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I am not sure that I know what the heck I am talking about, but I have a hunch.

Based upon Brian's response, I get the impression that the particular box that the OP has is a special STB that can receive updates to it's software/firmware and sat/TP/Channel list via the satellite feed. In order to facilitate this option properly, you have to enter the Service ID of a or the appropriate channel in order for it (the receiver) to allow the routing of such updates properly into the receiver.

Do you see where I am going with this?

If you don't enter the correct service ID, the auto updates via the satellite feed won't function. In other words, you need to tell the STB to look at a specific channel for such updates/upgrades via the sat by showing it the "path" or navigation route to follow and the SERVICE ID is part of the addressing of that.

I am not sure that this is what they are doing, but it sounds reasonable to me. Otherwise, it's a very good line of bull from me. Seriously, though, wouldn't something along this line make sense? At least that is the impression that I got from Brian Gohl's reply earlier in the thread, but I cannot say that I understood it fully or accurately.

RADAR

Further explanation of SID purpose for a receiver.

The Service ID is the unique numerical ID that the uplinker has assigned to a specific service. Many receivers have the ability to either scan for updates to channels already scanned into the receiver (Network Scan). Other receivers automatically update changes to existing services without the need to manually rescan. In order for the receiver to update the correct service in the MUX, it must identify the service. The SID provides this identification of the service.

The SID only determines the order of the channels in the channel list when the receiver features this sorting feature.

AcWxRadar said:

Based upon Brian's response, I get the impression that the particular box that the OP has is a special STB that can receive updates to it's software/firmware and sat/TP/Channel list via the satellite feed. In order to facilitate this option properly, you have to enter the Service ID of a or the appropriate channel in order for it (the receiver) to allow the routing of such updates properly into the receiver.

Click to expand...

The GeosatPro receivers have 2 modes
Glorystar and Advanced.

IN the Glorystar mode it will automatically update the software when there is new software out there. Also each Monday it updates with the Glorystar approved channels. If you read the review I did, when you select Glorystar in the manu setup it automatically loads the G* channels from 97 & 101

Advanced mode is for us hobbyists but you can manually update the software by goign to 97W and saying "update". Its a really neat feature. No need to update software via RS232 ports or USB options.

The SID feature is not used for the GEOSATpro weekly update process.

Many STB manufacturers offer the network updating. I believe that many of the Fortec Star (Mercury II) and Hyundai (Coolsat 4000) products could sort and update with SID network information. FYI: SID Network updating is widely used in Europe on the Astra / Hotbird Muxes.

SatelliteAV said:

Further explanation of SID purpose for a receiver.

The Service ID is the unique numerical ID that the uplinker has assigned to a specific service. Many receivers have the ability to either scan for updates to channels already scanned into the receiver (Network Scan). Other receivers automatically update changes to existing services without the need to manually rescan. In order for the receiver to update the correct service in the MUX, it must identify the service. The SID provides this identification of the service.

The SID only determines the order of the channels in the channel list when the receiver features this sorting feature.

Click to expand...

Sorry to bring this up again, but I've been doing a bit of studying to try to determine what is really the proper terminology, ie
(1) that Service ID = Channel Number
_OR_
(2) that channel number = "Program Number" = "Service Number"
and "Service ID" = a link to another service such as an EPG which describes all channels.

The first description (1) is what many receivers seem to have adopted, and what SatAV and others have described here.
The second description (2) is what DVB stream analyzers such as TSREADER and some other ones say, when fed a DVB transport stream.

So I searched the net trying to find a document with somewhat official definitions of these terms. I've tried this before, with poor results, because unfortunately, the organizations that generated and keep these specs either charge for downloading their documents or require membership, or both. However I did find TWO documents, which seem pretty definitive on the matter, ie:
http://actamont.tuke.sk/pdf/2008/n1/23dalmi.pdf
and
http://www.dtv.org.br/download/en-en/ABNTNBR15603_2D1_2007Vc_2008Ing.pdf

The 2nd document, show that data structure for PAT on page 13, PMT on page 14, and SDT on page 15.
The 1st document shows the data structure for the SDT in Fig 3.

Both these documents show the SID (Service Identifier) as being an element in the repeating section of the SDT. The Service Identifier does NOT show up in either the PAT or PMT, however the PAT and PMT include a parameter which the 2nd document calls "Broadcasting Program Number Identifier".

When I capture the raw data from a mux, and look at it with a binary editor, this "Broadcasting Program Number Identifier" is clearly the channel number, so I would have to say that Channel Number= Program Number from this.

Also, I looked at a random Dishnet transponder, ie the 119 12253 transponder, and looked at one of the channels at random, ie WETA.
TSREADER indicates that the "Program Number"=8076 and the "Service ID"=36861 . To make sure that this was in fact the actual data, I captured the raw SDT data from this mux, found the WETA portion of the repeating section, and sure enough, I found 8FFD , which equates to 36861.

Anyway, assuming that these two documents I found are correct, and I have to assume that they are, because they agree with TSREADER, and I'm sure that Rod wrote that program from the official IEEE specs or DVB definitions, it sure looks to me like the term SID or Service Identifier has a completely different meaning from what many receivers and people on this group and others seem to think it means.

I did run into some confusion though, which makes me a little less sure about how this all works. The 36861 number is actually the channel number of the EPG on the Dishnet system. When I tried this a couple days ago, I was able to look at the NIT, and find out what transponder the EPG was on, and it was there (I think). Today, however, I look at the NIT, and it tells me that the 36861 EPG is on 12486, however it isn't there. Also, the SDT entry indicates that the 36861 EPG is on 12486. I am confused as to why it's not there. I'm pretty sure that I checked this out yesterday or a couple days ago, and it WAS there, so if DN receivers use the Service ID, I don't know where they go to get the info when the channel isn't there today. Perhaps it only broadcasts occasionally???

Anyway, I'm still trying to learn how this DVB stuff works on a bit level. I find it pretty interesting. BTW, many/most of the DN channels don't even list a "Service ID", but the ones that did all referred to one of the EPG channels.

Well, I have to eat my words before the ink is even dry.

Right after posting the above, I found another document. Actually it's the document that the 2nd document I was referencing above used as a source. It is

http://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/300400_300499/300468/01.05.01_40/en_300468v010501o.pdf

Well THIS document had pretty much the same data format charts as the other one, HOWEVER, in addition it had a definition of the Service ID in the SDT description. It said the following:

"service_id: This is a 16-bit field which serves as a label to identify this service from any other service within the TS.
The service_id is the same as the program_number in the corresponding program_map_section."

So from this, it seems to indicate pretty clearly that Service ID=Program Number, which is the same as Channel number.

This all now tells me that the receivers that used SID and channel number as the same thing were correct. However TSREADER and other stream analyzers are also correct, because they were identifying the number in the SDT as being the Service ID, and the number in the PAT/PMT as being the Program Number. What this tells me, is that the receivers and analyzers are correct, and the error is with the satellite uplinkers such as Dishnet, and a couple other muxes that used Service ID parameters in the SDT. Ie Dishnet and others are putting a number in there which is NOT the same as the Program Number.

I've run into several muxes that have an SID entry. So far, I don't think I've seen one where it is the same as the Program Number, but I will look on G19, and see what the entries look like there. I have seen a few where they are just a zero or one though, but still different from the channel numbers.

Bottom line is that the sat uplinkers apparently don't follow the spec.