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Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
THE BACKSTORY
I admit it, im a geek. I love anything dealing with radio and television signals in, and if its a new technology that I don't have then I got to have it. In my house I have all kinds of gizmos to help me pick up radio and TV signals, from police scanners to (of course) satellite receivers.
Imagine my excitement when I saw AT&T workers in my neighborhood installing "VRad" units, when I asked what they were doing they told me they were getting ready to launch a new cable system that was fiber based and was an IPTV based service. They said it was going to be available by the end of the year (2006) and they were not kidding!
Shortly before the close of 2006 a press release came out saying that service was now available in my area. I had my wife call up and order it. She opted for the U400 package which is basically everything (but the internationals) and because we already had a great internet connection in out house from COX (15 MB Cable Modem Service) we opted not to get AT&T's 1.5MB service. A date was set for my install I was excited and searched the internet for reviews of the service and more information a well but really did not find anything but a site called UVERSEUSERS.COM and even that site didn't really give me the information I was looking for. So I had to wait a few days for my install.
THE INSTALL
Install day came and I got a call from the installer who told me that I was one of the first customers getting installed and he had some trainees he would like to bring and work on my job, I had no problem with that. He said great they would see me at 9:00am.
At exactly 9:00am 2 AT&T Vans pulled in front of my house. One of them being a AT&T U Verse Van . the got out and came up and said hi to me, came in and saw where I wanted everything install then formed a game plan and got to work.
The told me they came out to the house the day before to check out the site and were wondering what all the satellite dishes and cable was for. I explained everything to them and they seemed to actually enjoy the fact that I was knowledgable about the technology and product.
They then went to work on my Telephone NID Box (Network Interface Device) which was a mess. Since I do not have AT&T as my local telephone company, my phone company COX did some messy wiring so that they could connect their equipment up to my existing wiring.
And while they were not supposed to, they went through and cleaned up the mess that Cox made in the NID. I appreciated that.
(CLICK HERE for a look at a diagram of the work done in the box)
After all was cleaned up they notice that we had no voltage coming from the telephone pole to my house and the nid device. Since I no longer had AT&T for local phone service they never hooked up my wires on the pole when they were rewiring things getting ready for UVerse.
They needed to call in a linesman to come hook the line up as these guys are not permitted up ont he poles. This delayed things down about an hour and a half or so.
As we were waiting for the linesman to show up the other two "trainees" were working on figuring out how to put in the wiring. Since this was their first non lab install these guys went VERY slow putting in the wiring as they wanted to make sure everything was installed perfectly and by the book. While they only needed to run about 40 feet of wire it took them over 3 hours to do it. Again I had no problem with this and as they were working they had some questions like "They never told us in class why we needed to do it this way instead or this other way" and I was happy to know the answers to those questions and tell them why. I felt actually good that I could teach them some stuff.
They took a break for lunch after lunch the linesman showed up and went on the pole and got us all connected. The lead installer when went to our neighborhod Vrad unit with the linesman as this was the first install they have done on a naked line (with no dial tone and no internet service) and he wasnt sure how to set the jumpers in the VRAD unit.
After working for awhile one of the trainees hooked up a meter and waited for it to say SHOWTIME on the display. After a few calls back and forth the unit finally displayed SHOWTIME we were good to go now!
The head installer and line tech came back to my house and ran some more tests, everything was perfect. After this time line tech left and the trainees put in wall plates in near the TV's and got everything hooked up. The head installer cleaned up my NID box a little more then closed it up and came in for the next step. And that was getting the service working inside the house.
They unpackaged the 2 receievers (1 DVR and 1 non DVR, I was amazed how small and light they were) then they unboxed a 2WIRE VDSL gateway, this thing was a monster in size compaired to the receivers!
At this time a supervisor showed up, was a nice guy we talked shop while the other guys worked.
The head tech hooked up the 2WIRE Gateway to the coax and also to his laptop. There was a problem we couldn't get it to sync up. After about 30 minutes on the phone with level 2 support and a bunch of resets to the gateway unit it finally synced up. He then hooked up the DVR to the Gateway by using a ethernet patch cord (not coax) we hooked the DVR up to my TV with standard AV cables. Then plugged it in. There was a problem, we were not getting the software download.
