Good Article -

[Scott Greczkowski]

Normally I don't agree with Phillip Swann (aka Swanni) but I enjoyed his latest column.

Why Is DIRECTV Ignoring HDTV?

I agree with him that something is going on at DirecTV and I got to be honest, I don't think I like it.

 

[jdspencer]

What Swanni could also have said is that DirecTV doesn't seem to be using the new D10 and D11 sats effectively. He could also have mentioned the upcoming launch of D12.

I agree that DirecTV is keeping some info close to the vest.

I'm willing to just sit back and wait, as I have more than enough HD to keep me happy.

 

[lern4483]

Normally I don't agree with Phillip Swann (aka Swanni) but I enjoyed his latest column.

Why Is DIRECTV Ignoring HDTV?

I agree with him that something is going on at DirecTV and I got to be honest, I don't think I like it.

I aggree... Great article...

Maybe that explains as well the shift in customer service..

Interesting..

 

[DJ Rob]

I agree with that column and I'm starting to get really disapointed in DirecTv's lack of keeping up with Dish and other providers programming wise. It appears they are locked into a holding pattern for some reason. Last Fall, DirecTv could've easily added a few more HD channels to keep their customers happy but instead added mostly just a bunch of new HD PPV's.

 

[stonecold]

I agree that no new HD is disappointing and really just not right .


But I dont agree why. DTV is bandwith straped during Football season due to the NFL demands neither dish nor cable could meet the HD demands need of NFL ST .

What would be easy to miss some HD PPV channels during Sundays or AMC HD... and people going WTF where is my AMC HD.

I do feel that D12 launch needs to happen wiht out a flaw and the first thing they do is start carring those extra channels we have been missing out on .

DTV has been up for sale for the past 10 years give me a break.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

People seem to think that D12 will be DirecTV's saviour, but from my understanding it probably wont carry more then 30 national HD channel on it, the rest of the space is going to be for HD locals.

So whats the next satellite after D12 and when is it going up?

 

[iceturkee]

i just added cable because they are adding new hd faster than directv. they are suppose to have 100 national channels by the end of the year and i admist the picture quality isn't too bad. they are already up to about 60. i will keep the dish through football seasob but i suspect that come january, i will either cancel directv or suspend the account until september.

 

[stonecold]

People seem to think that D12 will be DirecTV's saviour, but from my understanding it probably wont carry more then 30 national HD channel on it, the rest of the space is going to be for HD locals.

So whats the next satellite after D12 and when is it going up?

the article said 2 to 3 dozen networks dtv missing out on

3 dozen =36

d12 30 national hd channels

Yes it a bandaide fix till what ever the next satellite will come out


But I would like to see Dish Network HD count if they had NFL ST with the same HD requirements that dtv has to meet to make the nfl happy.

 

[GailLA]

While the motive for not keeping up with HD adds can be debated, one thing is certain. Those who have other choices with more HD offerings will be moving on as soon as their contracts are up unless DTV gets its act together.

D* will be left with their core constituency so to speak. Those of us who were with them before and will remain because we are rural who can't get cable and who can't even get true broadband internet as an alternative to subscribing to a satellite TV service.

 

[lern4483]

While the motive for not keeping up with HD adds can be debated, one thing is certain. Those who have other choices with more HD offerings will be moving on as soon as their contracts are up unless DTV gets its act together.

D* will be left with their core constituency so to speak. Those of us who were with them before and will remain because we are rural who can't get cable and who can't even get true broadband internet as an alternative to subscribing to a satellite TV service.

Not sure why Dtv did not even add basic channel travelHD or some others that dish has?
They are not even interested in adding HD primiums?

Is it strictly that they have run out of room? Satelite wise, at the moment?

 

[Lib]

People seem to think that D12 will be DirecTV's saviour, but from my understanding it probably wont carry more then 30 national HD channel on it, the rest of the space is going to be for HD locals.

So whats the next satellite after D12 and when is it going up?

I'm new to all this stuff but I thought that this new satellite was going to provide 80 new national channels. Thought I read that somewhere.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I'm new to all this stuff but I thought that this new satellite was going to provide 80 new national channels. Thought I read that somewhere.

It can do that, however I have been told by a few folks at DirecTV that the majority of that space will be used for HD locals.

 

[Lib]

It can do that, however I have been told by a few folks at DirecTV that the majority of that space will be used for HD locals.

So you think that DirecTV is going to use national bandwidth and use that for local channels. Didn't think they've done that before. Thought national bandwidth was national channels, and spotbeams were local. Interesting.

 

[TulsaCoker]

and everyone don't forget all the HD mix channels D* provides that others do not. i.e. US Open Tennis, Golf, etc.

 

[dishrich]

People seem to think that D12 will be DirecTV's saviour, but from my understanding it probably wont carry more then 30 national HD channel on it, the rest of the space is going to be for HD locals.

