DirecTV: HD Additions Won't Reduce Quality

[Scott Greczkowski]

DirecTV: HD Additions Won't Reduce Quality
So-called 'HD Lite' to Continue

http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=638

Starting in September, DirecTV plans to add 100 HD channels, but subscribers shouldn't expect a change in their HD signal quality.

The HD feeds will continue to feature the same transmission strength the satellite TV provider currently offers, spokesman Robert Mercer said.

"[We have the] best quality now, and will have the best quality when we launch in Q3," Mr. Mercer said. "There will be no impact on quality. HD signal quality is a paramount concern and we will balance our resources accordingly."

Subscribers have derided DirecTV's HD signals as "HD Lite," saying it has a lower transmission rate than some of its rivals. DirecTV maintains that it has the best HD picture quality, a claim that has prompted online grousing from HD aficionados, as well as lawsuits from competitors and subscribers.

Mr. Mercer was asked whether- putting aside the contentious description of "quality"- DirecTV's signal specifications would change, for better or worse, as a result of the HD upgrade. Cable and satellite operators do not distribute pure, uncompressed HD and any signal can be allocated more or less bandwidth.

He maintained there's nothing lacking in DirecTV's current quality and said that quality would not change despite the addition of extra channels.

In January, DirecTV announced it plans to launch 100 HD channels by the end of the year. The plan depends on the upcoming launch of a new satellite that should go online in September. Subscribers have wondered whether more channels mean a larger variety of HD offerings, or better quality.

From DirecTV's perspective, the HD push is inherently about quality, even if the signal strength does not change. Adding HD versions of channels such as USA Network, Sci Fi Channel and MTV will vastly improve the quality of the viewing experience over their standard-definition counterparts.

DirecTV could quietly upgrade its HD transmission quality this fall without making a public statement if it is concerned about contradicting previous statements or affecting lawsuits. But thus far, the company's priority seems to be improving marketable qualities such as the amount of programming, rather than less discernable characteristics such as transmission rates.






This article is part of TVWeek.com's High Definition newsletter, a weekly source of breaking HD news, articles and interviews written by Senior Reporter James Hibberd.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Im not going to say anything...

 

[mdonnelly]

"... subscribers shouldn't expect a change in their HD signal quality."

Sounds like bad news to me.

 

[ciucca]

"Quantity over Quality"!

This is Directv's new corporate motto. I felt bad about dumping D* for FIOS, but this makes me feel better about my decision.

 

[JamesJ]

Scott, Maybe its time for a renewed challenge to put their picture up against anyone else?! while it does look good, its not Great, and I think that is clear to anyone. the mpeg4 on the other hand look pretty decent.

 

[Sean Mota]

Im not going to say anything...

Me neither... the fact that they keep living in denial is just... (I said I was not going to say anything )

 

[boston area dtv]

Im not going to say anything...

I respect the fact that you didnt. Scott I respect the job you do here. I know you love E* and you do a fantastic job with this site. I really really like this site in general.

So I will be fair and tackle D* for ya. While I do love the plan D* has in place for adding HD content to their lineup, I am disappointed that the quality wont be the best that it could be.

I think a D* customers dream would be to meld HD quality with quanity.

I was also thinking ..."What are they supposed to say?"

If they say PQ will improve they are admitting that there is somethign wrong with it now.

They cant cut their own throats by sayint that.

I beat my head against the wall dealing with D* when they introduced NESN HD.

For months the PQ was UNWATCHABLE! Not bad but really unwatchable. The picture would stutter and shake and youd wanna puke after watching a couple innings of baseball.

I would call D* and complain and they would send tech after tech to my home insisting it was the equipment and not them.

Why? Because its business and they cant possibly say..sorry our PQ isnt what it should be right now. NESN HD is fine now.

So while they say there is nothing wrong with their PQ , it doesnt mean they wont address the issue.

After all NESN HD comes in great now and according to D* there was never anything wrong with it to start with.

 

[bjs188]

"Quantity over Quality"!

This is Directv's new corporate motto. I felt bad about dumping D* for FIOS, but this makes me feel better about my decision.

This has always been Directv's motto.

 

[Brewer4]

I beat my head against the wall dealing with D* when they introduced NESN HD.

For months the PQ was UNWATCHABLE! Not bad but really unwatchable. The picture would stutter and shake and youd wanna puke after watching a couple innings of baseball.

I would call D* and complain and they would send tech after tech to my home insisting it was the equipment and not them.

Why? Because its business and they cant possibly say..sorry our PQ isnt what it should be right now. NESN HD is fine now.

So while they say there is nothing wrong with their PQ , it doesnt mean they wont address the issue.

After all NESN HD comes in great now and according to D* there was never anything wrong with it to start with.

Lets just hope all the new stuff is MPEG4 and equal to the quality we see today not when NESN HD and others launched. NESN HD was absolutely horrible. In fact, CBS HD in Boston was even worse. Both look good now but that took 6 months to get right. I want full HD too but lets just hope they get the new stuff EQUAL to current quality. I dont think that is asking too much.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I don't love E* eaither. But when there is problem with the HD quality at least they admit it.

Damn I said I wasn't going to say anything.