They were sitting there not knowing what to do, I asked the tech some questions and asked to see the setup screens on his laptop. When I looked it said that my IP address was a 192.168.x.x address, and this was also the address to the gateway. Something was not correct here. I told him our gateway was not getting an IP address from the gateway. I was talking greek to him. I then explained to him how things work as far as TCP/IP. After a bit he seemed to understand more and still couldnt get the gateway to obtain an IP address, but at least now he knew what the problem was. It was time to call support again.
So on the phone again with level 2 support, and level 2 support was kind of clueless at first, they had no idea what to do. In fact the head tech said that in their class what must they do differently to a customer who is just getting IPTV and no internet and telephone service (The teachers answer BTW was "it will never happen") kind of funny that their first real install and they ran into the problem out of the gate.
After going through our settings with tech support for another 30 minutes they finally figured how to provision our gateway (basically they turned on the internet access portion which I was not subscribing to) once they did that the DVR started download its software. It took the box a few times to download the first "cog" and then a long time (about 30 minutes) to download the second part of the software (or as they called it, the second "cog") after it was done downloading the box rebooted. After 2 minutes we saw life on the TV, the AT&T U-Verse Logo.
The supervisor left at this point he thanked me for helping them out and joked asking if they had any more install problems if they could call me instead of support.
They hooked up the non DVR box in my sons room (via coax) and repeated the software install process. When it was done we had U-VERSE in there as well.
Since it was getting late I was given a quick tour of the remote which for the most part operated just like the Dish Network remote. I was shown how to record some stuff and saw some things I liked and didn't like (more on that later) the installer then was going to show me a small VOD movie welcoming me to the U-VERSE however for some reason the video on demand system was down.
Before they left they tried something, they started a HD stream on both TVs and both TV's were able to tune into HD at the same time.
By the time they left it was after 5:30pm. But all was working! I then sat down for a bit and watched some TV. I was very impressed with what I saw, and so was my 4 year old son who saw a show he liked on the PBS Channel "Sprout"
Thats where the TV stayed tuned for the rest of the night. I didn't get to play anymore, I had packing to do as me and my wife were headed to Las Vegas for CES.
And while I could have written up my review then I decided to wait until I got home from CES to really play with U-Verse and write my honest feelings about the service. And frankly I am glad I waited.
In the next section of my review we take a look at the DVR and its operation, then in the section following that we get into the meat and potatos the actual review of the service itself.
I do hope you enjoy this review, feel free to post links to it at other sites, as I am sure there are many folks out there looking for more information on this service.
I admit it, im a geek. I love anything dealing with radio and television signals in, and if its a new technology that I don't have then I got to have it. In my house I have all kinds of gizmos to help me pick up radio and TV signals, from police scanners to (of course) satellite receivers.
Imagine my excitement when I saw AT&T workers in my neighborhood installing "VRad" units, when I asked what they were doing they told me they were getting ready to launch a new cable system that was fiber based and was an IPTV based service. They said it was going to be available by the end of the year (2006) and they were not kidding!
Shortly before the close of 2006 a press release came out saying that service was now available in my area. I had my wife call up and order it. She opted for the U400 package which is basically everything (but the internationals) and because we already had a great internet connection in out house from COX (15 MB Cable Modem Service) we opted not to get AT&T's 1.5MB service. A date was set for my install I was excited and searched the internet for reviews of the service and more information a well but really did not find anything but a site called UVERSEUSERS.COM and even that site didn't really give me the information I was looking for. So I had to wait a few days for my install.
THE INSTALL
Install day came and I got a call from the installer who told me that I was one of the first customers getting installed and he had some trainees he would like to bring and work on my job, I had no problem with that. He said great they would see me at 9:00am.
At exactly 9:00am 2 AT&T Vans pulled in front of my house. One of them being a AT&T U Verse Van . the got out and came up and said hi to me, came in and saw where I wanted everything install then formed a game plan and got to work.
The told me they came out to the house the day before to check out the site and were wondering what all the satellite dishes and cable was for. I explained everything to them and they seemed to actually enjoy the fact that I was knowledgable about the technology and product.
They then went to work on my Telephone NID Box (Network Interface Device) which was a mess. Since I do not have AT&T as my local telephone company, my phone company COX did some messy wiring so that they could connect their equipment up to my existing wiring.
