DIRECTV to Deliver Local HD Programming in 67 Markets by Year End

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There has been one change in the list of cities in the last group back in Oct because some were troublesome contracts and then this one push back in date; mostly due to the sale of, changing ownership of, DirecTV. This is in no way unforeseen. And the only major time chages to this LIL HD rollout. It is no conspiracy or huge issue; just calm down and be patient.

And yes, you are 110% correct; do not put any faith in any date(s) you have read because there has been no official press on a date push back (although likely as explained above). There has been a supposed email reply to a subscriber or three that claims that one of the officers is posting some date or quarter of resumption. The best bet is to hold off and wait for a wide, public press announcement.
 
alspires1

I am one of the people on D. that have been "left out to dry" by D:(. I do have a DVR, would love to have a HD DVR. I'm in a area with one station that is in DMA 189. My station mgr. says that D. has been in talking with them about how they get get things arranged to allow the station to be put up on a "bird". :o
The station is digital, OTA. Out of all the "hooplah" of D. about the new "birds", no one is talking about them putting up some of the higher DMA's, ie: 189. Would anyone know if D. will expand into "hinterlands" of the DMA's with the new sats. due in 2007? I suspect from now on out, D. is going to concentrate on HD and are not too interested in the smaller markets.
Thanks for allowing me to "vent".:) alspires1, Ohio
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talked to a great rep last night. he is unsure about buffalo, ny and says he is surprised it isnt up yet. gonna force update to get the OTA working today, at least that will help things for getting locals in hd.
 
Well, I'm in one of those 8 cities listed as getting it this year (Jacksonville). Sure quiet on that front........


I'm in the Jax-Brunswick area as well. I called DTV in December and asked about Local HD in our area and was told February...we'll see...
 
Just received an email from DTV:

"I'm happy to inform you that we are scheduled to offer High Definition Local channels in the Jacksonville FL area by Mid-Apr 2007.

As a reminder, to receive local DIRECTV HD programming, you will need an HD-ready television set, an MPEG-4 Capable DIRECTV HD or HD DVR Receiver and a 5-LNB DIRECTV Multi-Satellite Dish."


Wish it didn't say "scheduled"...but we'll have to wait and see. Seems to be what they're telling the other cities scheduled to go up with JAX...
 
Here are a couple of my recent replies from DirecTV regarding the next wave of HD locals:

Thanks for asking about HD programming. I know that HD programming is important to you and DIRECTV is committed to offering the best possible HD experience to you. Though currently we are not able to offer local channels in HD for the Buffalo, NY area (zip code 14120), we expect to carry this service in mid-April 2007.

I pushed to know what the reason for the delay was. It took me asking the same question and receiving the cookie cutter "mid-April 2007" response to get this:

Thanks for writing us back. I'm sorry for the frustration this issue may have caused. As indicated in the previous e-mail we sent you, satellite capacity doesn’t allow it today. We’re continuing to expand our HD capacity, serving more cities each year, so stick with us.

Thanks again for writing and stay tuned to our web site at directv.com/hd for the latest news about HD programming from DIRECTV.


Aren't no satellites going up until at least May and onward? I think DIRECTV had no intentions of actually providing HD locals to a large amount of the projected markets. I think DIRECTV may have baited customers in last year with their local HD projections and used the broadcast space for premium offerings.
 
ninsega said:
Aren't no satellites going up until at least May and onward? I think DIRECTV had no intentions of actually providing HD locals to a large amount of the projected markets. I think DIRECTV may have baited customers in last year with their local HD projections and used the broadcast space for premium offerings.
I'll take this one at a time...

Correct that there isn't another satellite launch until May.

I think DirecTV did have a plan to offer HD markets, but something happened that simply delayed it. For example, two things we do know are that there was an HD DVR receiver shortage, and there was also a late-2006 order for more MPEG4 encoders. I think the hardware and the technology that DirecTV wanted to use just wasn't there, and it did cause DirecTV to miss deadlines.

No, DirecTV did not use the broadcast space for premium offerings. The HD local additions are going on a spot-beam satellite. Therefore, the only thing that can be added to the Spaceway satellites are "regionalized programming", such as local channels and regional sports networks.

Something just "happened" that forced the published plan to be missed. It was missed once when DirecTV announced they'd provide 67 markets by year-end. It was missed again when DirecTV announced they'd provide 57 markets by year-end. No matter how you slice it, it was just missed.
 
Just received an email from DTV:

"I'm happy to inform you that we are scheduled to offer High Definition Local channels in the Jacksonville FL area by Mid-Apr 2007.

As a reminder, to receive local DIRECTV HD programming, you will need an HD-ready television set, an MPEG-4 Capable DIRECTV HD or HD DVR Receiver and a 5-LNB DIRECTV Multi-Satellite Dish."


Wish it didn't say "scheduled"...but we'll have to wait and see. Seems to be what they're telling the other cities scheduled to go up with JAX...


Thanks obeatty... maybe some light at end of tunnel. I get my hr20's on Mar 16th so I'll be ready
 
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