NEW HD RUMOR; 24 HD Channels for DirecTV..Bye bye Voom

[Alan Gordon]

Alan, I feel your "holding-back".......sorry I asked who we PO'ed! Shouldn't have said that!

It was a perfectly fine thing to say, I just couldn't help myself... I have trouble "holding back" that much!

However, I'd like to state that while my comment was meant in a humorous way, I was not trying to make fun of what is currently happening to Florida... heck, we got it here pretty bad, and we didn't have no where NEAR what Florida got. I felt it important to stress that.

However, on a satellite topic, I was impressed that through the majority of the worst part of Francine here, we still kept a satellite signal until later in the night after the rain died down...

~Alan

 

[dakeeney]

well, i really wouldn't throw my dvd player out but when you watch hb-hd and then
rent a dvd it's as though the picture quality on the dvd is likened to vhs compared
to the fantastic picture of hd

 

[dakeeney]

I guess that I wouldn't really throw my dvd player out. but after watching hbo in
hd and then renting a dvd it's like the picture on a dvd looks like vhs compared to the
picture quality of hd. I'm drooling on my keyboard at the thought of having 24
hd channels as long as they're channels with great content. Bye the way, if anybody
is looking for WMD you won't find them in Iraq...........Saddam had them moved to Syria
and Iran before the war

 

[Darin]

Bye the way, if anybody is looking for WMD you won't find them in Iraq...........Saddam had them moved to Syria and Iran before the war

Maybe you should email Bush... I'm not aware that he reads these forums.

 

[LOBO2999]

So where are the rest of the 23 channels ?

 

[x1hdtv]

Any updates?

 

[vurbano]

are they going to be downrezzed 1280x1080 too? Like HDnet and HDnetmovies are on D*, and full of macroblocking?

 

[vinnyv07]

Really its not even like HD when football is being aired. I have VOOM and a side by side comparison to DirectvHD ....VOOM is ahead right now. And thats pretty bad because VOOM already is operating at a low bandwidth per HD ch. But now that Directv has lowered bandwidth sooo much in order to squeeze football in HD into their Sunday Ticket package, VOOM looks a ton better. I think the bandwidth will return after the football season. Thank God Directv offered us 6mths free of the HD pack.

 

[beast37799]

And next year we hopefully wont have this problem with the 2 spaceway sats going up

 

[slacker9876]

Just becuase I like to bitch ...

I wrote DirecTV because I am also seeing degraded picture quality. There response is funny, I put my in black and their response in blue. It is too bad that we will have to stick this out but I still think the SD programming 90% of what I watch) looks better then V* and the same as E*, but on HD in Dark scenes I see the artifacts plain as day.


Thank you for asking us about the picture quality on your DIRECTV
System. Weather conditions such as heavy rainfall can interfere with the
signal from our satellite. Snow, snow build-up on the dish, and ice can
also cause this problem. The disturbance is usually temporary, and a
clear picture will return when the weather improves. If the picture does
not return after the weather improves, try resetting your receiver by
turning it off, unplugging it for at least five minutes, then plugging
it back in.

If you feel that the problem may not only be due to the weather, try
checking your signal strength when the weather is clear to make sure
your dish is still pointed correctly. You can do this right on your TV
by using your remote control to access the DIRECTV System's MAIN MENU
screen. Your satellite signal reading should be 70 or better on all
transponders when weather conditions are clear in your area. If your
signal strength is lower than 70 on any number of transponders, then
have a professional installer check your system installation for
possible problems. Additionally, obstructions can limit your signal
strength. You should also check to make sure there are no obstructions,
such as trees or buildings, blocking your dish's direct line of sight to
our satellites.

For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions section of
our web site at:
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/learn/FAQ_DTVProgramming.jsp#11

Sincerely,

Richard
DIRECTV Customer Service

Per your request I have checked the listed items:
1) Reset receivers
2) Transponder signal strength is at 86 and HIGHER on all my transponders
3) Weather Clear and Sunny
4) Cabling - tests to 99.6% continuity
5) Dish is free of all obstructions, clear view south

Please note on my account to NEVER exclude my original message, this clouds the issue when anther rep gets the ticket. I am asking at this time that you escalate this issue to a DTV Res Spec. Trust me, the engineers there are well aware that the programming is dropping below an acceptable level.
Please INCLUDE my initial correspondence and if you do not have it when I hear from them I'll forward it as I save these in MS Word.

Thank you for asking us about the picture quality on your DIRECTV System. In accordance with our company policy, we cannot give out the specifics of the resolution of our broadcast signal. This is partly because we are always fine-tuning our quality. The goal of our engineers is to design the very best transmission operation that will bring you extraordinary video, audio, and data along with the programming.

Though our engineers have very high standards, I'm sure you understand that our success as a business depends in part on carrying a wide selection of programming. Therefore, due to limitations in satellite space capacity we must balance our desire to provide outstanding signal quality with the demand for a wide selection of channels. We are proud of the job we do at delivering both.