And while they were not supposed to, they went through and cleaned up the mess that Cox made in the NID. I appreciated that.
(CLICK HERE for a look at a diagram of the work done in the box)
After all was cleaned up they notice that we had no voltage coming from the telephone pole to my house and the nid device. Since I no longer had AT&T for local phone service they never hooked up my wires on the pole when they were rewiring things getting ready for UVerse.
They needed to call in a linesman to come hook the line up as these guys are not permitted up ont he poles. This delayed things down about an hour and a half or so.
As we were waiting for the linesman to show up the other two "trainees" were working on figuring out how to put in the wiring. Since this was their first non lab install these guys went VERY slow putting in the wiring as they wanted to make sure everything was installed perfectly and by the book. While they only needed to run about 40 feet of wire it took them over 3 hours to do it. Again I had no problem with this and as they were working they had some questions like "They never told us in class why we needed to do it this way instead or this other way" and I was happy to know the answers to those questions and tell them why. I felt actually good that I could teach them some stuff.
They took a break for lunch after lunch the linesman showed up and went on the pole and got us all connected. The lead installer when went to our neighborhod Vrad unit with the linesman as this was the first install they have done on a naked line (with no dial tone and no internet service) and he wasnt sure how to set the jumpers in the VRAD unit.
After working for awhile one of the trainees hooked up a meter and waited for it to say SHOWTIME on the display. After a few calls back and forth the unit finally displayed SHOWTIME we were good to go now!
The head installer and line tech came back to my house and ran some more tests, everything was perfect. After this time line tech left and the trainees put in wall plates in near the TV's and got everything hooked up. The head installer cleaned up my NID box a little more then closed it up and came in for the next step. And that was getting the service working inside the house.
They unpackaged the 2 receievers (1 DVR and 1 non DVR, I was amazed how small and light they were) then they unboxed a 2WIRE VDSL gateway, this thing was a monster in size compaired to the receivers!
At this time a supervisor showed up, was a nice guy we talked shop while the other guys worked.
The head tech hooked up the 2WIRE Gateway to the coax and also to his laptop. There was a problem we couldn't get it to sync up. After about 30 minutes on the phone with level 2 support and a bunch of resets to the gateway unit it finally synced up. He then hooked up the DVR to the Gateway by using a ethernet patch cord (not coax) we hooked the DVR up to my TV with standard AV cables. Then plugged it in. There was a problem, we were not getting the software download.
They were sitting there not knowing what to do, I asked the tech some questions and asked to see the setup screens on his laptop. When I looked it said that my IP address was a 192.168.x.x address, and this was also the address to the gateway. Something was not correct here. I told him our gateway was not getting an IP address from the gateway. I was talking greek to him. I then explained to him how things work as far as TCP/IP. After a bit he seemed to understand more and still couldnt get the gateway to obtain an IP address, but at least now he knew what the problem was. It was time to call support again.
So on the phone again with level 2 support, and level 2 support was kind of clueless at first, they had no idea what to do. In fact the head tech said that in their class what must they do differently to a customer who is just getting IPTV and no internet and telephone service (The teachers answer BTW was "it will never happen") kind of funny that their first real install and they ran into the problem out of the gate.
After going through our settings with tech support for another 30 minutes they finally figured how to provision our gateway (basically they turned on the internet access portion which I was not subscribing to) once they did that the DVR started download its software. It took the box a few times to download the first "cog" and then a long time (about 30 minutes) to download the second part of the software (or as they called it, the second "cog") after it was done downloading the box rebooted. After 2 minutes we saw life on the TV, the AT&T U-Verse Logo.
The supervisor left at this point he thanked me for helping them out and joked asking if they had any more install problems if they could call me instead of support.
They hooked up the non DVR box in my sons room (via coax) and repeated the software install process. When it was done we had U-VERSE in there as well.
Since it was getting late I was given a quick tour of the remote which for the most part operated just like the Dish Network remote. I was shown how to record some stuff and saw some things I liked and didn't like (more on that later) the installer then was going to show me a small VOD movie welcoming me to the U-VERSE however for some reason the video on demand system was down.
Before they left they tried something, they started a HD stream on both TVs and both TV's were able to tune into HD at the same time.
