Got some answers, FWIW, at DirecTV

[Alan Gordon]

D* doesn't even carry my regular locals. So I know they won't carry the HD's

DirecTV has pretty much stated they will carry HD-LIL for the entire country, so the odds are better for you getting HD-LIL than SD-LIL... though DirecTV 9s will probably allow DirecTV to offer more SD-LIL markets...

~Alan

 

[Alan Gordon]

Then you should be getting the SD & HD nationals right? What is your zip?

Uh, Charper1, I know you know that just because DirecTV doesn't offer LIL into your market means that you automatically get access to SD-DNS or HD-DNS, so what was your question here?!

~Alan

 

[CPanther95]

Actually, I believe D* has stated that they will not be adding any more SD-LIL markets. They will add all the HD channels in the markets they currently carry, then when they reach the markets in which they have no SD-LILs, they will add HDs (if any) and the digital stations for that market.

 

[Alan Gordon]

Actually, I believe D* has stated that they will not be adding any more SD-LIL markets. They will add all the HD channels in the markets they currently carry, then when they reach the markets in which they have no SD-LILs, they will add HDs (if any) and the digital stations for that market.

LonghornXP has stated that there will be no more SD-LIL, but I've never read anything official from DirecTV saying that, and DirecTV will have the capability to add several additional markets once DirecTV 9s goes up. It would be kind of silly for them not to add them since they have the capability and the majority of their customers are still SD viewers, and probably will be for several more years...

~Alan

 

[CPanther95]

They said it at one of their quarterly conference calls last year. They will have to supply feeds to SD customers also. If it's an HD station via a separate feed, or an SD station will go to both.

 

[Alan Gordon]

They said it at one of their quarterly conference calls last year. They will have to supply feeds to SD customers also. If it's an HD station via a separate feed, or an SD station will go to both.

Hmm, I don't remember hearing about that. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if they find a way to put up a few more once 9s goes up.

~Alan

 

[herdfan]

why do you think that directv HAS to provide you a tuner for something they cant charge for?

Because I am paying for the equipment. I know it is subsidized, but for that subsidy they get a 2-year commitment. So as a paying customer, I will only pay for a box with an ATSC tuner. Simple as that.

Another look at is it D* and E* will have a much easier argument against multicast must-carry if they provide a way for customers to receive the multicasts.

 

[TheForce]

I'd answer, but I'm not sure what question you asked that you didn't already answer.

His Q&As were rhetorical. to make his case, I beleive. Actually, I understand where his thinking is and happen to agree with it. But, to explain why DirecTV WOULD give you an OTA tuner or two and install an off air antenna is because they may just believe they have to go that extra step of "value added" feature to get your business away from cable or even away from the free off air and then slowly ween you off of free TV to subscription service local broadcast TV via their LIL just as cable does.

It just means that AFAIK, there is no law that requires these DBS providers to supply you with OTA tuners in their gear. I think those laws only pertain to TV sets, not satellite receivers.

 

[dlsnyder]

It was announced the other day that NBC is fixing to sale some of their O&O stations. Which ones these are, I don't know, but I thought I'd mention it.
~Alan

IMHO this is a smart move if it is true. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the value of broadcast TV properties dropped dramatically after the digital cutover in 2009.

 

[rad]

IMHO this is a smart move if it is true. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the value of broadcast TV properties dropped dramatically after the digital cutover in 2009.

They had a guest on CNBC yesterday afternoon that said that the old distribution models are on the way out. His take was that consumers won't need fixed broadcast, cable or DBS in the near future, that everyone will be walking around with their IPod Videos, cell phones, Treo/Palm/Blackberry and downloading content off the net.

 

[Barney]

In this pic of the new HD-DVR (H20), I can see that they have coax to the (looks like) two ATSC tuner inputs....but off to the left is one F-type connector (can't read the input)...antenna input????

http://gear.ign.com/articles/679/679224p1.html

I know the article says " The device features two DirecTV inputs, two ATSC tuners, one satellite in,".....what do they mean by "one satellite in"?

Barney

 

[CPanther95]

If the final design has only 3 coax connectors, it would be for two SAT IN connections and one ANT IN connection for the ATSC tuners. That would mean they would eliminate the rf output (doubtful). The final product should have 4.

 

[Barney]

If the final design has only 3 coax connectors, it would be for two SAT IN connections and one ANT IN connection for the ATSC tuners. That would mean they would eliminate the rf output (doubtful). The final product should have 4.

So if it has an "antenna in w/ATSC tuner"....then we can get all our local OTA digital channels along with their sub digital channels (doplar radar, etc) by way of antenna.

 

[CPanther95]

Yes, the ANT IN will feed the two ATSC tuners (assuming they will stick with two) - it is split internally.

 

[snidely]

They had a guest on CNBC yesterday afternoon that said that the old distribution models are on the way out. His take was that consumers won't need fixed broadcast, cable or DBS in the near future, that everyone will be walking around with their IPod Videos, cell phones, Treo/Palm/Blackberry and downloading content off the net.

That's like when people said in the 40's that once everyone had TV in their home they wouldn't go to movies any more. Very few people will abandon TV, especially HD, to watch sports, movies etc. on a 2" screen.

...mike

 

[hdtvtechno]

In this pic of the new HD-DVR (H20), I can see that they have coax to the (looks like) two ATSC tuner inputs....but off to the left is one F-type connector (can't read the input)...antenna input????
Barney

Maybe RF remote antenna input ? like the H20 has

 

[Stargazer]

Eventually everyone will be able to get a wireless high speed internet connection and it will be used for all communications whether it be television, internet, telephone, or something else we have not thought of yet. People will be using their laptops (or new devices that may replace it) to view their television, call, view the internet, etc. I believe the devices of the future may be a small device such as a cell phone in which may change its name along with the laptop. I believe this portable small device will display an image on a surface in which it will become the screen for the display. It will show the image similar to a projector but may work differently. They may start doing this at first by having a flat surface or a travel rollout screen that would receive the the small picture on the cell phone and enlarge it onto that device. The television and internet merged.

 

[CPanther95]

Maybe - but I'm still waiting for those personal jet-packs they had in the 60's that were supposed to be commonplace by now.

 

[Stargazer]

We can all dream can't we lol.

 

[herdfan]

That would mean they would eliminate the rf output (doubtful). The final product should have 4.

Why would an HD box have an RF out? None of their current HD boxes (H10/H20/HR10-250) have an RF out, so why would they put it on the new one. In fact, the H20 even lost the COAX digital out that the H10 has.

D* does not want the customer to have an easy way to distribute its signal throughout the house. They want you to pay mirroring fees in other rooms. So since they are including RF antenna's now, they are going to make it harder for you to distribute.