# Another Part of C-band Dies



## Nick

SES Americom conducted its last operations on the SATCOM C-4 satellite. Built
by GE Astro Space for a 12-year stint, the series 3000 satellite provided C-band
services for 14 1/2 years reaching all 50 states. - _SkyReport_


----------



## Nick

*...only 8 new subs in February*

Maybe EchoStar front man Charlie Ergen was right last week when he doubted if C-band would still be around come time when his company has to give fourth quarter results next year. At the rate of which the big dish service continues to lose supporters, it's just a matter of time before there's no one left.

The latest numbers coming from Access Control Center (ACC), the Motorola group responsible for tracking C-band subscriber traffic, don't look good for the service's future. And compared to the fourth quarter that both DISH Network and DIRECTV had in terms of signing up new viewers - it will be a miracle if the service still exists this time next year.

According to ACC, C-band managed to sign up 8 new accounts during the month of February. Numbers on the year are down 24,137, leaving just 66,728 nationwide that still utilize the big dish.

www.SkyReport.com - used with permission


----------



## Richard King

> only 8 new subs in February


I installed more that that all by myself in a good month in 1994.  I wonder who will be the last to leave and turn the light off. Sad.


----------



## Ken S

Richard King said:


> I installed more that that all by myself in a good month in 1994.  I wonder who will be the last to leave and turn the light off. Sad.


I miss my big dish.
I miss getting real "live" feeds.
I miss being able to choose from multiple providers for my subscription services.
I miss the old guy that sat out by his pool and talked endlessly.

C Band was fun!


----------



## Chris Blount

Ken S said:


> I miss my big dish.
> I miss getting real "live" feeds.
> I miss being able to choose from multiple providers for my subscription services.
> I miss the old guy that sat out by his pool and talked endlessly.
> 
> C Band was fun!


I agree. I miss my big dish. It just looked cool sitting in the yard. Installing it and tweaking it myself was definitely a great learning experience. Most of that knowledge carries over to DBS as well.

The most fun was being able to see shows several days before they aired on network TV. Back when Star Trek Voyager was on, I watched it 3 days before it was on UPN. My co-workers banned me from talking about each episode until it aired.


----------



## dfergie

Saturdays was Star Trek feed day and time  I resubed in Sept for a month to compare the PQ, but from composite out it was only slightly better than either E* or D*'s Scifi...


----------



## dodge boy

I still have my general instument receiver adn 4DTV side car somewhere in my attic. When my actautor went (in 2000) I just got free D* equipment. I miss mine too, the wild feeds were great and KU band was excellent, since so few people had KU alot of stuff moved to it and wasn't scrambled.


----------



## kaminsco

I got started in satellite services with the big dish. It was nice when I had my own "free" version of "Sunday NFL ticket" back in the early '90's by grabbing the live feeds. No commercials either. I also rember having to go out in the winter with a broom and sweep the snow of it to get reception. 

I chuckle when people complain about channel changing on the new units. At times, you had to wait for the dish to rotate to channel change with the old big dishes.


----------



## Richard King

kaminsco said:


> I also rember having to go out in the winter with a broom and sweep the snow of it to get reception.


When I had to clean the snow off the dish, which was quite often in Minnesnowta, it was a real comedy. I probably could have sold tickets to all the neighbors. My dish was way up in the air and was accessable either from on the roof, which was not possible in the winter, or with a long broom from a deck attached to the house. I would reach up with the long broom and start to sweep and all the snow had only one place to go, on my head. It made for quite a sight, but it was worth it.


----------



## dfergie

kaminsco said:


> I got started in satellite services with the big dish. It was nice when I had my own "free" version of "Sunday NFL ticket" back in the early '90's by grabbing the live feeds. No commercials either. I also rember having to go out in the winter with a broom and sweep the snow of it to get reception.
> 
> I chuckle when people complain about channel changing on the new units. At times, you had to wait for the dish to rotate to channel change with the old big dishes.


My first setup had a hand crank and a antenna rotator to change polaritys  pencil marks for the sats on the arm... Sundays kept me busy before the early NFL games...


----------



## penguin44

I too miss my c-band! Especially Star Trek days! had 4 guys come over every weekend to watch the feed and then we would taunt people all week about it. I also miss 'live' feeds of races and hockey. One time i was watching the Indy 500 and they cut to commercial and then still showed the two guys in the booth, one smoking and the other pickin' his nose. You can't get better then that!


----------



## Nick

Farewell, ye stalwart Princes of BUD. May your 
parabolic reflectors and LNBFs rust in peace. 
Let us bow our heads for a moment of silent
reflection as we recall with fondness, those
memories of patiently, but proudly waiting
for our glorious BUD to 'acquire signal'.