By the time they left it was after 5:30pm. But all was working! I then sat down for a bit and watched some TV. I was very impressed with what I saw, and so was my 4 year old son who saw a show he liked on the PBS Channel "Sprout"
Thats where the TV stayed tuned for the rest of the night. I didn't get to play anymore, I had packing to do as me and my wife were headed to Las Vegas for CES.
And while I could have written up my review then I decided to wait until I got home from CES to really play with U-Verse and write my honest feelings about the service. And frankly I am glad I waited.
In the next section of my review we take a look at the DVR and its operation, then in the section following that we get into the meat and potatos the actual review of the service itself.
I do hope you enjoy this review, feel free to post links to it at other sites, as I am sure there are many folks out there looking for more information on this service.
508 Replies
·
622394 views
U-Verse has been available in my area for a few months now. I will probably never switch to it. I love my TV service from Dish and 20/4 soon to be 50/10 internet service from Comcast. The stream issue, PQ, and the slower internet are it's main issues. With 3 HDTV's the stream issue would become really annoying. It's so sad that AT&T didn't go Fiber to the home like Verizon's FiOS! 
If they did they would have one awesome service!
If they did they would have one awesome service!
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
The following is from Reddit. -
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DirectvStream/s/orzHBkmqQW
There appears to be a new DIRECTV Gemini OTT box, the C81KW-650.
The FCC listing is partially available, and a Geekbench entry confirms it uses an Amlogic S905X5, a solid SoC for a set-top box.
I also see 4GB of RAM, and the manufacturer is SEI Robotics.
DIRECTV C81KW OTT Box - Android TV Guide
Ok found a picture of the Box too on Reddit:
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DirectvStream/comments/1twlex0/comment/opzeqi1/
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DirectvStream/s/orzHBkmqQW
There appears to be a new DIRECTV Gemini OTT box, the C81KW-650.
The FCC listing is partially available, and a Geekbench entry confirms it uses an Amlogic S905X5, a solid SoC for a set-top box.
I also see 4GB of RAM, and the manufacturer is SEI Robotics.
DIRECTV C81KW OTT Box - Android TV Guide
Ok found a picture of the Box too on Reddit:
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/DirectvStream/comments/1twlex0/comment/opzeqi1/
15 Replies
·
753 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I've always been super interested in things space related so this is a pretty cool event coming up. Nov 18, 2026 early in the morning, Voyager 1 will reach the distance of one full light day from Earth. Took almost 50 yrs. I was 13 when it launched.
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gjHK3clOwIw?feature=share
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gjHK3clOwIw?feature=share
0 Replies
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13 views
Hey everyone,
I got the all important spousal buy-in to get all my equipment back out for Sat, Terrestrial reception. The catch is that I can't add any more equipment to our main house and everything will stay in the out building ~250 feet from our house. My idea is to use the server I already have to encode the feeds from multiple sources into streams that I can then watch via plex in the main house. Has anyone done this or know of any decent turn key solutions?
I got the all important spousal buy-in to get all my equipment back out for Sat, Terrestrial reception. The catch is that I can't add any more equipment to our main house and everything will stay in the out building ~250 feet from our house. My idea is to use the server I already have to encode the feeds from multiple sources into streams that I can then watch via plex in the main house. Has anyone done this or know of any decent turn key solutions?
0 Replies
·
13 views
Howdy folks long time no write.
Issue(s): Horizontal transponders (esp. Weigel mux) breakup/mosaic/sputtering audio, JTV less so (but received perfectly up until a month or so ago.
Vertical is fine (Daystar). Up until recently couldn't even get any signal on Weigel Mux but JTV was perfect.
What I did to improve things: A slight westward move improved reception but only slightly (approx 72 on the micro HD, sorry no dB to post). I removed the 3-way C-Band splitter and used a 2-way to get a 1-2 db signal gain ( the power port goes to the Startrak - the micro HD doesn't have enough juice ! (1st clue) even after swapping the switching power supply it came with with a heftier linear 12 V supply (less RFI too !).
I have had issues with the uHD before signal breaking up that a reboot would clear up (clue #2 = dying tuner?) - FYI, I reinforced the IF input and removed all flux from the pcb completely with a Flux Removal Pen (MG Chemicals Cat No. 4140-P) which definitely makes a huge difference.
