E* and D* what do they mean???

[Sleepylazy2006]

I want to know what does it mean, and any other letters with a * means???

[James Long]

E* = EchoStar Communications (Dish Network)
D* = DirecTV
SA = SkyAngel (in context)
*C = StarChoice (Canadian)

There are a few more ...

[tnsprin]

The "*" or star convention became popular on these boards when there were several small satellite dish offerings all with a star in there name. e.g.Echostar (E*) , Primestar(P*) and StarChoice (*C). So even though it didn't fit they also started talking of DirecTv as (D*).

[Darkman]

BEV = Bell Express Vu (Canadian)

[BobaBird]

One of the links on the left side of the main page is Acronyms (http://www.dbstalk.com/acronyms.htm). There are more on the EKB Glossary (http://ekb.dbstalk.com/231).

[Mike D-CO5]

Or you could just print the name if you aren't to lazy. :p

DISH & Directv.

[Stewart Vernon]

D* is not that much easier to type than Dish.

I am reminded of an episode of NewsRadio where Joe the fixit guy was rewiring all the office phones... and in order to make it more convenient to dial 911, he programmed it into speeddial as *37 or something like that.

Hilarious!

[Steve Mehs]

The "*" or star convention became popular on these boards when there were several small satellite dish offerings all with a star in there name. e.g.Echostar (E*) , Primestar(P*) and StarChoice (*C). So even though it didn't fit they also started talking of DirecTv as (D*).

And Don't forget Alphastar aka A*. It's 9 years this month since A* went DOA.

[TNGTony]

D* is not that much easier to type than Dish.

True, but D* is the accepted abreviation to DirecTV. :D


See ya
Tony

[restart88]

The "*" or star convention became popular on these boards when there were several small satellite dish offerings all with a star in there name. e.g.Echostar (E*) , Primestar(P*) and StarChoice (*C). So even though it didn't fit they also started talking of DirecTv as (D*).


Actually, since D* aquired P* the "*" does seem to follow form. :D

Notice that "BEV = Bell Express Vu (Canadian)" ain't got no "*" do it? :lol:

[Stewart Vernon]

True, but D* is the accepted abreviation to DirecTV. :D


See ya
Tony

Mea culpa on the type... finger slipped and it should have been E*, not D*... and even though E* actually = EchoStar... that still isn't too much to type.

I'm sure another comedian has already done a routine about this... but I always laugh when I think of how "abbreviation" is such a long word. :)

[tnsprin]

Actually, since D* acquired P* the "*" does seem to follow form. :D

Notice that "BEV = Bell Express Vu (Canadian)" ain't got no "*" do it? :lol:

D* was used long before Primestar's demise. P* was pretty much out of business when DirecTv apparently made a deal to take over the clients. I don't know that they took over any of the other assets of Primestar.

[P Smith]

Actually, since D* aquired P* the "*" does seem to follow form. :D

Notice that "BEV = Bell Express Vu (Canadian)" ain't got no "*" do it? :lol:
Well, it's time for assign B* for the provider ! :)

[James Long]

D* is like D{wildcard}. The * character often being used in search strings for matching any character or string of characters. A search of a word list that had DirecTV on it with D* as the search string would match. (Obviously other words would also match, but we have acronyms for them.)

DirecTV and Dish Network cannot both be D* ... Dish Network gets the more appropriate E*.

B*? That might catch on. With the volume of posts about StarChoice and BEV they don't really need an abbreviation (further than we already use). Even SkyAngel is better of written because one has to explain what SA is every time it is used.

[TNGTony]

D* was used long before Primestar's demise. P* was pretty much out of business when DirecTv apparently made a deal to take over the clients. I don't know that they took over any of the other assets of Primestar.


D* took 11 transponders at 119° and an unlaunched satellite from P* when they acquired the company. I'm sure there was more, but this was the "plum". :)

See ya
Tony

[Darkman]

Can i buy a vowel? :)

[derwin0]

Well, it's time for assign B* for the provider ! :)
At least until Bell sells them off ;)

[Geronimo]

Just to confuse things further. In financial posts you will often see each company referred to by it's trading symbol. DFor E* that is DISH which is pretty clear. D* though is DTV and some in the forum disapprove of that abbreviation since it often refers to digital televison (mostly over the air) in these forums.

[Darkman]

Gimme an F*! :)

[Greg Bimson]

D* took 11 transponders at 119° and an unlaunched satellite from P* when they acquired the company. I'm sure there was more, but this was the "plum".There was a launched satellite, as I recall.

Tempo 1 and 2 were the satellites in question. DirecTV took over Primestar, and I believe the satellites were renamed DirecTV 5 and 6. One was in space, the other was on the ground to be launched.

[harsh]

SA = SkyAngel (in context)But more commonly, SA = Stand Alone (DVR; usually TiVo).

[James Long]

Which is why I noted "in context".

[Stewart Vernon]

Just one of the many reasons I abhor most abbreviations...

As a rule, and as a writer I practice this formally... in a technical manual acronyms or shorthands are only to be used after first defining them in the text... For instance:

"DirecTV (D*) is a satellite company. There are many offerings available from D*..."

Of course sometimes it is still necessary to provide a glossary in the manual for folks that skip around and don't see the first time the abbreviation is defined in the print.

Much better is just to avoid the abbreviations alltogether.

As example, I wonder... is the time saved in using the shorthand outweighed by the extra time taken to explain what it means to each new person?

[James Long]

As example, I wonder... is the time saved in using the shorthand outweighed by the extra time taken to explain what it means to each new person?With E* and D* it is worth it. The lesser used ones not so much. I suppose we could "dumb down" the forums and not use abbreviations but I'd rather teach newcomers the ropes and let them join in the fun. Learning the difference between E* and D* is the first lesson. :)

I do try to spell it out when responding to new users, using the "DirecTV (D*)" approach you suggest or something similar.

[Stewart Vernon]

I was more or less thinking out loud in general... rather than being a critique of the forum... but it does pop into my head to wonder everytime someone new wanders in and doesn't know what all the code/abbreviations mean.

When I first started wandering the site, I just kept reading until I understood what people were saying.... but I admit at first not always being sure what people were meaning with the D* and E* and it doesn't help when someone uses one wrong, or like I did earlier in the thread typos D* vs E* and inadvertantly confuses folks. :)

[bear paws]

Voom [sigh]=VF*> Fallen Star

[christophersj]

The abbreviations are stupid. They cause more confusion than anything else.

-Christopher

[Steve Mehs]

Being involved in DBS related boards for about 10 years now, I couldn't disagree more. Every message board or news group dedicated to any topic has their own lingo, and so do we.

[JohnH]

All this talk and they still mean the same thing. :)

E* = EchoStar and/or DiSH Network

D* = DIRECTV

SA = Dominion's Sky Angel

The rest are somewhat superflous. :)