DirecTV MPEG4 Rollout to begin

[Scott Greczkowski]

Just was notified by one of my contacts that DirecTV will begin its rollout of MPEG4 to Detriot on October 16th (Given there are no problems)

The R-15 is now sceduled for residential release on October 16th.

In addition the H-20 will be made available first ONLY to accounts in areas where MPEG4 locals are available and will be avaialble for swap out at no charge however the customer must agree to a new 2 year commitment when activating the receiver.

The H-20 when purchased will also be eligible for 1 $200 rebate (offer good for new or current customers)

More as we know it.

 

[riffjim4069]

Great News! BTW, what is the selling price of the H-20?

 

[charper1]

I guess this really blows a hole in all the naysayers theory that there was no way there could be any stockpiles of hardware out there and with everyone staying quiet about it. The 16th is 4 days away and I can't see them assembling multiple thousands of units in 2 days, so there must a stockpile somewhere. Great news Scott! I assume confidence is high on the upcoming launch.

 

[Tonedeaf]

Great News! BTW, what is the selling price of the H-20?

I don't see any reason why they would price it above the current $199 price for the HD receivers. Maybe I am not thinking of something and could totally be wrong here.

 

[txhockey]

Any news as to when other markets will start, mainly Houston?

 

[charper1]

Any news as to when other markets will start, mainly Houston?

Here's the current DMA list and it has been widely rumored that the top 24 would be up by the end of 2005 (the first 12 for sure). I think Robert from VE and Scott have both echoed this from their sources and if I am misquoting them PLEASE correct me. As a best guess until the official press release comes from DirecTV, this SHOULD put Houston in by New Year's Eve.

EDIT: SEE POST #5 http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=102923

1. New York, NY
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Chicago, IL
4. Philadelphia, PA
5. Boston, MA
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Dallas, TX
8. Washington, DC
9. Atlanta, GA
10. Houston, TX
11. Detroit, MI
12. Tampa, FL
13. Seattle, WA
14. Phoenix, AZ
15. Minneapolis, MN
16. Cleveland, OH
17. Miami, FL
18. Denver, CO
19. Sacramento, CA
20. Orlando, FL
21. St. Louis, MO
22. Pittsburgh, PA
23. Portland, OR
24. Baltimore, MD
25. Indianapolis, IN
26. San Diego, CA
27. Charlotte, NC
28. Hartford, CT
29. Raleigh, NC
30. Nashville, TN
31. Kansas City, MO
32. Columbus, OH
33. Milwaukee, WI
34. Cincinnati, OH
35. Greenville, SC
36. Salt Lake City, UT
37. San Antonio, TX
38. West Palm Beach, FL
39. Grand Rapids, MI
40. Birmingham, AL
41. Harrisburg, PA
42. Norfolk, VA
43. New Orleans, LA
44. Memphis, TN
45. Oklahoma City, OK
46. Albuquerque, NM
47. Greensboro, NC
48. Las Vegas, NV
49. Buffalo, NY
50. Louisville, KY
51. Providence, RI
52. Jacksonville, FL
53. Austin, TX
54. Wilkes Barre, PA
55. Albany, NY
56. Fresno, CA
57. Little Rock, AR
58. Knoxville, TN
59. Dayton, OH
60. Richmond, VA
61. Tulsa, OK
62. Mobile, AL
63. Lexington, KY
64. Charleston, WV
65. Flint, MI
66. Ft. Myers, FL
67. Wichita, KS
68. Roanoke, VA
69. Green Bay, WI
70. Toledo, OH
71. Tucson, AZ
72. Honolulu, HI
73. Des Moines, IA
74. Portland, ME
75. Omaha, NE
76. Syracuse, NY
77. Springfield, MO
78. Spokane, WA
79. Rochester, NY
80. Paducah, KY
81. Shreveport, LA
82. Champaign, IL
83. Columbia, SC
84. Huntsville, AL
85. Madison, WI
86. Chattanooga, TN
87. South Bend, IN
88. Cedar Rapids, IA
89. Jackson, MS
90. Burlington, VT
91. Tri-Cities, TN-VA
92. Harlingen, TX
93. Colorado Springs, CO
94. Waco, TX
95. Davenport, IA
96. Baton Rouge, LA
97. Savannah, GA
98. Johnstown, PA
99. El Paso, TX
100. Evansville, IN
101. Charleston, SC
102. Youngstown, OH
103. Lincoln, NE
104. Ft. Smith, AR
105. Greenville, NC
106. Ft. Wayne, IN
107. Myrtle Beach, SC
108. Springfield, MA
109. Tallahassee, FL
110. Lansing, MI
111. Tyler, TX
112. Reno, NV
113. Traverse City, MI
114. Sioux Falls, SD
115. Augusta, GA
116. Montgomery, AL
117. Peoria, IL
118. Fargo, ND
119. Boise, ID
120. Macon, GA
121. Eugene, OR
122. Santa Barbara, CA
123. La Crosse, WI
124. Lafayette, LA
125. Monterey, CA
126. Yakima, WA
127. Columbus, GA
128. Bakersfield, CA
129. Corpus Christi, TX
130. Chico, CA
131. Amarillo, TX
132. Columbus, MS
133. Rockford, IL
134. Wausau, WI
135. Monroe, LA
136. Topeka, KS
137. Duluth, MN
138. Columbia, MO
139. Wilmington, NC
140. Beaumont, TX
141. Medford, OR
142. Erie, PA
143. Sioux City, IA
144. Wichita Falls, TX
145. Joplin, MO
146. Lubbock, TX
147. Albany, GA
148. Salisbury, MD
149. Bluefield, WV
150. Terre Haute, IN
151. Bangor, ME
152. Rochester, MN
153. Palm Springs, CA
154. Wheeling, WV
155. Anchorage, AK
156. Binghamton, NY
157. Panama City, FL
158. Biloxi, MS
159. Odessa, TX
160. Minot, ND
161. Sherman, TX
162. Gainesville, FL
163. Idaho Falls, ID
164. Abilene, TX
165. Clarksburg, WV
166. Utica, NY
167. Hattiesburg, MS
168. Missoula, MT
169. Quincy, IL
170. Yuma, AZ
171. Billings, MT
172. Dothan, AL
173. Elmira, NY
174. Jackson, TN
175. Lake Charles, LA
176. Alexandria, LA
177. Rapid City, SD
178. Watertown, NY
179. Jonesboro, AR
180. Marquette, MI
181. Harrisonburg, VA
182. Greenwood, MS
183. Bowling Green, KY
184. Meridian, MS
185. Lima, OH
186. Charlottesville, VA
187. Grand Junction, CO
188. Laredo, TX
189. Great Falls, MT
190. Parkersburg, WV
191. Lafayette, IN
192. Twin Falls, ID
193. Butte, MT
194. Eureka, CA
195. Cheyenne, WY
196. San Angelo, TX
197. Bend, OR
198. Casper, WY
199. Ottumwa, IA
200. Mankato, MN
201. St. Joseph, MO
202. Zanesville, OH
203. Fairbanks, AK
204. Presque Isle, ME
205. Victoria, TX
206. Helena, MT
207. Juneau, AK
208. Alpena, MI
209. North Platte, NE
210. Glendive, MT


