Search results for query: *

  1. Mike McGann

    EI Exclusive to D*?

    Actually, as I live in the Philadelphia DMA, I have two service options for Comcast Sport Net — Comcast and FIOS. And Comcast has used Sunday Ticket as the justification for keeping CSN-Philly off the dish. And nothing whatsoever prevents me from signing up with either of those services, as...
  2. Mike McGann

    EI Exclusive to D*?

    The question is how much money are they going to be willing to lose? To break even, not counting overhead or promotion, they need 500,000 subscribers paying $200 a year. Including cable, there are only 750,000 EI subs now, so D* would need an insane conversion rate. And then there's the...
  3. Mike McGann

    EI Exclusive to D*?

    As reported in the NY Times today, although the buzz has been around the industry for a couple weeks: DirecTV is in the process of finalizing a deal to get exclusive use of the "Extra Innings" out of town package as well as an all-baseball channel set to launch in 2009...
  4. Mike McGann

    The Turd Bird may be sold AGAIN!!!!!!

    The problem with that premise is this: AT&T or Verizon would gain entry into more homes with D* ownership. I personally think it makes more sense for Verizon, because it could be offered in lieu of FIOS in areas where the build out isn't ready, but offer the same basic programming and...
  5. Mike McGann

    Directv On The Go!!!!!

    Sorry, but the press release announcing this was hilarious. I wrote about it on my tech site (I'll not link it here, so as not to annoy the webmaster here) but: The basic hardware concept is OK, although regular dishes have enough issues these days, so I wonder how well a single, flat...
  6. Mike McGann

    NFL Sunday Ticket 2007 pricing

    Evidently, baseball is willing to risk its antitrust protection by allowing EI to be taken off cable/E*/FIOS for an exclusive deal with D* Since there are already pending legal challenges to the NFL deal's legality, baseball would be basically kissing its antitrust exemption good bye, because...
  7. Mike McGann

    Sirius Stock

    I would be cautious. I suspect Sirius is going to have some churn issues — as their older equipment begins to fail in the field. Unlike XM, which has been very aggressive in replacing/handing out recievers in exchange for sub contracts, Sirius seems to be trying to cut retention costs. While...
  8. Mike McGann

    D* puts HD on back burner?

    Satellite based-broadband is never going to go beyond a niche product. Why? Latency is a big problem — it makes gaming impossible and often can be an issue with streaming. For straight downloads, it's not horrible, but it's not great. If you can't any other service, it beats dialup. But that's...
  9. Mike McGann

    The Turd Bird may be sold AGAIN!!!!!!

    Actually, I think Verizon (if any telco) is a better suitor for DTV. But that having been said, I don't think Liberty is selling anytime soon...it's a lot less expensive to let DTV whither than to have to compete with it until IPTV actually works a decade or so from now.
  10. Mike McGann

    Swanni's HDTV Predictions: A Report Card

    Not that I'd want to bash another Webmaster....but: It seems kind of wrong to grade yourself. Either you're right and people know it — without having to pull your skirt over your head — or your not right. I called the death of CRT in 2000 (by 2007 or 2008), in print. So? I lost a writing...
  11. Mike McGann

    It looks offical, D* sold to Liberty

    While there probably won't be a ton of changes right off (not until Liberty has control, mid-year), I suspect that there will be a number of changes down the road, including the management team. Unfortunately, the lease model doesn't seem likely to be one of them, as Liberty is quite...
  12. Mike McGann

    Comcast sportsnet philly

    I don't have CI (have to draw the line somewhere with NFL, MLB and NBA already) but noticed that non-csn feeds of Philly teams can now be seen – which means I've been able to catch Mets-Phils or Nets-Sixers without much grief. I remain amazed that the FCC hasn't stepped in here and done...
  13. Mike McGann

    HDTV: DIRECTV Finally Gets the Picture

    If Swann has read about the compression arguments — why not mention, oh by the way, a lot of these receivers have had reliability issues? Man, it's like reading an electronics enthusiast magazine these days: Thankfully, there would also be three Fujinista ads — maybe one with a special...
  14. Mike McGann

    Rupert Murdoch looking to sell DirecTV?

    Murdoch has been bad for D* — HNS did a better job running the company — but Liberty might be worse — looking to bleed off the company to keep it from competing with cable. Hard to say is this is good news or bad.
  15. Mike McGann

    I'm not paying for the new HD DVR

    It's nice to see people have a complete understanding of the D* business model. (Not that D* does, based on how they're bleeding with Sunday Ticket). So, the argument is that the DVR must be vastly more costly than $299 to $399 and we should all be very thankful for D* for being kind enough...
  16. Mike McGann

    tricky install, how can i entice them to do it

    Easier said than done. I need a fairly complicated and expensive reinstall to upgrade (I live in a tree-filled Philly suburb) and no one will touch it. I sense I will end up redoing it myself — or worse, being forced to switch to FIOS (goodbye NY sports, sob). I've identified a spot with a hold...
  17. Mike McGann

    D* making up blackout rules again

    That and replays of old, classic games — like 1986 Mets games on SNY. I have the SportsPak. I have EI. So what gives? Why are they blacking out such old content?
  18. Mike McGann

    directv has blown out my tv

    Uh, it's kind of possible, actually, and it's not an issue of electrical surges. Some of the first Samsung HD boxes sent out super-hot video signal which literally fried input boards on some TVs. I know from personal experience, it killed the HD inputs on a couple of sets — and sent out super...
  19. Mike McGann

    NFL Superfan

    I think this is going to be my last season with Sunday Ticket and D*. With FIOS TV on the verge of rollout where I live, the price differential (bundled with Net and Phone service) and the new six-tuner PVR and the channel options look like by next year, I'll have to give up Giants football...
  20. Mike McGann

    Yet Another DTV EI Screwup

    No Mets-Giants this afternoon (outside of NY/SF) because somebody messed up and locked out the Bay Area Fox Sports and put up SNY on the Ei package. Only problem is that SNY isn't showing the game, Ch. 11 is in New York. So, instead, EI viewers get a documentary and yes, lacrosse. Pretty...
  21. Mike McGann

    primestar dish conversion to DTV?

    I did an install with one...awesome signal because of the giant dish. Plus , it seems to annoy DirecTV, which is a bonus.
  22. Mike McGann

    Directv vs Verizon FIOS Offer

    I dunno about that. baseball is making decent change on having games on the Net (as type this, I'm watching the Mets-Yankees game on the 'Net because it isn't on Extra Innings. I suspect the NFL would like the money directly from us...and may let us order all of our team's games for $159 on...
  23. Mike McGann

    Compentant installer need in W. Philly burbs, ASAP

    Uh...I've installed about a dozen dishes myself and kinda know the whole LOS issue. I'm both a THX Level II theater designer and an ISF certified video tech, not to mention the former Executive Editor of Home Theater. I've had service at this site for eight years now...so obviously, it's...
  24. Mike McGann

    Compentant installer need in W. Philly burbs, ASAP

    I have basically, a giant mess. I've been limping along with a hodgepodge of multiple dishes, kinda, sorta working for the last five years. I had to fix a lot of really, really bad allegedly professional install work — just completely incompetent stuff. I've had one bad experience after...
  25. Mike McGann

    MLB EI Blackout Question

    Wow. Hell froze over last night. For the first time since Prism went south, I saw a Phillies home game on D* — granted it was the SNY feed (fine with me, as a Mets fan) — but i think even Phillies' fans would grant that watching the other team's feeds beats seeing "Not available in your...