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TheForce
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
Today Apple becomes the most valuable company of all time in Market Cap setting a new wold record at $623B. Microsoft held the record since 1999 at $613B.

Other finance trivia- Since Steve Job's death, Cook has led the company up 76% in net worth.
61 Replies · 8598 views
Poke
Yeah kind of misleading Microsoft not going any where and still has more market share on allot of things. Android leading in mobile market up to 60% which out of that 60% 40% of that is Samsung devices. Just another reason why Apple went after them in court they got 1 Billion from them but really wont hurt them Apple just mad that their loosing in the mobile market. Now with Microsoft getting serious about the Mobile Market Google already came out said their more worried about Microsoft due to all the Top Hardware Manufactures that make their phones will be making Win 8 Devices as well. So basically more Windows 8 Phones to hit the market more to choose from so forth this fall and next year as well so Apple knows this just like Android does.

Apple doing well in the touch market with their Ipad but now with Windows 8 tablets and slates coming out this fall and next year Apple nows that things are going to get tuff and there will be more Windows 8 devices out there to choose from just like there is on the phone side of things. So towards the end of this year and by end of next year things are really going to shake up. Most of my user have stop drinking the Apple Juice like and Apple always done a good job with their propaganda machine but people are realizing it's still a Mac and always will be..

So on the Mobile side of things Android,Microsoft will be in the top 2 of the market with Apple in 3rd Blackberry will go under or get bought out like WebOS and the door will be closed on them. On touch side Apple in the lead for awhile until more Windows 8 devices start hitting the market like the Surface,HP,Dell,Samsung,Nokia,Asus all the manufactures start rolling out things that will effect the market and I see Ipad staying in the lead but could fall some or just barley keep the lead.Android as not done well here with touch so forth their bread winner is all in their mobile devices.. Overall Microsoft will be making some big jumps over the next year or so it interestingting to see what they have in their hat.. Just my 2 cents.. :)
TheForce
Well, that's a bit more than 2 cents worth out of your crystal ball, Poke. :) What I found funny, was your comment: " So towards the end of this year and by end of next year things are really going to shake up." What was funny is I've been hearing comments like that for the past 4 years from all the crystal ball gazers. What shakes upward is the growth of Apple and shaking downward, the slow demise of once strongholds like Dell, HP, RIMM, Nokia, and Motorola. Google is holding its own but growth has been flat to slightly negative on their stock for the past 5 years. EPS has grown about 250% which is nice but that has not extruded into the share price. Apple stock has grown 460% and EPS over 900%. Microsoft stock is also flat for 5 years and Earnings Per Share is up only 12% over 5 years.

I do believe that had Google not made their big blunder (with respect to world wide growth) 2 years ago it would be doing much better, but every company will make a big mistake and cut off a huge opportunity. We don't see any of that yet with Apple.
TheForce
More analysts weigh in: Pay heed to the last sentence:
Road now clear for Apple for years ahead
3:06p ET August 27, 2012 (MarketWatch)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Apple Inc.'s victory over Samsung in court is an even bigger deal than it looks on the surface. Obviously it's a huge financial windfall, but still more than that to the Apple investor.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company's rising share of the consumer-technology sector is about to accelerate, which means Apple (AAPL) may about to take a truly dominant revenue position over its closest competitors.

It's a position Apple can already defend in the marketplace -- and in U.S. courts -- with its massive cash reserve.

The size of the verdict will lower the operating margins Samsung is earning on its smartphone operations, and therefore make it a tougher investment to justify given the breadth of the consumer products offered by the electronics giant.

What's more, Samsung's loss is also Google's, as the former was one of the largest hardware partners for the Android software. Android is the only legitimate rival right now to Apple in the handheld market.

The decision won't damage Google's own financial numbers, of course, since Android is a channel for Google to sell search advertising, a marketing expense.

Yet Google is the only company putting serious pressure on Apple's software development in the most lucrative and fastest-growing part of the global consumer-tech market, in terms of popular features.

The game is over for Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in the handheld sector. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer made an 11th-hour bet on Nokia Corp. (NOK) as a hardware partner and lost. Forget it. As long as the form factor is a handset or tablet, Microsoft is going to be to Apple in mobile what Apple once was to Microsoft in PCs: a niche irritant.