R.I.P., my old friend, my BUD​


----------



## markrubi

I didn't ever have a big dish, but a buddy did. I miss it as well. Tons of pron channels. I would buy several VHS tapes and tell him to hit record before bed. :lol:

Of course he "lived" in TX since real pron is not legal here.


----------



## kb7oeb

I've always wanted a BUD but the high costs and lack of equipment advancement I didn't think it was worth the investment. BUD HD appears to be heading for commercial use only.


----------



## kaminsco

penguin44 said:


> .. One time i was watching the Indy 500 and they cut to commercial and then still showed the two guys in the booth, one smoking and the other pickin' his nose. You can't get better then that!


The camera guys would also get very creative with the zoom during the NBA games during timeouts on the cheerleaders. It was almost like the stuff our friend "buddy" mentioned above.


----------



## Richard King

Races and BB games were always quite interesting. The races were usually done in discreet stereo with independent left and right channels. Some of the effects used with the moving cars were quite good. I recall watching the Daytona 500 one time when Ned Jarrett was in the booth doing comentary. His son Dale was in the race and fighting for first place. During commercials Ned would go crazy cheering him on, when the break was over he suddenly became perfectly calm again. :lol:

Then there was the time that Dick Vitale was waiting to be interviewed, camera and mic live and wide open. Dick took a telephone call and gave his phone number to another fellow on the other end. As soon as he hung up the phone rang and Dick got this silly expression on his face and hung up. The camera guy asked him what's up. Vitale said that someone on the other end of his "private line" just yelled "DICKIEEEEE" into the phone and hung up. The camera man then explained that the mic was open and being broadcast worldwide when he gave out his phone number. :lol: Ah, c-band.


----------



## kenglish

Too bad the general public will never see the true quality that the BUD can provide. They think the "ALL-Digital" pizza dish is the best.

Hopefully, if I live long enough to retire (money) and the C-band birds over the Atlantic stay running, I might move back to the east coast and watch some of those international channels. Most Ku is only spot beam, but they do hemispheric beams on C-band. Let the fools keep paying higher and higher rates for DBS.


----------



## loudo

kenglish said:


> Too bad the general public will never see the true quality that the BUD can provide. They think the "ALL-Digital" pizza dish is the best.
> 
> Hopefully, if I live long enough to retire (money) and the C-band birds over the Atlantic stay running, I might move back to the east coast and watch some of those international channels. Most Ku is only spot beam, but they do hemispheric beams on C-band. Let the fools keep paying higher and higher rates for DBS.


I had 12", Paraclipse, H to H C-Band system, from 1978 till 2003, when I lived in South Florida. That was when surfing was really fun. You never knew what you were going to find. Used to get stations from all over North America, as well as loads of international channels on the birds out over the Atlantic.

Also used to love to watch those sports back hauls. Conversations during the breaks were the best part of the broadcast.

I went to the Paraclipse Dish web site the other day and they are now selling bug terminators. Sad.

Boy do I miss my BUD.


----------



## Richard King

> I went to the Paraclipse Dish web site the other day and they are now selling bug terminators. Sad.


Hey neighbor. Is that BUG terminators or BUD terminators?


----------



## loudo

Richard King said:


> Hey neighbor. Is that BUG terminators or BUD terminators?


Seems like they have already teminated the BUDs, now they are working on the BUGS.
http://www.paraclipse.com/index.htm


----------



## Richard King

Could that possibly be the same Paraclipse, the same Paraclipse that sold and installed a 16' dish for Arthur C. Clarke?


----------



## loudo

Richard King said:


> Could that possibly be the same Paraclipse, the same Paraclipse that sold and installed a 16' dish for Arthur C. Clarke?


Yes, it is. That was the link I used to use when I bought parts from them to convert my dish to a H to H mount. Hadn't used it for years until the other day. Clicked on it and it was for Bug terminators.


----------



## P Smith

According the page  "PARACLIPSE is manufactured by Paradigm Manufacturing Inc., 6911 E. Side Road, Redding, Calif. 96001"


----------



## loudo

P Smith said:


> According the page "PARACLIPSE is manufactured by Paradigm Manufacturing Inc., 6911 E. Side Road, Redding, Calif. 96001"


Just to make sure, I went to several other web sites that deal with C-Band and have links. All their links to Paraclispe go to this site also.

I looked for paperwork, from when I purchased the H to H stuff from them, but I couldn't find it. I do remember the parts being shipped from someplace in the Midwest, not California.


----------



## ejjames

I was bitten by the electronics bug at a very early age 1st grade, going over to my friends house and tuning his BUD receiver, I remember he had the tuner that you actually tuned like an FM receiver. Trying to wrap my 6 year old head around the fact that there were 2 HBO feeds, east and west!