 

[jpn]

Me neither... the fact that they keep living in denial is just... (I said I was not going to say anything )

I'd like full-bitrate HD too, but they don't have to deny anything. The FCC took care of that in 2001 when they established must-carry rules. Carriers don't need to push out a full bit-rate as long as the signal is not materially degraded.
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/2001/must_carry_factsheet.html

Material Degradation

• The Report and Order finds that a cable operator would not necessarily be materially degrading a digital television signal if it carries less than the full 19.4 mbps transmitted by a broadcaster.
• The Report and Order finds that a cable operator may not carry a digital television signal in a lesser format or lower resolution than that afforded to a non-broadcast digital programmer carried on the cable system. However, a digital-only television station may demand that a cable operator carry its digital signal in an analog format without the prohibition against material degradation being violated. If a television station chooses to be carried in this manner, it is treated in the same manner as an analog signal.

If you're going to make any case, it has to address the issue of material degradation. You need to prove that the signal is degraded such that you can't view it; and you need to prove that the cause is low-bitrate. If you can't do it, then it won't matter if you have 15 million signatures; you will lose. The cables are on the same side as DBS carriers on this one, and collectively the can produce one expert witness able to refute your case for every signature you can present.

From that perspective, you're in denial for failing to accept that petitions and bitching are worth the same as a bucket of piss.

 

[digiblur]

One of the many reasons to stay away from DirecTV. They continue to lie to their customers when you can pull out the cold hard facts and lay them on the table.

I can bet you if this guy was in court for crime caught on video and witnessed by hundreds of people, he'd still sit there in court and say "Nope. I didn't do it."

 

[Madtown HD Junkie]

DirecTV: HD Additions Won't Reduce Quality
So-called 'HD Lite' to Continue

http://www.tvweek.com/page.cms?pageId=638

Starting in September, DirecTV plans to add 100 HD channels, but subscribers shouldn't expect a change in their HD signal quality.

The HD feeds will continue to feature the same transmission strength the satellite TV provider currently offers, spokesman Robert Mercer said.

"[We have the] best quality now, and will have the best quality when we launch in Q3," Mr. Mercer said. "There will be no impact on quality. HD signal quality is a paramount concern and we will balance our resources accordingly."

.

:haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha :haha

 

[FlyingJ]

OK Madtown...even a D* Fanboy like me can admit it is 21 smiley face funny but not any funnier than your tag line about the Pack:yikes

 

[vurbano]

This is a real let down. They will have the capacity to fix it but still will not even admit that there is a problem. And I was ridiculed for saying that they never promised a better picture after the new sats went up?

 

[boston area dtv]

Lets wait and see. Just because they dont admit it doesnt mean it wont be better.

They are a business. They are not going to come out and say our product sucks.

For those who think they should come out and say our product sucks I think you need to head to the ER because you obviously bumped your head.

Dont make me pull out the thread that states that D*s PQ kicked Cables butt in a NATIONWIDE SURVEY!!! Do you really need any more proof than that?

 

[JimK2]

DTV will be using the new generation mpeg4 encoders too, just like DISH

DIRECTV will deploy the first of 26 MPEG-4 AVC HD enabled transponders this summer. The system will use TANDBERG’s EN5990 real-time HD encoder for MPEG-4 AVC and its 1+1 HD multiplexing system. 26 MPEG-4 AVC HD enabled transponders times 6 per equals 156 HD channels.


http://broadcastengineering.com/news/directv-ttv-avc-20050221/

 

[lou_do]

90% of PQ, is the quality of the TV you are viewing the program on. I have 4 HDTVs and two are better sets and the other two are el cheapo sets and you see the difference in the PQ between them, on the same channel.

 

[Jimbo]

99 % of the general public has NO IDEA what D* has done or is about to do.
Without being on a Sat board finding out about bit rates and what they could be is way above the normal sub.

Most people are happy with more channels (HD) to come.

The Quantity over Quality is not true, due to the fact that up till now, they have (and still do) have very few channels in HD.

They said nothing will change in transmission, but as mentioned previously, they don't have to have a press release to improve the signal, thus admitting a sub standard signal, they should be able to do this behind the scenes (if they decide to, and I hope they do.)

I too would like to see full bandwith sent out properly and a great picture on ALL the HD channels and they should also be able to clean up the SD signal as well, if they chose to.

Jimbo

 

[vurbano]

90% of PQ, is the quality of the TV you are viewing the program on. I have 4 HDTVs and two are better sets and the other two are el cheapo sets and you see the difference in the PQ between them, on the same channel.

I disagree. I have a 1080i 47" RPTV HDTV that Ive had for several years. I could see what happened to D* HD PQ the year they first started offering some of ST in HD and then a big drop when they increased them the next year. I now have a 56" Sammy HLS5687W DLP 1080p set, a great TV. I can still see the probems. IMO on a good HDTV you can see the flaws even more so. I would hate to be watching D* on a properly calibrated 100" projection system, The HD would be unwatchable. On this issue you have got the facts completely backwards. The sad facts are that if you want a watchable HD picture from D* you need to go get yourself an EDTV Plasma.

My hope for D* is that the people in the interviews are just technically incompetent and don't know any better. Theres a boat load of evidence to support that assumption. Or they have been directed to spew a standard response not admitting to PQ problems. Hopefully the engineers behind the scenes will increase the PQ.