626 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
626 lines
30 KiB
Plaintext
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"The World's Most Important Publication"
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DISHCETERA - THE SATELLITE TV NEWS ON-LINE MAGAZINE
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Volume 2 - Issue # 10 (C)Copyright 1989,1990 August 1, 1990
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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This entire newsletter is copyrighted (C)1989,1990 by Jm
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Dolan. You may freely copy and distribute this newsletter
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as long as it is distributed in whole, AND without any
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changes of copy or content, AND without any deletions or
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additions, AND without any format re-arrangement or any
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other alterations.
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This newsletter may be electronically transmitted, relayed,
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or echoed in whole ONLY, and ONLY for non-commercial use.
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Bulletin Board Systems may post this material under the
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previous conditions provided that this newsletter may be
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accessed by any caller without any payment required to gain
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access to the newsletter. A fee may be required in order
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to gain access to the Bulletin Board System.
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DISHCETERA makes no warranty or guarantee of accuracy for
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any of the information or material contained herein. A
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reasonable effort has been made to verify all information
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and DISHCETERA will not knowingly report false information.
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All the information contained in DISHCETERA has been
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obtained from various industry news sources, trade journals
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or press releases. The editorial opinions of DISHCETERA
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do not necessarily reflect or express the editorial opinion
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or viewpoint of the Bulletin Board System or the Sysop
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where this newsletter is posted or displayed and any
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questions or complaints should not be directed to the
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Bulletin Board System or its Sysop but should be addressed
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to DISHCETERA.
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DISHCETERA Satellite TV On-Line Magazine is published on
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the 1st MONDAY of the month at Bellaire, Texas 77402.
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Mailing address is P.O.Box 189 - Bellaire, Texas 77402-0189.
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E-Mail can be sent to: the SATELLITE TV BOARD OF INFORMATION
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24 hours a day at (713) 623-4899 1200/2400 baud. On
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CompuServ, E-Mail should be addressed to: 76164,1564. On
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G*E*N*I*E: JDolan2.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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1. BOTH SATELLITE/CABLE TV BILLS NOW READY FOR FINAL VOTE
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2. IMMEDIATE CALL-TO-ACTION! ONE IF BY LAND - TWO IF BY "C"
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3. GI PLANS TO CHANGE THE DESCRAMBLERS AGAIN SOMETIME NEXT YEAR
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4. MIZLOU 24 HOUR SPORTS NEWS NETWORK JUST ABOUT HAD IT!
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5. CABLE OPERATORS "BIGGEST" CONCERN... INSIDE WIRING & OUTLETS
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6. "OVER THE HILL" NETWORK PLANNED PLUS ANOTHER SPANISH NETWORK
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7. STUDY REPORTS CABLE TV SUBSCRIBERS DON'T WATCH CABLE TV ADS
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8. BILL OUTLAWING RENTALS OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA SPEEDING ALONG!
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9. CAPTIONING UNIT MAY BE REQUIRED ON LARGER TV'S NEXT YEAR
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10. SOME OF THIS MONTH'S OTHER NEWS ITEMS...
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11. HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER TO WASTE MORE MILLIONS IN CABLE TV
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12. SALE OF GENERAL INSTRUMENTS PROCEEDING VERY SLOWLY
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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***********************************
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1. BOTH SATELLITE/CABLE TV
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BILLS NOW READY FOR FINAL VOTE
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***********************************
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It's finally happened... and in only five short years too! Both
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the U.S. House & Senate have now passed thru Sub-Committee, thru the
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Full Committee, and now down to the floor for a vote, much needed and
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widely supported competition in cable tv legislation.
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Keep those calls and letters going into Congress - the system is
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working - but its terribly slow. And, our friends in the cable tv
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industry are trying to buy as many negative votes as possible. Bet
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we'll see Cable Tv Laboratory move again!
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Most of all remember the three p's of getting your views across
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to Congress... polite, persuasive, persistent! "He who calls a lot
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gets remembered". We need standardized encryption and Ku access too
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and be sure and mention that.
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We're winning the battle - just keep the pressure on Congress to
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do the right thing. There's only a few legislative days left until
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the end of this session of Congress. Make every day count. And, as
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usual... polite, persuasive, persistent. 1-800-852-3445 will connect
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you to the Congressional switchboard.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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***********************************
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2. IMMEDIATE CALL-TO-ACTION...
