If you like PQ it might be time to leave Directv

[vurbano]

Recent reports on AVS indicate downrezzing to 1280x1080 on D*. And that Hdnet movies looks no better than DVD quality. Are the days of HDlite beginning for D*????

 

[riggscm]

Hd Pq

Is it possible that this is a temp. measure to feed us HD signals till more bandwidth (read more satellites) become available?

As with any data service its all about the bandwidth, and with HD at high PQ taking up alot of it, well it seems that this is just a band-aid till they can get some birds in the air.

curious for opinions...

 

[Darin]

It's quite obvious this is being done to make room for all the HD games on Sunday ticket. I feel quite certain this is a temporary issue, which worst case will be over at the end of the ST season, but hopefully they will continue changing things around so the impact on the two affected channels will be constrained to Sundays.

The bigger question, Vurbano, is why you are so obsessed with this. In just the two threads on this topic at AVS, you've posted over 30 times in the past week, and it's not the first time you've brought it up here. In fact, doing a search on your username at AVS reveals that the majority of your recent posts are on DirecTV. That's not unusual in itself, except that you're a Voom customer. You'd think that you'd be much more concerned with the signal they are sending you, instead of what we are getting from DirecTV. What bitrate is Voom using? What resolution are they encoding at? How long have these numbers been in place?

I think it's a bit premature to be fearing the end of PQ as we know it on DirecTV. There's a lot going on right now... ST just started, they've added NBC-HD E/W, and they are beginning testing of locals from 72.5. They've also announced MAJOR long term bandwidth increases specifically for HD. Considering everything that's going on, I think I'd be looking for a little more than a week of higher compression on two channels before running around like chicken little.

 

[slacker9876]

Is it possible that this is a temp. measure to feed us HD signals till more bandwidth (read more satellites) become available?

As with any data service its all about the bandwidth, and with HD at high PQ taking up alot of it, well it seems that this is just a band-aid till they can get some birds in the air.

curious for opinions...

Agreed, this is a temporary issue. Just considering the facts that D* will be able to do 500 LIL HD or 150 National HD with the new birds in April they are just buying time. While I agree the overall PQ has degraded recently the NFL ST games look as good as the ones I get OTA.

 

[andrzej]

Agreed, this is a temporary issue....

In other words, no problem?
Somehow, this "temporary" label doesn't make me feel better or make PQ any better on my monitor.

 

[vurbano]

It's quite obvious this is being done to make room for all the HD games on Sunday ticket. I feel quite certain this is a temporary issue, which worst case will be over at the end of the ST season, but hopefully they will continue changing things around so the impact on the two affected channels will be constrained to Sundays.

The bigger question, Vurbano, is why you are so obsessed with this. In just the two threads on this topic at AVS, you've posted over 30 times in the past week, and it's not the first time you've brought it up here. In fact, doing a search on your username at AVS reveals that the majority of your recent posts are on DirecTV. That's not unusual in itself, except that you're a Voom customer. You'd think that you'd be much more concerned with the signal they are sending you, instead of what we are getting from DirecTV. What bitrate is Voom using? What resolution are they encoding at? How long have these numbers been in place?

I think it's a bit premature to be fearing the end of PQ as we know it on DirecTV. There's a lot going on right now... ST just started, they've added NBC-HD E/W, and they are beginning testing of locals from 72.5. They've also announced MAJOR long term bandwidth increases specifically for HD. Considering everything that's going on, I think I'd be looking for a little more than a week of higher compression on two channels before running around like chicken little.

I have had both and I like knowing the available channels and PQ. And I would bet you have posted far more than I in those threads.

ANd yes you do .. 68 posts on this in one thread alone?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=444673&perpage=20&pagenumber=25
D* must pay their atack dog well.

 

[rkr0923]

he's a Voomer anyway
I watched Blue Realm on DiscoveryHD yesterday and looked fine, no PQ problem here.
and, you know where the door is. if you don't like what D* is doing, call them up, they will have you cutoff in a matter of minutes.

