StarChoice or ExpressVu in the US???

FavreJL04

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jul 14, 2006
166
0
I am not sure about how the laws are with Canadian satellite. Are their services allowed in the US, and if not, how does one get past the formalities?
 
General info...

Technically, licensing for programs/movies/etc. is by country.

"Home" address is the key - i.e. a Canadian address for the receiver is required (Ditto for U.S. subscribers to, say, Dish Network) due to licensing & broadcast regulations.

Bell ExpressVu tends to be pigheaded about location - example: Canadian residents who are retirees vacationing in the US over the winter have run afoul of BEV's over-zealous interpretation of the rules (and these folks are NOT pirates) and have been cut off. StarChoice recognizes that people travel (some more permanently than others ;)

Also, the further south you go, the worse the reception is for BEV, requiring much larger dish... SC has better coverage. Both services have technical glitches from time to time - SC has had some signal issues, but BEV has had really bad luck with satellite breakdowns. And SC is getting a new satellite sooner than BEV...

If you haven't brought a receiver with you from Canada, a vendor like Global Communications (user on this site: mikekohl) can set you up with StarChoice - and there are other vendors that handle both Bell & SC for residents of the US that don't have a Canadian address... They activate the account, the receiver, and ship a package to you - and rely on automatic credit card payments... You'll have to either do the dish & cable install yourself or pay someone local to you to do the install.

For more info, please refer to the "Sticky Threads" in the section above this one in the main threads listing page...

Regards...
 
I've got BEV and am seriously considering getting Starchoice, given the recent drop in coverage for my location (San Jose, CA). I still get many channels, and maybe even more than I ever used to, but somehow BEV managed to drop my most viewed ones. With even more satellite switches planned, I'm not eager to find out what else I might lose.

In reading the sticky threads, and some other sites, the recommendation is to upgrade to the 75cm dish or even 90cm if you're further south. I don't need a perfect signal; I'm living with 50% on some TPs now. So is the standard 60cm good enough, given my low standards?
 
I am not sure about how the laws are with Canadian satellite. Are their services allowed in the US, and if not, how does one get past the formalities?

WI area is fine for EVU all channels. If you are looking for sports and sports HD, EVU is your best choice. Otherwise, mileage may vary.
 
us laws allow you to have Cnadian satellite but bellexpressvu has made it very clear they do not want anyone in the usa using their service, they have cut off CNadians vacationing in the usa as well as brokers, I would go with Starchoice, bell also may change their satelittes again and you may lose more channels in the usa.
 
Being in the extreme southwest province, I changed from BEV to StarChoice because of the lost transponder issue. My opinion is that the pq on StarChoice is a bit better, but not nearly as good as E* in the U.S.

I had a horrible experience getting my two-dish system up and running, but everything is fine now. I would recommed StarChoice for others in the "BEV depleted signal areas".
 
as good as E? what is E? Why didn't you just get a *c 75cm elipitical
dish- it would have been much easier to install and cheaper.
 
as good as E? what is E? Why didn't you just get a *c 75cm elipitical
dish- it would have been much easier to install and cheaper.

E* stands for EchoStar, a trade name for Dish Network.
I've been a happy Star Choice subscriber in Northern California for almost two years. BEV has their head in the sand when it comes to taking care of their citizens who travel to or vacation in the US. I'd love to see *C overtake them as the number one satellite provider in Canada.
My 75-cm dish does a wonderful job, and I highly recommend that anyone considering subscribing to a Canadian provider, go with Star Choice.
 
I cannot agree with carl033 more. I have had Star Choice in the US for three years now thanks to Mike Kohl and a broker in Hamilton, Ontario. I also have some pay services and have had very few signal losses although I am 100 feet from the dish and receive the signal through my neighbor's trees. There is no alternative with regard to the trees but it works great nevertheless.
 
E* stands for EchoStar, a trade name for Dish Network.
I'd love to see *C overtake them as the number one satellite provider in Canada.
My 75-cm dish does a wonderful job, and I highly recommend that anyone considering subscribing to a Canadian provider, go with Star Choice.

I am with you on that, Star choice has better pic and a secure system, with compressvu you are paying for lower quality service that millions are pirating, not fair at all for paying customers.
 
***

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 1, Members: 0, Guests: 1)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)