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Domain: starchoice.ca

Stories and comments across the archive that link to starchoice.ca.

Comments · 7

  1. Starchoice dishes by AnimeFreak · · Score: 1 · on Using an Old Satellite Dish as a WLAN Antenna

    Right now, I have the first-generation Starchoice dish -- the circular one -- and for the past few months I have been looking into making it a WLAN antennae myself.

    Effectively, from the looks of it, it doesn't matter what the dish's shape it is, as long as the left-to-right width doesn't exceed fifty or sixty centimetres. As long as it meets that width, it doesn't matter if it is a circular or elliptic shape, it really doesn't matter.

    Beyond that, I am not too familiar with satellite technologies beyond knowing the encryption on my receivers are hard to crack -- some funky Motorola algorythm that I am not familiar with. Most of these dishes can only receive, but what exactly stops them from sending? Is it a dish limitation, or is it simply the receiver only is programmed to receive and nothing more?

  2. Canadian satellite TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative · on Bad News From Canada On NetTV And Media Levies

    An increasing number of Americans think otherwise -- and put their money where their mouth is by subscribing to one of Canada's two satellite services, Bell ExpressVu and StarChoice.

    For Cdn$40.99/month (about US$26), I get local Canadian TV from every time zone coast to coast (including Atlantic and Newfoundland), full US network feeds from Boston and Seattle (try that on DirecTV), a boatload of U.S. and Canadian cable channels, BBC World news (very important in the current CNN-fueled war frenzy).

    Legalities? Nothing in the U.S. prevents it, and in Canada it's simply a big game of don't ask, don't tell with the satellite providers.

    Sure, Canadian TV is often a load of rebroadcasted U.S. tripe, but the news and public affairs programming is worth its weight in gold -- would that more Americans know a little bit more about the rest of the world.

  3. Some of these are already available by stygar · · Score: 1 · on Cable TV A La Carte Part 2
    I've often wondered why it takes so long for some technologies to roll out in the US. Up here in Canada, direct payment at stores (using your atm card) was common almost a decade before it became available in the USA. Similarly, the city I live in has only 200k people, yet we have 5 different vendors for TV service: the two national satellite systems, regular cable, wireless cable, and the telephone company. If these companies can make a profit here, why aren't all of these technologies available in large US centres?

    Wireless Cable
    Image Wireless

    Telco Delivered TV/Internet (not VoD, though)
    SaskTel Max

    Regular Cable TV/Internet
    Shaw Cablesystems

    Satellite TV
    StarChoice
    ExpressVu

  4. Re:Satellites? by Jucius+Maximus · · Score: 4, Informative · on Garage Tinkerers Claim Wireless Last-Mile Solution
    "Low-cost for consumers, possibly, but do you have any idea how much a satellite costs? Besides, you still need a modem for uploads (and HTTP requests), so you get screwed with latency from the modem, the 'net, and routing through a satellite."

    This will change soon. Star Choice in Canada is sending up a new satellite that will allow both upstream and downstream through the dish.

    Plus, since their satellite TV sercvice was launched with elliptical as opposed to round dishes, it is possible for the dish to receive signals for 2 satellites at once.

  5. Re:DBS foreign by AnimeFreak · · Score: 1 · on Comparing the DVRs?
    CHEK is no longer CTV! It is now "CH", ala Global TV (VTV is now CTV, BCTV is now Global, Global is now CKVU). Currently, the only two sattelite providers in Canada is Starchoice and Bell ExpressVu. I am not too keen on ExpressVu as I don't know it's hardware too well, yet I do know a fair bit about Starchoice considering that I am a Starchoice customer. (I pay $60/m CDN for 500+ channels compared to what I paid to Shaw Cable (for the same price) for 30 channels)

    http://www.starchoice.ca/english/shop/step3.asp contains some information on what sattelite receivers Starchoice uses.

    Starchoice currently uses Motorola and General Instrument receivers. They too catch on 91W.

    My main question is, what is stopping me from trying to pick up DirecTV feeds on these recievers? Does the DirecTV (and Dish Network) use similar receivers? If not, can they be adapted to receive US Sattelite broadcasts?

    I am not too interested in getting American TV as I do get enough of it, but I am quite curious on the magic inside these little boxes.

  6. Re:West coast? by spaceyhackerlady · · Score: 1 · on Star Trek: Enterprise Reactions?

    StarChoice and ExpressVu will sell their wares to anybody. As long as you're in Canada, they don't care where you live.

    The cable companies are not amused by the profusion of little dishes, even in cities that have perfectly good cable, but they've been told they should try competing for a change...

    ...laura

  7. Re:Will Canada be targetted? by hearingaid · · Score: 1 · on DirecTV to Pursue Pirates

    DirecTV isn't licensed to broadcast in Canada.

    what that means is that anyone who receives their signals does so in contravention of the Broadcasting Act, and in particular, s. 32(2).

    however, DirecTV cannot prosecute under the Broadcasting Act; Canada has to. so in order to get Canadian pirates, they have to persuade the CRTC to go along. so far the CRTC hasn't cared much. this may eventually change, if more Canadians start getting DirecTV and StarChoice or somebody whines enough.