Movement in the Top 50 DMAs

GAINERS

+3 Las Vegas, NV
+2 Columbus, OH
+1 Houston, TX
+1 Tampa, FL
+1 Phoenix, AZ
+1 Portland, OR
+1 Charlotte, NC
+1 West Palm Beach, FL
+1 Harrisburg, PA
+1 Albuquerque, NM
+1 Greensboro, NC


LOSERS

-3 Buffalo, NY
-2 Providence, RI
-1 Detroit, MI
-1 Seattle, WA
-1 Minneapolis, MN
-1 Baltimore, MD
-1 Hartford, CT
-1 Milwaukee, WI
-1 Cincinnati, OH
-1 Grand Rapids, MI
-1 Norfolk, VA

 

[Tonedeaf]

Any ideas as to how D* is handling this? Will they contact customers in the areas to be switched?

 

[charper1]

Here is one thread with some minor info toward the end.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=84250

 

[Fgsilva]

sorry, I know the topic has been commented somewhere else but I can't find it. what about the new HD DVR? will they have it available also by that time? What about picture quality for HD? will it really improve with mpg4? Also, and with that I may be having an insane daydream or just being plain stupid, what if Direct surprised us all and added also national HD channels like TNT, voom (though I think dish owes them, but who knows???) ????

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No the HD-DVR will not be available until Spring.

 

[Fgsilva]

But I'm in sacramento anyway, which is market 20something. so i wont' be upgraded this year anyway.

thanks for the answer!

No the HD-DVR will not be available until Spring.

 

[charper1]

But I'm in sacramento anyway, which is market 20something. so i wont' be upgraded this year anyway. thanks for the answer!

Your are #19 AND if the speculation holds up you are supposed to get done by the end of 2005.

 

[Fgsilva]

OIC. but i currently have the HD TIVO (AND I LOVE IT!!! Haven't watched live TV and commercials since I got it!! ) and if they just will try to exchange it for just a regular HD receiver there's no way I'll take it!

Your are #19 AND if the speculation holds up you are supposed to get done by the end of 2005.

 

[charper1]

Oh I wouldn't either, thats why it is very good idea I think they will be overlapping both MPEG2 and MPEG4 HD streams for a while. I will exchange one of my 2 HD units just as soon as I can; depending on the feature set of their new unit. I also think that overlapping idea is why the Spaceway2 postponement has been such a thorn in their side as far as their timing goes.

 

[rad]

Finally some news on the D* front!

OK, I can't wait to get some posts from folks in Detroit that get the upgrade to see how it goes and what the new dish actually looks like and how it's all wired together.

 

[Proc]

I'm in the Motown area. I had a "senior" installer out a week and a half ago. He had heard nothing about the new MPEG-4 boxes and 5-LNB dishes. He said that in Detroit, the HD customer base is about 10% of D* total in southeast Michigan.

With that said, I'll be curious if we current HD subs get contacted here in Detroit. I bet its for new subs unless we call? The last time I called D*, every rep I talked to knew nothing of the date for the Detroit rollout.

I am assuming the H20 is the MPEG-4 upgrade from the current MPEG-2 H10 right? What is the R15 then?

 

[hancox]

R15 is the new SD DirecTV DVR. Non-tivo.

 

[charper1]

Hopefully BEFORE an end user actually gets one, ow that the info is out legitimately, maybe a dealer or installer can post some photos and maybe a user guide in PDF.

 

[Proc]

R15 is the new SD DirecTV DVR. Non-tivo.

Ah, thanks hancox. My wife loves the SD Tivo unit now. I will hold off on the R15 until I am forced to get it.

I will call on the H20 next week though and see if they will install it here in Detroit. Are they charging for the H20 or is it a clean swap (with 2-year committment I would presume) for the H10?

 

[ShadowEKU]

#63 is that by late 2006 or 2007?