I find this VERY hard to believe Scott - this makes more sense actually:

Sixto Report: D12/RB-2A Information: Status Pre-Launch - DBSTalk.Com

D12 CONUS:
16 transponders (TP9-TP24) of national bandwidth for MPEG4 HD from 103°
Each transponder supporting 5 HD channels for a total capacity of 80 national HD channels
Within the existing Ka-Hi (19890-20200 MHz) frequency range, supported with the current LNB
Spaceway-1 (SW1) is currently allocated the entire Ka-Hi (19700-20200) frequency range, therefore it's expected that SW1 and D12 will now share the range, with SW1 using the lower end, and D12 using the higher end

And here's what's being used for LIL:

D12 Local-in-Local (LiL):
10 transponders (TP15-TP24) of spot beam bandwidth for MPEG4 HD LiL from 103°
Supporting 49 spot beams
Within the existing Ka-Lo (18600-18800 MHz) frequency range (same as D10), supported with the current LNB
The spot beam bandwidth is for in-orbit redundancy or replacement for the spot beam capability of either D10 or D11 (if D12 were moved to 99°)

 

[dcowboy7]

Swanns a jerk.

 

[Lkr]

how often does Dish have 20 MLB EI HD channels and 20 NFL ST HD channels running

 

[dwrats_56]

I really disagree with Swammi's article.

He said, "In the last 18 months, DIRECTV seemingly has decided to all but ignore the HD audience. " In fact they have added approximately 52 DMA HD LiLs. True they haven't added that many national channels but they have added a few.

People seem to think that D12 will be DirecTV's saviour, but from my understanding it probably wont carry more then 30 national HD channel on it, the rest of the space is going to be for HD locals.

So whats the next satellite after D12 and when is it going up?

D12 has the capacity for 80 CONUS HD channels. 16 transponders with 5 channels on each transponders. They may only add 30 shortly after they take possession of the satellite, but they will have the capacity for much more than that. D12 will also have the capacity for 49 addition DMA HD LiLs. With 129 being served today plus another possible 49 DMA's, that covers 178 DMA's in HD. Today there are only about 151 SD DMA's being served.

Swammi needs to figure out how to remove his head and look at the whole picture.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Guys I am just going on what I have been told...

Remember when the last satellite was launch they were promising us over 150 channels... what happened?

Look how much new national HD we got from D11.

 

[uncrules]

Guys I am just going on what I have been told...

Remember when the last satellite was launch they were promising us over 150 channels... what happened?

Look how much new national HD we got from D11.

Either the person you talked to was wrong or they miscommunicated the info to you. The FCC documents clearly show what D12 is capable of. 16 CONUS transponders for 80 channels and other transponders to support 49 spot beams. There is also gonna be 18 spot beam transponders using the new BSS frequency (17345-17700 MHz). What D* will do with it? Who knows.

Now I was just as disappointed with the lack of significant HD expansion after D11 as the next guy. Arguing this is what lead me to stop posting at the other site. But in fairness to D*, 4 of D11's 14 CONUS transponders were used up for existing HD channels. D10 was originally suppose to have only 14 CONUS transponders but instead 16 was used initially. So the channels on those transponders had to be moved to D11. Also the old legacy MPEG2 HD channels that were on older sats at 110 and 119 got MPEG4 versions on D11. So that's spots for 20 channels used on channels we already had.

After that these new channels have been added over time since D11 was launched.

Planet Green HD
ABC Family HD
Showtime 3 HD
Showtime Extreme
Fox Sports South HD went from part time to full time
Sports South HD went from part time to full time
Sunshine HD went from part time to full time
Fox Sports Prime Ticket HD went from part time to full time
Fox Sports North HD went from part time to full time
Fox Sports Midwest HD went from part time to full time
Fox Sports Rocky Mountain went from part time to full time
Fox Sports Arizona went from part time to full time
Fox Sports Northwest HD went from part time to full time
Fox News Channel HD
Crime and Investigation HD
Golf Channel HD became it's own separate channel from the old Versus/Golf Channel HD combo channel.
Comedy Central HD
A channel spot was used to start pushing 1080p movies down to HD DVRs
Yankees Bonus Cam HD
Sports Time Ohio went from part time to full time
MASN HD went from part time to full time
MLB Network HD
MLB Network HD alternate
BET HD

So that's 24 new channels (although the value of some of these is quite debatable and maybe shouldn't have been done - hint moving part time RSNs to full time and a Yankee Bonus cam) plus 20 existing channels being move from existing locations.

So that's 44 of the possible 70 channels D11 was suppose to add. Unfortunately a lot of the remaining space is being used for full time HD PPVs (not the part time HD PPVs that share space with part time RSNs and sports packages like NFL ST and MLB EI) that should be used for regular HD channels and I think D* has some unused space (10 or less) that they aren't using for some strange reason.

Now when D12 goes up either in mid October (not likely) or mid December (more likely since another satellite is going up mid November) with activation probably in February, I remain skeptical of D*'s ability or willingness to negotiate contracts for additional HD channels. Their recent track record in this regard since Malone bought them is bad.