I went outside and pushed and pulled reflector slightly and no improvement. Pole (actually tower in yard - the neighbours love me..NOT) is plumb, checked with carpenters level. Dish was last peaked in 2017 or so, after overhauling 24" Von Weise, new Acme, fresh grease, etc. Focal length, f/d ratio etc meticulously adjusted. One panel has a tear so planning to repair that this weekend when my cousin comes over ( to help me out (old guy here) forecast calls for sunshine.
What has changed: My utility company has installed new high tension line poles (one smack dab in the middle of 101°W target! But they put it in last year and reception (of JTV (HOR) at least) was fine, BUT when they came out to transfer the wires over this year from the old (sawed in half) pole that's about when the troubles started (coincidence?), but again Daystar (VER) was fine. I always had this pole in the light of sight of 101° before with no issues. (fyi my zenith sat 74° is unobstucted, but can't test)
In the meantime Weigel mux is trying to break in MOSTLY in LATE at night (less cell usage?) (audio not video except for a frame here or there) so don't know what has changed with this mux which suddenly "woke up". I have never had to fuss with dish moves on this satellite ( the slightest move +/- motor clicks loses lock, wheres normally on C-band I can go significantly wider east or west and still have a strong signal ( have these gone "spot beam" or narrower somehow and what is the slight difference in Az listed on Lyngsat to 100.9° affect things ( isn't that the declination i.e. requiring a tweak of declination?).
Long story short (too late, ha), if I had another DVB-S2 box to try and / or a newer more stable PLL lnb ( I have been meaning to upgrade many a time but never got arround to it) I could determine if it's my antiquated receiving equipment, or my dish/feed alignment ( doubtful as it tracks everything from 55 °W to 133 ° W nicely.) or the dreaded 5G! (BUT only on HOR and not VER?).
I read another post where the OP (with his smaller 7.5 footer) played around with the illumination to peak desired transponder and reduce qrm on interfering/ stronger xpndrs (even on 103° W). So will play with that too - and cut away the RG-6 a and pull up a fresh section with new PPC and coax Seal. Open the throat cap see if any cobwebs are there and check servo operation (also changed in last maintence 10 years ago).
Finally, this will probably be the last chance I get to play with the BUD from the looks of it (providers leaving, auctioning off rest of spectrum imminent above 4.0 Ghz, and to keep the peace with neighbours so it would be nice to have that mux back for the long, cold and dark winters to comfort this old man before I call it quits and buy a VHF/UHF/FM Yagi and get MeTV, H&I from my Vermont local stations (checked at a friends today and they come in nicely - except ABC) .
Only one guy in town (Montreal) I may be able to get a receiver or PLL lnb from to try (RPS Sat) so hopefully with elimnate that as a possible culprit. Be nice to pick up a cheap or used PLL lnb to try w/o 5G BPF (money is tight )
Like others I couldn't care less about "tv" (well maybe just a liitle or a lot) it's the challenge that excites me , I can get MeTV other ways OTA (no pirate crap).
So what do you guys (and gals) think ?. p.s. I don't have a spectrum analyzer and there are def/ cell towers nearby (half a Km or so away).
Oh and time permitting will hammer out dings too and wire damaged mesh on one section for an extra dB or two. Hesitate to touch Declination, Elevation and pole mount but will play around with those a little too... Why is this mux for finicky suddenly ?(8psk, 5/6 fec, beamwidthetc.. man wish they went back to VER I think everthing would be fine! For the engineers out here does 5G QRM affect one poliarization (HOR) more than another (VER)? I understand the strong interference swamps out the input mixer/local oscilator in the hapless old C-band lnb (I think it at time affect KU too esp. LPB on 101°W KU - incidentally thos were weak or "gone' but are back almost at the time MeTV improved..hmm Terrestrial interference?
Any thoughts or suggestions ( cheap or free solutions please) greatly appreciated. Cheers.
p.p.s. Micro HD can't display Decades and Toons but records them fine so I can watch on another box/media player (Ali chip set issue). Another reason to upgrade.
Anybody interested in a nice C/KU system free ? (for next Spring/Summer 2027)
[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]
Issue(s): Horizontal transponders (esp. Weigel mux) breakup/mosaic/sputtering audio, JTV less so (but received perfectly up until a month or so ago.