----------



## Nick

_"Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated"_ - Mark Twain

*SkyReport readers take exception to reports that imply C-band is going away*



> *SkyREPORT Aiding C-band Demise*
> 
> SkyREPORT: Your articles on the demise of C-band seem to be one-sided and biased for the DBS side of the satellite TV delivery platform industry. Your article states that leaving just 66,728 subscribers nationwide that still use the big dish nation. Do you ever do some actual check of ALL the numbers from ALL sources of subscriptions of Big Dish C-band? Do you actually do some real research into the numbers you receive or just post numbers that a person sends you (like the ACC)?
> 
> My feeling is that those numbers are from continued subscribers of C-band ANALOG ONLY programming. C-band does have BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOG programming subscriptions through the use of 4DTV satellite receiver from Motorola (which they bought from General Instruments years ago, but really don't care about the Big Dish anymore and don't really wand to support it-Motorola should GIVE the C-band side of their business away to a company that would take it and make it grow on the hardware side; but that's another story).
> 
> There are about three or four companies that sell C-band programming for BOTH ANALOG AND DIGITAL and one of those who have been successful is a company you wrote about to do the work that Charlie Ergen can't seem to do correctly with DISH and its distant network signal and that is National Programming Service (NPS). They have been absolutely great about selling programming packages for BOTH ANALOG AND DIGITAL to the big dish customer. Another one is Satellite Receivers Limited that ALSO sells programming for BOTH ANALOG AND DIGITAL and in some cased can sell some digital channels in a la carte form that the DBS providers cannot (NPS can also in some cases but not all).
> 
> With all of these providers the number of subscriptions is WELL OVER 100,000-120,000 in one form of programming or another; about the size of a "small cable company" (remember that C-band CAN provide a la carte programming OR mini-packages that the other two DBS providers DO NOT do or WILL NOT do). Why don't you do some actual research and find out the EXACT numbers instead of posting half truths and lies that you have done the last few months if not years.
> 
> Charlie Ergen has been spewing out lies and half truths from himself and his customer service representatives at his DISH Network call centers across the country trying his best to KILL THE C-BAND INDUSTRY even though that's where he got his start in this business. Please don't let SkyREPORT or Mediabiz be a main weapon in his arsenal to achieve his objective.
> 
> - _Glynn Schkade, a loyal C-band customer since 1988_.
> 
> *ACC Doesn't Count All C-band*
> 
> SkyREPORT: Your article on that just 66,728 use the big dish as reported by the Access Control Center may be true.
> 
> However, what you are not taking into account is this report may be skewed and underreported due to the fact that DVB free to air use and C-Band setups that do not utilize ANY subscription services from a programming supplier may be in service.
> 
> This is a report from the ACC. The aforementioned C-band users who go the DVB route and others who don't subscribe to programming would NOT be included in the ACC database. I suspect C-band numbers are actually somewhat higher than what program suppliers indicate.
> 
> In my opinion, your articles should reflect this in your reports.
> 
> - _S. Coleman, Winlock, Washington_
> 
> *What About 4DTV?*
> 
> SkyREPORT: C-band is not going anywhere, analog is going away (but c-band is also digital). Everyone thinks because analog is going away, that all of it is going away and that is so far from the truth. Analog C-band is going away, but digital c-band is alive and well. The counts that ACC issues are for analog subs and do not include 4DTV subs.
> 
> Also, HBO is dropping their analog signal of Cinemax on Aug. 31, 2007 on G1-19, but their HBO feeds on G5-8 and G5-15 will remain until further notice. All the digital feeds on C-band will remain where they are. There is no plan to remove or change the digital feeds.
> 
> -_ John Ferguson, CallNPS; All American Direct _


www.SkyReport.com - used with permission


----------



## keyoctave

Richard King said:


> Races and BB games were always quite interesting. The races were usually done in discreet stereo with independent left and right channels. Some of the effects used with the moving cars were quite good. I recall watching the Daytona 500 one time when Ned Jarrett was in the booth doing comentary. His son Dale was in the race and fighting for first place. During commercials Ned would go crazy cheering him on, when the break was over he suddenly became perfectly calm again. :lol:
> 
> Then there was the time that Dick Vitale was waiting to be interviewed, camera and mic live and wide open. Dick took a telephone call and gave his phone number to another fellow on the other end. As soon as he hung up the phone rang and Dick got this silly expression on his face and hung up. The camera guy asked him what's up. Vitale said that someone on the other end of his "private line" just yelled "DICKIEEEEE" into the phone and hung up. The camera man then explained that the mic was open and being broadcast worldwide when he gave out his phone number. :lol: Ah, c-band.


