25 What Does The New Digital Technology Mean To Me... Bottom Line?
Description
This article is from the Satellite TV FAQ, by Gary Bourgois flash@lopez.marquette.mi.us with numerous contributions by others.
25 What Does The New Digital Technology Mean To Me... Bottom Line?
If you now subscribe to HBO or any of the other scrambled services and just
got your new VCII+ RS unit, you can count on being able to enjoy it through to
the end of the warranty period (three years). They won't turn off the VCII+
datastream next year REGARDLESS of what the DOOMSAYERS are saying. They
can't. The cable companies won't let them, and they would be in legal hot
water from many other entities if they did.
If you do not have a descrambler yet, and can live for the moment WITHOUT pay
services, WAITING is an option. However if you really want scrambled
programming, Then spend the $320 and get the VCII+RS Descrambler, as we
firmly believe programming will be there using this technology for several
more years, though GI is really pushing Digicipher now like never before.
Programmers also have bundled packages that include the VCII+ RS descrambler.
Go for it if you want to be a REAL couch potato. All the VCII+ signals are
now on ONE end of the arc, and jumping from bird to bird is VERY FAST now,
almost as fast as CABLE channel flipping.
SOMETHING TO KNOW: DIGICIPHER uses a completely different modulation scheme.
As we understand it, there will be no such thing as a Digicipher "Module", as
in Videocipher. You will have to buy a completely new receiver, called an
IRT or Integrated receiver Transcoder. While there was initially some talk
of a possible stand alone front end receiver, I would not hold my breath. I
would begin saving. Figure that a DIGICIPHER receiver will be a High End
device, priced around $1,500 to $2,000.
PBS is using Digicipher ONE initially but will go to Digicipher
TWO when it becomes available. Digicipher TWO receivers will receive BOTH
formats, as well as the older VIDEOCIPHER, which is good news. This new
receiver will thus bring you ALL the available subscription programming.
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