Satelliteguys live coverage of XstreamHD Press Conference

[HokieEngineer]

Coming up at 11AM PST (2PM EST)...

[Scott Greczkowski]

Two Min Warning Til The Start Of The Show Just Announced Over The Pa

[HokieEngineer]

Michael Douglas was just announced and is giving his opening statement. He is proud to be a investor of XStreamHD.

[HokieEngineer]

He says XStreamHD will change the way consumers will watch movies, tv, and games. By watching in fullHD (1080p), its the closest you will get to what you see in the movie theater.

[HokieEngineer]

George Gonzales (sp?) is now introducing the products, which include:

HD Media Server

and

HD receiver

[HokieEngineer]

The way the system works will be that content will be pushed (streamed) to the consumer STB. They will have access to the trailers, promos, of particular movies. The consumer then selects the movies that are interesting to them. They can also pick categories that interest them.

[HokieEngineer]

There are no channels or schedules, the movies that you select are stored on the hard drive on the media server.

[HokieEngineer]

The server is DLNA certified 1.5 and is compatible with other DLNA clients. IE. Pioneer Plasma Elite tv, bluray players, and PS3.

[HokieEngineer]

XStreamHD announced yesterday partnerships with DTS and Seagate. This is the first system available that can present the consumer with DTS master audio.

[HokieEngineer]

The media server can stream 4 fullHD streams to various clients on your home network.

Content is delivered to the STB via satellite. It uses existing Ku satellite capacity.

[HokieEngineer]

The home media server can also download material from the internet using the consumer's broadband connection. This could be used older titles or less popular movies.

The movies will be streamed over satellite at whatever time the studio will allow it. At that point, you can then watch it from the media server.

[HokieEngineer]

Media server also has 3 OTA tuners, and record 3 channels at once. Recordings are stored in your personal library on the hard drive.

XStreamHD has a feature called "Adaptive Recording" which will automatically record the entire sports event or special event even if runs over its scheduled end time.

[HokieEngineer]

Q&A now

Q: What type of deals do you have with studios and what type of lead time on the release dates?

A: No studio contracts at this time. Particulars will be released during the year as contracts are signed. Release dates of movies will depend on the studios.

Q: Is this a subscription service or PPV?

A: Hybrid model between the two. Driven based on the contract between XHD and the studio. Charge will not be incurred until the consumer wants to watch the movie.

[HokieEngineer]

Okay, the conference is over, sorry we had Internet issues inside the room.

My comments on this service is that it looks like a great idea, but until they announce contracts with the major studios, it is just a concept.

[jcrandall]

I enjoyed the conference and think they have some GREAT ideas and product developed.

There are some challenges - and big ones- that they face:

Have to install gigabit ethenet, a sat dish, and have huge storeage needs.
Content providers will be tough and will take time to negotiate.
Did I mention how much space is needed for a 1080p movie with full 7 channel audio? Alot!

I think it is a great concept, but will have a very hard time starting up without significant studio backing. When it does, it will be for early adopters, and will be expensive.

[kenny911]

People aren't going to want to set up another satellite for ppv movies. This thing seems destined for failure.

[icedog10]

Hot CES Dish rumor .
Dish HD pack $10/mo = All HD channels in your Package teirs
Example Top 100 / Top 200 / Top 250
Dish HD $20/mo (no $15 package) = voom / hd net / hd net movies / universal hd
New HD only Pack $29.99 = All HD except prem movies (no other pack required) add locals $5/mo.
Also New option to take only the four HD prem movie channels 1 HBO 1 Showtime 1 starz 1 cinemax for $10/mo. More info to come.

[jacmyoung]

Hot CES Dish rumor .
Dish HD pack $10/mo = All HD channels in your Package teirs
Example Top 100 / Top 200 / Top 250
Dish HD $20/mo (no $15 package) = voom / hd net / hd net movies / universal hd
New HD only Pack $29.99 = All HD except prem movies (no other pack required) add locals $5/mo.
Also New option to take only the four HD prem movie channels 1 HBO 1 Showtime 1 starz 1 cinemax for $10/mo. More info to come.

Almost exactly what I have predicted or "hoped" yet I was repeatedly told no it could not be done, you can't have just the HD versions of HBO/SHO/Starz/Cinemax.

Thanks for the news. So for $45/mo. you can get ALL the HD's on E*, including all movies and HD locals, not bad a deal to start on the right direction. For this to really rock however, E* must add all the available HD versions of cable channels ASAP to make this package truely grab the attention.

This really demonstrates Charlie's negotiation skills, first free Cinemax deal, then HD only premium channels, what he is lacking is the ability to add new HD channels:)

[Scott Greczkowski]

Ok finally got working Internet Again.

The Sprint Network was having some issues so here are are some pictures from the press conference.

[VinceT3]

i would consider switching to this if the fee was a monthly fee like a block buster or netflix.. even at 30-40, maybe even 50 bux a month.. I would put this in my house connected to all my tvs... 3 ota tuners w/ recording would be great.. plus movies I dont have to wait to come on like hbo, starz, shotime, cinamax..