Got another Vitale one: I was watching a college basketball game in the late 80's he was doing. During break, you can hear him talking to the director. When he said "OK, I'll switch to my B material", the other announcer, John Saunders, piped up saying "No Dick, your B material sucks". I do miss C band!


----------



## dodge boy

Don't the C-band birds carry the national programming that goes to the Cable companies anyway? So with C-band you get a first generation signal. I bet their Hi Def is the best along with audio..... Maybe I'll spend the 10,000 for a new system in acouple years, only draw back was trying to watch different TV's.


----------



## dfergie

Richard King said:


> Races and BB games were always quite interesting. The races were usually done in discreet stereo with independent left and right channels. Some of the effects used with the moving cars were quite good. :lol: Ah, c-band.


I still have my Drake Stereo decoder... (haven't used in years though)


----------



## loudo

dodge boy said:


> Don't the C-band birds carry the national programming that goes to the Cable companies anyway? So with C-band you get a first generation signal. I bet their Hi Def is the best along with audio..... Maybe I'll spend the 10,000 for a new system in acouple years, only draw back was trying to watch different TV's.


That is true, satellite and cable get much of their programing from C-Band satellites making satellite and cable second generation video. A few of the services are delivered to satellite and cable via fiber, but most via C-Band.


----------



## Nick

The number of C-band dish owners using authorized VideoCipher modules declined yet
again last month. According to Access Control Center, the Motorola group responsible
for tracking the data, 55,456 total authorized units were still in use at the end of May. The
number represents a net decline of 3,450 from April 2007. ACC said 14 customers
authorized new modules during May. - _SkyReport_


----------



## kenglish

Aren't many of the channels using DigiCipher, now?


----------



## HIPAR

Way back when, a friend ran a satellite TV business. He displayed two TV's .. one connected to a big dish and a second connected to D*. Guess which one I liked.

Way back when, I actually cared about picture quality. It doesn't matter that much anymore. With everyone having been infected by the 'Digital Pods', no one knows how good TV looks anymore. 

I've been assimilated.

--- CHAS


----------



## MRinDenver

HIPAR said:


> Way back when, a friend ran a satellite TV business. He displayed two TV's .. one connected to a big dish and a second connected to D*. Guess which one I liked.
> 
> --- CHAS


Yep, thats how I dropped $4 grand on a 10 ft mesh dish and a Toshiba receiver. Served me well for many years. There's a maple tree growing where the BUD used to be.


----------



## Nick

*More SkyReport readers assert that C-band usage is underreported*



> C-Band's Going Digital
> 
> SkyREPORT: Is there a chance that you could research and report the number of C-band customers using authorized 4DTV receivers (DigiCipher II)? Since analog channels are dwindling rapidly now in favor of digital broadcast, the VCII is no longer an accurate indicator of C-Band use. I do appreciate that in the most recent report, you did differentiate VCII from C-band.
> 
> - Franklin Bartczak
> 
> More Contention with C-Band Coverage
> 
> SkyREPORT: In the 6-5-07 edition of SkyREPORT you reported 56,456 authorized Videocipher modules in the C-Band segment of the home user market.
> 
> Come on now... Videocipher? When the majority of C-Band subscribers are most likely using Digicipher 2 and DVB free-to-air digital receivers? Videocipher (analog) is a FAST disappearing segment of the C-Band market and is a very small piece at that. If you are using Videocipher subs as your benchmark for representative C-Band authorizations, you are very likely underreporting the segment as a whole. Free to air (DVB) usage is very active and Digicipher 2 is a heck of a lot healthier than Videocipher encryption.
> 
> You ought to base your research on DIGITAL C-Band users and subscribers rather than an encryption scheme that in all likelihood will be obsolete in three years time.
> 
> - S. Coleman, Winlock, Washington
> 
> _Editor's Note: Every month SkyREPORT publishes data from Access Control Center - the Motorola group which tracks this segment of C-Band usage, and every month we get a letter saying we are grossly (and deliberately) misrepresenting C-Band's true vitality.
> 
> SkyREPORT is satellite-agnostic. We have no incentive to favor one platform over another. Also, accurate C-Band data is the industry's White Buffalo - a mysterious and exotic beast but virtually non-existent.
> 
> While the reasons ACC reports only the segment it does - and the subsequent reasons why readers get upset about them - are plentiful, one thing is clear: Some people still care a great deal for C-Band, just not as many as before. We'll do our best to get the most accurate C-Band data available_.


www.SkyReport.com - used with permission


----------



## Richard King

What Franklin and Mr. "S" forget in their comments above is that the 4DTV has a VCII installed and the vast majority of 4DTV owners are also included in the numbers released. I really don't think there's a conspiracy here.


----------

