Cheap upgrade to cable.....
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EchoStar Unveils Low-Cost, Second-Set DBS Receiver
- -July 25, 1997
By Greg Tarr
Looking to overcome some of the more significcant consumer objections to purchasing a DBS system, EchoStar announced a less expensive alternative "slave" receiver for second-room viewing and a special offer on system installation.
EchoStar introduced at the SBCA show the EchoStar 1000 slave receiver, described as a no-frills, IR remote-controlled receiver that will carry a $129 suggested retail price when it ships next month.
"The model 1000 is designed to be the most cost-effective receiver on the market today," said Mark Jackson, EchoStar engineering VP. "It has a standard feature set that you need from a standard set-top box, channel up, channel down, and program guide."
CEO Charlie Ergen said the unit is his company's answer to "the standard analog box" offered by most cable companies today. "One of our design goals was to create a digital set-top box that offers more features and is cheaper than an analog converter box," he said.
Ergen added that initially EchoStar will not offer the model 1000 as the primary receiver in a budget-priced DiSH system, although it could be used that way. In the meantime, "dealers can in fact offer it that way if they package it with a DiSH and LNB."
The jack connections offer one set of RCA composite A/V connections, but no S-video jack. The front panel has no buttons, no doors, no lens readout, and no silk-screen labeling -- "It offers only the basic features that you need from a box," said Jackson.
Initially, EchoStar said the model 1000 will be offered only as a second box for use with the EchoStar dual LNBF output IRD systems -- model 4000, model 5000, and the recently announced JVC D-VHS VCR/model 5000 combo product. The second unit will allow simultaneous viewing of different programs on two TV sets.
The high cost of second-set DBS viewing is frequently listed in consumer studies, including one recently conducted by rival USSB, as a chief objection to buying a DBS system.
Further, EchoStar announced an installation promotion slated to run August 1-September 30. The offer gives DiSH system purchasers the option of a free self-installation kit or $100 off the cost of a professional installation. The installation offer will be applied on top of EchoStar's $199 price promotion for a basic system with no up-front programming purchase requirement.
Meanwhile, the EchoStar service will carry financial news on a new data service for PCs called Signal, which is billed as "real-time financial information for the stock investor." The service will deliver stock information via scrolling tickers and onscreen lists.
Information is delivered by Data Broadcast Corp., which currently produces the AgCast agricultural data news service over EchoStar.
Both data services work with EchoStar's 4000-and-higher models equipped with special wideband data port connections. A separate small receiver is used to collect the DBC data for delivery on PCs. Dealers and distributors will sell the signal platform, which will be administered through DBC.
In other news, EchoStar said it is still striving to achieve 1 million subscribers by November, although the recent $375 million financing package in senior secured notes from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities and Lehman Brothers gives the firm breathing room if that goal is not met.
For future programming expansion, Ergen said, the EchoStar 3 satellite is scheduled to launch September 25 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
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