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Think back to 2003. Yes, it was 20 years ago. In some ways it seems like 100 years ago. Back in 2003, your cell phone got most of its use actually making calls. You checked your email once a day or so, and while you were impressed by the amazing speed of your brand-new always-on internet, it was probably about 1 megabit (or less.) Chances are you spent a lot more time interacting with the people near you, and, when you watched TV, you watched live TV.
That's right, on-demand was extremely new back then, as was the DVR. Most people had some idea that these technologies existed, but unless you were a seriously early adopter, you never used these things. Live TV was king, and you were just fine with that.
The earth has gone around the sun a few times since then, and so I ask, "does live TV still matter?" An increasing amount of TV is consumed either from a DVR or from some sort of on-demand source like Netflix or Hulu. It's actually possible that you may not watch any live TV in an average week, especially if you're under 50.
Local broadcasters and broadcast networks still haven't got that message, though. Those old titans, the ones who ruled the world in 1963, 1983, and even 2003 haven't quite gotten the message that for the most part, live TV actually doesn't matter. News is important. Sports are important. A rapidly decreasing number of relevant reality programs are important to watch as they unfold. A very small number of scripted programs demand that you stop and watch as soon as they air, but past that, people are just as happy to watch on their own schedules, especially if this means that they can skip commercials.
It means trouble, if you're a traditional broadcaster. For the last five years or so, local broadcasters have been gutting their news and local interest resources, importing canned programs from their increasingly massive corporate owners. It means that the world of local programming is teetering on a precipice and station owners don't seem to notice or care.
I personally feel that the traditional broadcast model just needs one little push to drop into chaos. Those in the desirable 18-34 demographic don't watch a lot of TV already, and personally I'm worried that a small push could cause them to lose interest altogether.
I have to wonder if the major broadcast networks even care. I have this conspiracy theory floating in my head that the big boys, the CBS's, ABC,'s, etc. of the world, would love to divest themselves of the old network model. Local network affiliates were important to them when over-the-air was the only game in town. Today, these companies would be just as happy to be cable/satellite-delivered only, but they can't do it as long as those pesky network contracts are in place. Those contracts mean that network programming is only available from network affiliates. It stops the broadcast networks from offering national programming over cable or satellite. That limitation has been in place since the very beginning of broadcasting.
You'll notice, of course, that all the big broadcasters already offer content directly over streaming. I have a feeling this is just a sign of things to come. If broadcast networks let their affiliates fail, they could be free to do whatever they want. This would include producing salacious programming of the sort one only finds on HBO or Showtime now. They could go whole-hog on a national subscription model. Think about it – CBS, ABC, and NBC all have streaming apps. CBS even lets you watch live local TV from theirs.
So I would say "yes," live TV does matter, but not the same way that it used to. Live TV is the bargaining chip, the last thing holding the old broadcast model together. It should be interesting to see what happens to live TV in the next couple of years. Even if you're not actually interested in watching it, it's going to affect you.
The post Does live TV even matter anymore? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
A world without on demand
That's right, on-demand was extremely new back then, as was the DVR. Most people had some idea that these technologies existed, but unless you were a seriously early adopter, you never used these things. Live TV was king, and you were just fine with that.
The earth has gone around the sun a few times since then, and so I ask, "does live TV still matter?" An increasing amount of TV is consumed either from a DVR or from some sort of on-demand source like Netflix or Hulu. It's actually possible that you may not watch any live TV in an average week, especially if you're under 50.
Live TV sure matters to the people who make it
Local broadcasters and broadcast networks still haven't got that message, though. Those old titans, the ones who ruled the world in 1963, 1983, and even 2003 haven't quite gotten the message that for the most part, live TV actually doesn't matter. News is important. Sports are important. A rapidly decreasing number of relevant reality programs are important to watch as they unfold. A very small number of scripted programs demand that you stop and watch as soon as they air, but past that, people are just as happy to watch on their own schedules, especially if this means that they can skip commercials.
