Posted on 10/15/2007 12:06:28 PM PDT by WackySam
Washington, D.C. (October 15, 2007) -- DIRECTV today added six new national High-Definition channels to its rapidly expanding lineup.
The new channels are: Fox Business Network (channel 359); HGTV HD (channel 229-1); FX HD (channel 248); Speed Network HD (channel 607); Fuel HD (channel 612) and The Cartoon Network (channel 296).
DIRECTV's launch today now gives the satcaster 47 national HD channels (51 if you include the four broadcast networks, available in most markets.) The company says it will offer 70 HD channels by month's end and up to 100 high-def channels by the end of the year.
DIRECTV today also added the following regional sports channels in high-def: FSN Southwest (channel 643); FSN West HD (channel 652); Fox Sports Prime Ticket HD (channel 653); and FSN Detroit HD (channel 636).
And, it added three channels in the 130s and three channels in the 140s for high-def PPV movies.
The Fox Business Network, which just launched this morning, was created by Fox to compete with business channels CNBC and Bloomberg News.
Unlike CNBC's new CNBC HD+, the high-def edition of Fox Business Network offers true HD images.
CNBC HD+ provides a standard-definition picture on three-quarters of the screen, with HD graphics on the right hand side of the screen.
Sweet! I’ll have to check those out when I get home.
Having a new stocks network come on the air is a great signal for a top in a market.
When the enormous lady sings...
bump
How much is DirecTV charging for HD per month?
they sure were true to their word about adding a bunch of HD this fall. Good work, Directv.
...na-na-na. :o)
I believe it's $9.99 to add HD versions of all channels you normally get on your package (minus Sunday Ticket NFL).
Still waiting for C-SPAN 3.
It’s a bit steep to get in. We had to purchase our HD-TIVO, and then pay lease fees on top of that! I think we pay either $5 or $10 per month for it.
Something to note — the quality of the “over the air” image (coming through your antenna) is better than the quality of the satellite image. That’s what I’ve found.
But through the satellite is still pretty darn good. :-)
9.95 month for the basic hd channels.
HD rocks.
But c’mon, the cartoon network ?
bttt
I’ve enjoyed my DirecTV subscription for the past ten years, but my one key peeve with them has been their longstanding refusal to add AmericanLifeTV (which shows a lot of vintage rerun fare, like “The FBI,” “Surfside Six,” and such). As for HD, I’m frankly in no rush.
I’m still waiting for the Local Channels we were promised back in December. Also, I’m not getting any of the new HD channels yet...DirecTV says they many not “work” until the end of the month.
I went HD about six months ago. It truly is amazing.
Sure wouldn’t fault you for doing whatever you want, but I think you’ll really enjoy HD when you do make the move.
If you’re a sports fan, the football coverage is simply amazing. Do you ever remember thinking, who go to a game when you can see the plays so well on the television? Wait until you catch a good HD broadcast of a game. I’m not a big football fan any longer, but I do tune in once in a while just to watch that fantastic video. It’s just outstanding.
Is anyone here actually receiving the new HD channels?
Not sure, but it’s nine months old.
We’re only getting the 10 HD channels...we get a “771” message on the other HD channels, which show up on my menu.
That’s for an HD DVR? Whew!
BTW, Time Warner carries Fox Business as well. But it available only to those who receive Digital transmission. Those with Analog transmission cannot receive it.
HD rocks. But c’mon, the cartoon network ?
Whaddya mean? Who wouldn't want Naruto in HD?
Called DirecTV last night. They said the installers who put up my dish didn’t point the thing properly to receive the new HD channels.
Thanks.
So, are they sending somebody out to realign it? They should, and will, if you keep pressing them.
Thursday, between 4 and 8 PM.
I really like the new HD offerings. There is nothing like “Dirty Jobs” in HD!!
I do have one dislike. Many of the new HD channels share the same channel # as their SD feed. There is no way to go directly to the HD feed by entering the channel # on the remote. It generally goes to the SD feed then you must up-channel to get to the HD feed. This also requires the receiver/TV to switch modes, which adds a couple of seconds. You could get there following the Guide View - but that defeats the purpose. (What do you think commercials are for - they are ones opportunity to see what else is on - or try to watch more than one program at the same time - its a “guy” thing.)
What model receiver do you have? It should default to the HD channel on newer receivers.
Also, use your "favorites" list to remove the SD versions, and then they won't even show up.
It’s a DirecTV HD-20 receiver, which I believe is their newest model. When you directly enter the channel number, it gets the SD feed first - I wish it defaulted to the HD feed (I searched through the menus and see no mechanism to set such a default).
I did set up the favorites as you suggested, however that only controls what is displayed in the Guide View. If you directly enter a channel # (even if it not in your favorites), it will go to that channel (i.e., the SD feed first if the channel # is shared).
Hmmm... I have the same model, and it works fine for me. The only difference might be for the ###-1 channels, where the HD feed is not the same as the SD feed in the first place. In those cases, you can actually enter the “-1” on the remote using the “Dash” key followed by the number 1.
FYI, I did a little more research on the DirecTV technical forums and found some more info. I have the H20 receiver (the non-DVR receiver). Apparently, the current released version of the software for that receiver defaults to the SD feed first for shared channels - the problem (feature) is known and is fixed in test versions of the software that have yet to be released nationally.
The HR20 (i.e., the DVR receiver) defaults to the HD feed. Which is the way it should (and will be I hope soon) on the H20. There are no workarounds until the new version of the software is release.
Meanwhile, Charter Communications takes away free HD channels and charges for all nonbroadcast HD
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