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Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
all I want is more HD channels...when are we going to get themmm:mad: :mad: :mad:
33 Replies · 6919 views
H
DirecTV is promising for late 2007 what Verizon FIOS already delivers, and FIOS for less money.

If you have access to a fiber optic service, consider it. Other than that, D* is probably the better of a really bad lot, still bad, but not as bad as the other guys.

I am one of the guys who did not give a rip about locals-I just wanted all the national channels, like Starz HD, TMC HD, Nat. Geographic HD, etc. Don't have 'em, and ain't gonna anytime soon on D*. With FIOS, you get everything, uncompressed, and for less money. Go figure.

For all that, D*'s hardware (their boxes, not their video transmission or channels)and DVRs are still better, more versatile and better for custom installs and whole house networks.
Jimbo
With FIOS, you get everything, uncompressed, and for less money. Go figure.

And who told you that FIOS is "UNCOMPRESSED" ???
Do you have fios ?
Is this Fiber optic service .......
To the node ? or to the Home ? or do you know ?

Everything is always greener if it's not what you have.
I am working with fiber placing, we have a lot of fiber to the node and a small area to the house so far. (at&t)

Those in Columbus, Ohio will have FTTN available soon if not already and some will have FTTH as well.

Jimbo
H
And who told you that FIOS is "UNCOMPRESSED" ???
Do you have fios ?
Is this Fiber optic service .......
To the node ? or to the Home ? or do you know ?

Everything is always greener if it's not what you have.
I am working with fiber placing, we have a lot of fiber to the node and a small area to the house so far. (at&t)

Those in Columbus, Ohio will have FTTN available soon if not already and some will have FTTH as well.

Jimbo

Jimbo: Yes we have FIOS-to the house. It is fiber optic, and it is a full bandwidth 1080i transmission. We can measure it. We also have FIOS internet service. Our average download speed is about 15.1 mbps and our average upload is about 1.8 mbps.

We still have D* at our vacation home. FIOS has more channels, more HD channels, and all the channels look better to us. It cost $24/month less for every channel (minus porn and spanish/international) with four HD DVRs than D* does with fewer channels and four boxes, three of which are DVRs, two HD.

D*'s DVRs have twice the hard drive capacity, better remotes and better menus.

Just an opinion, that's all. We think FIOS has better video, and D* has better hardware. If we had to have to have just one, we'd keep the FIOS, but I would mourn the loss of TiVo and 250 gig hard drives.

FIOS is not generally available nationwide, but to those for whom it's available, it's a good choice to consider, and will elimimate most of the channel and video quality griping we see here. FIOS, put simply, has every national HD channel, plus local HDs, and great video.

Do you have stock in D* or a relative who works there? We don't-we just make our own consumer choices based upon our needs and price.

Why do people get so excited and emotional about this? All we are talking about is which company carries what channels at what level of service. We have both D* and FIOS, and we are moderately happy with both. Everyone makes their own choices.

Do you pick your friends by what satellite or cable TV service they like the best, or attack them if they disagree with you or you think they know less than you do?

By the way, the guy who "told me" that FIOS is uncompressed (besides Verizon) is a PhD, and a video expert with a full suite of test equipment who spent two hours at two of our houses measuring the stuff to see if Verizon was lying or not. They're not. He knows more than me. My pal's day job is designing the next generation of DLP video chips. I believe him. You may not. Not everyone likes DLP, either. I like Sony's SXRD.

Whatever all this means, the FIOS transmission just looks better to us, a little better with HD and a lot better on the SD channels.

All I wanted was all the national HD channels. I got them, and for less money. I'm happy with it.
lou_do
Whatever all this means, the FIOS transmission just looks better to us, a little better with HD and a lot better on the SD channels.

A friend of mine had FIOS and was very pleased with the PQ, but ended up going back to satellite because they didn't offer the RSN Sports package or the NFL Network. This was a couple of months ago. Have they made any recent moves toward adding them to their line up?
H
A friend of mine had FIOS and was very pleased with the PQ, but ended up going back to satellite because they didn't offer the RSN Sports package or the NFL Network. This was a couple of months ago. Have they made any recent moves toward adding them to their line up?


Lou: I've got to be the only straight guy I know who does not have D*'s NFL Season Ticket, and I just about never watch any of the RSN channels, even though we get all of them on D*.

