTV receivers or "sidecar" add-ons which currently allow reception of many subscription services as well as Diamondbacks and Orioles games. Add to this, an HD add-on, and get some HD services. There are some receivers which I think still allow the reception of HDNET and the Portland/Seahawks HD Channel(The name escapes me)

Most items show up on Ebay for reasonable prices. Dishes are sometimes available in your area simply for the taking. New ones are about $425 without positioner and feed assembliy.
If getting a used one, be sure to check for hail damage and any obvious warpage and dents in the surface.

Just felt like typing a bit here.


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## Adam Richey (Mar 25, 2002)

I still think that within a decade, C-Band will become obsolete. It depends on DBS's willingness to add the extra programming that C-Band carries that DBS just doesn't have right now.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

I loved having my C-Band dish. It was a nice toy to play with. I switched to DBS mainly because I didn't want to maintain it anymore and we needed 3 different receivers to receive all programming at the same time. With C-Band you just can't do that without lots of expensive equipment and subscription costs.

C-Band isn't going anywhere. The DBS providers get most of their programming from C-Band so as long as it exists, there will always be a market for the equipment.


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## lee635 (Apr 17, 2002)

C-band is moving back to hobbyists and the realm of those rare souls who have lots of lengthy short wave antennas strung all over their roof....


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## woodman (May 17, 2002)

No one has yet mentioned the fact that nearly all of the hardware manufacturers that built and marketed equipment for these BUDs have tossed in the towel and moved on to some other business that has a future!

I was a C-band dealer for about a dozen years before I saw the "handwriting-on-the-wall" and bailed out several years ago. I'm now retired, and enjoying the bejeezus out of my Dish Network system. Don't miss the hassles of BUD ownership in the slightest. Of course, living in the mountains of So.California (where there is SNOW every winter) had something to do with my feelings, but certainly not all.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I had a nice 10' Unimesh dish with a Toshiba 2200 receiver before moving from Minnesnowta to Florida. I thoroughly enjoyed having that piece of technology braced against my house and pulling in great entertainment from all over the sky. Unimesh is no longer producing dishes, Toshiba is no longer producing receivers. I now live in a neighborhood where the neighborly hassles wouldn't be worth the installation, and miss it much. One of the last wild feeds that I watched on the BUD was a news feed of hurricane coverage from Vero Beach. I was unaware at the time, but the uplink trucks were parked four blocks from my house (a house which the bank and I had already purchased). I was able to keep up on the weather conditions here while sitting in my house (on the market) in Minnesnowta. 


> (where there is SNOW every winter)


Snow should only be seen in pictures and on distant mountaintops.


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2002)

I just got a used BUD and had it installed. We had one at our old house that we from 5 years ago.

Although the programming is limited, it is great to see that great PQ again. All I can say is DBS compression SUCKS if you have eyesight.


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## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

> _Originally posted by JohnH _
> *... Dishes are sometimes available in your area simply for the taking. *


This fact probably sums up the future of C Band. I have room to install a system and have toyed with the idea of getting one, but I find DBS acceptable and hassle-free. There may always be a market for what C Band offers, but I expect it will never be profitable enough to attract investments by big players. Consumers seem to be saying that the superior picture isn't the only consideration.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

> _Originally posted by AllieVi _
> *This fact probably sums up the future of C Band. I have room to install a system and have toyed with the idea of getting one, but I find DBS acceptable and hassle-free. There may always be a market for what C Band offers, but I expect it will never be profitable enough to attract investments by big players. Consumers seem to be saying that the superior picture isn't the only consideration. *


I agree. C-Band is great for a hobby but for ease of use and convenience, DBS is the way to go.


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## lee635 (Apr 17, 2002)

The subsidized equipment and installs for dbs plus the convenience of "no moving parts" gives dbs a real advantage. Add locals and it's not even a competition.


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2002)

"it's not even a competition."

It's like comparing an Apex DVD player to an Arcam

Apex will always sell more units than Arcam, but if you have the bucks and desire for best video - the choice is Arcam


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## Lyle_JP (Apr 22, 2002)

That comparison isn't quite accurate. Now if you said that the Arcam couldn't play a large number of DVD titles or that you'd have to move it around to different parts of the room to play different movies, well, then you might be getting closer to a good analogy. 

-Lyle J.P.


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## zuma hans (Apr 23, 2002)

I pay 60 percent of what you pay for satellite TV.

And get a picture that my 10-year-old can tell is better than DISH.

Give up my C-band? Moving parts hassles?

Yeah, right.


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## Guest (Jun 8, 2002)

Count how many digital services from HBO/Starz/Showtime are on CBand - then check your DBS listing - "Oh really"


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## Mike (Apr 10, 2002)

The good ol' c-band debate that answers no questions. If you have the money and the room then c/ku-band is the best. I look forward to getting a digital receiver hopefully soon. 

DSS is great for multiple receivers, if you have less room and just don't want the hassle of a c-band dish. 

The numbers that are posted in the 1st comment. How many people have dishes but don't have subscriptions anymore? Count me for 1. I get free stuff from the big dishes now and all of my cable/network/regular channel programming from Dish Network and DirecTV. There's gotta be hundreds of people that switched their programming to the little dishes, but still have the big dish. Does that make you a hobbyist now for the big dishes? If so, that's me! 

Picture quality: Sure it's better on c-band. NBA finals backhaul tonight is excellent. I can see the bumps on Tolbert's head and the wrinkles around Costas's eyes, but not everyone can afford c-band. My stuff is old! 10-12 years old for most of the equipment, but I'll never ever give it up.


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