charper1 said:
I tend to agree w/ you on this, but I'm sure that Branson would never have agreed to anything in SD. He's too 'bleeding edge' for that.
Rumor - Free Hd Equipment From Direct?
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I tend to agree w/ you on this, but I'm sure that Branson would never have agreed to anything in SD. He's too 'bleeding edge' for that.
So, let's say there's someone who's on the fence to dump cable and go DBS...like, say, me...and this person is debating between the following:
1. Tell cable to {bleep} off tomorrow, call D* to come install a SD DVR (net cost $50) and another non-HD receiver, and then wait till HD/MPEG-4 equipment comes out before deciding what HD option to slap on my HDTV (plasma);
2. Wait till Aug 1, then tell cable to {bleep} off, call D* to come install a SD DVR (net cost, expected to be $0) and another non-HD receiver, and then wait till HD/MPEG-4 equipment comes out before deciding what HD option to slap on my HDTV;
3. Wait till Aug 1, tell cable to {bleep} off, then call D* to come install an HD DVR (assuming net cost drops below $500) and another non-HD receiver, and then pray D* will swap out for MPEG-4 HD DVR at some point in the (not too distant) future; or
4. Suck it up with cable and wait till this mess settles out.
...it seems like there may not be a big advantage to waiting until Aug to buy a simple DVR + 1 system beyond saving $50. Does anyone have an idea whether being a D* customer before Aug. 1 would serious hinder efforts to upgrade to HD equipment later (either before or after MPEG-4 conversion)? Would D* swap out (preferably for free
) a plain-old round dish with a 5-LNB one if I upgrade to HD after MPEG-4 is out?
I read the whole thread (23 pages is impressive) and after being really excited at first, I'm now feeling like it may not be that big a deal. Thoughts?
1. Tell cable to {bleep} off tomorrow, call D* to come install a SD DVR (net cost $50) and another non-HD receiver, and then wait till HD/MPEG-4 equipment comes out before deciding what HD option to slap on my HDTV (plasma);
2. Wait till Aug 1, then tell cable to {bleep} off, call D* to come install a SD DVR (net cost, expected to be $0) and another non-HD receiver, and then wait till HD/MPEG-4 equipment comes out before deciding what HD option to slap on my HDTV;
3. Wait till Aug 1, tell cable to {bleep} off, then call D* to come install an HD DVR (assuming net cost drops below $500) and another non-HD receiver, and then pray D* will swap out for MPEG-4 HD DVR at some point in the (not too distant) future; or
4. Suck it up with cable and wait till this mess settles out.
...it seems like there may not be a big advantage to waiting until Aug to buy a simple DVR + 1 system beyond saving $50. Does anyone have an idea whether being a D* customer before Aug. 1 would serious hinder efforts to upgrade to HD equipment later (either before or after MPEG-4 conversion)? Would D* swap out (preferably for free
) a plain-old round dish with a 5-LNB one if I upgrade to HD after MPEG-4 is out?I read the whole thread (23 pages is impressive) and after being really excited at first, I'm now feeling like it may not be that big a deal. Thoughts?
I'm in the same boat. I'd like to switch to D* from cable too. I'm picking option 4. Yeah, if you read from page one then you can get jazzed up about things. But by page 18 or so, it sort of gets to the big deal deal point. If you can wait, I don't think it would hurt to wait. The only advantage of doing something by Aug. 1st is you can avoid the 2 year commitment.
Since you currently don't have any DBS hardware I'd go with #4 and wait to see what happens. Since there's been no announcements made to the public on what will happen with and what it will cost why chance it. If you've lasted this long wait a bit longer. Can you get a HD DVR from your cable company? The 6412 that Comcast uses sure isn't a HR10-250 but it does the job and no large up front expense or commitment.
I am a huge proponent of D*, especially over cable ... but how I do loath a commitment. I would do it before the cutoff, then if you are stuck, at least it will be half as long. Which also raises an interesting question of how long until cable comes with a commitment for their high end goodies?
