4dtv sidecar for $49.95

[lee635]

Just got an email from National Programming Service that if you sign up for a year of Showtime at $129.95 (that's only $10.83 per month), you can get a 4 dtv sidecar from skyvision for $49.95.

nps (http://www.dsinps.com)

[Mike]

Hmnmm...... How long does the deal last?

[EricG]

Showtime cost me $12/mo.

in 43 months it'll pay for itself.

No Thanks

[thomasmaly]

Please forgive the uninformed but what is a 4dtv sidecar?

[dishrich2]

That's actually a good deal, since they were originally going for about $400, & an integrated one goes for about $700!

It's an add-on that you attach to your existing 4DTV to get the 4DTV (digital) channels. You can get one of these if you don't want to spend the $$$ on a complete new 4DTV integrated receiver. The downfalls are:

-You have to juggle 2 remotes to run all your C-band functions, because you still need to use your C-band receiver to move the dish & view analog channels.
-The 4DTV sidecar does NOT give you an S-video out for your digital signals, where the integrated unit does.
-The prog guide can't really be used for point & click, since it can't make the analog receiver change channels or move the dish.
-No timers to switch among channels for VCR recording.

BUT to EricG, if he DID pick up one of those units, he'd get MORE Showtime channels FOR FREE just by buying the sidecar, plus getting ALL the existing analog Showtime/TMC/Flix/Sundance channels digitally, as well as getting Dolby Digital on ALL of them!

You get all these at NO extra charge: (as well as E & W feeds on each)

Showtime
Showtime Too
Showtime Showcase
Showtime Extreme
Showtime Beyond
Showtime Family
Showtime Next
Showtime Women
TMC
TMC Xtra
Sundance
Flix

So, instead of ONLY getting 6 analog channels, he'd get 24 instead for $49 one-time - sounds pretty good to me.

[Chris Blount]

I wish they had those before I gave up C-Band. I would have definitely considered keeping my system.

[lee635]

No doubt. They should have been doing this years ago. They could have required Showtime and HBO and still gotten quite a few takers. C-band marketing -- too little too late