DIRECTV Announces New HD!

[skottey]

This thread has gone so far off topic that it is laughable. Yes, I'm guilty of it too. The problem here is that we are still waiting for the new new HD channels. Yes, I know, May is not even half over but the days seem to feel like weeks when it comes to waiting for something.

I'll take the five... anything for now. I'm not a big MSNBC news fan but I enjoy some of the Dateline documentaries they air on the weekend. So yeah, I'll take it.

This whole Travel Channel 4:3/16x9 discussion can go away when this guy gets his HD Travel Channel. That'll be nice.

Yes, we'll have to wait a bit longer for premiums and that irks me but at this point I'll take ANYTHING from that list (except more PPV) rolled out.

I'd love to see a new thread "DirecTV begins adding new English speaking HD nationals again." Let's move DirecTV!!!! I want to see something next week.

 

[steecoe]

If you have the DVRs TV ratio set to 16x9 widescreen output & have the format set to 'original' then it is going to strech the 4x3 SD channels.
What you are seeing is an SD channel that is sending out a 16x9 program letterboxed into a 4x3 signal, then your DVR is stretching that 4x3 signal into a 16x9 display, thus stretching it left & right. What you SHOULD be seeing is black bars on top & bottom AND on the right & left, then the program content should appear in the proper ratio.

What do you see on other SD channels? does the content fill your entire screen? You are watching this channel on a widescreen TV, right?

 

[skottey]

If you have the DVRs TV ratio set to 16x9 widescreen output & have the format set to 'original' then it is going to strech the 4x3 SD channels.
What you are seeing is an SD channel that is sending out a 16x9 program letterboxed into a 4x3 signal, then your DVR is stretching that 4x3 signal into a 16x9 display, thus stretching it left & right. What you SHOULD be seeing is black bars on top & bottom AND on the right & left, then the program content should appear in the proper ratio.

What do you see on other SD channels? does the content fill your entire screen? You are watching this channel on a widescreen TV, right?

He already said other SD channels look like they should. Iceberg had a field day deleting and cleaning up this thread last night so he may have removed that response since it was "off topic."

I think we can all agree the problem is at his end though. Everyone has said their Travel Channel SD looks like it should. It is window-boxed for many programs since they are designed for 16x9 but that is the way she goes on a 4:3 channel airing 16x9 content. No different than AMC airing Breaking Bad or Mad Men on the SD channel with black bars all around the picture on a 16x9 TV.

 

[Zellio2008]

This thread has gone so far off topic that it is laughable. Yes, I'm guilty of it too. The problem here is that we are still waiting for the new new HD channels. Yes, I know, May is not even half over but the days seem to feel like weeks when it comes to waiting for something.

I'll take the five... anything for now. I'm not a big MSNBC news fan but I enjoy some of the Dateline documentaries they air on the weekend. So yeah, I'll take it.

This whole Travel Channel 4:3/16x9 discussion can go away when this guy gets his HD Travel Channel. That'll be nice.

Yes, we'll have to wait a bit longer for premiums and that irks me but at this point I'll take ANYTHING from that list (except more PPV) rolled out.

I'd love to see a new thread "DirecTV begins adding new English speaking HD nationals again." Let's move DirecTV!!!! I want to see something next week.

Well of course it's laughable. Directv adds things as fast as my 70 year old mom gets up and excersises...

 

[talos4]

Well of course it's laughable. Directv adds things as fast as my 70 year old mom gets up and excersises...

I know what you mean, that whole, satellite building, FCC permissions, launching, FCC Permissions, testing, FCC Permissions, parking, FCC permissions, operational testing. carriage contracts thing really bogs down the process.

 

[harshness]

3rd Quarter I predict Subscriber Losses.

The quarter to watch for will be Q4 when NFLST subscribers decide if they can't justify it any more.

 

[raoul5788]

I know what you mean, that whole, satellite building, FCC permissions, launching, FCC Permissions, testing, FCC Permissions, parking, FCC permissions, operational testing. carriage contracts thing really bogs down the process.

Plus the whole "making sure it looks better than other providers", and the "let's try and fix one of our satellites" malarkey! Man, that crap takes too much time!

 

[raoul5788]

The quarter to watch for will be Q4 when NFLST subscribers decide if they can't justify it any more.

I doubt the ST subscribers will add significant losses to the base. Where else will they go for their football fix?

 

[cfb]

If you have the DVRs TV ratio set to 16x9 widescreen output & have the format set to 'original' then it is going to strech the 4x3 SD channels.
What you are seeing is an SD channel that is sending out a 16x9 program letterboxed into a 4x3 signal, then your DVR is stretching that 4x3 signal into a 16x9 display, thus stretching it left & right. What you SHOULD be seeing is black bars on top & bottom AND on the right & left, then the program content should appear in the proper ratio.

What do you see on other SD channels? does the content fill your entire screen? You are watching this channel on a widescreen TV, right?

Sharp aquos 60" 120hz, vizio 47" 240hz, jvc 55" HDILA, Toshiba 65" CRT. All widescreen. All set for 'full'. All do the same thing. Nothing strange, pretty good variety of HD technology.

I set the HR20 to 'pillar box' last night as an experiment. What I got was two gray bars on either side, and then the same widescreen stretched picture with black bars top and bottom only mushed between the gray bars.