Vertical is fine (Daystar). Up until recently couldn't even get any signal on Weigel Mux but JTV was perfect.
What I did to improve things: A slight westward move improved reception but only slightly (approx 72 on the micro HD, sorry no dB to post). I removed the 3-way C-Band splitter and used a 2-way to get a 1-2 db signal gain ( the power port goes to the Startrak - the micro HD doesn't have enough juice ! (1st clue) even after swapping the switching power supply it came with with a heftier linear 12 V supply (less RFI too !).
I have had issues with the uHD before signal breaking up that a reboot would clear up (clue #2 = dying tuner?) - FYI, I reinforced the IF input and removed all flux from the pcb completely with a Flux Removal Pen (MG Chemicals Cat No. 4140-P) which definitely makes a huge difference.
I went outside and pushed and pulled reflector slightly and no improvement. Pole (actually tower in yard - the neighbours love me..NOT) is plumb, checked with carpenters level. Dish was last peaked in 2017 or so, after overhauling 24" Von Weise, new Acme, fresh grease, etc. Focal length, f/d ratio etc meticulously adjusted. One panel has a tear so planning to repair that this weekend when my cousin comes over ( to help me out (old guy here) forecast calls for sunshine.
What has changed: My utility company has installed new high tension line poles (one smack dab in the middle of 101°W target! But they put it in last year and reception (of JTV (HOR) at least) was fine, BUT when they came out to transfer the wires over this year from the old (sawed in half) pole that's about when the troubles started (coincidence?), but again Daystar (VER) was fine. I always had this pole in the light of sight of 101° before with no issues. (fyi my zenith sat 74° is unobstucted, but can't test)
In the meantime Weigel mux is trying to break in MOSTLY in LATE at night (less cell usage?) (audio not video except for a frame here or there) so don't know what has changed with this mux which suddenly "woke up". I have never had to fuss with dish moves on this satellite ( the slightest move +/- motor clicks loses lock, wheres normally on C-band I can go significantly wider east or west and still have a strong signal ( have these gone "spot beam" or narrower somehow and what is the slight difference in Az listed on Lyngsat to 100.9° affect things ( isn't that the declination i.e. requiring a tweak of declination?).
Long story short (too late, ha), if I had another DVB-S2 box to try and / or a newer more stable PLL lnb ( I have been meaning to upgrade many a time but never got arround to it) I could determine if it's my antiquated receiving equipment, or my dish/feed alignment ( doubtful as it tracks everything from 55 °W to 133 ° W nicely.) or the dreaded 5G! (BUT only on HOR and not VER?).
I read another post where the OP (with his smaller 7.5 footer) played around with the illumination to peak desired transponder and reduce qrm on interfering/ stronger xpndrs (even on 103° W). So will play with that too - and cut away the RG-6 a and pull up a fresh section with new PPC and coax Seal. Open the throat cap see if any cobwebs are there and check servo operation (also changed in last maintence 10 years ago).
Finally, this will probably be the last chance I get to play with the BUD from the looks of it (providers leaving, auctioning off rest of spectrum imminent above 4.0 Ghz, and to keep the peace with neighbours so it would be nice to have that mux back for the long, cold and dark winters to comfort this old man before I call it quits and buy a VHF/UHF/FM Yagi and get MeTV, H&I from my Vermont local stations (checked at a friends today and they come in nicely - except ABC) .
Only one guy in town (Montreal) I may be able to get a receiver or PLL lnb from to try (RPS Sat) so hopefully with elimnate that as a possible culprit. Be nice to pick up a cheap or used PLL lnb to try w/o 5G BPF (money is tight )
Like others I couldn't care less about "tv" (well maybe just a liitle or a lot) it's the challenge that excites me , I can get MeTV other ways OTA (no pirate crap).
So what do you guys (and gals) think ?. p.s. I don't have a spectrum analyzer and there are def/ cell towers nearby (half a Km or so away).
Oh and time permitting will hammer out dings too and wire damaged mesh on one section for an extra dB or two. Hesitate to touch Declination, Elevation and pole mount but will play around with those a little too... Why is this mux for finicky suddenly ?(8psk, 5/6 fec, beamwidthetc.. man wish they went back to VER I think everthing would be fine! For the engineers out here does 5G QRM affect one poliarization (HOR) more than another (VER)? I understand the strong interference swamps out the input mixer/local oscilator in the hapless old C-band lnb (I think it at time affect KU too esp. LPB on 101°W KU - incidentally thos were weak or "gone' but are back almost at the time MeTV improved..hmm Terrestrial interference?