The industry has swung back to its roots, courtesy of a multidecade design effort by the late Steve Jobs and his top executives. Apple may own the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) for the next five years.

Make no mistake, the technology industry is no longer a young one. It's still the one with the best profit margins and often the most growth. Along with financial services, tech suffers highly volatile swings as growth accelerates or slows, which is why tech investing is riskier.

But the history of tech is a list of innovations that were absorbed into the sector's mainstream and fought over by a group of companies that focused on two or three, at most.

Database software is International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) , Microsoft and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) Networking is Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) PCs are Dell Inc. (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) Phone and Internet service is AT&T Inc. (T) , Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and the cable giants. Business and consumer software is still Microsoft.

The consumer-tech industry is now ripe for consolidation, and Apple is going to start gobbling up an even greater share of the revenue pie.

I don't own stock in any individual companies, long or short, but when friends or family ask me what to do with their money right now, I tell them to buy some Apple stock on any reasonable dip.
Poke
Well we will see what happens in the next year or 2 but I think Microsoft will be fine and Windows 8 is a big step for them in the right direction. Apple is ok but like I have always said it's still a mac and that will never change and their propaganda machine is finally slowing down some expect the media always like to talk them up some.. At the end of the day use what you like is what I always tell everyone but I also advise don't get caught up in a trend either due to it's usually never what it seems.
Hart5150
Poke said:
Yeah kind of misleading Microsoft not going any where and still has more market share on allot of things. Android leading in mobile market up to 60% which out of that 60% 40% of that is Samsung devices. Just another reason why Apple went after them in court they got 1 Billion from them but really wont hurt them Apple just mad that their loosing in the mobile market. Now with Microsoft getting serious about the Mobile Market Google already came out said their more worried about Microsoft due to all the Top Hardware Manufactures that make their phones will be making Win 8 Devices as well. So basically more Windows 8 Phones to hit the market more to choose from so forth this fall and next year as well so Apple knows this just like Android does.

Apple doing well in the touch market with their Ipad but now with Windows 8 tablets and slates coming out this fall and next year Apple nows that things are going to get tuff and there will be more Windows 8 devices out there to choose from just like there is on the phone side of things. So towards the end of this year and by end of next year things are really going to shake up. Most of my user have stop drinking the Apple Juice like and Apple always done a good job with their propaganda machine but people are realizing it's still a Mac and always will be..

So on the Mobile side of things Android,Microsoft will be in the top 2 of the market with Apple in 3rd Blackberry will go under or get bought out like WebOS and the door will be closed on them. On touch side Apple in the lead for awhile until more Windows 8 devices start hitting the market like the Surface,HP,Dell,Samsung,Nokia,Asus all the manufactures start rolling out things that will effect the market and I see Ipad staying in the lead but could fall some or just barley keep the lead.Android as not done well here with touch so forth their bread winner is all in their mobile devices.. Overall Microsoft will be making some big jumps over the next year or so it interestingting to see what they have in their hat.. Just my 2 cents.. :)

No offense to you, but you're high if you ever think that windows mobile will come anywhere close to Apple, let alone Android. And for competition to the iPad, Windows is 2 years plus too late.

Apple Juice? What are you on than? Windows Bologna? Maybe you should lay off the hype, because no one else but you sees it.

