*Slightly off topic*
You can actually track 20 European satellites?
Can you provide us with a little more detail (countries,
price, etc.)? Is this C-Band, KU-Band equipment or
both? How do you like B.Sky.B? Can you receive
DMX (Digital Music Expresss)?
Michael,
Yup, N. Europe is well covered. In fact we are way ahead of you
guys in terms of Hi-power DBS. I've been a Sat enthusiast for 7
years, and some people I know have been in this game for 10+.
Digital hasn't yet taken off in Europe in the same way that it has
in the US, but there's a couple of good reasons for that - (i) the
European market is relatively conservative and we're all waiting
for the standards to standardise (combining terrestial digital),
(ii) we have only "relatively" recently embraced "analogue" DBS, and
are in no hurry to bin this kit. The competitive situation is very
different over here - we did not have the cable infrastructure that
you guys have. In fact, the current competitive situation is almost
the complete opposite of the US. When Sky started, it only had 4
terrestial channels as competition (i.e. cable didn't exist !). The
only other competition was a second DBS operator - BSB. After a few
unprofitable years, Sky bought BSB to become the only broadcaster -
renamed BSkyB. This then got to a breakeven point, and very quickly
thereafter became a cash cow. In this respect, BSkyB is almost a
monopoly in competition to the terrestial channels (now 5 off !), and
it is cable that is now struggling to establish itself in the face of
an "established" infrastructure.
So, here I am in Cambridge, virtually at 0 degrees, with a 4' dish and
can track most things between about 30E and 35W. This includes 20+
orbital locations, and >30 satellites. (There is a lot of co-locating
in Europe as competetition for locations is intense - Astra, who own
the satellites that BSkyB use, have 6 sats in one position !)
The bands I cover used to be called Ku, FSS and Telecom, but the
terminology is now getting blurred - it's basically about 9.5 - 12.5GHz.
C-band was only ever a fanatic's technology over here and never
really caught on.
My system uses a multi-band LNB on the front of a Pace multi-sat
receiver (i.e. a basic satellite receiver plus the motor control to move
the dish). I have two decoders - Videocrypt (for the analogue channels)
and D2MAC (for the semi-analogue channels). Other decoders would
allow me to get the digital channels, and DMX (the music channels you
mentioned).
In total I guess I have access to 300+ channels, though lots of these
are in foreign languages - German, Nordic, French, Italian, Spanish,
Japanese, etc.,
I have NEVER been a BSkyB subscriber - I'm a staunch BBC supporter !
(Though do respect the business acumen that the Murdoch empire has
shown to establish the most successful DBS venture in Europe - even
though it has done so by appealing to the lowest common denominator !)
Sat equipment (analogue) costs <$100 for a basic fixed-location unit
to around $2000 for hi-end multi-sat. A reasonable multi-sat is
around $800. The digital systems currently available are around $500,
though once the roll-out really starts to happen this'll probably
be around $350.
Interestingly, the two companies that have the best respected
multi-sat equipment over here are Chapparal (US !) and Echostar.....
(A few years ago I nearly spent about $1000 on an Echostar receiver
but news of PSU unreliability dissuaded me - Their equipment on the
whole is reasonably well thought of).
In this respect I can at least confirm that Echostar have years of
proven experience in the DBS game.
I think that answers all your questions (and probably bores the pants
off all the non-enthusiasts !).
The way I look at it, launching a successful DBS venture is a game
for head-cases. It's a high-risk venture that only a crazy man would
attempt. I guess that makes DISH kinda fortunate !
There are years of struggle. Lots of doubts, and a very good chance
that you'll go bust, or have to merge to be successful.
HOWEVER, the US market is much larger than Europe. You guys are used
to watching crap, and the possibility of digital transmission can at
least address the communications deficiencies in this respect.....
(it can't fix the programmes !). This gives it a good justification.
You also have the fact that the cable-culture prevails, is far from
perfect, and could benefit from some "quality" competition. This
seems to me like a tremendous opportunity.
I think there is room for 2, possibly 3, DBS companies in the US
market, and it seems that DISH could be the number 2. I WOULD
NOT BE AT ALL SUPRISED TO HEAR OF A MERGER WITH
PRIMESTAR, who seem to be in trouble........
(Actually I'd love to see DISH succeed without a merger, but wonder
just how deep the pockets are of their backers short-term).
And, then, of course, you have to remember that the British ALWAYS back the under-dog !
Mark (long DISH)
p.s. If you want to know more about European satellites, channels, etc
checkout - satcodx.com
p.p.s. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN THESE DAMN END-OF-YEAR
RESULTS ARE DUE OUT ! |