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ONE IF BY LAND - TWO IF BY "C"
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***********************************
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In this case it's it is... two if by "C" - C band that is. The
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current legislation pending would only permit certain access to that
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programming on C Band. In fact, the Ku band, K band, and Ka band are
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considered the property of the cable tv industry. When these Bills
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come up for debate it's very important that an Amendment is offered
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( and accepted ) to each, that would specify that the sky belongs to
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everyone - not just one band that the cable industry has decided to
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give up. What happens when PBS moves to their new satellite system
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next year on Ku band? What happens when the new direct-to-home
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satellite services become available in a couple of years? Without
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the necessary Amendment, you won't be able to receive these networks!
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So, what can you do to solve this? Contact both of your Senators
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and your Representative. Remember all those letters they wrote to
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you saying they would keep your views in mind when the legislation
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came to the floor for a vote... it's there! Now is the time for them
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to do their job and represent YOU. Get on the telephone and get your
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message translated into that much needed Amendment giving satellite
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dish owners access to the entire sky - not just one small part!
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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*********************************
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3. GI PLANS TO CHANGE THE
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DESCRAMBLERS AGAIN NEXT YEAR
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*********************************
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Attention early adapters... here's another chance to get ripped-
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off by General Instruments again! And, you know who you are! The
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videoviper 2PLUS-PLUS is one the way!
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Friends do you have a wad of cash in your pocket looking for a
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place to be spent? GI has another worthless product on the horizon
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just for you... their new digicipher. Yes, they plan to begin the
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shipments of the new digiciphers sometime after June of next year and
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once again obsolete every descrambler already out in the field. Are
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you tired of spending money on their failures? Let your Senators and
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Congressman know that we need a "standardized encryption technology".
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We don't need a new descrambler every year and we're going to keep
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getting them unless we get a standard. It's a free call!
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By the way, the new digicipher is "supposed" to have all those
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features promised in the VC-II...
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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********************************
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4. MIZLOU 24 HOUR SPORTS NEWS
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NETWORK JUST ABOUT HAD IT!
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********************************
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Was this just another stupid idea or what? A 24 hour sports news
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channel with continuous sports news. Yes, dumb, dumb dumb! Did the
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cable tv industry want such a channel? No! Do most of the larger
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systems have the necessary channel space available to add such a
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channel? No!
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So, why is it here? It's here because thats what cable tv is
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"supposed" to be all about... narrowcasting. Lots of channels which
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are targeted towards very small groups of interested viewers. There
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is of course, one very large problem. No channel space. Mizlou says
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they expect to be available in 13 to 15 million homes by January and
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currently IS available in some 7.5 million homes. All they need now
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is 20 million dollars to stay in business.
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All they need to get into the 55 million homes using cable is for
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each of those systems to completely rebuild their entire plant. What
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Mizlou should understand is - it's not going to happen. Cable tv
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operators are simply going to keep doing what they do best - talk!
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Until we get legislation passed allowing everyone to compete with
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these existing obsolete systems, other channels are doomed from the
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start. No matter how wonderful the channel is - most cable systems
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have no channels available to put it on... unless it's a channel the
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cable tv system happens to own. In that case they'll simply take a
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PBS station off to make room.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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****************************
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5. CABLE OPERATORS BIGGEST
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CONCERN...
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INSIDE WIRING & OUTLETS
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****************************
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Okay, so this is not their "biggest" concern. That's stopping
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our competition to cable legislation and they've gathered millions to
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do just that. But, one of their other biggest concerns is the inside
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wiring, the additional outlets, vcr hook-ups, and how much can they
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rip-off subscribers for them.
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The cable tv industry at large, has taken the position that you
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MUST rent their convertors, their descramblers, their wiring, their
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outlets, etc. etc. etc. This is the exact same consumer-un-friendly
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technique that did-in AT&T a few years back.
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As you'll recall, the phone companies installed fifty cents worth
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of wire and charged subscribers high monthly fees to "maintain" it.
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And, you never owned the phone even if you purchased it - you simply
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owned the housing and not the internal parts. And, each additional
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outlet that didn't cost them anything cost the subscribers a huge fee
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each month.
