Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 8, 1994 TAG: 9407110179
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But to channel surfers who brave the treacherous waves of TV programming, this setup may be one of the biggest things to hit the beach since the multi-function remote control.
Or maybe one of the smallest: At 18 inches in diameter, the dish for RCA's Digital Satellite System is a midget compared to the 7-to-10-foot round dishes that have dwarfed yards for years.
Response to the scaled-down dish has been big in the Roanoke area, one of the early sites to receive the new technology, said Matt Whitcomb, president of Roanoke's ACS Home Entertainment Gallery, one of several area retailers offering DSS.
"Initially, it was thought that this would be targeted toward the rural, non-cable community," Whitcomb said. As word of the system has spread, however, it has gained popularity among urbanites who want the wide channel selection of traditional satellite systems but dislike the ungainly dishes, he said. In some neighborhoods, the big dishes either aren't allowed by ordinance or are resented by residents.
Although the new units haven't yet been shipped to dealers, retailers have been inundated with orders from customers eager to nab the first units off the truck.
"There's been such strong interest that we've been taking deposits on them," said Bill Gibson, manager of Curtis Mathes Home Entertainment Center in Roanoke, who has several hundred on order. Whitcomb is waiting for a delivery of more than 2,000 units.
Lower initial cost also has been bringing in orders, Whitcomb said. For $699 plus installation, customers can purchase the basic DSS setup; the more cumbersome C-band satellite systems carry price tags of $2,000 to $3,000, he said.
But just how much of a bargain is DSS? Although the start-up cost is less, monthly charges may be considerably higher than either other satellite systems or cable television.
Homeowners with C-band setups, for example, access programming from 20 satellites and thus pay monthly rates that are 25 percent to 40 percent lower than cable rates for the same channels, Whitcomb said. They also receive close to 100 free channels, he said.
The DSS satellite dishes feed from only one satellite, Whitcomb said. Another will be launched within the next month, but both are owned by the Hughes Corp., which both offers its own programming and leases frequencies to United States Satellite Broadcasting. Monthly fees are comparable to cable charges, with a 23-channel basic package starting around $22, and no free channels.
Nor is DSS the first to offer digital technology. Primestar, a national partnership of six cable companies, launched a satellite system in June 1991 and in early 1994 began upgrading all analog receivers with digital ones, said David Burke, Primestar project manager for Cox Cable Roanoke. Primestar offers 30 channels but will upgrade to 70 on Aug. 1, he said.
While DSS customers will buy their hardware, Primestar offers leasing of its receivers and 3-foot dishes, Burke said. After an initial payment $350 to $400, customers pay monthly fees similar to cable charges and receive free service and upgrades, he said.
Considering all that, why are consumers lining up to buy DSS dishes? It's part of "home theater," the new buzzword in the electronics industry, Whitcomb said.
"If they will spend money for a $3,000 big-screen TV to enhance their viewing pleasure, they will not bat an eye at spending less than $1,000 for a DSS system," he said.
Gibson chalked up the demand to the product's novelty and to the greater level of choice it offers over cable.
That may be the one area that DSS gives cable a run for its money, said Gretchen Shine, general manager of Cox Cable Roanoke.
"Some customers will look at this as an attractive offer," she said. "There is a market segment who really enjoy having a lot of choice."
"The people who are interested - who just gotta have a new gadget - don't care about the price," he said. For them, niche programming - dozens of sports channels and movie choices - will justify the investment, he said.
But Shine said Cox's lower installation rates - they range from $5 to $20 - and free additional outlets - as opposed to the $650 DSS receivers required for each additional television set - will continue to attract customers.
Whitcomb, too, said that DSS, for all its novelty, will not take the place of existing cable and satellite systems. Rather, it will offer consumers shopping for entertainment services yet one more option.
"It's all about choice," he said.
by CNB