FIOS does not have all of the RSN channels, but FIOS does have the NFL Network, and it has the NFL channel in HD, which D* does not have. We get all of the Fox Sports networks channels, and video on demand has most of the pay per view RSN selections individually, and some of the free stuff, but not the whole rundown-not even close. D* does not have the Fox SW channel in HD, FIOS does.

In addition to all of the usual sports channels like ESPN, Golf, NFL, etc, North Texas also gets Fox College Sports-Atlantic, Central and Pacific, The Tennis Channel, Golf, Outdoor Channel, Fox Soccer, GolTV, Horse Racing TV, TVG (more horses), Mav TV, Blackbelt TV, G4, The Sportsman Channel, and we get ESPN, ESPN2, the NFL and Fox Sports Net-Southwest in HD as well as SD.

The sports selections video on demand have most every event you can think of on an individual basis, free or ppv, but I don't order or watch the individual games.

If I were a sports nut, as opposed to just a network telecast NFL fan and golf fan, I'd think D* would be the best pick of any of the services.

Our FIOS 8 HD locals, generally, are NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, PBS, WB and UPN (and KDFI local also) (we also get the .2 digital channels with weather, etc.) and national HD includes TNT, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL, FSNSWHD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Universal, Discovery, WealthTV, National Geographic, MTVHD, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, TMC and Starz.

Including Video on Demand, FIOS is easily better choice for locals and entertainment, and it has all the sports I want. When football comes on the NFL channel this Thursday, we get the national NFL HD channel on FIOS-I don't think D* has it in HD.

The fiber optic signal is sent to us full bandwidth native rate out of the pipe-either 1080i or 720p for Fox and ABC only. The nationals are all 1080i. There is no 1080p, and no plan for 1080p, although my buddy tells me that fiber optic is the only technology presently in use with enough bandwidth to do that if they wanted to. All I know is that FIOS looks better on our three best Sony 1080p SXRD TVs, one 50", one 60" and one 70". I'm not sure I can tell any HD difference on our older Sony 720p, nor on my antique Pioneer 65"CRT (still a good TV, but looks softer than the LCD or SXRD, which is Sony's version of LCoS)-the SD looks a little better on FIOS on all the sets-not sure why.
charper1
the NFL Network HD game will be on DirecTV
rkr0923
guess we'll find out Thursday
lou_do
Lou: I've got to be the only straight guy I know who does not have D*'s NFL Season Ticket, and I just about never watch any of the RSN channels, even though we get all of them on D*.
I don't have it any more either. I got sick of their outragious increases every year. I am a sports junkie but I will pass up the NFL package, unless they make it more reasonable.

Our FIOS 8 HD locals, generally, are NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, PBS, WB and UPN (and KDFI local also) (we also get the .2 digital channels with weather, etc.) and national HD includes TNT, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL, FSNSWHD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Universal, Discovery, WealthTV, National Geographic, MTVHD, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, TMC and Starz.

Including Video on Demand, FIOS is easily better choice for locals and entertainment, and it has all the sports I want. When football comes on the NFL channel this Thursday, we get the national NFL HD channel on FIOS-I don't think D* has it in HD.

The fiber optic signal is sent to us full bandwidth native rate out of the pipe-either 1080i or 720p for Fox and ABC only. The nationals are all 1080i. There is no 1080p, and no plan for 1080p, although my buddy tells me that fiber optic is the only technology presently in use with enough bandwidth to do that if they wanted to. All I know is that FIOS looks better on our three best Sony 1080p SXRD TVs, one 50", one 60" and one 70". I'm not sure I can tell any HD difference on our older Sony 720p, nor on my antique Pioneer 65"CRT (still a good TV, but looks softer than the LCD or SXRD, which is Sony's version of LCoS)-the SD looks a little better on FIOS on all the sets-not sure why.
Sounds like the have a nice package put together. I just checked and the only area of Florida they have it is the Tampa area. I wish that we had it here instead of Brighthouse Network.

Thanks for all the info on FIOS.
Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0
0 Replies · 5 views
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
No idea what improvements might be involved.
18 Replies · 758 views
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bookworm370
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
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N
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
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R
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning. She hit FF and it went to 15x FF.
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Bobby
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
This has been an ongoing issue. A fix is coming, probably in the next software version.
Foxbat
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Here's the one I need:
1792365258110.webp
Ramy
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
148 Replies · 1719 views
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Foxbat
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
osu1991
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll call
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R
A lot of upsets yesterday, but my LSU Tigers won.
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Foxbat
Best fan sign I saw during the ND-BYU game: "Bear ate your Lucky Charms!" (Bear being the Cougars' QB). I was going to suggest, "Have you or your team been involved in a Carr crash?"
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meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.

Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.


View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k


We've literally got a movie already about this ;)


View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
67 Replies · 1130 views
meStevo
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point. Nobody needs an innovative fix for a driver error or a creative way to format a report. Let it handle the solved problems so people can spend their time on the ones that aren't.
harshness
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point.
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
meStevo
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.

Addressed by what you didn't quote. This cycle is as old as computing: compilers, libraries, frameworks each automated the tedious part, and the human work moved up a level. Innovation didn't end; it shifted. And people still make new compilers, libraries or frameworks.

Nobody's forced to hand anything off. Anyone who wants to keep doing it by hand still can, and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
harshness
... and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
meStevo
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
You're not wrong, but that's part of learning. Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
harshness
Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
meStevo
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.

This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
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dishstaller
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
meStevo
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.

Agents need appropriate context to make what would be understood as the correct read in a situation like that, and that Gemini answer was a clear miss on that front.

That said, we've also seen Musk (and/or his team) put his thumb on the scale (or just release a very poor product) with his own deployed AI since:


In the end, it's all a tool. Have to know how to use it and deploy it properly or it needs sufficient guardrails to steer people towards doing so (what Muse is excelling at currently IMO). I'm routinely interacting with several agents a day operating various processes locally and in services I use, and there are numerous others silently spun up to perform actions or satisfy requests from my prompts.

Related to earlier discussion in the thread on leveraging local inference: this kind of analysis happening behind the scenes is something everyone will have built into Windows, IMO. Most people won't see all of this, just the results, unless they want to dig into how the fix was chosen. Stuff like this will be standard as agents get local system access baked in, and more of the inference itself moves on-device.

1792355686329.webp
T
Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.



This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
You invested in datacenters?
meStevo
You invested in datacenters?


Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 11 views
Former member 208119
Last reply · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio
My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke :biggrin
236 Replies · 10941 views
B
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $4.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Jimbo
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
EarDemon
I tried to do that, when I did delivery driver work (2010- 2013), we had a fleet of Freightliners. The newer trucks had headunits that were satellite compatible (XM only I think), but lacked the antenna and guts. I got a car kt for my old Roady XT and tried to use it, but at the volume levels I needed have it at to hear it over the diesel engine it sounded like crap, so I used my phone with an aux cable. When I was in the middle of nowhere with no cell service it didn't do me any good though.

At my current job, one of our new cars has the free trial of SXM active, I frequently have to go off site to a location 75 miles away in a rural area and it's nice being able to use the service off of the satellites versus using the app. There are many places on this journey where all three providers lack service.
B
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
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TRG
TRG
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
B
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
Jimbo
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
You get an email every month to let you know they are billing you for the next month.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68525 Replies · 2672489 views
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Bobby
Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town - Charley Pride
harshness
Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker
dishstaller
Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band
sdfntx
See You in September - The Happenings
long_time_Dish
You Look Like You Love Me - Ella Langley
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
111 Replies · 1714 views
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osu1991
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M
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
Y
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
After having experienced Gus Ferguson trying to call soccer games, I'm uncertain why NFL football analysts get hate. Even the "worst" of them are pretty good.
meStevo
Jalen Hurts out indefinitely as they treat and monitor a superficial blood clot in his leg.


View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2111074303185989663?s=20
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meStevo
Browns lead the AFC North 🤣

Seth Meyers What GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
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T
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion
Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
5 Replies · 167 views
Titanium
Yes, many have hacked a DirecTV or Dish Network dish before. Quite undersized, but would receive the 97w KU stations with an LNBF swap. Make a template to set the LNBF face angle and distance from the reflector. Remove the current circular polarity LNBFs and make a bracket to hold the replacement linear LNBF in the correct centered position. Remember to set the polarity skew.
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B
would probably also work well for NHK on 101W and possibly for PBS on 99W. I used one for a while on 30W. Just keep in mind that because it's undersized for those satellites, it might work fine in clear weather but won't have much margin to account for signal degradation during rain/snow
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O
If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.
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T
I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...
Titanium
Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2
LNBF mount.webp