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The cable tv industry adopted that same idea - charge for every
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thing you possibly can instead of offering subscribers the option of
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making their own investment and charging lower monthly rates. Now,
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as our legislation nears passage, the cable tv industry at large has
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created a "basic" level of service which consists of all the "free"
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channels for around $10. per month. And, at the same time, many of
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those same operators are considering dropping all their additional
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fees for the no-cost options they offer, in a last-ditch effort to
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stop legislation.
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On the other hand, there's a bunch of cable operators who are in
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the process of increasing their charges for the no-cost options. I
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guess I should explain what a no-cost option is.
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Almost every programmer supplies their signal with stereo audio
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in an effort to enhance the entertainment value of their programs.
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Very few cable systems pass the stereo signal on to their subscribers
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and those who do seldom do it for free. Usually, there's a monthly
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fee for that "option."
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Almost every programmer supplies the cable operator with a guide
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for each and every paying subscriber while the cable company charges
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an additional monthly fee for a "special" cable guide THEY publish.
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the free guides usually end-up in the trash dumpster.
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A second outlet so that a subscriber can use their cable ready tv
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and/or vcr doesn't cost the cable operator anything other than the
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cost of the outlet itself, around a dollar, yet most systems charge
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a minimum of $17. to install that dollar outlet plus a monthly fee.
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And, then there are the cable companies that charge a monthly fee
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for HBO on each and every outlet in the home. Of course, the cable
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company only paid for HBO once.
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By far the biggest rip-off of consumers by cable operators, next
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to the 1000% percent mark-up on the programming itself, is the cable
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systems who have made their service "un-cable-ready" so they can then
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demand continuous monthly fees for un-necessary hardware.
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This happens when the cable system scrambles all their channels
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thus forcing subscribers to RENT a convertor/descrambler each month
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for each and every cable-ready tv and vcr. To add insult to injury,
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many systems charge an additional fee for the remote control that is
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supplied free with the cable convertor/descrambler.
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I know that a $5. per month rental fee for the cable tv system
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supplied convertor/descrambler doesn't sound like much to many folks
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but consider the following. The average cable tv home has a minimum
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of two tv's and one vcr or three tv's. That's $15. per month from
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each and every cable tv home - there's currently 55 million of those
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- and that works-out to... let's see... $825 million dollars each
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month for needless equipment or a $9.9 billion dollar a year rip-off!
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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*********************************
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6. OVER THE HILL NETWORK PLANNED
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PLUS ANOTHER SPANISH NETWORK
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*********************************
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They're calling it the 50+ Network and it's scheduled to launch
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in April of next year. Actually, it's called the Golden American
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Network and it will be free to cable tv operators.
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Plans call for the service to start with 6 to 8 hours a day of
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programming and then expand to 24 hours a day after a year or so.
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Bernard Weitzman, chairman of the operation, says his network plans
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to go after the same audience now served by the Nostalgia Channel.
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The Nostalgia Channel claims to reach some 10 million viewers but
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many systems only carry it part-time.
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The channel will feature Satellite Bingo, Debbie Reynolds Plus
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hosted by Debbie Reynolds, Never Too Late hosted by Marty Allen, the
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Monty Hall Show, and Morey and His Friends hosted by Morey Amsterdam.
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Here's another channel with no place to go. Until the cable tv
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systems upgrade their plants to the current standard of 120 channels,
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where can this channel possibly get carried. Looks like this will be
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"only on satellite!"
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And, speaking of "only on satellite" networks, another network
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for Spanish speaking audiences plans a 1991 start-up. The service to
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be called Cable Television Nacional is designed to serve 18 to 35
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year old Hispanics not served by Univision or Galavision.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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************************************
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7. STUDY REPORTS CABLE SUBSCRIBERS
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DON'T WATCH CABLE TV ADS!
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************************************
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Here's a real shocker! Cable subscribers don't watch cable ads!
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I guess not. When you have to pay $50 or $60. per month for cable I
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would expect you to try to get the most value out of it that you
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possibly could.
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The Network Television Association has released a study they paid
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for, showing that cable tv ads get "zapped" much more often than the
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network tv ads. The study also found that network viewers didn't
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switch channels as often either. They found that the average cable
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tv viewer watched only 11 minutes of a cable show while the same
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cable tv viewers watched an average of 27 minutes of a network show.
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The category is...what cable service gets switched-off most often
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by cable tv subscribers? The nominees are: USA Network, MTV, WTBS,
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ESPN, The Family Channel, and CNN.
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What cable service gets switched-off the most often by cable tv
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subscribers... and the winner is... the envelope, please... MTV!
