HOME ENTERTAINMENT : New Satellite TV System Set to Challenge Cable

Satellite TV systems have been around for years, but most people have never been interested because the dish is expensive and huge. A new system getting its local launch this week may cause them to think again, and could pose a serious challenge to cable TV.

The Digital Satellite System (DSS), manufactured by RCA/Thomson Consumer Electronics, consists of a satellite dish that is only 18 inches in diameter and attaches to the side of the house; a digital, VCR-sized receiver and an interactive remote control.

It’s still not cheap, selling for $700. An installation kit costs $70 and professional installation can cost about $200.

The 175-channel system offers programming from two networks, USSB and DIRECTV, that is comparable to what’s on cable, including HBO, Showtime, ESPN, MTV, VH-1, the Comedy Channel, Lifetime and pay-per-view films and other events.

The monthly fees vary, and each network offers a different assortment of programming. The full package is $34 a month from USSB and $30 a month from DIRECTV--and each offers cheaper deals by subscribing to fewer channels.

Possibly Digital Satellite System’s biggest selling point, though--and where it leaves cable in the dust--is audio-visual excellence. The DSS picture is laser-disc-quality, far sharper and brighter than what’s on regular TV or cable.

“You get a cleaner picture because it’s digital--versus analog in cable and in the regular satellite system,” said USSB President Stanley E. Hubbard. “You could get much better quality from the standard analog system but you’d need a lot of special equipment. With digital, that quality is a given part of the system.”

DSS equipment is being sold at nearly 250 stores in the Los Angeles area alone--including Sears, the Good Guys and Circuit City. Hubbard said DSS has debuted in 23 states since June--with 100,000 units sold--and will be available nationwide by the end of the month.

A major difference in cable and DSS is that you can’t get local stations through DSS. That means no ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox. That’s not a problem if you can get their signals over the air, by a conventional antenna. But for those who need cable to get decent reception, the cost of paying for that and DSS may be too much.

Still, cable systems around the country are likely to feel the effects of DSS during the next year. “About half of our customers come from cabled areas,” Hubbard said. “Most of them are not continuing to subscribe to cable.”

Here are some points that Hubbard made about DSS:

* DSS is mainly for single-family homes, not apartments or condos, but next year there will probably be a way to market DSS to these complexes.

* RCA is the only company manufacturing DSS units now--at a rate of 100,000 per month. Sony will enter the market after 1 million units have been sold, which should be next spring, Hubbard predicted.

* DIRECTV is hoping to offer a package of National Football League games next season on its pay-per-view channels.

* Surround sound is being explored.

* There will be no hard-core adult channel. The Playboy Channel, on DIRECTV, is as risque as it gets on DSS.

* There’s a soundtrack channel that allows consumers to get Spanish-language soundtracks on programs for which one is available.

* A major storm between the satellite dish and the satellite itself can cause a loss of signal, but he said that happens less than 2% of the time.

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What’s New On Video

“Jurassic Park” (MCA/Universal, $25). Main question: Are the dinosaur sequences just as breathtaking on a TV screen? Not really, but they’re still pretty scary--particularly that chase through the lab near the end. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Sam Neill and Laura Dern, the movie is about dinosaurs running amok in a theme park.

“Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas” (Touchstone, $20). Inventive, often captivating musical comedy done in stop-motion animation, with the characters resembling herky-jerky puppets. The hero is skeletal Jack Skellington from Halloweentown, who’s bored with Halloween. He stumbles onto the Christmas spirit and decides to give the holiday a ghoulish make-over. Caution: may be too scary for kids under 6 or 7.

“Above the Rim” (New Line). Gritty, fairly entertaining tale of a high school basketball player (Duane Martin) lured into a gang world. A host of cliches undercut its impact, but there are some first-rate basketball scenes and a strong hip-hop score. The best reason to see this is the mesmerizing performance by Tupac Shakur as a cold-blooded gangster.

“Surviving the Game” (New Line). A homeless man (Ice-T) is the prey at a swank retreat where hunters pay big money to track and kill humans. A good, grisly action film with Rutger Hauer and Gary Busey, who proves once again that he plays villains as well as any actor in the business. It’s the same plot as the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie “Hard Target.”

Foreign language movies: FoxVideo’s “The Wedding Banquet” is just out. It’s about a gay male couple, one American and one Taiwanese, living in Manhattan. When the parents of the Taiwanese, who don’t know their son is gay, come to visit, he stages a fake wedding with a female artist. An engaging, clever farce. . . . Chinese director Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” (Miramax) is a colorful, often fascinating epic, covering a period from the ‘20s to the ‘70s, recounting the volatile relationship between two male performers in the Peking Opera. An enlightening glimpse into a seldom-seen world.