DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?...Crossposter Bill R
 

In alt.dbs.echostar John Wonderly wrote:

They are considering regulating the type of cooking oil establishments use
in Chicago, no doubt they are already all over this do-it-yourself stuff.


There is doubt, which is why I ask. It has been common for years and years to
have the homes owner come in and do what they want done during the correct
phase of the building process. This needs to be worked out with the builder
and, of course, any inspections that are required also must be worked out. It
has been COMMON for so long that I will be very surprised if somebody can show
supporting evidence to the contrary.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?...Crossposter Bill R
 

In alt.dbs.echostar Bob wrote:

They are considering regulating the type of cooking oil establishments use
in Chicago, no doubt they are already all over this do-it-yourself stuff.

You should see the hoops you've got to jump through to get a permit to build
a deck.

What kind of hoops? Most localities require you to file for a permit [usually
issued immediately unless there needs to be a survey done], then the work is
done and the city follows up with an inspection. Simple. You need these same
permits to put in a new furnace or air conditioning unit. You need it for a
roof (to show it was installed correctly), you need it for several things.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?...Crossposter Bill R
 

In alt.dbs.echostar Bob wrote:

It is the former, but not because he did it for me. Because he made a lot of
money doing it for me.

He charged $150-200 per cable pull. If I didn't pay him to do it there
wouldn't have been any cabling done pre-drywall. It was $450 to pull three
cables to the same location. Do that for 10-12 locations and it's a tidy
sum.

Locally, builders won't allow anyone access to the construction site except
their authorized trades people. I imagine the trades won't allow non-union
people to pull cable either. And I'd bet there are insurance restrictions
too.


This last paragraph is patently false. You have a RIGHT to inspect the work
at every step of the way. They will probably not allow you on sight while
they are doing work, or certain types of work [like setting trusses or pouring
cement for the foundation], but you can be there during non-hazardous times.
I think the issue is that you decided to pay to have them do this work rather
than to followup and ask "when can I get in to the site to install coaxial and
network cabling?". You don't ask them "Can I?", because they will answer, "We
really don't support this but our team has an excellent crew that does this
work [for you]." They then proceed to sub it out and take a cut ... raising
the end cost to you.


It's an industry standard/practice.

Please cite your support for this statement.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?
 

I was disappointed with the picture quality of some digital channels, as
the analog channels looked much better without the
artifacting/micro-blocking and using all 16 million colors. What does
Dish use, 64K colors?

Dish Network and DirecTV both over-compress their video stream. They just
take different approaches to what they are going to compromise by doing so.
Compared to Dish Network, DirecTV video looks fuzzy / out of focus.
Compared to DirecTV, Dish Network looks sharp, but very DARK*. If you only
use your television/monitor for dbs programming AND NOTHING ELSE, you'll get
better picture quality with Dish Network. That's because you can tweak the
brightness (black) and contrast (white, in relation to black) levels to
compensate somewhat for the overly dark picture of the Dish Network video
stream.

But if you use your television / monitor for a number of different sources
(including dbs programming), I think you're better off going with DirecTV.
The picture will be fuzzy while watching DirecTV, BUT . . . you don't have
to screw around with the brightness/contrast controls to get it to look
right, which will cause everything else to look distorted.

BTW, before someone suggests it, there is nothing wrong with my dbs
receivers or monitors (plural). Three different brand-new Dish Network
receivers had the same dark picture on different monitors. -Dave

*What should look gray comes through as BLACK. What should look BLACK is
just simply cut off/fades into background, so you lose some of the detail of
the video.

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?
 

In alt.dbs.echostar Mark Lloyd wrote:

Is there is a list of HD channels (HBO, Showtime, etc..) available
somewhere (NOT just what a particular provider carries)?

I suspect not. However, you can tally yourself by looking at what is
available OTA, via DBS, via cable and via BUD.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?
 

Is there is a list of HD channels (HBO, Showtime, etc..) available
somewhere (NOT just what a particular provider carries)?

Yeah, you just created one yourself. You forgot DiscoveryHD and I've heard
rumors of NGC coming soon. There ya go, a complete list. :) -Dave

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?
 

In alt.dbs.echostar Involuntary wrote:

I'm sure if the buyout goes through, the NAB will step in and say, "This is
ridiculous! The American people have been inconvenienced enough with all
the hardware changes in the past. EchoTV should be forbidden from
requiring any new hardware or any reaiming of home satellite antennas. We
have got to draw the line somewhere!"


I think that Echostar and/or DirecTV should pay for the swap.

And they'll come up with other ways to eat up all the satellite space, like
some requirement that forces the new larger company to carry all the cable
company's public access channels in the country. So the most significant
result of a buyout would be that we'd have just enough additional bandwidth
to add HBO Zone.

As long as they are broadcasting every channel twice I will not support such a
merger, because I see no technical benefit and only a reduction in competition
[although they have a slightly increased bargaining power with the
programmers].

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?...Crossposter Bill R
 

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 18:22:09 -0500, Mark Lloyd wrote:

And what if you ALREADY have a network for computers, and cables going
to a central location for TV. Do they just connect to that, or what?

I can only speculate, but I do not see why they cannot.

--
cc

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?
 

In alt.dbs.echostar Involuntary wrote:
result of a buyout would be that we'd have just enough additional bandwidth
to add HBO Zone.


Wasn't posting this message once enough? Three times isn't a charm.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

DISH Network/DirecTV Merger?
 

There is no local PBS station, and DirecTV says (at least on the
website, customer service is so bad I don't care to get into that
mess) they're not allowed to carry one (since there's no local
station). That must not be true, considering that Dish does, and so
does EVERY nearby cable system I know about.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

Well it's not that simple. Your PBS might not be local, but still available
OTA, supposedly. It works like this, there are A grade and B grade (I think
that's the right term) signals. If you are in an A-grade signal area for
PBS, then dbs companies are not allowed to deliver PBS to you, as you are
expected to get PBS using rabbit ears. That much makes sense.

What makes NO FRICKING SENSE WHATSOEVER is that there is a B-grade signal
area for PBS. In the B-grade signal area, you might be able to get PBS if
you erect a 4,000 foot tall antenna beside your house. Even then, PBS will
be barely visible with a very snowy distorted picture and practically
inaudible sound. But you can still get it, if you go to extremes to get it.
So, if you are in the B-grade signal area, your dbs provider can't deliver
PBS to you.

In practice, the B-grade rating means that PBS would rather you not watch
PBS at all, regardless of how you try to watch it. -Dave