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The next category is... what cable service screamed the loudest
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about the results of the study? And, the envelope, please... MTV!
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Another shocker!
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This study was conducted during prime-time viewing periods. What
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do you suppose they would have found during the non prime-time
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viewing periods? That's when cable networks sell their high priced
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channels to the "Hal Morris and Associates rip-off club". One hour-
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long commercials, one right after another for five or six hours every
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evening. There is one slight glimmer hope however. After the Texas
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Attorney General got cease and desist orders against a bunch of the
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"rip-off club" members - the Federal Trade Commission has begun to
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look into the "claims" made by these shows and many of the same
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"rip-off club" members are now being asked to enter into consent
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agreements with FTC and cease their rip-off shows.
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The next category is... how long does an average cable subscriber
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watch an hour-long "fake" commercial before switching-off their cable
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tv service... the envelope, please. Oops, too late!
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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************************************
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8. BILL OUTLAWING THE RENTALS OF
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ELECTRONIC MEDIA SPEEDING ALONG
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************************************
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Here's another reason to call your Congressman and Senators! I
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know you'll not beleive this but somebody wants to stop rentals of
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"electronic media". This Bill would be a major revision of our
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current Copyright Act which contains the first-sale doctrine. And,
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you may be able to guess who's behind this legislation.
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Under existing Copyright Law, the Copyright holder cannot control
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what happens to his copyrighted material after its "first-sale". As
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the purchaser of such material, what you do with it is up to you so
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long as you do not duplicate it or exhibit it in a public performance
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or private performance for a fee. You can offer it for sale, lease,
|
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rental, or otherwise dispose of it. You bought it - it's yours!
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This new legislation would change the first-sale provision and
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give the Copyright holder the right to determine how you used "his"
|
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product that you purchased. In fact, you wouldn't be purchasing it
|
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at all but merely paying a fee for a pre-determined limited use.
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Such a change in the Copyright Act would immediately close all
|
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the videostores who rent copyrighted material under the first-sale
|
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provision. This Bill: SB198, has already PASSED the Senate. So, why
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haven't you heard about this Bill that would close all the video
|
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rental stores?
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That's an easy one to answer. This particular version won't have
|
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any effect on videostores. No, No, No! This would only affect the
|
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|
rentals of computer software this time around. During the next
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session of Congress they will come back and add the videostores after
|
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getting the first-sale provision changed this year. Needless to say,
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|
this legislation is being supported by the Motion Picture Association
|
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|
of America and the Software Publishers Association. There's nothing
|
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|
the movie studios would like more than to gain control of all the
|
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|
movie rental stores. This legislation introduced by Senator Hatch of
|
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Utah, is heavily supported by Word Perfect ( of Utah ) who probably
|
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|
constructed the original Bill.
|
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This entire process smells! There hasn't been any publicity on
|
|||
|
this legislation yet it has already passed the Senate. Last Week,
|
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|
"no friend of satellite dish" Congressman Kastenmeier held hearings
|
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|
before the Judiciary Committee on the House version ( HR 2740 ). The
|
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|
panel was stacked against consumers, as usual, with the legal counsel
|
|||
|
of Blockbuster Video being the only representative for consumers. A
|
|||
|
very interesting thing... Nintendo is lobbying heavily to get this
|
|||
|
legislation passed to stop rentals of their games but the Senate
|
|||
|
version of the Bill exempts video game rentals at this time. I have
|
|||
|
not been able to get a copy of the House version.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
In any event, the first-sale provision of the Copyright Act does
|
|||
|
not need to be changed - period. End of story! Get that message to
|
|||
|
your members of Congress. It's 1-800-852-3445!
|
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
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|
|||
|
*************************
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|
9. SOME OF THIS MONTH'S
|
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|
OTHER NEWS ITEMS...
|
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|
*************************
|
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|
|||
|
Request Tv has announced that they will begin offering their pay-
|
|||
|
per-view programming to home dish owners using the Videopal sometime
|
|||
|
soon. I guess they haven't heard - most dish owners already get the
|
|||
|
Request Tv channels for free.
|
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|
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|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
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|
|||
|
The Movie Channel plans to show 418 movies this month with no
|
|||
|
repeats. Wouldn't it be great if HBO took notice of this and changed
|
|||
|
their schedule? Probably, the only thing that will change at HBO is
|
|||
|
the ad campaign.
