Rumor!!!(Sudden shift of DirecTV HD Plans for the Worst)
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Well for those that live areas with a lot of non-O&O stations, the lack of adding more, non-local HD channels, is way dissapointing. How much bandwidth could 3-4 movie HD channels add? I mean Max, Starz and TMC HD channels would make me happy. Plus ESPN 2. Four friggin channels. Is that really too much for D* to add?
Gator5000e said:
Well, SkyReport today mentioned DirecTV using SpaceWay 1 & 2 for HD locals and HD national channels. It will be interesting to see what happens... I sure would enjoy Starz HD...
~Alan
I for one am excited about the Locals in HD! Most sports are on the "big 4" networks anyway. As long as they don't over compress them so that they can fit some stinking HD shopping channel in or something of the sort! I'd also love to see more national channels in HD, but if I personally had to choose, I'd take the locals!
If D* gets local channels I might consider switching from Voom. The only problem we have with Voom is the lack of locals in our area. They are bringing out a larger antenna to try and fix the problem. But D* just doesn't seem to offer much more than what we get from our current package. 25 HD channels for the price of D*s 6 HD channels is just a better deal. Plus who wants to buy $300 HD equipment that locks you into being a customer. Espwcially when we want Tivo and aren't ready to pay $1000 for an HD Tivo box. Am I missing something here? What does D* offer that is so much better?
Wiggin78 said:
The HDTiVo you don't want to buy. HD is a high end product. Low cost shouldn't even be an issue. If you want HD you need an HD TV ($1,000+), a 5.1 stereo ($500+), decent speakers/sub ($500+) and the STB of your choice. Not exactly a cost effective hobby just yet.
"25 HD channels for the price of D*s 6 HD channels is just a better deal. "
Well, maybe. Having been a Voom costumer at one point, most of the HD channels are good for a time, but quickly become re-runs and you might ask yourself why you are paying over $100/Month for re-runs.
The lack of SD channels on Voom pushed me to Direct. Keep that in mind also.
Well, maybe. Having been a Voom costumer at one point, most of the HD channels are good for a time, but quickly become re-runs and you might ask yourself why you are paying over $100/Month for re-runs.
The lack of SD channels on Voom pushed me to Direct. Keep that in mind also.
The latest rumors making the rounds were EPSN2-HD this week, TNT-HD in mid-January, Starz-HD in March; then nothing more till SpaceWay is operational. It didn't seem like a terribly bad rumor, though I could do without more sports channels, personally. 
Considering many of the HD nationals are still upconverting material on occasion, it's a shame that they're not able to stop that practice; transmit 480p when SD material is on the air and 1080i/720p only when true HD material is aired; and allow for some more flexibility in how channels are mapped so things can be shifted around more readily to take advantage of the lack of 24-hour true HD material on these channels right now.
Considering many of the HD nationals are still upconverting material on occasion, it's a shame that they're not able to stop that practice; transmit 480p when SD material is on the air and 1080i/720p only when true HD material is aired; and allow for some more flexibility in how channels are mapped so things can be shifted around more readily to take advantage of the lack of 24-hour true HD material on these channels right now.
dswallow said:The latest rumors making the rounds were EPSN2-HD this week, TNT-HD in mid-January, Starz-HD in March; then nothing more till SpaceWay is operational. It didn't seem like a terribly bad rumor, though I could do without more sports channels, personally.
Are you talking about no more till the 3rd and 4th SpaceWay's are up or the first two??
Hobby? - over 18 Million folks own HD sets...its a little past the hobby stage....dturturro said:
High end - you can get good equipment for a fraction of that car sitting in your driveway...but that's OK, some folks still like Black & White TV too.
Yeah, there will be some cheapo folks who won't buy HD stuff until they see it at Walmart or KMart or something (guess what, they carry it now too).
The reality is that its already a major and quickly-growing standard for TV that will be mainstream within the next year or so. For those of us who've had it for a year or longer, viewing entertainment without HDTV would be quite the pits. Feel free to join us at any time.
I don't really see what the big deal is. DirecTV has licenses for all the Ka frequencies at 99°, 101°, and 103°. Whether the utilize those with one or two satellits per slot sholdn't be a big deal. Sounds to me like they simply filed for approval to operate DirecTV-10 & 11 under the wrong type of application (replacement instead of co-location). I would think once they filed it properly, it should be approved. Both DirecTV and Dish operate multiple satellites in one slot for Ku, I don't see why this wold be an issue with Ka, as long as they are only using the frequencies they've been allowed.Alan Gordon said:
I'd originally expected SpaceWay to be entirely LIL, however I'm pretty sure somewhere someone from DirecTV was quoted as saying otherwise, and they were definitely referring to SpaceWay 1 & 2. If I come across it again I'll post it; sometimes I think I shouldbe saving every quote I ever see on the subject since they seem to be hard to find when you actually go looking for them.rad said:
dswallow said:I'd originally expected SpaceWay to be entirely LIL, however I'm pretty sure somewhere someone from DirecTV was quoted as saying otherwise, and they were definitely referring to SpaceWay 1 & 2. If I come across it again I'll post it; sometimes I think I shouldbe saving every quote I ever see on the subject since they seem to be hard to find when you actually go looking for them.
Doug, thanks for the response. I hope you're right with 1&2, if we need to wait until 3&4 I will NOT he a happy camper.
dswallow said:The latest rumors making the rounds were EPSN2-HD this week, TNT-HD in mid-January, Starz-HD in March; then nothing more till SpaceWay is operational. It didn't seem like a terribly bad rumor, though I could do without more sports channels, personally.
Considering many of the HD nationals are still upconverting material on occasion, it's a shame that they're not able to stop that practice; transmit 480p when SD material is on the air and 1080i/720p only when true HD material is aired; and allow for some more flexibility in how channels are mapped so things can be shifted around more readily to take advantage of the lack of 24-hour true HD material on these channels right now.
As long as TNT-HD goes up before July, for NASCAR, I will be happy. Although I would like to see some NBA basketball in HD.
Well, in theory even if SpaceWay offered no national HD channels, DirecTV could free up all the space used for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX HD east & west since the O&O stations mostly exist in the top 30 markets anyway, which means there'd be no reason to continue offering the NY/LA stations to O&O viewers. Since LIL HD would be essentially spot beamed by SpaceWay, they still could cover DNS-qualified customers with an HD network channel, just possibly from a market other than NY/LA, so there's probably no reason to keep those on national transponders. It would mean equipping all those people with Ka-band capable dishes, of course.rad said:
That'd then leave room for 8 other HD national channels, all accessible with the current dishes.
So one way or another there'd be room for more national HD channels; maybe not immediately when the SpaceWay satellites go operational, because of the satellite dish changes, but soon thereafter.
dturturro said:
Must be nice to have a wife that doesn't draw the line somewhere. Mine was quite understanding about the new D* HD receiver. DVD player, amp, and speakers I needed to go with the new TV, but drew the line at the TiVo that cost a few hundred bucks less than the TV itself.
pradike said:The reality is that its already a major and quickly-growing standard for TV that will be mainstream within the next year or so. For those of us who've had it for a year or longer, viewing entertainment without HDTV would be quite the pits. Feel free to join us at any time.
I wish this were true. I still run into people that say "is it really that much better" when I talk to them about HD! It's all I can do to keep from gauging out they're eyes
They just don't get that this is as big an improvement as color was to B&W!- Status
