new satellite service to offer 1080p DD7.1

[TheForce]

Not sure anyone posted this:

If so, please remove this thread:

Noted by: Steven Kippel on 16 Nov 2007 on wesleytech.com
New satellite service provides 1080p direct to your home


Currently the best picture you can receive over cable or satellite (including FiOS) is 1080i with 5.1 Dolby audio. Things are about to change.

XStreamHD Logo

XStream HD is a new company out of Virginia set to bring 1080p with 7.1 audio direct to your home. How do they do this? They have a new vision of not just providing content but also distributing it throughout your home. A proprietary media server will receive content from geosynchronous satellites and then deliver it to receivers in multiple locations.

This sounds like an exciting new technology. The company is claiming the 7.1 audio will be “uncompressed.” Finally a service provider who focuses on quality!

The product will be premiered at CES 2008. I hope it lives up to the hype and offers a wide variety of content. The last time we had a satellite provider offering high-quality HD content it tanked (Voom).

 

[Van]

That company doesnt seem to have a website yet, doing a google brought up a porn site and a search engine and something in a baltic language.

 

[Van]

Found it, google changed it to xstreamsat,

XStream HD - Wireless Ventures

 

[Ilya]

This is no VOOM. XStreamHD is going to be just a VOD service: HD movie rental over satellite. No live TV...
You will pay a monthly subscription fee (around $10-15/month) plus a rental fee for each movie.
Still, it might be interesting, depending on movie selection, price and picture quality.

 

[charper1]

Another Story

"The service uses existing geosynchronous satellites to move content to an antenna at your home and then into a proprietary media server for distribution throughout the premises."



I see some high monthly costs. After reading some of their mgmt bios, I can also see this as a play to setup a company, enroll a set target of subs and then position themselves to be a buyout target to cash in. IMHO. BUT its a nice idea if it really flys and they can find enough content to keep people happy; as those subs will also need to maintain their current DBS or cable to fill all the programming gaps this XstreamHD will have for a long while.

 

[tigerfan33]

No 1080p content out there except for blu ray and hd dvd. With the limitation of bandwith to get 1080i up, will be a while before providers can even think about a 1080p service for network and other hd channels.

 

[John Kotches]

Dolby Digital is limited to 5.1 channels. It would have to be Dolby Digital Plus to deliver 7.1.

Cheers,

 

[mlb]

I'm guessing this VOD service will download before playing... thus, the bandwidth issue won't be as important as it won't be viewed on the fly.

 

[Hall]

According to the salesman at Sears, Time Warner, Dish, and DirecTV all offer 1080p. "All you have to do is call them to upgrade your box." The guy he was talking to even insisted that it was 1080i only but the guy told him no, 1080p. I even shook my head when the salesman was saying this wondering if he'd get the hint but he was in too far at that point.

 

[tigerfan33]

According to the salesman at Sears, Time Warner, Dish, and DirecTV all offer 1080p. "All you have to do is call them to upgrade your box." The guy he was talking to even insisted that it was 1080i only but the guy told him no, 1080p. I even shook my head when the salesman was saying this wondering if he'd get the hint but he was in too far at that point.

I tell you what. If any of you need a good laugh sometime, just go to a retail store that sells hdtvs and you can listen to some good storys. I would like to see where some of thses guys learn some of the stuff they are saying. I had a salesmen at Sears tell me that if you have Dish you do not need a box. They will come out and put a cable card in your tv. I never said that I had a hdtv with a cablecard slot.

 

[Van]

Could have sworn that when I did a direct connect to my tv with the cable service that one of the channels showed as 1080p, I'll have to go back and check that out.

 

[long_time_DNC]

Years ago, I was in a Silo store (is that chain even around anymore) and heard a salesman hocking a CD player to some guy. The salesman had a CD with a wedge cut out of it about half an inch in from the edge and was telling the customer that "this CD player is so good with it's data correction technology that it recreates the music on the missing part of the disc!" and the customer was all impressed and practically drooling over the player. I interrupted and told the guy that the data is written from the inside to the outer edge of the disc and that the inner portion of the disc that was playing was entirely intact. The customer looked angrily at the salesman and left the store. The salesman looked angrily at me and I just shrugged and said "hey, I'm not the one lying to people", and left.

 

[goaliebob99]

Hey i tryed contacting these guys to get more info, but there email seems to not be working, so I emailed the CMO. Hope they dont mind

 

[Hall]

Van, your TV may be upconverting it to 1080p, the set's native resolution. No one, I repeat, no one transmits or broadcasts 1080p.

 

[navychop]

And how much source material is available in 7.1? Not much.

 

[Van]

Yea I think the only source that I know of was one of the recent star wars flops.

 

[TheForce]

Obviously, by the jibber here no one has heard of it.

Check out these links:

XStream HD - Wireless Ventures

XStream HD - Wireless Ventures

The Satguys press corps should be on top of this.


Address:

7900-B Westpark Dr, Suite 200T
McLean, VA 22102

703.852.1300 Main
703.852.1301 Fax
General:

For general information about XstreamHD or to request investment literature, please write us at inquire@XstreamHD.com.
Careers:

For information regarding career opportunities or to apply for a position, submit a letter of introduction along with a resume to careers@XstreamHD.com.

__________________________________________________

I've put this on my agenda to visit at CES. I welcome any and all innovations and alternatives to the traditional brick and morter rental houses. The concept is not new but the idea with 1080p is.

 

[Poke]

Well 1st not that much of a difference between 1080i and 1080p some but not allot. Also they can they can put things in 7.1 and might send things in 1080p. But until the networks like USA Network and other start sending things or shooting things in 1080p it will not be true 1080p. Most networks only do 720p a few do things or broadcast in 1080i very little so it will be awhile before they all do 1080p. I'm sure that Dish and Direct and other cable companies will have HD Receivers that will support the 1080p format. But right now National Networks are not broadcasting anything in 1080p. So for them to advertise this to me this is something that everyone will be doing at some point in time.


Right now Blu-Ray and HD DVD do 1080p and TrueHD 7.1 but on the TV side of things most National Networks are just trying to get a HD Version of their channel up and running 1st. If they get that up thats a big plus and getting in 720p or 1080i is good as well. As far as getting on 1080p that is something that I see Networks trying to do and broadcasting their Audio in TrueHD 7.1 but it will take sometime. Overall this is something everyone will be doing not just this company just like everyone is making the switch to MPEG4. Dish and others will most likely support 1080p so forth but right now no need to due to the Networks are not near doing it them selfs. Which it starts with them on getting them to broadcast in 1080p and push out Audio in TrueHD 7.1. Right now it will be 5.1 and 720p and the few that do 1080i which is good for now. I'm just glad to see more Networks to get their HD Version of their channel up that is the 1st major step. After that everything else will come like 7.1 so forth.

 

[vegassatellite]

I just hope they are smart enough to pay well enough to attract good technicians if the thing needs pro install. This thing will be practically worthless if its being put in by some $35 an install tech.

 

[Grandpa J]

If its only VOD then wouldn't they be just downloading from the SAT to your boes) BR/HD DVDs, as it was stated there would no "live" transmissions. It seems they are trying to be the SAT version of Blockbuster or Netflix handling only 1080p - 7.1 BR/HD DVDs. They must feel that there are enough 1080p sets and BR/HD DVD customers to try this. Again if this is their plan, then how the broadcast stations transmit would not matter when using their service.