What does this mean for the future?
It means trouble, if you're a traditional broadcaster. For the last five years or so, local broadcasters have been gutting their news and local interest resources, importing canned programs from their increasingly massive corporate owners. It means that the world of local programming is teetering on a precipice and station owners don't seem to notice or care.
I personally feel that the traditional broadcast model just needs one little push to drop into chaos. Those in the desirable 18-34 demographic don't watch a lot of TV already, and personally I'm worried that a small push could cause them to lose interest altogether.
But here's the interesting thing…
I have to wonder if the major broadcast networks even care. I have this conspiracy theory floating in my head that the big boys, the CBS's, ABC,'s, etc. of the world, would love to divest themselves of the old network model. Local network affiliates were important to them when over-the-air was the only game in town. Today, these companies would be just as happy to be cable/satellite-delivered only, but they can't do it as long as those pesky network contracts are in place. Those contracts mean that network programming is only available from network affiliates. It stops the broadcast networks from offering national programming over cable or satellite. That limitation has been in place since the very beginning of broadcasting.
You'll notice, of course, that all the big broadcasters already offer content directly over streaming. I have a feeling this is just a sign of things to come. If broadcast networks let their affiliates fail, they could be free to do whatever they want. This would include producing salacious programming of the sort one only finds on HBO or Showtime now. They could go whole-hog on a national subscription model. Think about it – CBS, ABC, and NBC all have streaming apps. CBS even lets you watch live local TV from theirs.
So I would say "yes," live TV does matter, but not the same way that it used to. Live TV is the bargaining chip, the last thing holding the old broadcast model together. It should be interesting to see what happens to live TV in the next couple of years. Even if you're not actually interested in watching it, it's going to affect you.
The post Does live TV even matter anymore? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
11 Replies
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1032 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Our DNS provider is encouraging us to enable DNSSEC on our domains for added security.
I have gone ahead and enabled it, and am told it may take anywhere from 90 minutes to 24 hours for it to take effect.
Hopefully doing this does not harm the site in any way. (It shouldn't) but if it does, you will then know why and I will revert the settings.
But from what I am reading it should be ok. so just giving a warning as I have screwed up DNS stuff in the past.
I have gone ahead and enabled it, and am told it may take anywhere from 90 minutes to 24 hours for it to take effect.
Hopefully doing this does not harm the site in any way. (It shouldn't) but if it does, you will then know why and I will revert the settings.
But from what I am reading it should be ok. so just giving a warning as I have screwed up DNS stuff in the past.
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6 views
Ham Radio 2.0
Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erpXkKWLg54
Direct YouTube Link - I Went Wardriving for Meshtastic and Meshcoree Nodes!
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erpXkKWLg54
Direct YouTube Link - I Went Wardriving for Meshtastic and Meshcoree Nodes!
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook
0 Replies
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1 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Due to security concerns and the fact that the Tapatalk Plugin for Xenforo is no longer being updated we have removed Tapatalk support from SatelliteGuys.
For those who were using it we recommend using our PWA App instead which is faster and does not have all the spam Tapatalk had. Below is a graphic showing how to add SatelliteGuys to your devices home screen. (While iOS is shown the process is mostly the same for Android.)
Thanks for your understanding.
For those who were using it we recommend using our PWA App instead which is faster and does not have all the spam Tapatalk had. Below is a graphic showing how to add SatelliteGuys to your devices home screen. (While iOS is shown the process is mostly the same for Android.)
Thanks for your understanding.
7 Replies
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167 views
Actually, PWA stands for "Progressive Web Application" and is basically just saving a site's homepage to your desktop where it appears as an "App" with the rest of your smartphone's Apps.
A PWA is a custom version of SatelliteGuys which is optimized for mobile devices. While it may look like the website, its actually different so that only the files needed for mobile are sent, meaning its a much faster experience all around.
