Posted on 07/29/2008 5:07:39 PM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
Washington, D.C. (July 28, 2008) -- DIRECTV today said it will offer local high-def channels in 121 cities by year's end with the addition of 44 new markets.
The rollout of the 44 new cities will begin in August and continue through the end of the year, the company said. DIRECTV added that the 121 markets will represent 88 percent of U.S. TV households.
The satcaster also said it would deliver HD programming from the primary broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- where available and authorized to customers who subscribe to any Total Choice programming package that offers local channels.
Satellite and cable TV services sometimes do not offer all major broadcast networks in local high-def due to carriage disputes with the local affiliates.
The new markets to be added this year include: Augusta, Ga. Harrisonburg, Va. Bangor, Maine La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis. Baton Rouge, La. Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas Lincoln-Hastings, Neb. Boise, Idaho Macon, Ga. Burlington, Vt.-Plattsburgh, N.Y. Mobile AL-Pensacola, Fla. Butte-Bozeman, Mont. Myrtle Beach-Florence, S.C. Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, Ill. Norfolk-Newport News, Va. Charleston, S.C. Palm Springs, Calif. Chattanooga, Tenn. Peoria-Bloomington, Ill. Colorado Springs-Pueblo, Colo. Richmond-Petersburg, Va. Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo. Rockford, Ill. Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island, Ill. Rochester, N.Y. Moline, Ill. Dayton, Ohio Savannah, Ga. Des Moines-Ames, Iowa Sioux Falls, S.D. Dothan, Ala. South Bend-Elkhart, Ind. El Paso, Texas Springfield-Holyoke, Mass. Evansville, Ind. Syracuse, N.Y. Fort Smith, Ark. Tallahassee, Fla. Fort Wayne, Ind. Toledo, Ohio Greenville-New Bern-Washington, N.C. Traverse City-Cadillac, Mich. Harlingen-Brownsville, Texas Youngstown, Ohio
DIRECTV also said today that it will launch more than 30 new High-Definition channels, beginning August 14, bringing its overall total to 130.
However, 23 of the new channels will be regional sports networks.
DIRECTV said the new HD channels that will launch next month are: Showtime Extreme HD, Showtime Showcase HD, Planet Green HD, ABC Family HD, additional DIRECTV HD PPV channels and an additional 23 Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) in HD 24 hours a day.
DIRECTV launched a new satellite in March (DIRECTV 11) that will enable the expansion. The satcaster says the new satellite -- and an additional one that will be launched next year -- will give it capacity for 200 national HD channels.
The satcaster did not say if the DIRECTV 11 satellite will permit it to offer more national high-def channels this fall.
The pinged subjects will be those of HDTV technology, satellite/cable HD, OTA (over the air with various roof top and indoor antennas) HD reception. Broadcast specials, Blu-ray/HD-DVD, and any and all subjects relating to HDTV.
Las Vegas Dave
The current HD bird is behind a tree, so I can’t get HD. I also lose service during rain and snow.
What will we watch? It’s all infomertials as it is.
I live in San Diego, when the temp drops below 60 or above 82 I get a little static.
Yep, probably once or twice a year??
Let me know what you think of it. I have been waiting for it for a while. I am stuck with Time Warner cable. Big tree behind my house which I believe would block Directv's signal.
Same problem here, so I'm going to dig a hole and put a post in the ground on the other side of the tree.
Mounting the dish on the ground also makes it easy to get rid of snow and ice that interfere with reception. Just pour a pitcher of warm water on the dish to melt off the ice.
Everything I've heard and read about it says that it's outstanding.Consumer Reports says that their PQ beats that of all the major cable companies and I just read something on "avsforum.com" from a guy in a town near me (eastern Mass) that says that FIOS PQ on SD channels equals Comcast's HD and their HD blows Comcast's away.
How do you know when it’s coming to your area? I have no idea why it’s not at my place yet.
I’m told that the new bigger dishes really reduce rainstorm dropouts. That said, I’d probably go FIOS if it were available here, mainly for the Internet speeds. Uverse is coming, but I’m not going to be an early adopter there. Verizon seems to have worked through any early issues and really has a good system going. On the other hand, AT&T seems still very much in the “you’re a pioneer” stage with Uverse.
If you're in a condo/apartment complex you'll know when the condo association/owner says "get ready to have your unit pre-wired for FIOS".The units in my complex were pre-wired (by Verizon) earlier this year and it looks like they just finished wiring the telephone poles near us just the other day.If you're in an area of single family homes,look for Verizon trucks bearing huge spools of wire.Those spools will either mean that there's a major repair project in your area or that you're being wired for FIOS.
I have no idea why it’s not at my place yet.
I think Verizon is concentrating on more heavily populated and more "prosperous" areas first.So,for example,the suburbs of Boston,NYC,Chicago,San Francisco,etc are likely to get it before,say,Pocatello Idaho does.(no offense meant to Idaho).
I lived in Montana for 5 years and never had a problem with snow or ice on my DirecTV dishes. Even when we had 30 inches of snow in 24 hours, I had clear reception.
Somewhat better. We still lose signal when a large thunderstorm cell blows through south of us.
"It's raining in Harnett County", is a euphemism in our house for a crappy picture.
But I am in one of the densest and wealthiest communities (Arlington VA) and there are people within block of my hizzy that have it - but their online checking system keeps saying I don't. And I'm .
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