Spaceway 2 Launch thread - It's up!

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Great info Longhorn, as always thanks.

Sounds like the box swap will be key for everyone, I hope that new HD DVR comes out really quick. So D* is gonna swap Mpeg 2 boxes for all HD customers even before they need the new dish? Doing this will let them disable the Mpeg 2 HD feeds and transfer all the HD feeds to Mpeg 4 ASAP but I thought we were hearing the Mpeg 2 HD feeds would probably run through 2007? I'm still not quite clear on how many Mpeg 2 HD can be added other than I have heard a "few" which translates to me as 3 maybe 4. I think I am still a little confused about the Mpeg 4 HD rollout and if D* will indeed run additional Mpeg 4 channels that are not being shown in Mpeg 2?
 
Newshawk said:
Actually, Longhorn, there are two west coast markets on the first 12 list. You forgot San Francsico. However, as all the new dishes have the ability to see both of the SW satellites, I'm sure it'll be easy to put the SF spot on SW1 now and move it to SW2 when it gets handed over to D* by B*(oeing).
Click to expand...

They planned on having spotbeams created on the fly until SW2 got up and they started rolling out additional markets. Again we must remember that D* had plans to offer those 12 total markets on conus in the event that both spaceway 1 and 2 didn't go up and/or didn't work. Because SW1 as we know did get up and is working fine they now announced the next 24 markets. These 24 markets can without a doubt be offered with just spaceway 1 in the event that spaceway 2 either doesn't get up and/or doesn't work. Once SW2 gets up and is working you will no doubt see another 25 markets listed and their timframes and those timeframes will be based on how long it takes for those customers to get both the dish and new hardware as they will with anything need the supply to handle the demand.

Again much of this doesn't apply today but I'm just trying to explain their thinking. Once both spaceway sats are up and working fine they will switch everything into two big spotbeams instead of having spotbeams created on the fly in the markets that need them.
 
CWS_kahuna said:
Great info Longhorn, as always thanks.
Click to expand...

Your welcome and much of what I said was said before in one of my earlier posts at least several months ago. It just seems that so many people can't remember it because so much has changed with delays of both the dishes, boxes and the satellites. Overall its been one big mess to say the least.
 
LonghornXP said:
Because SW1 as we know did get up and is working fine they now announced the next 24 markets.
Click to expand...

Did they? I haven't seen anything about any more than the first 12. What are the next set of markets to convert?
 
Newshawk said:
Did they? I haven't seen anything about any more than the first 12. What are the next set of markets to convert?
Click to expand...

Huh they didn't announce them. Well just look at the DMA rankings and the top 25 markets will be up and running before summertime. If this isn't official yet as in a press release than I'm mistaken but I've been told directly that the top 25 markets will be up before the summer with at least the top 45-55 being up before the end of 2006. Also MPEG2 is likely to be around until very early 2007 because of two reasons.

1. Box swapouts even though easier than dish swapouts still take time and also rely on supply which is going to be low on the HD DVR front to get done everyone upgraded much earlier than the end of 2006. Remember all new customers who want an HD DVR will get the new HD DVR when its out while all customers within those top 50 or so markets will also get the new HD DVR swapout. Those two customer bases will take most of the supply at first.

2. They can offer about 6 more HD channels after the first of the year because next years Sunday Ticket HD games will only be in MPEG4. The fact remains sadly that massive amounts of new national HD channels won't start rolling into our lineups until the holidays next year or November timeframe of 2006 just to make things clear.

This will no doubt be a process and I know its not what most of us want to hear but its going to be what its going to be and I do no good to you all if I try and sugar coat all of this.
 
Newshawk said:
Did they? I haven't seen anything about any more than the first 12. What are the next set of markets to convert?
Click to expand...

Huh they didn't announce them. Well just look at the DMA rankings and the top 25 markets will be up and running before summertime. If this isn't official yet as in a press release than I'm mistaken but I've been told directly that the top 25 markets will be up before the summer with at least the top 45-55 being up before the end of 2006. Also MPEG2 is likely to be around until very early 2007 because of two reasons.

1. Box swapouts even though easier than dish swapouts still take time and also rely on supply which is going to be low on the HD DVR front to get done everyone upgraded much earlier than the end of 2006. Remember all new customers who want an HD DVR will get the new HD DVR when its out while all customers within those top 50 or so markets will also get the new HD DVR swapout. Those two customer bases will take most of the supply at first.

2. They can offer about 6 more HD channels after the first of the year because next years Sunday Ticket HD games will only be in MPEG4. The fact remains sadly that massive amounts of new national HD channels won't start rolling into our lineups until the holidays next year or November timeframe of 2006 just to make things clear.

This will no doubt be a process and I know its not what most of us want to hear but its going to be what its going to be and I do no good to you all if I try and sugar coat all of this.
 
Thanks again Longhorn. I'm guessing most people don't want to hear it's going to be about another year before things really get going. I understand that what D* is trying to do takes time though. If D* can somehow add another 6 national HD channels in Mpeg 2, I think that would please the majority of the HD subscribers until Mpeg 4 is ready to take over completely.
 
LonghornXP said:
2. They can offer about 6 more HD channels after the first of the year because next years Sunday Ticket HD games will only be in MPEG4. The fact remains sadly that massive amounts of new national HD channels won't start rolling into our lineups until the holidays next year or November timeframe of 2006 just to make things clear.
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. DirecTV gets their bandwidth for Sunday Ticket by turning off pay-per-view. Unless DirecTV plans to dramatically reduce their pay-per-view offerings they can not significantly increase their MPEG2 HD channels. DirecTV could add one more full time channel on transponder B-28 if they decided to get their bandwidth for part-time channels like HD RSNs and NFL Network HD by turning off pay-per-view (presumably the HD PPV on 99 as they'd need to turn off about 6 SD PPV channels for the same amount of bandwidth).