Sent from my iPad using SatelliteGuys
T
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
Hello everyone, new guy here. I'm trying to solve problem I'm having with Dish bonus view channels. When I'm watching the bonus view channels then I switch back to regular dish channels, after few minutes the screen flips to black and after 30 seconds flips back to regular channels and continues to flip back and forth until I turn off TV. After I wait 30 minutes and turn back on , I can use regular channels again. So, its after I switch from bonus view channels to regular dish channels the problem starts. Been trying to fix this for a month, but no luck
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
5 Replies · 56 views
HipKat
Hello everyone, new guy here. I'm trying to solve problem I'm having with Dish bonus view channels. When I'm watching the bonus view channels then I switch back to regular dish channels, after few minutes the screen flips to black and after 30 seconds flips back to regular channels and continues to flip back and forth until I turn off TV. After I wait 30 minutes and turn back on , I can use regular channels again. So, its after I switch from bonus view channels to regular dish channels the problem starts. Been trying to fix this for a month, but no luck
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
First off, great TV. I'm torn between the 77C5 or the 77G5.
It sounds like the handshake between the Receiver and the TV is having a problem. Are you using the free cable that came with the Joey or a higher speed HDMI cable?? That's the f irst place I'd look
R
Hello everyone, new guy here. I'm trying to solve problem I'm having with Dish bonus view channels. When I'm watching the bonus view channels then I switch back to regular dish channels, after few minutes the screen flips to black and after 30 seconds flips back to regular channels and continues to flip back and forth until I turn off TV. After I wait 30 minutes and turn back on , I can use regular channels again. So, its after I switch from bonus view channels to regular dish channels the problem starts. Been trying to fix this for a month, but no luck
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
First off, The analog to digital switch, also known as the digital television transition, is the process of converting older analog television broadcasting technology to digital broadcasting. It's used through coaxial cable for the an antenna during the mandatory switch from Analog to Digital on June 12, 2009. You either had to get a converter for your analog (Tube TV) or use a converter box that has the analog or digital tuner or an HDTV which your is and has the tuner built in. Your TV is HD and using an HDMI Cable and nothing is connected by coaxial cable so this wouldn't apply.

In my theory it probably means a new TV. I had a TV go out on my switching between the Smart Screen from the HDMI inputs before because they went faulty. Sometimes electrical surges can cause this. If you have an older home or rent an older home or apartment sometimes the electrical outlets are not grounded and these days HDTV's need a ground which can cause them to malfunction and go bad quicker. Never plug it directly in an outlet. It will damage the TV.

Hope I could be of some assistance.

RJ T.
From Illinois
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T
First off, The analog to digital switch, also known as the digital television transition, is the process of converting older analog television broadcasting technology to digital broadcasting. It's used through coaxial cable for the an antenna during the mandatory switch from Analog to Digital on June 12, 2009. You either had to get a converter for your analog (Tube TV) or use a converter box that has the analog or digital tuner or an HDTV which your is and has the tuner built in. Your TV is HD and using an HDMI Cable and nothing is connected by coaxial cable so this wouldn't apply.

In my theory it probably means a new TV. I had a TV go out on my switching between the Smart Screen from the HDMI inputs before because they went faulty. Sometimes electrical surges can cause this. If you have an older home or rent an older home or apartment sometimes the electrical outlets are not grounded and these days HDTV's need a ground which can cause them to malfunction and go bad quicker. Never plug it directly in an outlet. It will damage the TV.

Hope I could be of some assistance.

RJ T.
From Illinois
Thank you for the information. I do keep the TV plugged into a surge protector, but we have had pretty strong thunderstorms/lightning in the last month so that have contributed to my problem.The house was built in 2009 so everything seems to be grounded correctly. We have had a power surge also. Seems like no one fixes anything any more, so just get a new one or live with the problem. Thanks
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T
First off, great TV. I'm torn between the 77C5 or the 77G5.
It sounds like the handshake between the Receiver and the TV is having a problem. Are you using the free cable that came with the Joey or a higher speed HDMI cable?? That's the f irst place I'd look
I think the HDMI cable is good, i used one of my own from my 4K atmos system, i'll switch it with another just to check. Also I have a bid in at Greentoe for 77" G5. Thanks
HipKat
I think the HDMI cable is good, i used one of my own from my 4K atmos system, i'll switch it with another just to check. Also I have a bid in at Greentoe for 77" G5. Thanks
I hope that works. I'm waiting til Black Friday sales
natevw
Last reply · posted in FTA Receiver / Equipment Support
Hi all, I recently inherited a FTA system off Craiglist and have been trying to get it set up. What I got was a Glorystar-branded ~90cm offset dish with a ground mount (/flat roof) frame, and GEOSATpro DSR200c receiver. From that initial equipment, I've replaced the old LNBF with a (cheap!) new one and also splurged on an SG-2100 H-H motorized rotor which does respond from the receiver's USALS menu.