Samuraisan said:So, let's say there's someone who's on the fence to dump cable and go DBS...like, say, me...and this person is debating between the following:
1. Tell cable to {bleep} off tomorrow, call D* to come install a SD DVR (net cost $50) and another non-HD receiver, and then wait till HD/MPEG-4 equipment comes out before deciding what HD option to slap on my HDTV (plasma);
2. Wait till Aug 1, then tell cable to {bleep} off, call D* to come install a SD DVR (net cost, expected to be $0) and another non-HD receiver, and then wait till HD/MPEG-4 equipment comes out before deciding what HD option to slap on my HDTV;
3. Wait till Aug 1, tell cable to {bleep} off, then call D* to come install
an HD DVR (assuming net cost drops below $500) and another non-HD receiver, and then pray D* will swap out for MPEG-4 HD DVR at some point in the (not too distant) future; or
4. Suck it up with cable and wait till this mess settles out.
...it seems like there may not be a big advantage to waiting until Aug to buy a simple DVR + 1 system beyond saving $50. Does anyone have an idea whether being a D* customer before Aug. 1 would serious hinder efforts to upgrade to HD equipment later (either before or after MPEG-4 conversion)? Would D* swap out (preferably for free
I read the whole thread (23 pages is impressive) and after being really excited at first, I'm now feeling like it may not be that big a deal. Thoughts?
I have an option I may explore. Imay just take down myHD receiver and put up a regular DTV receiver like i had before and wait until the dust settles and thenmake a choice. At least iwill be able to save alittle cash and have a HD ready tv for when things may settle down. Just my thoughts. I just tried comcrap they had a special I was trying not bad but i alwasys prefer D*
Some new info from Robert at tivocommunity.com from yesterday:
"....A soft rollout of MPEG-4 equipment will be upgraded in late 2005, however, the HMC and MPEG-4 HD DVR will not likely be available until late December 2005 or January 2006. So your dish and any HD STB's you may have will be upgraded but you will have to wait for the new HD DVR a short while....
-Robert"
Sounds doubtful any major changes are on the way on the HD front. I'm still hoping for a sub $500 HD-DVR this year.
"....A soft rollout of MPEG-4 equipment will be upgraded in late 2005, however, the HMC and MPEG-4 HD DVR will not likely be available until late December 2005 or January 2006. So your dish and any HD STB's you may have will be upgraded but you will have to wait for the new HD DVR a short while....
-Robert"
Sounds doubtful any major changes are on the way on the HD front. I'm still hoping for a sub $500 HD-DVR this year.
With the rumors about the new HD equipment would you wait till august 1st to see what the new promotion is anyways or would you just go ahead and convert to DTv. I had DTV before went to comcast, not to happy with comcast, plus I am a big NFL fan. I just wish those locals were in HD with DTV.
I'm ready to go ahead and subscribe to MLB extra innings since they are broadcasting some games in HD now. I would wait, if I thought I could get one of the new MPEG-4 boxes completely free, and needed it for NFL SuperFan, but it's not looking like those signals are going to be used for NFL SuperFan as previously rumored, nor is it sure the boxes will be completely free. With MPEG-2, I have a lot more options for reciever, and can get a proven box like LG/Hughes/Sony for a couple hundred bucks, with a strong likelihood of getting a free MPEG-4 box when eventually required. Being in area ~51, I probably won't be eligible for quite a while unless the rumors are true about SuperFan, but that is looking less and less likely.
20_15 said:
Let me first preface this by saying that MLB Extra Innings is great in HD, but the only game in HD last night was my Cubbies at Atlanta which happened to be on ESPN HD as well. Frustrating!!
Yes this is correct, NFL will indeed ONLY be in MPEG2 this year.
Also this rumor is still VERY valid, however it will not happen on August 1st. The rumor I am hearing is that DirecTV wants to have both satellites in the air and operational before making any announcements like this.
Can't say I blame them, it's always good to have ones ducks all lined up in a row.
Also this rumor is still VERY valid, however it will not happen on August 1st. The rumor I am hearing is that DirecTV wants to have both satellites in the air and operational before making any announcements like this.
Can't say I blame them, it's always good to have ones ducks all lined up in a row.
Yep, its a damned if they do, damned if they don't proposition. Never gonna have everyone satisfied all the time. Heck some people are never satisfied.
It seems those people are constantly posting here.... But I understand the frustration... Its like we are constantly stuck on Christmas Eve.... We know the cool stuff is going to be under the tree, but the damn day never changes...
As I have read it ALL of the NFL ST (SD & HD) will be MPEG2 this year. Correct me if I am wrong.
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