TapaTalk is essentially dead. It was written for PHP 5.4 and we are now running PHP 8.4. There have been a LOT of PHP security updates since then and since Tapatalk for Xenforo has not been updated in a long long time it is not the safest idea to keep running it.
In addition those trying to view the site on their mobile devices using a browser were getting spammed on the top of the screen for people to install TapaTalk, this ad in some cases would take up 20% of the users screen. We could get rid of that ad but we would have to pay $20 a month to get rid of it.
In addition TapaTalk could and was inserting their own ads on SatelliteGuys in the app which only benefitted them, SatelliteGuys was not paid for those ads they were displaying on our site. Again we could pay to get rid of those ads.
And here was the cost of the Premium Tier.
Now to make matters worse Tapatalk recently announced that they are going to start charging users of the app 99 cents a month to continue using it.
So soon you would be paying them each month to access SatelliteGuys via their app, again all the money going to them... and you would still see all their ads too.
Tapatalk was a great program which we run for many many years, and for a long time we DID pay for the premium tier. But now with such a small offset using it (My numbers show a total of 6 members) it wasn't work paying for any longer.
In addition Tapatalk was sold to a different owner who made lots of promises of improvements and updates but then that owner has been really radio silent since, instead they have been letting TapaTalk rot on the vine.
If you visit their support forum at https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tapatalksupport/ you will see there is not much going on, in fact most of the support questions posted there go unanswered.
Please give the PWA a try, I was a die hard Tapatalk user myself but now only use the PWA on devices. It is a much better all around experience, with no bloatware or additional ads based on your user membership level.
I don't have an android phone so I could not make a graphic showing you how to add SatelliteGuys PWA to your phones apps or home screen. But here is a site that explains how to do it on all kinds of devices. How to Install a PWA on iOS, Android, Windows & Mac [2025 Guide]
The above link also explains PWA's better as well.
If Tapatalk were to update their plugins so we know we are more secure and up to date and allow us to remove the "Smart Banner" without having to pay $20 a month, we would consider adding it back. I don't even care about their ads, as if a user wants to use their app and is willing to sit through their ads in order to use that app then I am ok with it.
But hopefully that explains better why it was removed. It was not done to cut anyone off from the site. Please give the PWA a try.
TapaTalk is essentially dead. It was written for PHP 5.4 and we are now running PHP 8.4. There have been a LOT of PHP security updates since then and since Tapatalk for Xenforo has not been updated in a long long time it is not the safest idea to keep running it.
In addition those trying to view the site on their mobile devices using a browser were getting spammed on the top of the screen for people to install TapaTalk, this ad in some cases would take up 20% of the users screen. We could get rid of that ad but we would have to pay $20 a month to get rid of it.
In addition TapaTalk could and was inserting their own ads on SatelliteGuys in the app which only benefitted them, SatelliteGuys was not paid for those ads they were displaying on our site. Again we could pay to get rid of those ads.
And here was the cost of the Premium Tier.
Now to make matters worse Tapatalk recently announced that they are going to start charging users of the app 99 cents a month to continue using it.
So soon you would be paying them each month to access SatelliteGuys via their app, again all the money going to them... and you would still see all their ads too.
Tapatalk was a great program which we run for many many years, and for a long time we DID pay for the premium tier. But now with such a small offset using it (My numbers show a total of 6 members) it wasn't work paying for any longer.
In addition Tapatalk was sold to a different owner who made lots of promises of improvements and updates but then that owner has been really radio silent since, instead they have been letting TapaTalk rot on the vine.
If you visit their support forum at https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tapatalksupport/ you will see there is not much going on, in fact most of the support questions posted there go unanswered.
Please give the PWA a try, I was a die hard Tapatalk user myself but now only use the PWA on devices. It is a much better all around experience, with no bloatware or additional ads based on your user membership level.
I don't have an android phone so I could not make a graphic showing you how to add SatelliteGuys PWA to your phones apps or home screen. But here is a site that explains how to do it on all kinds of devices. How to Install a PWA on iOS, Android, Windows & Mac [2025 Guide]
The above link also explains PWA's better as well.
