Posted on 02/13/2008 2:08:25 AM PST by Las Vegas Dave
DIRECTV left High-Definition viewers breathless last fall when it expanded its HD lineup from nine channels to roughly 90 over a three month period.
However, since late December, the satcaster has not added a high-def channel, other than an in-house channel, called The 101.
How come? Are there no HDTV channels left to add?
Hardly. The satcaster's satellite capacity may simply be maxed out, or getting close to it.
DIRECTV's plan to offer 100 HD channels may be slowing.
DIRECTV had planned last year to launch two satellites (the D10 and D11) for high-def and other services. Combined, the two satellites would give it the capacity for 150 national HD channels and more than 1,500 local high-def channels.
But DIRECTV was forced to delay the launch of the D11 when Sea Launch, the company it uses for rocket launches, suffered a setback when one of its satellites exploded at liftoff.
At the time (late January 2007), DIRECTV said the first satellite, D10, would still provide the capacity to deliver 100 national HD channels by year's end, which was the company's stated goal.
Although it failed to reach the 100 mark, it came close with roughly 90 HD channels at the end of the year.
But now, DIRECTV apparently has little room for more and, consequently, high-def fans will likely have to wait until the D11 satellite is operational before they can expect another significant increase in HD channels.
Additionally, subscribers still looking for local HD service from DIRECTV may not see it until the second satellite is ready.
The D11 is scheduled for launch next month, which means it could be operational sometime in late May or earlier.
Until then, you may see a smattering of new HD channels from DIRECTV, but nothing like the explosion of the fall of 2007.
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 HD.
Las Vegas Dave
Could be an opportunity for a class action suit, where DirecTV members get 50¢, and the lawyers get millions.
What about DISH. We can’t even get local broadcast channels in HD.
You’d probably be better off with an OTA setup for locals, anyway.
While what you say may be true, Directv turned on our HD locals last Friday (Louisville, KY).
I just signed up last night to get Directv HD. I have to get a HD receiver so I thought I’d see what Dish had to offer before having to buy the receiver from Directv. But looking at Dish, they only offer 20 HD channels! So, I gave up trying to get a deal and kept Directv and forked over the $99 for a new receiver. I could not believe that Dish only offered 20 channels!
We just missed the Super Bowl in HD.
Good luck with that... If you get the newest HD receiver, there is no OTA input as there is on the older models. So, unless your TV has a built in tuner and you have no interest in recording the local HD content, you are out of luck.
Trust me, I have spent hours on the phone with DirecTV after they "upgraded" my receiver.
I have a Samsung OTA tuner I bought a year or two ago. Works great. I still haven’t bitten the bullet on the DirecTV HD upgrade, believe it or not. But then, it’s only been about 6 months that they’ve really had all that going, with the MPEG-4 birds.
This appears to be the updated version of my tuner, which is no longer being manufactured.
http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-hdtv-tuners-receivers/samsung-dtb-h260f-hdtv/4505-6487_7-32385887.html?tag=pdtl-list
You should have held out for a free receiver. I’m an existing customer and they tried to charge me $299 for the HD DVR. 10 minutes of complaining to a manager and I had a new HD DVR free. No shipping charge, no installation charge, nadda!
I had the same deal when I moved. You'll get the HR21 in the mail. Nice box, just hope you're not used to having an OTA antenna input.
At present, according to my understanding; it has more to do with legal, contractual issues with the local stations. And even then, when analog goes dark next year, you'll probably only get the primary local HD channels when it becomes available. The sub-channels you won't get.
My GF has a Dish 722 HD DVR, and I installed an antenna in her attic so she can receive the local HD's - all of them - and BTW: the Dish HD receivers can not only take that input, it displays the program info in the guide, and you can record them.
And, its the most perfect version of the signal you’re going to get.
A recent Dish press release:
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- DISH Network(r) (NasdaqGS:DISH - News) today announced plans to increase its national HD channel count from 76 to 100 in 2008. The company also plans to add local HD channels in 65 new markets, bringing its HD local market total to 100.
The addition of new HD national and local channels is a testament to DISH Network's unwavering focus on providing the best HD offerings,'' said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of Programming for DISH Network. ``We at DISH Network will continue to not only be a leader in the number of HD channels, but also in quality in value.''
