DIRECTV Announces New HD!

[teachsac]

Seriously need to add EpixHD. Miss it already and it's only been a day since switching Everything else is OK. Got to catch the A's game on MLB and of course Van Helsing on ABCFam.

S~

 

[jasondm4]

FREE SPEECH TV on 348 is in 1080i.
GOLDEN EAGLE on 363 is in 720p.

Several posters have also noted this.

Yeah it's strange they don't even show up on my D12-100. Which i suppose proves they are being broadcast as HD channels. I hope they fix this soon seems like a big waste of bandwidth.

 

[bamaweather]

Yeah it's strange they don't even show up on my D12-100. Which i suppose proves they are being broadcast as HD channels. I hope they fix this soon seems like a big waste of bandwidth.

They are being broadcast as MPEG-4 channels. Even though they are SD channels, an MPEG-4 capable receiver is needed to view them. They aren't taking up any more space because they are MPEG-4. In fact, as SD channels they are taking up less space than the SD channels you can see on your D12-100 are.

They are being carried due to public interest channel requirements.

 

[uncrules]

They are being broadcast as MPEG-4 channels. Even though they are SD channels, an MPEG-4 capable receiver is needed to view them. They aren't taking up any more space because they are MPEG-4. In fact, as SD channels they are taking up less space than the SD channels you can see on your D12-100 are.

Based on the quoted number of hours of SD vs HD that the new HD DVRs can hold, it would appear that the MPEG2 SD channels take up about 1/4th the space of an MPEG4 HD channel. So I'd imagine that a MPEG4 SD channel would take even less than that.

 

[cfb]

It also depends on the bitrate being used. Some of these forced carry channels that are only of interest to a small number of people may use a very low bitrate. If they're mpeg4, SD and use a low bitrate they might take a lot less space than a regular channel does.

 

[Sparkman]

Well, like I said, you won't get TMC XTRA unless you have the HD Extra package.
as for Encore HD, not sure what's happening with that, others have not mentioned any problems with it.
Might want to call D* and have them check it on your recvr.

I am also having the problem on Encore HD only. Have done Red Buttion Resets, Reset's from the Web page & C/S resets. It is on all receivers, C/S has said it is a known issue and should be fixed in 72 hours. We'll see.

 

[cfb]

I've had a ton of the premium channels I dont subscribe to show up in my 'channels I get'. They give me an error when I tune to them that I dont subscribe to them.

 

[Jimbo]

I've had a ton of the premium channels I dont subscribe to show up in my 'channels I get'. They give me an error when I tune to them that I dont subscribe to them.

I still have never used the "Channels I Get" tool.
Does it finally work ?

It could be that anything added that is NEW would go to your CIG section as that would be the only way you could see them and decide if you want to add it.

 

[Jimbo]

I am also having the problem on Encore HD only. Have done Red Buttion Resets, Reset's from the Web page & C/S resets. It is on all receivers, C/S has said it is a known issue and should be fixed in 72 hours. We'll see.

It been reported, I'm sure they are working on it.

 

[cfb]

I still have never used the "Channels I Get" tool.
Does it finally work ?

Not really. I think they've been working on it and you'd think it wouldnt be rocket science to do, but last time I checked it was still 'leaking' a couple of dozen channels that I dont get.

Plus its almost useless since the search function searches PPV and premium channels whether you want it to or not. I wanted to look for some Clint Eastwood movies a couple of weeks ago and after paging through 40 pages of Invictus on PPV without hitting anything else, I gave up and pulled a few from netflix on demand.

 

[Jimbo]

Not really. I think they've been working on it and you'd think it wouldnt be rocket science to do, but last time I checked it was still 'leaking' a couple of dozen channels that I dont get.

Plus its almost useless since the search function searches PPV and premium channels whether you want it to or not. I wanted to look for some Clint Eastwood movies a couple of weeks ago and after paging through 40 pages of Invictus on PPV without hitting anything else, I gave up and pulled a few from netflix on demand.

Only thing it, it's really NOT a priority, but something that they should get done regardless.

 

[cfb]

Its been an item of complaint for years. Thing is, they appear to be dragging their feet on fixing it and wont let you pick your own 'channels I get' except through favorites, which the search and autorecord dont follow.

I've never liked having someone elses marketing shoved in my face. "We want you to look at this stuff so that maybe you'll buy it!". Thing is, I wont. Not ever. So this baloney just makes the product a lot less useful to me.

 

[Jimbo]

I

I've never liked having someone elses marketing shoved in my face. "We want you to look at this stuff so that maybe you'll buy it!". Thing is, I wont. Not ever. So this baloney just makes the product a lot less useful to me.

They have the right to design thier equipment any way they want, if you don't like it then don't choose to buy it (lease) .

 

[cfb]

Yes, that does seem to be the mindset shared by directv's marketing and product design staffs.

Quite customer centric and friendly, and that explains the BBB "F" rating and the plunging customer service scores.

When it comes to the "If you dont like it, then dont buy it!" or "Its not life and death!" arguments, I think some re-examination is in order.

I'll grant you that if they gave me the equipment at no cost and I was paying a relatively modest sum for monthly service vs other offerings, I'd understand wanting to subsidize their costs a little bit with more aggressive marketing. But I did pay them more for the boxes than they cost to build, I pay a very competitive monthly fee for the service, and I have to give it all back at the end.

So the "take it or leave it!" approach may not be the very best idea.

 

[Jimbo]

Quite customer centric and friendly, and that explains the BBB "F" rating and the plunging customer service scores.

Thier sub count will be going up considerably next quarter with all the sub flocking away from E* due to thier stupid idea of new ways to charge for their equipment.

 

[Jimbo]

I'll grant you that if they gave me the equipment at no cost and I was paying a relatively modest sum for monthly service vs other offerings, I'd understand wanting to subsidize their costs a little bit with more aggressive marketing. But I did pay them more for the boxes than they cost to build, I pay a very competitive monthly fee for the service, and I have to give it all back at the end.

You can try Cable, but around here they don't charge for the recvrs, but you pay extra every MONTH to have them, like E* they run about $ 18 p/m for a HD DVR EACH.

I would much rather pay a bit more ONCE vs paying a lot more for the same product EVERY MONTH.

 

[cfb]

You can do that with ease. Buy a tivo HD for $99 and I can put lifetime service on it for $299.

Then 2-3 years from now I can sell it for at least $250 and get most of my money back.

I would have to pay a couple of bucks a month for renting the cablecards for the units after the first one, which is free.

We'll see. If I can get a deal on nfl sunday ticket, I'll stick around another year and see how things go. If I cant, then I dont really have any reason to stick around with directv, other than the fact that I stuccoed over the dish mount so it cant be removed...:tux:

 

[bamaweather]

What's the point in using Channels I Get if there are still all of those annoying PPV and infomercial channels?

Favorites lists FTW!

 

[cfb]

Yeah, but the search and the autorecords dont use favorites. Favorites only works when you're using the guide.

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, but the search and the autorecords dont use favorites. Favorites only works when you're using the guide.

Theres something they could work on correcting !
They did a nice job with the new Search, making it even better would be a nice move !