To be able to keep enhancing our signal quality AND to bring our customers lots of choices, we are always working on upgrades to our broadcast infrastructure that let us transmit our programming more efficiently. In other words, we can add more channels without sacrificing picture quality, and we can improve picture quality without having to drop any channels.

We appreciate your patience as we adjust and fine tune our systems. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Sincerely,

Richard
DIRECTV Customer Service

 

[Barney]

My question is, why not be honest & answer why the "more compression" is being used, at what time & what channels. Just be honest with us. We see it, I'm not going away, I love D*.......just don't lie. If they don't know the answer, forward to someone that does. Be honest DirecTV.

FORWARD the question to someone in "the know".

please DirecTV?

Barney

 

[Hell Raiser]

Looks like white smoke and nothing more

Ok ,

I have waited patiently since April, waiting for the so many new HD content promised by the DirecTV retention group. Well my friends Sunday Ticket in HD does not do it for me, perhaps a BAR or other establishment but I can watch my local OTA team any time on HD. Now on to the compression well I have had it with these jip-offs.
Local cable is doing so much more I need to switch, and if you the benefactor is tuned into this thread, let cable take you for a ride and realize the new revenue.

Bye bye DirecTV Hello Comcast

 

[Neutron]

Have fun with Comcrap's pisspoor picture quality!!

 

[Jaded13]

wmd

first i really dont think Iran would do Iraq any favors as Iraq beat them in their war that we supported Iraq in
2nd Our spy satellites can read your licences plate/ dont you think we just might see wms being moved across the desert. We have been flying jets over the country since the end of the last Bushes war
Its about the oil...Stupid

 

[rad]

first i really dont think Iran would do Iraq any favors as Iraq beat them in their war that we supported Iraq in
2nd Our spy satellites can read your licences plate/ dont you think we just might see wms being moved across the desert. We have been flying jets over the country since the end of the last Bushes war
Its about the oil...Stupid

WTF??????

 

[rad]

Ok ,

I have waited patiently since April, waiting for the so many new HD content promised by the DirecTV retention group. Well my friends Sunday Ticket in HD does not do it for me, perhaps a BAR or other establishment but I can watch my local OTA team any time on HD. Now on to the compression well I have had it with these jip-offs.
Local cable is doing so much more I need to switch, and if you the benefactor is tuned into this thread, let cable take you for a ride and realize the new revenue.

Bye bye DirecTV Hello Comcast

I thought the announcement said by the end of the year, we're not there yet. But if you can't wait, bye bye.

 

[slacker9876]

Ok ,

I have waited patiently since April, waiting for the so many new HD content promised by the DirecTV retention group. Well my friends Sunday Ticket in HD does not do it for me, perhaps a BAR or other establishment but I can watch my local OTA team any time on HD. Now on to the compression well I have had it with these jip-offs.
Local cable is doing so much more I need to switch, and if you the benefactor is tuned into this thread, let cable take you for a ride and realize the new revenue.

Bye bye DirecTV Hello Comcast

LMAO, Comcast is my local Cbale Co. All they have in HD in Denver is OTA and then InHD1&2. Not very impressive. If you wait a full year (tile april of 05) the two new birds will make D* the leader. One thing we all need to remember is even with lots of HD channels ... the programming is not necissarily there yet.

 

[pradike]

LMAO, Comcast is my local Cbale Co. All they have in HD in Denver is OTA and then InHD1&2. Not very impressive. If you wait a full year (tile april of 05) the two new birds will make D* the leader. One thing we all need to remember is even with lots of HD channels ... the programming is not necissarily there yet.

Comcrap is the local laughing stock for customer no-service in the Atlanta market as well. They hardly can spell HDTV, and their installers took 5 tries just to get an HD box working at a neighbors house, and then wanted to charge him $540 - he refused.

I have 2 neighbors with E* who are in the proces of leaving them for D*.

I've had D* for over 9 years, and love their HD, Sunday Ticket, and even the OTA with their receivers. Perfect, no, but maybe 95% so at this time.

As others have pointed out, the only thing missing is more content - which D*TV clearly intends to provide as it becomes viable. There will be more even before year end. I don't see anyone else making the financial and business investment in HD that D*TV is doing right now. Going to cable (higher rates, poor service, limited HD) is a joke of an alternative.

 

[Gator5000e]

Gosh, I would be happy just to see 2-3 HD Channels soon. Channels like Starz and Max HD and one more PPV HD. Adding 3 channels can't take that much bandwith, can it? I don't know much about the tech side, but for HBO and Showtime, aren't they showing 2 separate HD channels? Couldn't one set of those be converted to Starz or Max HD? Someone please explain that to me. Thanks.

 

[Darin]

No, they only have one HD channel each for HBO and Show. They are, however, mapped to two different channel numbers. But they just point to the same feed.