Why are 4dtv receiver's so expensive.

Status
Please reply by conversation.

Techfizzle

Banned
Original poster
Apr 18, 2008
985
0
Okay. A entry level fta receiver is $100 new. A new dishnet receiver is $100 new a Directv receiver is $80 new. A c-band receiver is $100 new.
Now why are 4dtv receivers over $400 new and used ones bring over $150. What makes them so special! all they are is a c band receiver with mpeg-2 prorperties!
 
because it uses patented and/or licensed technology?

DVB is a "standard", DigicypherII is somebody's proprietary scheme
 
4DTV's are cheap. I payed $1500.00 for my Chaparral Monterey back in 1991, without a VCII module.
 
there are only 3 models of 4DTV out there and they're all owned by Motorola
905 sidecar...this is used with an analog box
920 the original 4DTV
922 the upgraded model

look at how many manufacturers of DVB boxes there are
 
There is also a 921 made a long time ago for star choice. They would get the analog subs on c-band with a vc II+ module but were only mapped for starchoice digital not 4dtv. They are the same as a 920 with different firmware. That's why people with 4dtv's and ku band had problems if they stopped on the anik ku sats, the reciever would try to map in choice channels for some reason.
$400 isn't really that bad considering that they are not subsidized because the way cband has multiple providers. My first sub box was around $800(bell) and a new c band reciever was about the same, but a 4dtv was about $1200 back then for a 920.
 
there are only 3 models of 4DTV out there and they're all owned by Motorola
905 sidecar...this is used with an analog box
920 the original 4DTV
922 the upgraded model

look at how many manufacturers of DVB boxes there are
I got a bunch of Videocipher RS and Digicipher GI7500 receivers the other day. I was congratulated on the "4DTV" boxes. Are these usefull for 4DTV?
 
nah. Those are just analog

VCII boxes are the predecessor to DCII...VCII are for subscription analog programming
 
I got a bunch of Videocipher RS and Digicipher GI7500 receivers the other day. I was congratulated on the "4DTV" boxes. Are these usefull for 4DTV?
Hi Pop,

Sorry for the congratulations. I thought you had written Digicipher which most of the time translates into 4DTV receivers.

Too bad they weren't 4DTV, you'd have gotten some nice boxes for your own use or resale. :)
 
Okay. A entry level fta receiver is $100 new. A new dishnet receiver is $100 new a Directv receiver is $80 new. A c-band receiver is $100 new.
Now why are 4dtv receivers over $400 new and used ones bring over $150. What makes them so special! all they are is a c band receiver with mpeg-2 prorperties!
It's a lot cheaper than it used to be. I always wanted one when they were in the Thousands. :D
 
I still think the 922 is overpriced, considering it is old technology. Still has a battery that WILL someday need replacement. They consume considerable power even in standby mode. The 922 is a huge box too.

Time for Motorola to license DC2 to someone else. I'm sure they could sell STBs for $150 if they did. Make it HD capable and probably sell thousands of them.

I like the DSR410 and 905 because they're simple and inexpensive.
 
I saw on ebay yesterday a hd c-band receiver, it was made my motorolla and it wasnt 4dtv or starchoice. I didnt think there even was hd c-band
 
yeah, what i dont get is they take those batterys to keep the unit id alive. why didnt they just put it on an eprom? i have computers from the early 80's that still remember all thiere information. once that unit-id goes phhhttt you cant get any more digital, there is no way to fix it.
 
Motorola has a patent on the Digital Cipher 2 scrambling technology and is the only company that manufactures a receiver that is capable of descrambling and subcribing to 4dtv programming. Low supply results in a high price.

Most people will not subscribe to 4dtv because they do not want to spend $300-$400 on a used satellite receiver when dish network or directv will give them a new one for free. Most people will argue that they spent $1,000+ on a 4dtv satellite receiver when it was new and that $300 is cheap. That's great but decades ago all satellite equipment was expensive and at that time the equipment was brand new. Not many people want to fork over $400 for a 10 year old satellite receiver and take the risk of the receiver breaking, the internal battery going dead and making the receiver worthless, or the risk of programmers no longer providing access to programming.
 
Status
Please reply by conversation.
***

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

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)