 

[Darin]

Temporary doesn't necessarily mean there's no problem. I just think it's a bit premature to think that this will become the status quo going forward. It only affects Showtime and HdNet Movies (and probably to a lesser extent, DiscoveryHD and BravoHD). If you are concerned, definitely write them a letter and let them know how you feel. But I wouldn't get too depressed just yet.

 

[vurbano]

Darin just for sh*t and giggles I counted 68 posts by you on this subject in one thread alone http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=444673&perpage=20&pagenumber=25

 

[slacker9876]

In other words, no problem?
Somehow, this "temporary" label doesn't make me feel better or make PQ any better on my monitor.

In other words, as long as the football in HD that I pay for and the movies I TiVo in SD and pay for look okay I am okay with it. I decided after yesterday this is just one of those things we have no control over and throwing more energy at it will just tick me off.

If for some reason it is not better when the new birds are online I suppose I could contemplate a switch but D* have been the best provider for years for me. I don't like Dish and I hate Comcast so ... other than OTA DTV and HDTV, my options are somewhat limited

 

[Darin]

I have had both and I like knowing the available channels and PQ.

You subscribe to the HD package and Showtime from both? Seems kind of wasteful, all that would gain you is HDNet.

And I would bet you have posted far more than I in those threads.

I would say that's a fair bet. They are my sole source of HD (well, except for OTA, but I watch more "cable" content than broadcast network), and I am interested in what they are providing to me. But honestly, in those threads, I was actually more interested in they hysteria that ensued than I was concerned over my HD quality.

D* must pay their atack dog well.

If you are suggesting that I get paid by DirecTV, then that's about as baseless as some of your other posts. I can assure you, the monetary exchange between myself and DirecTV is quite in the opposite direction. At least my posts are primarily in response to specific issues being discussed. I don't generally go around praising DirecTV, or creating new threads bashing Voom/Dish/cable.

 

[Seawaves]

Recent reports on AVS indicate downrezzing to 1280x1080 on D*. And that Hdnet movies looks no better than DVD quality. Are the days of HDlite beginning for D*????

While this is most likely true, Vurb what do you recommend we do? Get Dish? LMAO!

Voom has zero Sunday ticket and as you know, far less to watch than DTV.

 

[LOBO2999]

he's a Voomer anyway
I watched Blue Realm on DiscoveryHD yesterday and looked fine, no PQ problem here.
and, you know where the door is. if you don't like what D* is doing, call them up, they will have you cutoff in a matter of minutes.

I was watching the same show and it looked fine and we are getting 6 months for free, I also agree if you don't like it call them, thats what I did with voom ,though it is not easy with voom to just get cut off and get them to stop charging you 3 times in 1 month for an amount you didn't even pay when you had them . If after the 6 months are up and the PQ does not return I will complain but not until , thats about the same time the ST will be over .

 

[Sean Mota]

I do not think anyone of us would like to say to anyone change your service because it is not providing the best HD PQ on a certain channel (this is clearly up to each individual). In my opinion, D* subscribers should not drop their subscription because of this but be outspoken about it. D* went behind everyone's back and decided to do this and give free promotion of "HD Pack" without stating the real purpose. Could this change tomorrow or after NFL season is over? Yes, but not complaining to D* sends out a message. The message is quite clear: "more HD channels at the expense of PQ".

This is obvious with OTA network channels. My PBS-HD channel is always pixelated because of the sub-channels it carries. The same happens with NBC and now that Fox has gone the HD route, it is also happening to them. Yes, Over the air has nothing to do with satellite channels but the mentality is the same "more channels at the expense of PQ". I hope that not only D* subs but everyone gives feedback to D* that this is not acceptable for HD channels. We do not want to set a precedence such as what happened to the SD channels once satellite companies started carrying SD LIL.

P.S. the two channels in question are Showtime HD and HDnet Movies; Discovery-HD Theater is fine according to various reports.