If anybody can look at the DirecTV transponder map and give a plausible theory as to how they could add six MPEG2 HD channels I'm all ears.
(google for the DFW bitrate monitor, I can't post urls as a new member yet)
 
GeorgeLV said:
This is incorrect. DirecTV gets their bandwidth for Sunday Ticket by turning off pay-per-view. Unless DirecTV plans to dramatically reduce their pay-per-view offerings they can not significantly increase their MPEG2 HD channels. DirecTV could add one more full time channel on transponder B-28 if they decided to get their bandwidth for part-time channels like HD RSNs and NFL Network HD by turning off pay-per-view (presumably the HD PPV on 99 as they'd need to turn off about 6 SD PPV channels for the same amount of bandwidth).
Click to expand...

Thanks GeorgeLV. That's exactly the point I was trying to get across.

-JustBob
 
JustBob said:
Thanks GeorgeLV. That's exactly the point I was trying to get across.

-JustBob
Click to expand...

Firstly your correct in a few ways. Now the SD Sunday Ticket channels are offered by freeing up PPV bandwidth. Today they have about three HD Sunday Ticket channels that are reserved and they aren't from turning off PPV channels. They also use the HD PPV channel which makes 4 total HD channels. Additional HD channels are created by turning off PPV channels.

Now they will be using the new encoders very soon for both MPEG2 and MPEG4. We have many things involved and to think they don't have a little bandwidth left over is crazy. They will be using the new encoders to reduce error correction bandwidth and to allow better use of each transponder. They are also getting ready to start testing hardware to support a transponder having a mix of SD channels and an HD channel. So less watched SD channels can get less bandwidth and squeezed onto a transponder that has an HD channel.

With the bandwidth they have and what I know they are going todo they can without a doubt offer an extra 6 HD channels but as with anything that will take time until they get those encoders and such ready.

But yes your right in that not all of the Sunday Ticket HD channels are dedicated HD feeds but don't think that all these HD channels and SD Sunday Ticket channels can be done just from turning off the PPV channels because they can't.

You will sew with time how all this will play out.
 
LonghornXP said:
If SV means significantly viewed as I think it does than yes they are indeed looking at doing this as long as that nearby market has HD locals up and running. So because the Boston HD locals will be part of the top 12 markets if your living in an area much outside of Boston where you qualify for the Boston HD locals via significantly viewed rules than you would get both the SD and HD feeds of those Boston local channels.

They also have plans to work with the local channels to give customers the closest nearby market that has HD locals available until they can get their own HD local channels because the local networks will understand that this would only be a short term deal. So from Sinclairs point of view they don't care which of the Sinclair stations a customer views only that they get paid for that customers viewing. As long as DirecTV has a deal with as many station owning companies as they can they can have a shot at being able todo this. The problem always was that Sinclair for example didn't want a national ABC HD feed being offered to a customer in a market where Sinclair owned that local ABC station because they wouldn't get any money from that customer. If Sinclair can get all the money they don't care.

It all evens out in the whole scheme of things. Some markets would lose a viewer but that station owner would make it up by getting money from customers they wouldn't normally get.
Click to expand...


Are the SV channels (yes, significantly viewed) still scheduled to be launched
in SD on Nov 9th?

Chip
 
LonghornXP said:
Firstly your correct in a few ways. Now the SD Sunday Ticket channels are offered by freeing up PPV bandwidth. Today they have about three HD Sunday Ticket channels that are reserved and they aren't from turning off PPV channels. They also use the HD PPV channel which makes 4 total HD channels. Additional HD channels are created by turning off PPV channels.

Now they will be using the new encoders very soon for both MPEG2 and MPEG4. We have many things involved and to think they don't have a little bandwidth left over is crazy. They will be using the new encoders to reduce error correction bandwidth and to allow better use of each transponder. They are also getting ready to start testing hardware to support a transponder having a mix of SD channels and an HD channel. So less watched SD channels can get less bandwidth and squeezed onto a transponder that has an HD channel.

With the bandwidth they have and what I know they are going todo they can without a doubt offer an extra 6 HD channels but as with anything that will take time until they get those encoders and such ready.

But yes your right in that not all of the Sunday Ticket HD channels are dedicated HD feeds but don't think that all these HD channels and SD Sunday Ticket channels can be done just from turning off the PPV channels because they can't.

You will sew with time how all this will play out.
Click to expand...


I'm pretty sure the only Sunday Ticket HD channels that don't come from turning off PPV are 723 on B-28 and 724 on A-15.

DirecTV already has SD channels on the same transponder as HD channels as is evidenced by the transponder map and my own experience with channels I've lost in rain fade.

If DirecTV drops the HD PPV and uses better encoders to free up transponders (presumably A-15 and the next best candidate appears to be A-25) then they could have space for six mpeg2 hd channels if they really, really pushed things. Since you need to consider the HD RSNs/special events PPV you'd need at least 2 of the channels to be premptable so that brings you back to having a HD PPV channel for one and an INHD2 type channel for the other. So you really only have 4 channels for full time HD, say, TNTHD, INHD, FOXHD, and National Geographic HD. If DirecTV could pull that lineup off without needing to upgrade everyone to 5LNB dishes and MPEG4, I'll be very impressed.
 
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