DISH Network plans to launch three satellites in 2008, providing the company additional bandwidth to maintain its reign as a top HD provider.
The company begins its HD launches with 11 local markets including: Austin, TX; Baltimore; Cleveland; Columbia, S.C.; Flint, Mich.; Greenville, S.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; and Richmond, Va. The addition of these markets brings DISH Network's local HD penetration to 80 percent of U.S. TV households.
In conjunction with the launch of new HD programming, DISH Network is offering more choices for HD customers, including HD packages as low as $10 per month for more than 20 of the most popular HD channels. New HD packages will be available beginning Feb. 1, 2008.
``DISH Network's HD programming packages, paired with the industry's best HD DVRs, give TV consumers the complete TV viewing experience and another powerful reason to switch to DISH Network -- if they haven't already,'' Sahl said.
For more information about DISH Network's HD offerings or DVR technology, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474), visit http://www.dishnetwork.com, or visit your local DISH Network retailer.
I’ve had it since December. Installed 2 days after the phone call. Never had OTA, and don’t need it now. It has my locals in HD.
To sum up; it took over four, as in 4, hours of being on the phone with their idiotic customer service during the course of the week before the Super Bowl to determine that I needed a service call. Which came, you guessed it, the Monday after the game.
Service guy takes one look at my dish and says, "We have had a lot of trouble with that style dish, I'm just going to put up a new one."
Well, the problem of the picture breaking up every 10 seconds, ONLY on the HD channels, was magically solved.
Waiting now for Verizon FiOS service to offer TV. Got it for internet and phone, but for some reason they say the TV part isn't available yet.
When it is available, goodbye DirecTV except for NFL Sunday ticket.
Oh, BTW. Those additional channels DirecTV is offering in HD. They switched some of them to another tier so you have to pay an additional $4.99 per month if you want to see them. Mostly movies from the 50's, 60's and 70's. That is on top of the $9.99/mo. they charge for the privilege of receiving other HD channels.
Other than that, most of the HD channels they added are on PPV, HBO, Showtime, etc.
Big eff'n whoop.
Ah, lucky you. There are many press releases from DirecTV that state that my area should have them as well, ut we were scheduled for the sattelite that blew up on launch. I'll have to wait until the re-launch.
I’m just waiting on the next HD expansion, which I guess will have to wait for the next satellite launch. There are several channels screaming to be broadcast in HD (Travel Channel, Military Channel, etc).
Will they have to install a new dish to pick up a new satellite?
The only negative I’ve seen from my research is you don’t get the subchannels like Weather Plus and sometimes a secondary network. I’d like Weather Plus since the Weather Channel on satellite doesn’t have local forecasts.
I have Verizon FiOS at the moment but have looked into DirecTV.
I never understood why satellite companies don’t do a local Weather Channel feed. I realize they cannot get down to as low a level as cable, where neighborhoods or zip codes or whatever have their own Weather Channel feed.
But satellites do provide a set of local channels. So pick a weather precinct central to each local channel set, and give that. For me, in Greenville/Spartanburg area of SC, give me the GSP airport weather precinct, and I’ll be thrilled!
Technically speaking it should be doable. Not sure why they don’t.
I believe that as long as you have the newer 5 lnb dish, which you likely do since you are getting the new HD stuff now, you will be fine. I am not an expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Service guy takes one look at my dish and says, "We have had a lot of trouble with that style dish, I'm just going to put up a new one."
Well, the problem of the picture breaking up every 10 seconds, ONLY on the HD channels, was magically solved.
LOL, I went through the same hoops back in early December, after they had me pay the $20 for a new DVR to be delivered.
Here in the Houston area, we do get ourt local broadcasts in HD via DiSH, with the exception of the local PBS affiliate.
I think they already have far more than anyone else already.
Or buy one of those little brookstone devices that tells you everything you need wherever you are.
I hate that on-demand service. Its painfully slow. I just use Weather.com.
This is what you need: 5-day Wireless Weather Forecaster
My brother and sis-in-law gave me one for Christmas. It's really great. Dials right into Accuweather's network.
I sure hope D11 goes in to a much higher orbit. D10 has only 18 degrees elevation for central CT. I’ll have to cut down about 30 trees to get it. I am chain saw shopping now.
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