 

[Darin]

P.S. the two channels in question are Showtime HD and HDnet Movies; Discovery-HD Theater is fine according to various reports.

The reason I mentioned DiscoveryHD is because if you look at the bottome of Cheezmo's bitrate page, he's got DiscoveryHD listed 3/xponder with Bravo and a ST channel. If that is accurate, it would only be 3/xponder during a game, so it wouldn't be a constant difference like the movie channels currently are. But even outside of Sundays, DiscHD could take a slight hit with the ST changes... before ST, DirecTV combined one primarily video based HD channel with one primarily film based HD channel. Cheezmo's comparisons at that time showed the video channels taking the lion's share of the bandwidth. That is to be expected, and appropriate, because the combination of lower framerate (24fps) and inherently lower resolution of telecined film means that it can get away with much lower bandwidth than most video based HD. Now that DiscoveryHD is sharing a transponder with another video based channel, it doesn't have the advantage of being able to steal bandwidth as needed from a less demanding channel. I haven't watched much TV in the past week... not sure if I've even seen any DiscHD in that period. But based on the mapping shown on Cheezmo's site, I could see how it could be compromised too, probably just not to the extent of the movie channels.

FWIW, I also noticed that there's at least one ST channel on Cheezmo's transponder mapping listed in more than one spot. That could just be a typo, but I'm pretty sure what's shown there now isn't what it was too long ago. I think they are still juggling things around, so what may be bad today may be fine tomorrow. Hopefully they'll continue to juggle to minimize the compromises, and hopefully even limit them to Sundays.

 

[Barney]

I'm a newbee here. I had the 1st Cable Co here in Austin Texas, then it was Time Warner. (I need to find out when I got DirecTV). I have been soooooooo happy with D*. I think I had it for around 3-4 years at my old house, 18" round dish with 1 LNB. I sold the house & bought the house I have now & D* installed a new round dish with 2 LNB's and had me going for free. I'm an audio guy, don't watch TV, love music & love DVD's (D* had a concert by my favorite-Stevie Ray-audio may sux & video may sux, but remeber when this was & for SRV to be boo'ed off the stage-wonder what these folks are saying today). After a long hunt & research (hardest thing I ever did, looking for a HDTV-spent more time looking for speakers-which is fun-for me) I called D* and wanted their oval dish with 3 LNB's. Dish was free, install was free for one room but had 3 rooms wired (had to pay $75 for the two rooms-wall drops through the attic). I was set, got my HDTV ready monitor/STB/$14 indoor antenna for OTA....I will wait for D* to provide me with more HD. I don't care for their customer service, but.....I'm kind-of an informed customer. HD is a new thing out there, D* is doing it right. There are folks out there on a farm, ranch, or City with only 150 citizens that would love to have more than a few channels. D* is taking care of them 1st. I like it. While they are doing this, they are taking care of us early adapters as well. I'm not dropping D*. They remind me of a President we had that started Electric Co-Ops, so someones grandma out in the sticks could have electricy to her home (just like the City Folks) & have LIGHT in her home for the first time, so at night, she could cook her grandchild an apple pie & see doing it.
Give 'em some time my friends..........I will.

Barney

 

[LOBO2999]

Here is Another reason to love D I found this over at HDTVgalaxy , Total Choice Premier Free Preview weekend
I just got my October issue of Directv the guide and I seen that on October 15-17 Directv will be having a free preview weekend of the Total Choice Premier package.

 

[Crazy 1]

Cool I can watch the Showtime ch. Thats the only package I don't subscribe to except for the sports. And not a sports nut. Thanks for the tip LOBO2999. As for PQ on D* I've been pretty satisfied, I don't have HD yet but SD is ok by me at this time. As for E* I've been there and won't be going back in this life time. O'l Charlie will just have to do it with out my bussiness. Burn me once, shame on you, burn me again and you can kiss my A$$. Like the the old tuna commercial " Sorry Charlie" .