Digital, Digital Clear, DCIISub

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steve515

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Dec 26, 2009
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I was looking at skyvisions channel and package list thinking about what i am gonna subscribe to when i get my dish up.

What does this mean....

Digital?
Digital-Clear?
Clear?
DCII-Sub?
 
Hope you enjoy your dish. I am, with addition of dvb receiver such as azbox, there is a whole world of entertainment at your fingertips.

To answer your question,

Digital = A sub dc II channel such as those on G1, C4, etc.
Digital clear = A DC II channel that is free such as Net 200, R&R, NWCN
Clear = An analog free channel avail via 4dtv, such as CSPAN, HSN, Shepherds Cha
DCII-Sub = DC II sub channels available via 4dtv or the dsr-410 standalone they sell. I sub to several W5 channels on dsr-922 4dtv and picture is pretty good.

I would like to add that their chart seems to need some updating but you can get an idea of whats available. You can also check charts at lyngsat, they're more up to date.
 
Hope you enjoy your dish. I am, with addition of dvb receiver such as azbox, there is a whole world of entertainment at your fingertips.

To answer your question,

Digital = A sub dc II channel such as those on G1, C4, etc.
Digital clear = A DC II channel that is free such as Net 200, R&R, NWCN
Clear = An analog free channel avail via 4dtv, such as CSPAN, HSN, Shepherds Cha
DCII-Sub = DC II sub channels available via 4dtv or the dsr-410 standalone they sell. I sub to several W5 channels on dsr-922 4dtv and picture is pretty good.

I would like to add that their chart seems to need some updating but you can get an idea of whats available. You can also check charts at lyngsat, they're more up to date.

Cool.

What is the difference between Digital and DCII-Sub? I am assuming Sub=subscription.
 
I was looking at skyvisions channel and package list thinking about what i am gonna subscribe to when i get my dish up.

What does this mean....

Digital?
Digital-Clear?
Clear?
DCII-Sub?

I'm not sure where you are seeing these terms, but I'm guessing it's from:

http://skyvision.com/pages/information_center/4dtvguide.htm

If this is the case, I wouldn't put much stock in what this chart says, because it is both out of date and misleading. For example, they list several channels as analog that haven't been analog for quite a while. Some of the channels listed there haven't been viewable by one of their receivers for a few years. Many channels have switched to other modes, or otherwise aren't viewable by their receivers.
I would recommend using Lyngsat to see what is available for viewing. Also, if you haven't purchased a receiver yet, I would really recommend thinking twice, and reading all the posts about the demise of the DCII subscription business before investing money into a DCII receiver, because there is a real possibility that there may be very little that these receivers can view in the near future.

Now, not related at all to the categories used by Skyvision, there are several categories of channels. How they fit into Skyvisions categories is something for them to explain, however the following might help explain what you'll see in Lyngsat. Some of the following are my own terms :

ANALOG MODES
Analog ITC ITC=in the clear, ie not scrambled.
Analog VCII VCII is the obsolete analog subscription mode. No more subs, but some channels still scrambled with this.
DIGITAL MODES:
DCII-modes
DCII-ZK this is a digicipher FREE mode, not encrypted.
DCII-FP fixed process, a fixed encryption key, free to most GI/Motorola receivers that have been authorized at one time. There are some similar modes that are made free to units currently subscribed.
DCII- subscription ie DCII channels that you can subscribe to. Some channels are limited to Canada or US specifically.
DCII encrypted but not available for subscription.... like it says encrypted, not available.
DCII .... ZK or FP free, but cannot be received by 4DTV or 410 , ie some frequency/SR/MODE combinations cannot be tuned by these receivers, even though the channels are in free mode.
DVB modes
DVB-S QPSK This is the generic digital standard that the majority of digital transmissions have used worldwide. These can be encrypted by several techniques or can be free, ie " FTA".
DVB-S 8PSK This is a version of 8PSK modulation not available on consumer receivers. Generally referred to as TRELLIS 8PSK.
DVB-S2 QPSK This is a new standard using QPSK modulation. Apparently superior to DVB-S QPSK, but it is rather rare.
DVB-S2 8PSK this is a newer format that is replacing DVB-S, because it is more efficient.
turbo QPSK and turbo 8PSK These are modes primarily being used by Dishnet and Bell Express Vu, replacing their old DVB based transmissions.
DSS this is the standard used by DirecTV for their older receivers. There are newer DirecTV transmissions using DSS over DVBS2 8PSK.

In addition to the above modes, the actual video can be in either MPEG2 or MPEG4 mode, in SD or HD, and can either be 4.2.0 or 4.2.2 , which further complicates things.

As you see, there are many digital formats, and no receiver can do them all.
DCII receivers only do DCII (some 4DTV receivers also do analog).
DirectTV receivers only do DSS
Most inexpensive DVB receivers generally only do DVB-S SD in 4.2.0
Some more expensive DVB receivers can do DVB-S, DVB-S2 QPSK and 8PSK in 4.2.0 mode, and in HD or SD, and in MPEG2 or MPEG4, but cannot do DSS, DCII or 4.2.2 modes.

The closest thing to getting all the above modes are:
Azbox... this will get DVB-S, DVB-S2 (QPSK and 8PSK), MPEG2 and MPEG4, 4.2.0 and 4.2.2.

Genpix-Skywalker-1 This will get DVB-S QPSK, DCII-ZK, unencrypted DSS, turbo-QPSK, turbo-8PSK (but does NOT get DVB-S2 modes)

Basically, there are a LOT of different digital modes, many not listed too. No receiver can get them all. The Skyvision subscription receivers only get DCII, and if the DCII streams go away they won't be able to get any of the other modes. So the main purpose here is to suggest thinking twice before investing in a DCII receiver, other than maybe the Genpix.
 
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