BEST AND WOR$T OF TVRO 2000 =========================== compiled from reader contributions of the TVRO-sat, MISC-sat, BUDHEADS mailing lists From: "LLodge" Robert: Worst I would like to nominate the CBC and CBS for going digital into new formats that are unavailable to the hobbyist. Also to those uplinkers that went MPEG, but used AC3 audio...... Rupert Murdoch deserves a nomination just on general principles. Look how he screwed up MLB for the home dish owner. Best The evolution of these lists. I get more info from these eLists than I ever did from the newsgroups. Kudos to all who post backhauls and wildfeeds. Mike Kohl deserves one for all the patience he showed when I purchased my Pansat. I know it is not TVRO, but a worst has to go to MLB and Bud Selig. Granted they all got their hands slapped for Collusion I and Collusion II, but the A Rod situation coming on the Conangelo debacle of 1999-2000 is inexcusable. Like everyone else I see a work stoppage next year that ends up killing at least two franchises if not MLB as a top sport. -=-=-=-=-=-= From: Robert Smathers (roberts@nmia.com) BEST: Digital video compression usage allowing more and more new channels and more international channels to be viewed in the North American arc Internet by satellite applications - hopefully with a new band service on the horizon and more companies offering IP over satellite, it may be cheaper to get service over satellite than to have it locally using DSL or ISDN The number of remaining VC2+ channels; the good ol' technology can still deliver for now but I still expect channels to convert to digital over time - ESPN has commenced that with a test channel that I would expect to be something you can subscribe to with a 4DTV in the next 2 years DISH network - for being the first to carry the Albuquerque locals and for doing it much sooner than I ever expected from any DBS service. my friends can now watch my local news with this development W0KIE Radio Network's return to the airwaves when it left early in the year and it looked like it would not make it back anytime soon All the new higher powerered sats that came online in 2000 - G4R, G10R, G11, GE-6, GE-7 to name a few; with great expectations to see Anik F1 and GE-8 light up early in 2000 All the major commercial rocket launching companies - I can't think offhand of any tv communication satellite failure this year by ILS, Atlas, Delta, or Ariane CONUS Communications and Spacecom Systems - both companies that started out small and gradully grow their businesses through innovation and service and due to that, they continue to add to their transponder inventory with each passing year SNG feeds - the usage of digital video has provided the home dish owner with much more abundance of feeds to enjoy The major events of the year - Olympics, Presidential Election for giving me lots of good news and programming feeds to enjoy WORST: What appeared to be promising for commercial radio delivery (SEDAT to DVB) is turning out to be not so good when some of the channels already converted have opted to scramble their DVB signal; let's hope the future converts will decide to go ahead and not encrypt their signal so more freedom in radio programming can be heard The new types of digital signals that aren't receivable with consumer or near-consumer gear; no plans by the Asians or Europeans to make affordable receivers for those new digital signals so the home dish owner has to rake over several grand for a commercial receiver the fact that DISH doesn't carry the MLB Extra Innings package; if DISH would only carry it I would buy their 18" dish just for it and I would feel I could get more value for my buck in watching my favorite sport the number of major media mergers this year; it just gets to be less and less competition for services when major media continue to merge Lack of HDTV programming - it looked promising for awhile on the HDTV front but as the year wraps up, there is not anywhere near as much HDTV programming as there was this time last year The NNC - each network losed their specialty or character in delivering news when they joined the cooperative