The previous owner had it set up for religious programming on Galaxy 19 and I've been trying to start by finding that same bird at least. After a couple sessions I'm not sure I have, but I've found *something* at least! A handful of motor ticks further than the dish wants to be for 97W after starting from motor 0 pointing as much south as I can guess at. (I don't have great references to aim for and it's really hard to sight where exactly the dish is pointing anyway….)

Anyway, so far there's only one transponder that I've ever been able to catch as I search. It's 12146 V and when the receiver scans it I get this list of video channels:
  • 1.1 Srv_1
  • 2.84 OU_Chan
  • 3.2 Srv_2
  • 4.5 Srv_5
  • 5.3 Srv_3
  • 6.4 Srv_4
  • 7.6 Srv_6
  • 8.7 Srv_7
There's iirc three audio channels it finds too but I didn't get a good snapshot of those. All the channels except for one seem to be dead (black screen and silent audio), except for the OU_Chan one which on both days I found it was just rolling one same ad over and over on a loop. I won't repeat the full roll since I don't want to spam the forums as my first post 😇 but it's a long-winded spiel about "you know us as an industry-leading satellite solutions provider with over a quarter million sites" and to call them For All Your Every Needs™ type thing.

While I get little blips from other frequencies, this is the only strong transponder I've been able to come across. My receiver shows it as S 75 and Q up to 85 when I adjust it. It actually seemed to get better as I **un**skewed my LBNF — iiuc G19 was supposed to be -20º for me but however I'm supposed to be reading/referencing the angles the puck is now basically at 0º relative to the dish/arm got the strongest on this transponder.

Anyway sorry this is so long winded already… my question is, do I even have the right satellite? None of the other transponders that are supposed to be active on G-19 seem to come in. And if not the right satellite does anyone happen to recognize which one I might have found instead? I think knowing that would help me then adjust for a truer south aim and then hopeful the USALS will work automatically once I can get it dialed in.
9 Replies · 247 views
cyberham
Correct LO setting to 10600 MHz. Set receiver to 12053 V 22000. Use USALS to motor over to 97W Galaxy 19. Then, loosen bolts and rotate entire assembly (motor & dish) very slightly east or west until you peak on that transponder.

You should be able to blind scan in 6 transponders (DVB-S) and dozens of channels.

When using a motor, just set skew of LNB for 0 degrees and don't change it. The motor automatically rotates the dish to the correct skew.
natevw
Correct LO setting to 10600 MHz. Set receiver to 12053 V 22000. Use USALS to motor over to 97W Galaxy 19. Then, loosen bolts and rotate entire assembly (motor & dish) very slightly east or west until you peak on that transponder.
Done and done and done! I ended up doing a bit more iteration (back and forth between the left-right and up-down adjustments) but I've now got it landing on G19 at its default position for 97W.

You should be able to blind scan in 6 transponders (DVB-S) and dozens of channels.
Yep, ended up with a page or two full on my receiver's search. Didn't double-check that my receiver has all six of the right transponders but I can mess with that later if it turns out I'm missing something interesting but still DVB-S / MPEG-2 compatible.
When using a motor, just set skew of LNB for 0 degrees and don't change it. The motor automatically rotates the dish to the correct skew.
Yep, can see definite signal degradation as soon as I skew the LNB either way from "straight" (seam on the LNB lined up with the clamps on the mounting bracket). Will make setup easier if I want to try swapping anything else in!

I don't know if there's any good (unencrypted, DVB-S) satellite farther away to really check the sweep against, but I was at least able to program in my original find at 101.0 W back in (now at the correct "12000 V 20000" setting) and can get both birds automatically.

Shouldn't be *that* exciting since it's just an ad, but still really fun to choose channels on the other one and have it jog over and lock on 🤓
cyberham
Motor over to 123W Galaxy 18 and try for 12078 V 3680 (Korean Broadcasting System). It is DVB-S. And 12008 H 12660 (Daystar mux) on the same satellite.

Beyond these, you'll need your new receiver that supports DVB-S2.
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B
Done and done and done! I ended up doing a bit more iteration (back and forth between the left-right and up-down adjustments) but I've now got it landing on G19 at its default position for 97W.


