Thanks myf360f1.
1.9 I can get away with but 2.3 may be a bit much.
Duck.
myf360f1 (15-05-09)
You might consider a 1.8m prime focus solid. Solids are more eye catching than mesh dishes but are less lossy, so if 1.8m solves your size problem it's worth a look. A good quality LNB will help your sensitivity too.Would my Humax 5400 work OK, and what is the smallest dish that would be effective for C band?. 1.9 I can get away with but 2.3 may be a bit much.
Your Humax 54x0 is fine for getting started. It is old and other receivers have more sensitive tuners but it's not too bad. The Humax 54x0 doesn't have blind scanning but you don't need that straight away. The Humax TV display for signal detection is good if you use receiver & portable TV for dish alignment.
Be aware that larger dishes are harder to align, for the same reason it's harder to find an article in the classifieds with a strong magnifying glass than with a weaker one. On 60, 85 & 1.2m it's straightforward to line up using a receiver, but with larger dishes you may find it easier with a .
BlackDuck (16-05-09)
Now here's what you do ...
Ground mount the dish, preferably when your mum's neighbours aren't home. Cover it completely with 50% or less UV rated shade cloth and pin it to the ground. Then break off some bits of your dad's fig tree (surely, he must have one somewhere) and poke through the cloth at strategic places in full view of said neigbours, but obviously not in front of the dish.
When asked by said neigbours what that strange structure is, readily volunteer that you need to protect your new fig tree from the birds and that you will gladly offer then a taste of this imminent delicacy. Then go to market and buy a box of figs. Works everytime!
By the way, some types of shadecloth actually are transparent to satellite signals.
UFO
myf360f1 (19-05-09)
Gents - we read your posts with interest. Just thought I would opt in to answer any questions on the issues that you like to speculate on.
Feel free to throw as much mud as you like and I'll try and explain our position as best as possible.
SelecTV Ops
beer4life - with regards to new Dealer offers. In short, this is overwhelmingly what the Dealers asked for. We have large numbers of Dealers nationally. We regularly interact with the top performers and ask for their feedback. They were finding it hard to compete with our Free Install offers, so we had to come up with a fraud proof way of facilitating this. We MUST also protect the customer from mis-representation or unscrupulous behaviour. There needs to be a balance between what's good for the Dealer and the customer, and what fits with our Cost of Acquisition of the subscriber. Hope this helps
Where have you been hiding
The last time i read anything from you was when you saying something about Select will never get pirated LOL
Man i have been waiting almost a year for you to pop your head in again
Good to see your here sticking up for the Organization once again
When you do things right, people won't be sure that you have done anything at all
gw1 - I'll answer each point separately:
Card-only subscriptions are no longer available, please return our cards.
[STV] Yep - that's right. For many reasons:
(i) Because it was abused. Abused by Dealers, and abused by customers.
(ii) Makes Tech Support very difficult - customers call us when their after market box plays up. There are heaps out there and when we can't fix a box we didn't supply they get upset and cancel their service. i.e: we can't control the customer experience
(iii) We can't OTA upgrade to the STB - makes tech support and future software improvements, e.g: MHEG5 for Freeview compatibility, impossible
All customers must buy one of our nasty set top boxes.
[STV] Again - yes. So we can support it, provide warranty to the customer, and future service improvements. (Freeview, PPV etc)
Prices have gone up, please get rid of old price stickers.
Prices haven't gone up, the offer has changed. Dealers were forever complaining about better direct offers with SelecTV, so we brought the offers on par - across all sales channels.
We've worked long and hard on our price rise, and removed the card-only option based on your feedback.
[STV] Well, we have. The changes are a result of many things: Dealer feedback, abuse of the old offers, providing a better experience for the customers (I am not talking about content here).
Tell us about your commercial installations otherwise we'll sue you.
[STV] Dealers are NOT authorized to install Commercial properties - it is in their Dealer Agreement. We will NOT jeopardize our Content agreements, any of them, particularly Sky Racing, for Dealers abusing the privilege of their SelecTV agreement. What would you rather - an amnesty or we go straight for prosecution?
Hope this helps…
Hi best4less - don't confuse SelecTV (Tech) for SelecTV Ops! I'm new in here. Been with the company since day dot so hoping we can achieve something constructive between us.
Umm yeah they have gone up your greek pack is now $5 more for nothing more included, your italian pack is forcing people to get the english pack ( like Fox ) anything else I missed?
Anyway I got rid of SelecTV a while back spent a few dollars extra and got Foxtel with a 2nd box at only $15 and not full price like SelecTV...
