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ENTERPRISE May Not Leave Drydock for Direct TV Customers |
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Posted:
15:29:19 on July 18 2001
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: Enterprise | www.stenterprise.com
TrekWeb visitor Robert Babcock emailed us to let everyone know that Direct TV satellite systems do not currently carry the UPN network, and thus those customers may not be able to see ENTERPRISE this fall. Fans who have Direct TV systems and would like to contact the operator about carrying UPN can do so through their web page, here. You can also try calling them at 1-800-280-4388. Or, you can try this number for Direct TV: (310) 535-5000.
If any Direct TV customers have further information, please don't hesitate to let us know by email so we can post it here, or to add the info below in the Talkback section. |
TREKWEB TALKBACK
(17 comments) |
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C-Band Trek Transmissions
By Glenrider
() at 19:03:24 on July 21
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Greetings, I have just read the comments on the troubles of the DirectTV subscribers. I have information about the other dish service (no not the DISH network).....I'm talking about C-Band, the larger dish (8 to 10 feet wide) unsightly to many but a blessing to a Trek fan.
For all Seven seasons of The Next Generation, Seven of Deep Space Nine, and Seven of Voyager, I not only have seen the shows in my remote area but I have seen them days and sometimes a full week before the rest of the country. Even Voyager, on UPN through a feed to the Canadians, I was nearly always 48 hours ahead of the rest of the world (except the boys in the Technical Operations Center (TOC) at Paramount) ......at the end of her run I saw the series finale more than 24 hours before anyone else (the feed's time slot is usually stable but it can be moved without notice to the common man as these feeds are meant for the local Affiliates). This particular feed runs straight through ..........no commercials ...........and no local voice-overs in the end credits. If you love a crystal clear copy on VHS you can't beat the quality with these analog transmissions .......I have seen a side by side comparison with DIRECTV's "digital" feed. C-band wins hands down. Many others in the technical industry have said the same thing before I made my own conclusion.
Yet, this information may be "old hat" to you .........what I am looking for is information. While visiting several local television Master Control Rooms I have always been struck by the fact that the technical personnel running the programs and the commericals are nearly always Star Trek fans. These Master Control Rooms, if they are Affiliates of UPN (and sometimes not), will recieve "Feed Information" on when the episodes are to air ........even promos sometimes are fed just by themselves in 4 versions usually (30/15/10/5 second spots). The point here is I no longer have any contacts in the television industry or any Master Control Room you simply cannot call them up and ask them for the info. But, there should be out there somewhere a Trek fan who does have this information .........the only way I know of making contact with someone is through a Trek Website.
The previous Treks all ran on the same satellite co-ordinates (the series have in fact outlived a number of these satellites due to age and solar flares) TELESTAR 5 Ch.16. UPN has a few months ago scrambled their main feed and other wildfeed transmissions (Up to that point I had several opportunities to tape the show) now all that remains is the one shot at the clear air Canadian feed last seen on Tuesdays at 5:00pm.(A 400 Dollar upgrade can return these feeds to clear air; but, forget that at this point .........400 Dollars is 400 Dollars) To find the new ENTERPRISE feed without knowing when to look a person can spend hours near his television scanning the sky looking for a needle in a haystack. Over the course of a month after ENTERPRISE is released the Website (www.satelliteorbitmagazine.com) and magazine Satellite ORBIT will catch up with the information and post it as other people who scan the sky, as I do, will report their findings here. I do not look forward to this ..........as you may have concluded cable here does not carry UPN and a DIRECTV or DISH system is blocked in my mountain homeland. I am fortunate that TELESTAR 5 is located directly overhead. I do not know what you can do to help me with my situation .......... I simply need to talk to someone in the field who has more information or future information than I ............ to keep the faith.
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Waiting for Enterprise
By Yorik
() at 21:58:21 on July 18
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In Australia, both Voyager and DS9 (!) are years behind the US. They usually debut on video, which are similarly but not quite so far behind (which is why Star Trek doesn't rate and is relegated to 11:00 pm). For example, the Voyager episodes Body and Soul and Nightingale have just come out on video (unreliable monthly release), with TV a couple of years behind that. This means that the first we'll see of Enterprise will be a video released in mid(?) 2002, with TV showing it around 2004! You "Direct TV" people (whatever that is) probably have it better than that!
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Help would be cool...
By DiggsBiggly
() at 20:53:57 on July 18
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Even if you don't have Direct TV, if there's anybody with a free moment, please go to that link and enter a programming suggestion for them to add UPN. Consider it a favor to a fellow trek fan who won't be watching enterprise without it.
-DiggsBiggly
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Satellite Options
By covetom
(covetom@cloh.net) at 20:52:36 on July 18
URL: http://www.cloh.net/covetom/ | User Info
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Steve and All,
There are a few options for DirecTV users when it comes to receiving UPN. Here's a quick rundown of each of them:
1. If the customer is in a market where DirecTV offers local channels, then the customer can subscribe to the local channels and receive a UPN affiliate as part of the package. DirecTV currently offers local channels in 41 cities. A list of the markets they offer local channels in is available on their Web site.
2. If the customer's local cable company carries a UPN affiliate as part of their lineup, the customer can subscribe to a basic package of local channels only from their cable company, often called "lifeline" cable service. The customer could then easily switch between cable and satellite service, using the cable feed for local channels, including the UPN affiliate, and the satellite service for everything else.
4. If the customer lives close enough to a UPN affiliate station to receive an "over the air" signal, the customer could install a set-top or rooftop antenna to pick up their UPN affiliate and whatever other local channels they can receive. The customer could then easily switch between the antenna for local channels and the satellilte service for everything else.
5. If none of the above options are available to the customer, they could switch from DirecTV service to DISH Network service. DISH Network offers comparable programming packages at comparable costs. However, DISH Network does not treat UPN and The WB the same way DirecTV does. By law, satellite companies cannot offer you feeds of major networks like NBC unless they are coming from your local station. However, UPN and The WB are not covered by that regulation. DirecTV has chosen to treat them as though they were covered, but DISH Network has not. Thus, anyone anywhere in the country can receive a feed of UPN or The WB, regardless of whether other local channels are offered by DISH Network in their area.
I hope this helps those DirecTV subscribers out there who are concerned about receiving Enterprise and other UPN programming.
Take care!
---
=Tom=
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Depends on the market you live in
By tomba1701
(tcampani@yahoo.com) at 16:23:55 on July 18
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I am a direct TV subscriber in the NYC area and my local UPN-9 station is inlcuded (along with CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, WB) in the "local channels" package. This runs you an additional 6 bucks per month. Don't know if the local UPN is available in all direct TV markets, however.
You also have the option to purchase local channel only (broadcast channels and PBS) Cable tv service and switch between the dish and cable depending on what channel you watch. However, this runs you an extra $15 to $20 per month.
A third option is to put an old fashioned aerial up on the roof and try to tune in your local UPN station with that. Again, you can switch between aerial and the dish with relative ease.
Of course if you local market has *no* UPN station, you're out of luck on all counts, just like you would have been for Voyager's entire run.
---
"I don't believe in the 'no-win scenario'" - J.T. Kirk
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So much for that idea...
By TOS4EVER
() at 16:18:36 on July 18
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Well, my buddy out in State College PA is still out of luck, since his cable company dropped the local UPN affiliate during Season 4 of Voyager.... he was going to get a dish so he could start getting Enterprise by him.... I guess I gotta start taping them for him and me....
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You will be watching ENTERPRISE because...
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