|
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|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
|
Remember the TV GENIE? That was a little gizmo that allowed you
|
|||
|
to plug the video and audio lines from your vcr into it and then it
|
|||
|
would re-broadcast the signal to nearby? tv sets without the need for
|
|||
|
a connecting wire.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
The FCC shut the guys down because the things could be received a
|
|||
|
mile away and caused harmful interference to other broadcasts.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
The dummies at the FCC have just given the 910-918 mhz spectrum
|
|||
|
to any manufacturers who want to build a new "genie". And, guess
|
|||
|
what? You can now own your own "pirate tv station" says the ad for
|
|||
|
one such device. Yes, for less than $100. you can be a "pirate"
|
|||
|
broadcaster... probably one of soon-to-be-many in your area.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
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|
|||
|
TCI, Tele-Communications Inc, the world's largest cable company,
|
|||
|
wants to become an NBC affiliate and transmit NBC on all of its cable
|
|||
|
systems. NBC was not all that interested although the existing NBC
|
|||
|
affiliates probably are. NBC says they're willing to listen...
|
|||
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|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
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|
|||
|
The FCC has released another report calling for more competition
|
|||
|
in cable tv by letting telephone companies compete with cable tv
|
|||
|
companies.
|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Rand Corporation has released a 96 page study saying that if
|
|||
|
telephone companies are allowed into the cable tv business they won't
|
|||
|
be any competition to existing cable tv companies. They cited vcr's
|
|||
|
as heavy competition to cable operators.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
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|
|||
|
Remember MOVIETIME, the channel that HBO bought-out which then
|
|||
|
became E! Now they've decided they are the channel for women?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Nashville Network partners are buying-out Country Music TV
|
|||
|
for $30 million dollars. The network claims to have some 10 million
|
|||
|
subscribers of which 70% of the cable systems carry the service for
|
|||
|
free. The balance pay as much as 3 cents per month.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Turner Broadcasting reports that the Goodwill Games will lose at
|
|||
|
least $26 million dollars. American taxpayers have paid $24. million
|
|||
|
dollars of the costs of the games so far.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
*****************************
|
|||
|
10. CAPTIONING UNIT MAY BE
|
|||
|
REQUIRED
|
|||
|
ON LARGER TV'S NEXT YEAR
|
|||
|
*****************************
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The Senate has held hearings on this and it's something we should
|
|||
|
have had for the last 10 years... but we don't and we probably won't
|
|||
|
unless somebody sets a standard. And, guess what...Congress is going
|
|||
|
to do just that.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Leaders in the House and Senate predict easy passage of the
|
|||
|
closed caption decoder Bill. This will mandate that ALL tv's 13
|
|||
|
inches or larger contain the closed caption decoder technology. At
|
|||
|
this time, two different methods of captioning are being used. One
|
|||
|
is the normal closed captioning used by PBS. The other simply uses
|
|||
|
the Teletext method. For all practical purposes, the end-result is
|
|||
|
the same. Titles are displayed upon the lower portion of the screen
|
|||
|
for viewers with impared hearing. The closed captioning decoder has
|
|||
|
been available for several years but costs over $200.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The legislation would make closed captioning the "standard" and
|
|||
|
requires every manufacturer to use that method. Needless to say, one
|
|||
|
manufacturer, Zenith, who builds digital tv's that have Teletext
|
|||
|
decoders built-in, is upset that they would have to add the other
|
|||
|
format and says it will cost $50 per tv instead of the $5. stated
|
|||
|
by Congress.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
Who cares? We need closed captioning and we need a standard and
|
|||
|
Congress has selected one. Zenith can add it to their tv's or not
|
|||
|
sell them in the United States. And, if it costs them $50 per tv to
|
|||
|
add one chip to their sets then they had better find some new help.