Lazer
G'Day,
You may think ( as a loyal Employee ) that you have successfully allayed the concerns of your dealers and customers. However you have failed to address your price rises for the basic packages with enforced junk add-ons, or even considered the situation of customers that only require a budget smaller package. You should really take notice of the many complaints that have been aired in this thread.
I have in the past 4 odd years, recommended your service a multitude of times. So unless there is a rethink, the worm will turn.
I myself am persevering at the moment, but it would not take much for me to pull the pin altogether.
That does not compute with the feedback I have seen from dealers.beer4life - with regards to new Dealer offers. In short, this is overwhelmingly what the Dealers asked for. We have large numbers of Dealers nationally. We regularly interact with the top performers and ask for their feedback. They were finding it hard to compete with our Free Install offers, so we had to come up with a fraud proof way of facilitating this. We MUST also protect the customer from mis-representation or unscrupulous behavior. There needs to be a balance between what's good for the Dealer and the customer, and what fits with our Cost of Acquisition of the subscriber. Hope this helps
Direct purchase of card by subscriber from SelecTV website had lowest subscriber acquisition cost of all. Customers who chose that option had lowest risk of misrepresentation or unscrupulous behaviour since there was no dealer involvement at all. It was WIN-WIN.
Customers who can't get it to work, and whose problem isn't immediately answerable from FAQ or call centre cue sheet would be advised to engage a professional installer or offered money back. Case closed. That's an issue with all low-cost services, from EasyJet to Dick Smith kits to furniture kits and DIY products of all kinds. All around the world, with low cost products like this, customers phone with sob stories, pleas and threats. The answer isn't to get rid of the low cost option, it's to manage the customer's expectation. There will always be people who think they can DIY or save money by using inappropriate equipment, but that's no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water. Walking away from the 'card only' market segment is a legitimate option, I'm not saying it's not. But it's disappointing because that was exactly the niche that drew many people to SelecTV in the first place.
Some have speculated the real reason for forcing all new subscribers to a proprietary box is to pave the way for possible proprietary stream change at some point in future, breaking compatibility with Irdeto standard. That's not particularly smart, because it's like forcing customers to pack clothes and buy plane tickets for a flight they may not need to catch, to a destination you don't know yet, on a schedule you don't know yet. Some might call it insurance but I call it speculative over-engineering; others call it greedy bundling. Deploying countermeasures prematurely is poor use of funds because it gives attackers a head start, and the countermeasures may turn out to be entirely inappropriate. It's one thing to "be prepared", but every experienced programmer knows the only efficient way to cross a volatile technology bridge is when you come to it.
If the reason card-only subscriptions were pulled was "abuse", as was suggested, it would be nice to receive an explanation. Plenty of legitimate subscribers, past and present, weren't abusing it. Lots of services in life are subjected to abuse by a minority. Good managers find creative ways of managing such problems without unduly penalising customers. That's their job. It's a poor manager who spits the dummy, packs up the card table and goes home. Or who burdens all customers with an expense that has appearance of addressing the problem but doesn't really at all.
I subscribed to SelecTV for quite a while then stopped when I went overseas for an extended period. These days I'm reining in expenses, as most people are, so SelecTV isn't high on my list of priorities. But I can tell you I'm considerably less interested in resubscribing now that I'm forced to buy a new budget receiver when I already own a superior one with a spare card slot. One day perhaps the ACCC will crack down on bundling practices that exploit lack of competition. Until then I'm voting with my feet. I used to recommend SelecTV to people as a good value option, and convinced several friends to sign up (all using existing or new third party equipment) but I don't any more.
By the way, I'm not criticising SelecTV's right - indeed obligation - to audit installers on behalf of content suppliers. My criticism was more about the style of the newsletter. Dealers are knowledgeable, practical people who respond better to straight talking than spin and euphemisms. Australians especially have low tolerance for bullsh*t. Saying "We will NOT jeopardize our Content agreements, any of them, particularly Sky Racing" garners respect. Telling dealers that decisions were based on their feedback, when clearly they weren't, garners no respect at all. We all would have been far more sympathetic if SelecTV had said "A high rate of inappropriate card only subscriptions has incurred an extraordinary support cost, one which continues to grow despite our efforts to manage the problem. Regrettably we have been forced to discontinue that option. Service to existing card-only subscribers will remain. Our compatibility with their third-party Irdeto receivers remains and we have no plan to change that."
bigfella08 (20-05-09),myf360f1 (19-05-09)
I like many other members have given your company so much support in getting you guys new members (I should be on commission lol ) But don't make it to hard for us to sell/promote your packages for you as the way you guys are going Fox is almost sounding viable again and we both don't want that LOL
cheers
When you do things right, people won't be sure that you have done anything at all
SelecTv Ops...
