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 linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State
 ·Cass Communicati..
 ·CenturyLink
| We all need to remember What is wrong with this picture?
While government agencies squabble and cable companies quietly raise rates for the nth consecutive year, We The People are all being treated like mushrooms -- as usual. It doesn't take a brain surgeon, or much time for that matter, to read the C-Band channel lineup.
Thirty percent of the programming offered nationwide by cable companies and the mini-digital dish is "in the clear." Simply put, it is free. Forty percent of the subscription channels such as A& E cost very little when purchased in bulk. The greatest cost of programming is spread among the channel giants like Disney, CNN, the Super Stations, and sports packages.
The boys in the beltway need to sharpen their wits along with their pencils and start asking *pointed* questions of the program providers who beam their signal via satellite to the C-Band dishes owned by every cable company. The C and KU bands, as well as analog signals, are not dead yet. They are very much alive and functioning 22,000+ feet above the earth. The only people who are not profiting from this cash cow are the customers.
The US has 8% of the world's population, and 80% of its lawyers. Guess where most of the lawyers work? Hint: It isn't Sioux City, Iowa or Sweetwater, Texas.
[text was edited by author 2003-10-26 01:02:53] | | |
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 bigunkGort, Klattu Birada Nikto
join:2001-02-10
USA | said by linicx:
What is wrong with this picture?
The C and KU bands, as well as analog signals, are not dead yet. They are very much alive and functioning 22,000+ feet above the earth.
All due respect to you Linicx, you may want to check how high those C and Ku satellites are flying. You said 22000+ feet above the earth. Technically, I guess you are right, but the "+" would refer to roughly 117394640 feet. Now, I'm sure you simply typed in feet instead of miles, but for reference, your spec could allow a climber to look down upon the satellites from Mt. Everest, which at its peak measures 29,035 feet.
Where do my smart-assed comments come from? I used to install C and Ku dishes and I had two trailer-mounted dishes for mobile downlinks. A 3.7M and a 5M.
So it seems I simply have too much time on my hands, searching for mistakes rather than seeing the larger picture.
Have a nice day... | |
linicxCaveat EmptorPremium
join:2002-12-03
United State Reviews:
·Cass Communicati..
·CenturyLink
| Thank you for pointing out the mathematical difference between feet and miles. It is greatly appreciated. I highly suspect you didn't miss the point at all. 
One of the best cable services I ever saw was owned locally. It was a one-man operation to thirty houses. I was one of the lucky recipients. We were offered a mix of twenty subscription channels like ESPN, CNN, TNN and free channels for $20.00 per month. Services like HBO were additional. We also received the "free" HBO programming offered twice yearly.
It was the worst day in local history when our cable operator sold his operation. It's since been sold 5-6 times. Each new owner charges more for less, and service declines with the quality of the signal received.
I'm not against the small operator making a buck. It takes capital to start a cable operation and keep it running. I am however, against national cable providers making huge profits by selling "in the clear" feeds and lying to the customer.
It is impossible to make an informed choice when the truth is hidden under layers of fine print most lawyers do not understand. Education is powerful stuff. We need more of it.
[text was edited by author 2003-10-26 11:09:05] | |
bigunkGort, Klattu Birada Nikto
join:2001-02-10
USA | I see what you're saying here. I remember the early days of C band, when the scrambling started. VideoCipher 2 was the system they chose.
In a lot of areas, you could only buy programming through the local cable company, and they made sure to price it at or somewhat above their offerings. 'Course, the only way to not buy from them was if they were not in your neighborhood. They defined your neighborhood as within a mile or two of the closet wired residence, so all bets were off in cities where they were merely close.
Soooooooo........ people started hacking the VCII code. What a time that was. The technology went through a painful and expensive evolution, with a lot of people going to jail.
Then along came a situtation where if you had, say, an apartment community and had just installed your own SMATV system (or even if you had not), the cable companies were granted automatic easements to come in and wire your property, even if you did not want them there. Property owners were up in arms, especially since the cableco's were hiring the cheapest install crews in the business, and they made Swiss cheese (or maybe Jarlsberg) of most properties they touched.
Seems to me the backlash is in full swing. I hope it shakes out for the consumer, for it is the consumer who makes the cableco's very existence possible. I just hope the cableco's don't make another move toward communism and buy a politician that will mandate everyone have cable and mandate payment, then offer garbage for the price, with no alternative. Kinda like state-owned information ministries in China and Iraq, et all.
The future should be interesting..... | |
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