If Tapatalk were to update their plugins so we know we are more secure and up to date and allow us to remove the "Smart Banner" without having to pay $20 a month, we would consider adding it back. I don't even care about their ads, as if a user wants to use their app and is willing to sit through their ads in order to use that app then I am ok with it.
But hopefully that explains better why it was removed. It was not done to cut anyone off from the site.
Please give the PWA a try.
I just installed the PWA on my Android phone. It was pretty easy to do, and now I'm posting this from my phone. Thanks, Scott!A PWA is a custom version of SatelliteGuys which is optimized for mobile devices. While it may look like the website, its actually different so that only the files needed for mobile are sent, meaning its a much faster experience all around.
TapaTalk is essentially dead. It was written for PHP 5.4 and we are now running PHP 8.4. There have been a LOT of PHP security updates since then and since Tapatalk for Xenforo has not been updated in a long long time it is not the safest idea to keep running it.
In addition those trying to view the site on their mobile devices using a browser were getting spammed on the top of the screen for people to install TapaTalk, this ad in some cases would take up 20% of the users screen. We could get rid of that ad but we would have to pay $20 a month to get rid of it.
View attachment 191729
In addition TapaTalk could and was inserting their own ads on SatelliteGuys in the app which only benefitted them, SatelliteGuys was not paid for those ads they were displaying on our site. Again we could pay to get rid of those ads.
View attachment 191730
And here was the cost of the Premium Tier.
View attachment 191731
Now to make matters worse Tapatalk recently announced that they are going to start charging users of the app 99 cents a month to continue using it.
View attachment 191732
So soon you would be paying them each month to access SatelliteGuys via their app, again all the money going to them... and you would still see all their ads too.
Tapatalk was a great program which we run for many many years, and for a long time we DID pay for the premium tier. But now with such a small offset using it (My numbers show a total of 6 members) it wasn't work paying for any longer.
In addition Tapatalk was sold to a different owner who made lots of promises of improvements and updates but then that owner has been really radio silent since, instead they have been letting TapaTalk rot on the vine.
If you visit their support forum at https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tapatalksupport/ you will see there is not much going on, in fact most of the support questions posted there go unanswered.
Please give the PWA a try, I was a die hard Tapatalk user myself but now only use the PWA on devices. It is a much better all around experience, with no bloatware or additional ads based on your user membership level.
I don't have an android phone so I could not make a graphic showing you how to add SatelliteGuys PWA to your phones apps or home screen. But here is a site that explains how to do it on all kinds of devices. How to Install a PWA on iOS, Android, Windows & Mac [2025 Guide]
The above link also explains PWA's better as well.
If Tapatalk were to update their plugins so we know we are more secure and up to date and allow us to remove the "Smart Banner" without having to pay $20 a month, we would consider adding it back. I don't even care about their ads, as if a user wants to use their app and is willing to sit through their ads in order to use that app then I am ok with it.
But hopefully that explains better why it was removed. It was not done to cut anyone off from the site.
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
67104 Replies
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2662245 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
As you may have noticed we are doing a Fund Raiser for SatelliteGuys!
As many of you know I have been paying for a majority of the operation of the site out of my own pocket for awhile now. Now looking at things we have a number of renewals coming up that I could use some help with. These renewals include the license renewal for our Forum Software, Renewal of a number of our add on's the site uses, renewal of domain names etc.
I have set a goal of $400.00 - any extra that comes in will just go to fund the operations of the site. None of the money will go to me (I tried BuyMeACoffee a few months ago, and they denied me saying they do not do business with Satellite Piracy sites... which we are not... hell we host the beta programs for both DISH and DIRECTV here...)
Anyways... if you would like to help out please click the link below.
www.satelliteguys.us
Thank you in advance.
As many of you know I have been paying for a majority of the operation of the site out of my own pocket for awhile now. Now looking at things we have a number of renewals coming up that I could use some help with. These renewals include the license renewal for our Forum Software, Renewal of a number of our add on's the site uses, renewal of domain names etc.