I see the card only items are still on ebay.If someone purchases one of those, I take it you will not authorise it?
I note you said the card only option was abused by the customers. Can you please clarify, expand, or give direct examples and numbers of this allegation. My understanding is that once paid for,the service was simply supplied. How were the card only users abusing things?
Thank you.
I would have thought restrictive practices and price increases for them in the current economics has as much credibility as John Howard convincing his back benchers he could win the last election. Best of luck selectv ops, keep an eye on the job adds mate!
The 'card only' option was my main reason for connecting myself, and three other seperate housholds directly, because of the availability of quality decoders on the marketplace, such as the Topfield 3000CIppro et al and PVR boxes of same.
Now, in order to use 'other equipment', we are forced into buying an Arion SelecTV box (3030 Series, or the SD Sat/Terr PVR) and card - THEN using that card in the better, more featured decoder or PVR, and as is feared, could be prevented from doing so IF the stream is stuffed-up like Austar's.
Heck, when that bumpkin mob went off standard, I simply cancelled my $106pm sub (Wacko big deal - yeah I know), since I interpreted the move as that companies way of enforcing their Terms & Conditions, and I didn't wish to associate myself with a company that so directly restricted marketplace competition in relation to other brand satellite decoders, PVR's etc, regardless of how they justify it so.
Heck, perhaps it is a failing of the Irdeto system in that it cannot cope that providers are forced to mess with the stream? (I wish this were Europe).
Any hint that SelecTV messes up the stream, when using the card from one of their new marketed boxes in say for example a *much better* (consumer wise) HD satellite and terrestrial HD PVR such as the Mediastar HDX, then it will be time for me to cancel my sub to them as well.
Why SelecTV does not hop on the ride and adopt a combo HD satellite and terrestrial PVR or decoder I do not know, cost aside. People DO want HD terrestrial coverage (ONE etc), SD tuners are utterly worthless and so yesterday, pointless.
With the new national Net infrustructure, perhaps it will be time to kiss satellite multi-channeling goodbye?? We'll see.
At least with SelecTV we still get to have no contracts on buying that equipment, still better than the other two key providers.
Keep it fair fellas, AND hurry up with SkyNews:-)).
5th Wyking Panzer Division
Lazer - I interpreted gw1 was referring to Price for NEW No Contract Basic Satellite STB Offer for Dealers, not Package Prices;
Prices have gone up, please get rid of old price stickers.
Please understand that price increases are very difficult to implement, and are not our desired position, however certain circumstances, including new content, or changes to content agreements, or changes to installation offers, change the financials for us.
HAS EVERYONE MISSED SOMETHING!!!!!
SelecTV are now offering FREE installs in Greek, Spanish & Italian
This changes the economics completely for all Packages.
The Italian Package worked in the early days for customers who just wanted the few channels, however we seem to have exhausted the majority of those based on the last 12 months history. There is obviously a large subscriber base on Foxtel and others who are telling us they want more channels, that they are used to, to come across (yes on a FREE install) - we are just responding to the market. Existing subscribers can maintain their existing package.
Greek - there is method to this. ERT was always meant to be $5 and we have been providing it for Free.
I thought when I joined up with selectv that at 29-95 a month was resonable but now at over 38 bucks a month with lots of repeats it an overkill by them for the content . Why doesnt selectv offer the addicted racing public with a small fee just for sky racing instead of paying for something we are not interested in . Come on selectv ...how about it or do we go back to austar to get the footy too for a few more dollars .
Like so many others, it was the card-only option that was my biggest selling point, offering customers choice over the quality of receiver they used.
This was the major incentive for many customers and perhaps the catalyst in swaying their decision to go with Select, rather than with other providers.
Selectv used to provide value for money, especially for those customers who weren't into sport programming, but now, that value has deminished considerably, with increased cost for little extra in programming and now, the removal of choice of decoder.
Does Select intend to continue to enable it's smartcards to be used in third party receivers?
If not, what happens to the customers who already have active card-only accounts?
Obviously, it's more profitable for Select to charge for a decoder, so it would appear at this point that it's a decision made on greed.
It certainly has absolutely no benefit to the customer whatsoever.
I too would like to hear your explanation of your claimed 'abuse' of the card-only option.
I, like several others on this and other forums have highly recommended Selectv up until now.
But take heed, if your company intends to play the game on the same field as Foxtel/Austar with equipment restrictions.... then your opposition will win the game as customers will see a much greater perceived value in Foxtel/Austar packages over what Select is offering, based on program availability.
The less choice you offer customers, the less customers you will have.
Consider this as dealer feedback.
Somewhat different to the views you claim other dealers have.
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