|
|||
|
There's lots of "good" electronic engineers looking for jobs.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Why is it we don't have a standard for encryption technology?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
*****************************
|
|||
|
11. HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER
|
|||
|
TO WASTE MORE MILLIONS
|
|||
|
IN CABLE TV VENTURE
|
|||
|
*****************************
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
From the guys who overspent billions of dollars to build a power
|
|||
|
plant to supply electricity to who-knows-who, the same guys who paid
|
|||
|
the highest amount ever: $3,300 per subscriber, to purchase obsolete
|
|||
|
cable tv systems in need of complete overhauls instead of building a
|
|||
|
new system for $900. per subscriber... these same guys are at it
|
|||
|
again.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
It must be great to be a public utility who thinks that their
|
|||
|
rate-payers have bottomless pockets to finance dumb undertakings. I
|
|||
|
guess its almost as great as being an un-regulated monopoly cable tv
|
|||
|
company. Now we have Houston Lighting & Power - they're both! The
|
|||
|
un-regulated monopoly cable tv company and the public utility with
|
|||
|
unlimited rate-payers money to spend. Oh boy, is this a great
|
|||
|
country or what!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The good news is that Houston Light & Power wants to invest only
|
|||
|
another million dollars with its partner TCI, the world's largest
|
|||
|
cable company, and cable tv firms are reaping unlimited profits in
|
|||
|
almost everything they invest in.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
The bad news is that one of the biggest money losers in cable tv
|
|||
|
is the cable tv audio services business, and that's what Houston
|
|||
|
Lighting & Power is investing their million dollars in. According to
|
|||
|
Dean Gilbert, the senior vp of marketing, programming, and business
|
|||
|
developement for the venture, cable delivered audio is a "terrific
|
|||
|
new business area."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
These dummies, and they ARE dummies... plan to supply a "whole"
|
|||
|
30 channel audio package for $7.95 per month, a smaller audio
|
|||
|
package for $6.95, and the "full" package for $9.95. Hmmm, what's
|
|||
|
the definition of "whole" and "full" - got any ideas? Bet they have
|
|||
|
a slight marketing problem trying to explain that! They're also
|
|||
|
planning on marketing the service to "cable-resistors" - those are
|
|||
|
highly intellegent households not burdened by cable tv hook-ups or
|
|||
|
un-necessary set-top convertor/descrambler boxes. Most cable system
|
|||
|
now offer a basic service of free local channels to such households
|
|||
|
for $10. per month after you pay a small one-time hook-up charge of
|
|||
|
$300. or $400. What will it cost to hook-up audio-only???
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Their Digital Music Express as its called, will deliver CD-
|
|||
|
quality, commercial-free music consisting of channels offering big
|
|||
|
bands, latin, reggae, opera, symphonies, contemporary jazz, show
|
|||
|
tunes, Christian contemporary, country, and world beat. There's
|
|||
|
already a couple of other services trying to deliver the same thing
|
|||
|
and they're all going belly-up. What are these guys thinking about?
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Sometimes you just can't see the forest for the trees... their
|
|||
|
marketing director says they plan to equip a recreational vehicle
|
|||
|
with this "new" technology and then visit the various shopping malls
|
|||
|
to show off something they call "CD" sound. Maybe they would like to
|
|||
|
rent my RV, it already has CD sound. So do several rooms in my house
|
|||
|
so I guess I've just saved $9.95 per month! I told ya this is dumb!
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
********************************
|
|||
|
12. SALE OF GENERAL INSTRUMENTS
|
|||
|
PROCEEDING VERY SLOWLY
|
|||
|
********************************
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
While un-informed sources were running around saying there would
|
|||
|
be several bidders lined-up to get GI instead of Forstmann Little -
|
|||
|
those would-be bidders must have been running the other way. As it
|
|||
|
stands right now, the bid of $1.7 billion by Forstmann Little & Co.
|
|||
|
is all there is.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
A couple of stockholders have filed lawsuits and no one seems to
|
|||
|
be busting-down the door to sell their GI stock. A share of GI stock
|
|||
|
is selling for $44.50.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
*********************
|
|||
|
00. DISHCETERA -
|
|||
|
THE SATELLITE TV
|
|||
|
ON-LINE MAGAZINE
|
|||
|
*********************
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* DISHCETERA Satellite TV On-Line Magazine is available on the
|
|||
|
first MONDAY of each month at our BBS or at a fine BBS near you
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* News items, press releases, and paper-less feedback may be
|
|||
|
sent to the Satellite TV Board of Information BBS at (713)
|
|||
|
623-4899 (8-N-1) 24 hours a day. On CompuServ: 76164,1564 or
|
|||
|
on G*E*N*I*E: JDolan2
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* Many satellite tv/cable related public interest files are
|
|||
|
available, as well as, business oriented software, and tons of
|
|||
|
VGA Gif graphics
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
|||
|
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