"Unrequited" uplinks (e.g. MSG-HD, InHd) have been going on since time immemorial: no reason to think any particular ones will ever go live (although of course being uplinked is a necessary condition to being made available).
Also, why does Tricia Helfer's appearance mean that SciFi-HD will go live? SciFi is available now on DN, just in SD.
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear about what I meant by "albatross around DN's neck". I simply meant that now that those two channels (SciFi/USA-HD) have been uplinked there is a perceived obligation on the part of DN to have them go live. Something they really didn't need at this point.
What's really going on? DN is negotiating, testing, seeing what it might be able to take on as national HD. There's no reason to think they're in any rush to bring us new channels: they have until the end of the year.