Any thoughts or suggestions ( cheap or free solutions please) greatly appreciated. Cheers.
p.p.s. Micro HD can't display Decades and Toons but records them fine so I can watch on another box/media player (Ali chip set issue). Another reason to upgrade.
Anybody interested in a nice C/KU system free ? (for next Spring/Summer 2027)
[Sami 10' mesh, Corotor II+, Eagle Aspen (very old) C-band lnb, Norsat Ku lnb, Channel Master C/Ku (H/V) switch, Startrak 400 Analog receiver w/ motor control, Geosat uHD DVD-S2, CW600S for Mpeg-2]
13 Replies
·
514 views
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
I was reading this article
thehill.com
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.
Cable TV ‘cord-cutters’ became the majority in 2022
The steady decline of cable and broadcast television, and the rise of streaming services, reached a sort of inflection point over the past year. Last summer, for the first time, streaming ser…
thehill.com
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.
882 Replies
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71494 views
Sony is discontinuing it's last 4K disc player, Panasonic has been rumored to be doing the same, the end of physical media is unfortunately, about to happen.
cordcuttersnews.com
Bad News For Blu-ray Fans: Sony Has Stopped Making a Popular Player | Cord Cutters News
Sony has discontinued its final standalone UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, ending shipments of the device with no successor model announced. The move, first spotted by Japanese website Kunkoku.jp and confirmed through the status of the product on Sony’s own website, marks the company’s...
cordcuttersnews.com
I am so done with Sony on so many levels. This is just one small piece of it.Sony is discontinuing it's last 4K disc player, Panasonic has been rumored to be doing the same, the end of physical media is unfortunately, about to happen.
Bad News For Blu-ray Fans: Sony Has Stopped Making a Popular Player | Cord Cutters News
Sony has discontinued its final standalone UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, ending shipments of the device with no successor model announced. The move, first spotted by Japanese website Kunkoku.jp and confirmed through the status of the product on Sony’s own website, marks the company’s...
I Love my Sony equipment
I Love my Sony equipment
That's an odd name for it.
And again, 15 months in a row, streaming wins-
Cable and Broadcast added together-36.4%
Streaming with a massive 49.6%, 13.2% higher than Broadcast/Streaming.
Cable and Broadcast added together-36.4%
Streaming with a massive 49.6%, 13.2% higher than Broadcast/Streaming.
Booredatwork.com
Time for another AWESOME video from BoredAtWork!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bxVEVr0PymU
Direct YouTube Link - Revenge of the Folds
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bxVEVr0PymU
Direct YouTube Link - Revenge of the Folds
Booredatwork.com Website
Booredatwork on Facebook
0 Replies
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8 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Now that I'm retired, obviously I have different health care insurance. I take 2 prescriptions. With my old insurance I didn't have to pay for either of them, now I do. It's not a huge amount but it led me to dig a little into the cost of prescription medications. I have been using Walgreens for the longest time. But what I found was that Walgreens price is 4.8 times more for one of my prescriptions and the other is 2.3 percent more compared to the lowest price pharmacy. If you pay for prescription medications you might want to have a look at trumprx and see if you can get a lower price.
13 Replies
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121 views
Actually I take just 2 prescriptions, Atorvastatin and Lisinopril. They cost me $6 each for 100 pills. Next year that will be nothing.That's ok. I probably take enough for the two of us.
God knows what Bobby takes. Maybe so much they count as a meal?
TFLEV
Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArA3QJefNsY
Direct YouTube Link - The 2027 Ford Mustang Mach-E Trail Is An Off-Road EV for $10K Less Expensive Than the Rally!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArA3QJefNsY
Direct YouTube Link - The 2027 Ford Mustang Mach-E Trail Is An Off-Road EV for $10K Less Expensive Than the Rally!
0 Replies
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15 views
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....
68580 Replies
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2676297 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N2oPp-plZEw
Direct YouTube Link - Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N2oPp-plZEw
Direct YouTube Link - Agentic AI Security: Why Unconstrained Agents Alarm CISOs #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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7 views