I have set a goal of $400.00 - any extra that comes in will just go to fund the operations of the site. None of the money will go to me (I tried BuyMeACoffee a few months ago, and they denied me saying they do not do business with Satellite Piracy sites... which we are not... hell we host the beta programs for both DISH and DIRECTV here...)
Anyways... if you would like to help out please click the link below.
SatelliteGuys Maintenance Fund Raiser
www.satelliteguys.us
Thank you in advance.
18 Replies
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549 views
I planned on removing it today, but then my fathers car broke down and I had to drive him all around to get his stuff done. Then I had a doctors appointment after that which was annoying...
Dr asks me if I have had any changes, so I tell him something wrong with me that started a month or so ago and his reply back is, that it sucks to get old... I hate that. Why ask me. if your going to come back with a smart ass answer.
Anyays I hope to get rid of Tapatalk tomorrow.
And we had more people donate today, thank you! The extra money is going to future expenses since things like add ons don't expire at the same time.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU AGAIN!
Dr asks me if I have had any changes, so I tell him something wrong with me that started a month or so ago and his reply back is, that it sucks to get old... I hate that. Why ask me. if your going to come back with a smart ass answer.
Anyays I hope to get rid of Tapatalk tomorrow.
And we had more people donate today, thank you! The extra money is going to future expenses since things like add ons don't expire at the same time.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU AGAIN!
Tapatalk has been removed.
I have added a new feature which is a work in progress called "Social Feed" which displays the forums Facebook style. Its nice for people who like that, but needs work. But i have been watching this one for awhile and the author is being really responsive to suggestions and adding them. So if you have any please let me know and I can pass them along.
I have added a new feature which is a work in progress called "Social Feed" which displays the forums Facebook style. Its nice for people who like that, but needs work. But i have been watching this one for awhile and the author is being really responsive to suggestions and adding them. So if you have any please let me know and I can pass them along.
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
111 Replies
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2720 views
TFLEV
Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7CB6m89_RY
Direct YouTube Link - How the Heck Do You Tell the NEW 2027 Rivian R2 from the R1? I Compare Both Side-By-Side!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7CB6m89_RY
Direct YouTube Link - How the Heck Do You Tell the NEW 2027 Rivian R2 from the R1? I Compare Both Side-By-Side!
0 Replies
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6 views
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
I have had good experiences with Brave but lately I am frustrated with it.
Now when I launch the app it shows a box at the bottom asking if I want to go back to the last opened page. It is in conveniently located and I would prefer to eliminate it.
Does anyone know how to do this?
Please let's not sidetrack the discussion into an exploration of why I don't care for it or a lecture about all the wonderful aspects of the feature. I just do not care for it.
Now when I launch the app it shows a box at the bottom asking if I want to go back to the last opened page. It is in conveniently located and I would prefer to eliminate it.
Does anyone know how to do this?
Please let's not sidetrack the discussion into an exploration of why I don't care for it or a lecture about all the wonderful aspects of the feature. I just do not care for it.
3 Replies
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66 views
I don't have an Android phone so I don't know if this will apply to the Brave settings on your android device but it works on the desktop for me.
Change this setting to either startup to a different website or a new tab page. I have mine set to open to google.com instead of where I left off and it doesn't ask me at the next startup if I want to open the last opened page unless it crashed.
Change this setting to either startup to a different website or a new tab page. I have mine set to open to google.com instead of where I left off and it doesn't ask me at the next startup if I want to open the last opened page unless it crashed.
Supporting Founder
Since the Reds have there thread we should too!
Last watched Nine inch Nails
Next 3:10 to Yuma
Last watched Nine inch Nails
Next 3:10 to Yuma
5346 Replies
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509283 views
Looking for a manual. Want to do some radio astronomy with it. Realize it's old but, since it's not for tv use don't need any decoders, just the RF section.
0 Replies
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16 views