Robert/Longhorn,
Have you heard if and when the upgrades will start assuming everything goes ok with Spaceway 1?
Have you heard if and when the upgrades will start assuming everything goes ok with Spaceway 1?
Sinclair inks deal with D*:
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Carter said:
Once the first spaceway sat gets in orbit and checks out find which should be the first week of May they will start getting customers upgraded within the first 12 markets but the upgrades might not actually start until June.
FWIW,
this email i got from
Bob Marsocci
Vice President, Communications
DIRECTV, Inc.
As for the MPEG-4 receivers, we expect that they will be available (in
markets where we will first offer local HD channel) beginning in the
third quarter.
this email i got from
Bob Marsocci
Vice President, Communications
DIRECTV, Inc.
As for the MPEG-4 receivers, we expect that they will be available (in
markets where we will first offer local HD channel) beginning in the
third quarter.
hdtvtechno said:
So Spaceway 1 launches this month and it won't be until the end of September before they start HD LIL? Wonder why the LOOOOONG delay since it doesn't take that long to position and test a new satellite?
hdtvtechno said:Umm, 3rd Quarter begins June 1st
not September
Maybe my math is very bad but that should be July 1st not June 1st and that is about right from what my contacts have said. They will be upgrading customers dishes first and once that is done they will mail out new HD boxes for customers within those twelve markets.
hdtvtechno said:Umm, 3rd Quarter begins June 1st
not September
DOH, my bad, brain was not functioning yesterday it appears. Maybe I'm just used to always having to wait many months for something to happen in the world of HD?
LonghornXP said:
Mark me down as confused a bit. I'm in the top market, but I was under the impression that NY and LA do *not* go anytime soon, due to LIL being up already. True?
I'm a new member so forgive me if this has been answered before. I have 2 Samsung SIR-TS160 HD receivers. Will D* replace both of them?
Another question. I currently have the 18X20 multi-switch dish and an old 18 round single lnb dish that I've had since I got D* in 1995. I use these dishes for receivers in my living room, den, and 3 bedrooms. My wife really wants to get a DVR. I would get just a regular SD DVR since I don't want to pay $1000 for an HD DVR. In order to get a DVR and use it to its fullest capabilities I would need to replace my old single lnb dish with a new multi-switch 18x20 dish so I can get the sixth sat input needed to have 2 inputs for the DVR. If I had 2 multi-switch dishes would D* replace both of them?
uncrules said:
Yes they will free of charge but you most likely will have to agree to another year of any total choice package to get the dish installed free.
hancox said:
Well even customers in both NY and LA will need a new dish eventually to get those feeds in MPEG4 but I'm pretty sure that the LA and NY UPN and WB feeds will be on the Spaceway sats so you would need both the dish and new hardware. Don't forget about new national HD channels as well. Now most of these things won't happen until months later but they still need NY and LA customers upgraded.
uncrules said:
I would wait for these reasons below.
Firstly you will need a new dish that isn't out yet that would be a 5LNB dish.
Secondly you will have options for an HD DVR and multiroom HD DVR that would be rental options with no upfront cost.
In case you haven't heard yet here are the features of the multiroom HD DVR.
It will consits of one server and upto three client boxes which would total 4 rooms max. What we don't know now is if client boxes can pause live TV but the latest info I have is that it might be there and if not they can add it via a software update.
This unit will have 4 DirecTV tuners that work with both SD and HD content in both MPEG2 and MPEG4. The box also has two fifth generation LG OTA ATSC tuners. Now of these 6 total tuners only four of them can be used at the sametime. That means you can record four live shows at the sametime of any content the box can tune it.
The unit will have either a 350 or 400GB hard drive. Now what isn't known yet is if the software will be as good as Tivos because it won't be using Tivo software but it will match all Tivo features but how well it does them is yet to be seen. Now the networking side is provided by Ucentric.
Now with this system all rooms can both schedule and playback any recording on the server. They will indeed have HD client boxes so all rooms will be HD ready without extra rental costs. Also this system will allow customers with a broadband network to stream music, videos and pictures from their computers over their network. I'm also hearing that the phone call requirement might be waved for customers that can connect to their home network and allow the box to access an internet connection. Also this system will also allow internet remote scheduling so a customer can log into their D* account and view a program guide and schedule a recording on the server remotely but again for this to work the server has to be connected to a broadband internet connection at all times.
I hope this helps you in making an informed choice but these are things you should keep in mind before spending money.
Edit...Also keep in mind that if you need more rooms that you can add just one more server which would give you a total of 8 rooms and would allow 8 live shows to be recorded at the sametime. Everything would appear as one single big server with seven extra rooms connected to it so it would be very easy. But besides that D* will not allow more than two servers to be used on a single account.
LonghornXP said:
Longhorn, is this a move away from how D* operates today with its more high-end receivers for customers? Because if I go to D* today I have to pretty much either buy the basic Tivo for $49 after rebate, or buy the HD-Dvr for around $850. Meaning that with the release of this media center platform, they will be leasing the equipment (high-end included) instead of us having to buy it upfront?
My only concern is when I get a HDTV, it will be very hard to not have a TiVo. So I'm waiting to see if Directv will have a HD DVR with TiVo that works with MPEG-4 before I buy one.
LonghornXP,
Thanks for the "inside info".
Back in February, there were a couple of long threads at dbstalk and avsforums about a trade-in program for existing tivo owners. The trade-in allowances that were being discussed were pretty generous. For example, one HMC for a SD Tivo, etc.
Any ideas what D* might do for people that prefer to own a system rather than lease? Do you think the trade-in program is legitimate?
Thanks for the "inside info".
Back in February, there were a couple of long threads at dbstalk and avsforums about a trade-in program for existing tivo owners. The trade-in allowances that were being discussed were pretty generous. For example, one HMC for a SD Tivo, etc.
Any ideas what D* might do for people that prefer to own a system rather than lease? Do you think the trade-in program is legitimate?
jbcheshire said:
Only the coming HD DVR and multiroom HD DVR will be offered as a rental option. The basic coming HD box could be offered as a rental but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Besides that all other non HDTV related products such as SD DVRs and standard boxes will cost upfront money because they won't be rented. But that won't be much of a problem because current D* DVRs cost less than 100 bucks while basic boxes are free with one year agreement.
Also this is a major shift from what D* has done in the past. Also customers have have both rental and paid products on their accounts if they want.
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