Yep, ended up with a page or two full on my receiver's search. Didn't double-check that my receiver has all six of the right transponders but I can mess with that later if it turns out I'm missing something interesting but still DVB-S / MPEG-2 compatible.

Yep, can see definite signal degradation as soon as I skew the LNB either way from "straight" (seam on the LNB lined up with the clamps on the mounting bracket). Will make setup easier if I want to try swapping anything else in!

I don't know if there's any good (unencrypted, DVB-S) satellite farther away to really check the sweep against, but I was at least able to program in my original find at 101.0 W back in (now at the correct "12000 V 20000" setting) and can get both birds automatically.

Shouldn't be *that* exciting since it's just an ad, but still really fun to choose channels on the other one and have it jog over and lock on 🤓
beside 123W, another one to try (if it's above the horizon at your location) is Hispasat @30W. It has at least 2 DVB-S transponders with SD/Mpeg2 channels
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natevw
Motor over to 123W Galaxy 18 and try for 12078 V 3680 (Korean Broadcasting System). It is DVB-S. And 12008 H 12660 (Daystar mux) on the same satellite.

No luck finding this one. I motor over and it seems like a pretty dead spot of sky. I did get a slight blip (Q up to 1% or 2%) if I lowered the dish slightly. So I wonder if my polar mount itself maybe needs a bit of fine tuning?

Even when loosening the bolts and manually nudging the dish up/down/left/right nothing seemed to really wake it [new receiver, see below!] up and never saw anything more than 4% or 5% which I don't know is even real or could have been just noise?

beside 123W, another one to try (if it's above the horizon at your location) is Hispasat @30W.
I'm in Washington state (northwest CONUS) so this one's not an option for me.

Beyond these, you'll need your new receiver that supports DVB-S2.
I now have a V8 Finder 2 :-)

I've been able to scan in more now on G-19, and as well as watching the ad on SES 1 and getting some PBS stations there and G-16 both. So three satellites kinda in the general vicinity of each other (97W/101W/99.1W) programmed and able to rotate between.

Is G-18 at 123W as strong as the others? According to Satbeams I should be at least somewhat in its footprint although it looks like it's maybe focused more on Alaska.

Now that I'm back at my computer waiting for the Finder to charge back up looks like the Eutelsat(s) 117W have a couple Ku transponders I could look for too.
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cyberham
On 117W, try for BVN. It has a C/N lock of just 1.0 dB so it's easy to receive. See transponder data on Lyngsat. 123W is receivable. Your motor is not perfectly on the arc yet.
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natevw
Last reply · posted in FTA Receiver / Equipment Support
I'm having trouble finding a for sure answer on this. When I first started diving back into satellite stuff I noticed the GT Media V8 Finder2 which looks pretty cool and relatively low price point. But I can't find an answer, seems like some people (and Amazon's own AI guesser-bot) say it doesn't support motors.

The manual itself (the PDF that I found is named 20220718043903GTMEDIAV8FINDER2.pdf and it's on page 6 of 8) does show on the installation screen a "Motor Setup" menu item and says "If select DiSEqC1.2 or USALS, we can press ◀︎▶︎ to select IF Channel, and use number key to input Center Frequency."

Which…… the USALS part seems promising, but I don't know what IF and Center frequencies have to do with anything? Can it drive the motor off its battery for one, and does it have options for e.g. using the ◀︎▶︎ arrows to change the aim and save adjustments?
The closest I've found to real-world experience here is in Long shot with TBS6909X card where someone is talking about a different rotor and says:

> when I connect my V8 Finder 2, it immediately moves the dish if it's not in the correct position

which seems really promising! Moving the dish is what I'm after here, with something newer than the old MPEG-2 receiver I have now. Even for other receivers its really unclear if motor support is just pretty much a safe assumption that they don't even mention it anymore?