And no, if I tell the dvr to output original format, and the original format is 4:3, it should send a 4:3 picture. I'm having no problems with other SD content, just trav and fln.

And as I've mentioned several times, the logos and bugs arent stretched but are in the proper aspect ratio. Travel for instance includes a round globe as part of the logo. I measured it. Its perfectly round. If the tv or the dvr was stretching the screen, the logo would be stretched and the globe would be egg shaped.

And the logos/bugs wouldnt extend down into the black part of the letterbox.

I'll take some pictures, but I cant see how it can be any sort of setting on my end. My tv options on all four sets are full, and several zooms. Obviously I dont want any zooms, and full should display exactly what the dvr sends it pixel by pixel.

On the dvr end, native on/off makes no difference in this appearance, original output gives me good results for all channels except these two, and if I set it to pillar box it looks ridiculous with the gray bars on both sides and a stretched letterboxed picture in between.

Oh and for the guy who turns every single thread into a bitchfest about how unhappy he is with directv, take a hike on the way to being my first 'ignore list' entry. I've yet to see you post anything providing any useful help or observation.

Remembering that this wraps back around to my opinion that I'd rather have a downrez HD feed that looks right on my tv when its set up properly, than a stretched sd feed that looks stupid.

Which doesnt matter, because they wont do that.

 

[yaz96]

I doubt the ST subscribers will add significant losses to the base. Where else will they go for their football fix?

Somewhere they can get RedZone for cheap.

 

[raoul5788]

Somewhere they can get RedZone for cheap.

Oh yeah, ST "Lite", just like the rest of the hd lineup!

 

[markd]

D* will never catch up.

I don't care how many Sports packs D* has.
Its time to get the channels that matter to most subscribers.

3rd Quarter I predict Subscriber Losses.

D* is taking to long to deliver.

I can live with what we have now, But i can't blaim anyone who can't, And I certainly want more National/NON RSN HD.

+1

 

[toto]

If you have the DVRs TV ratio set to 16x9 widescreen output & have the format set to 'original' then it is going to strech the 4x3 SD channels.
What you are seeing is an SD channel that is sending out a 16x9 program letterboxed into a 4x3 signal, then your DVR is stretching that 4x3 signal into a 16x9 display, thus stretching it left & right. What you SHOULD be seeing is black bars on top & bottom AND on the right & left, then the program content should appear in the proper ratio.

What do you see on other SD channels? does the content fill your entire screen? You are watching this channel on a widescreen TV, right?

That is how my receiver is set. ONLY locals are in the worst stretchovision I've seen.

 

[yaz96]

Oh yeah, ST "Lite", just like the rest of the hd lineup!

More like ST "cheap".

I meant cable, but whatever!

 

[satjay]

As many directions this thread has taken now that its the weekend only a few more days (The 19th right) untill our delivery of HD channels?

 

[Optimist]

http://www.directv.com/cms2/cepod/benefitscenter/directv_benefit_center_newsletter.pdf

I am sure most of you have seen this, but here is a layout of where some of the future HD channels will be

Thanks for that link - that PDF is new to me, and looks great... But I hope it's just the first PDF and there will be a revision later that shows BBCA available in HD - that's the ONLY channel I really want in HD!

 

[Optimist]

With a and a nod .... In the "site wars" between this site and the other, isn't one of the complaint about the other site is that they delete posts, and this place is great because Satguys never deletes posts? LOL Cleanup in Aisle 6!

Someone's going to hold the activity in this thread against us! LOL

 

[raoul5788]

With a and a nod .... In the "site wars" between this site and the other, isn't one of the complaint about the other site is that they delete posts, and this place is great because Satguys never deletes posts? LOL Cleanup in Aisle 6!

Someone's going to hold the activity in this thread against us! LOL

Generally, whatever gets posted here stays here, to paraphrase a phrase! Sometimes the natives get more than a little bit restless and the sheriff has to come in and clean things up a little. It doesn't happen very often.

 

[levibluewa]

Directv's Comparison Chart 161/121...

hmmmm, well, ok...if 24 hour RSN's are what you live by. Those account for 27 channels. Also, take away Telefutura and Univision...another 2. Also take away 101 which is Directv's channel. That takes Directv's number down to 131. Also they show ABC,CBS,NBC,FOX East & West...fudge! ...like any sub can call up and have those added!

I don't jump up and down when DISH shows the SD version of a local baseball game that's available in HD, quite the opposite. On the other hand take away those 24/7 hd RSNs and Directv has a long way to go to even come close to what DISH now offers (BBC AMERICA, E!, EPIX1-2, FOX SOCCER CHANNEL, G4, ID, DIY, HISTORY INT'L,HLN, INDIE, LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK, LOGO, NAT GEO WILD, RETRO, SHORTS, STYLE, TRUTV, TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES...). A lot of talk about DISHs HD Lite...on a 46" set... compare Directv to DISH...can't see any difference. And the SD channels on DISH often look better than the same channel on Directv...I said often, not always.

Bravo to Directv for MLB and their "local on the 8s". Hopefully, with their new sat they can catch up with their national HD offerings.

 

[Jimbo]

I doubt the ST subscribers will add significant losses to the base. Where else will they go for their football fix?

Somewhere they can get RedZone for cheap.

MOST NFL fans won't jump for the Red Zone (if I'm in the red zone) channel over being able to see thier team in it's entirety.