The V9 Prime actually looks pretty nice too and assuming it runs motors maybe that'd be better than the V8 Finder 2 for actual long term use since it has networking. But I'm having trouble finding listings for it (and actually most other receivers I see mentioned here) on Amazon or eBay or even Aliexpress. I'm wanting a DVB-S2 receiver for at least MPEG-4 with H.264/AVC and maybe should just get H.265/HEVC while I'm shopping. Main criteria:

* run my "Goto X"-era SG-2100 rotator
* be able to view most/all modern FTA satellites
* ideally a scheduled DVR feature and/or network would make it more useful
* I don't mind if it has… "alternative" firmwares or features but just for broader compatibility/interest

My main goal is I guess just exploration, seeing what's up there. Honestly not a big TV guy and definitely not into infomercials but if I can time shift the occasional Bob Ross or Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, or catch some world events as they're being uplinked, that sort of thing might be interesting. (Honestly main goal started out as weather satellites but this is kinda a warmup excercise for what will likely be a separate setup due to the frequencies.)

My dish is kinda far from my house and even farther from my "radio shack" so if I could just run a PoE ethernet line to something in a box below the dish, or a coax only to the crawlspace where I have 110V but either way would need it full remote including changing between satellites. To avoid having to buy and pull tons more coax up and down through the house. I'm into open source and real standards, so I'd much rather something that I can say use with VLC or go2rtc via a raw IP address and protocol rather than some convenient but proprietary iOS cloud app thingy.
3 Replies · 114 views
cyberham
I have the GT Media V9 prime receiver. It's a good modern receiver for its price. I think it's no longer available new since GT Media stopped making receivers.

The V9 supports USALS and Diseqc motor positioning. I have 125 feet of RG6 to my dish. I'd recommend 100 feet of cable maximum due to voltage drop issues as the cable gets longer. In my case, my motor works but at times when I move the motor I stay tuned to horizontal (H) transponders which sends a higher motor voltage than if tuned to a vertical (V) transponder.
natevw
Thanks, great tips and yeah when I'd read how the H/V bias worked I wondered if the higher voltage was ever useful for better power transfer :-)

It was perhaps slightly impulsive (though I guess not too late to cancel) but instead of the Finder unit I ended up going for kinda the opposite: a completely faceless USB tuner box (TBS5930) which should have RF support all the way up through DVB-S2X. If I'm understanding correctly the actual video/audio will then be whatever I can get software/GPU support for so my hope is that any unencrypted MPEG-2/AVC/HEVC feed can be viewed with VLC or whatnot. As well as access to what I assume is pure data like the Blockstream stuff just for example. (They had a lot of good resources for reception of their own signal in lots of various interesting ways and is kinda how I found the TBS options.)

And I think I will be able to control DiSEqC stuff through Linux including motor commands. So the idea is kinda what I mentioned, hoping this can just get chained in to an old thin client PC or if there's any Raspberry Pi that doesn't cost triple digits these days, somewhere physically convenient and then run it all over LAN from my laptop.

All this is somewhat theoretical of course based on what I'm piecing together but at a certain point I usually have to close all the browser tabs and just commit to try *something* that looks promising and go from there.
natevw
I'm having trouble finding a for sure answer on this.
Had a mixup with the TBS5930, got sent a cheaper Lite model than I paid for and am returning that. Ended up with the V8 Finder 2 after all.

And can confirm that it *does* have motor support! There's options for each satellite:

* None
* DiSEqC 1.2
* USALS

If you choose USALS (after setting device lat/lon) then it simply goes to where it thinks the satellite should be. If you arrow over to the DiSEqC option then you can press "OK" on it and pull up a menu with the ability to save position presets and also a motor nudge feature.

So between the two I can first choose USALS to get my initial setting, and then switch to DiSEqC to see if fine tuning helps.

That's all in the "Installation menu". When just watching channels it automatically switches between satellites too. Can even do a multi-satellite scan although it seemed it maybe didn't wait for the motor to finish before starting the scan.

when I move the motor I stay tuned to horizontal (H) transponders which sends a higher motor voltage

This is definitely noticeable on the Finder too, the motor goes a decent bit faster on H transponders.
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Y
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Mexico takes on South Africa to open the World Cup Final (it is called the Final... this just isn't the World Cup Final... Final). The tournament has been plagued with rife malfeasance as FIFA has been committing all sorts of fraud with the ticket sales. Hotel rooms have gone unfilled as the prices to attend a game and stay somewhere are through the roof. I swear this is impacting Mansfield, OH hotel rates which are higher than average for the Indycar race. And there is a broadening VAR presence which will ruin things as nothing worse now when scoring a goal and knowing you can't quite celebrate yet as they check to see if a player was offside by a pixel a half-hour ago.

The Group Stage used to mean something, but now 32 of the 48... yeah, 48 teams are going to the Knockout Round. Getting into the Knockout Round used to be a big deal, even for the US. But now... if you don't lose all of your group stage games, you get to move on. Oi! And this is avoiding all the political stuff!

I have never been so unexcited for a World Cup before. Every game used to matter. But FIFA be darned if they don't try to squeeze out every dime they can out of the players, refs, and fans.
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osu1991
I have no interest in watching it this year.
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Bruce
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Last reply · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum
I was reading this article


That said this-
Last summer, for the first time, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime claimed the largest share of the television viewing audience, surpassing both cable and broadcast TV. Streaming captured 34.8 percent of July viewers, according to Nielsen data, compared to 34.4 percent for cable and 21.6 percent for broadcast.

And then, sometime in the second half of 2022, cord-cutters became the majority. The share of cable and satellite television subscribers dipped to 48 percent, according to a report from Samba TV, a television technology company.


Now I do not consider those with YTTV and the likes, Cord Cutters, but they still do not have Traditional Cable/Satellite delivered Live TV, so I decided to do the math.

There are, now, 129 Million Households in the United States.

In 2015, there were 100 Million Cable/Sat Subscribers , no streaming Live TV Service.

Today, there are 66 Million Live TV subscribers, including Cable, Satellite and Streaming.

Roughly, Streaming Live TV has 14 Million subs including all of them.

So that means, Cable/Satellite now has, roughly, 51 Million Households

So in just 8 years, lost 49% of their subscribers and by the end of this year, expected sub count to be, roughly, 45 million households.

That means a total loss of 55% since 2015 at the end of 2023.

But out of 129 Million households, 45 million will mean only 35% will get Cable/Satellite Delivered Live TV by the end of 2023.

Imagine what 2024 will be like.
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Bruce
Comcast Corporation, one of the largest telecommunications and media conglomerates in the United States, has shed more than 13 million pay-TV subscribers since reaching its zenith in the late 2000s. The company's video subscriber base, which includes traditional cable television services, stood at approximately 24.2 million customers toward the end of 2008. By the close of the first quarter of 2026, that figure had plummeted to roughly10.95 million, representing a loss of about 13.25 million subscribers, or more than half of its historical peak.

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dishdude
Comcast Corporation, one of the largest telecommunications and media conglomerates in the United States, has shed more than 13 million pay-TV subscribers since reaching its zenith in the late 2000s. The company's video subscriber base, which includes traditional cable television services, stood at approximately 24.2 million customers toward the end of 2008. By the close of the first quarter of 2026, that figure had plummeted to roughly10.95 million, representing a loss of about 13.25 million subscribers, or more than half of its historical peak.


Couldn't happen to a nicer company!
Bruce
The average monthly cost of cable television in the United States has climbed to $147, marking a significant increase that reflects broader trends in media consumption and rising operational expenses for providers. This figure represents the baseline expense for standard television packages across major cable operators, excluding additional fees for premium channels, equipment rentals, or taxes that often push household bills even higher.

This is without Broadband services ( bundled), also, paying a lot more for a lot less new scripted content and now….sports.

T
Anyone know how Canadians are doing with cord cutting? I would think there could be added incentive simply in that Canadian cable/sat has been heavily regulated to exclude much of US content in order to promote home content. Streaming would seem to cut through any of that, presuming there aren't restrictions on that as well. Or maybe US streamers won't sell there?
NYDutch
Anyone know how Canadians are doing with cord cutting? I would think there could be added incentive simply in that Canadian cable/sat has been heavily regulated to exclude much of US content in order to promote home content. Streaming would seem to cut through any of that, presuming there aren't restrictions on that as well. Or maybe US streamers won't sell there?
Some of the most popular streaming apps, like YTTV, Netflix, Hulu, and others, are geo locked to at least one country, if not even tighter. There are ways around that for the technically inclined.