DirecTV Sucks

[mugrad2006]

Yeah, it's all of 6 inches larger on each side and 2 inches taller which allows you to receive 100 HD stations now and about 160 by the end of the year.  Hey, enjoy cable with their 12 HD stations...each to his own I guess....it's still a very small dish, smaller then the DISH HD dish...again, each to his own.

I've got comcast and although I hate it (part of a condo hoa fee) I do get every channel in HD. Unless you've got some other definition of HD.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I've got comcast and although I hate it (part of a condo hoa fee) I do get every channel in HD. Unless you've got some other definition of HD.

Note I made that comment in 2008, when Comcast had about 12 channels in HD.  Though even today, not every channel is in HD...no one has an all HD lineup because not all channels are even available in HD yet.
 

[mugrad2006]

Note I made that comment in 2008, when Comcast had about 12 channels in HD.  Though even today, not every channel is in HD...no one has an all HD lineup because not all channels are even available in HD yet.
 

Sorry bout that. I didn't even consider a thread that old would be resurrected...

[ChicosBailBonds]

np

[mueron]

The interface won an Emmy as the best interface in television, beating out cable, Telco and DISH. 

What year did this happen? I ask because I think the U-Verse interface is unmatched in simplicity, looks, and intuitiveness. Comcast is the worst I've used. Direct tv seems convoluted imo

[muwarrior69]

I suspect when you do lose it, probably HD and not SD, right?  HD uses Ka band frequency while SD uses Ku frequency, at least that's how we have ours set up.  Ka is more susceptible than Ku.  In the coming years as 4K launches (next year) and SD goes away, you will see a migration more to Ku which will make any outages even less of an issue.  Reverse band will also play a role as that uses an entirely different frequency.

All that said, check your readings, if they aren't in the low 90's, you should have it tweaked.  A signal in the 90's is going to withstand most of what mother nature delivers if not all.  If you're in the 80's or 70's, the dish needs to be repointed as that will definitely suffer, no question, from weather events as the signal is not peaking properly on your dish.

Is that true, Chicos? Will all the sd channels that are not HD now become HD or just dropped. Was wondering if C-span will go HD soon. ...and yes the only time I lose signal is in a heavy thunderstorm or when snow collects on my dish...no big deal.

[ChicosBailBonds]

What year did this happen? I ask because I think the U-Verse interface is unmatched in simplicity, looks, and intuitiveness. Comcast is the worst I've used. Direct tv seems convoluted imo

Last year

[ChicosBailBonds]

Is that true, Chicos? Will all the sd channels that are not HD now become HD or just dropped. Was wondering if C-span will go HD soon. ...and yes the only time I lose signal is in a heavy thunderstorm or when snow collects on my dish...no big deal.

SD isn't going away next year, 4K is coming next year.  It will take a few years for SD to go away.  There are still millions and millions of people out there with SD televisions that have long life spans. 

To answer your question, yes those SD only channels will have to produce in HD if they wish to be carried in HD.  Technically, they don't have to do that.  I have only HD equipment in my house, but some channels are still in SD and we watch them.  It's up to the channel if they wish to do this, but they would be smart to do to it.

I think you will see SD around for another 4 to 6 years depending how things shake out in the industry.  You might see some providers go all HD faster than others because they are smaller in size or are a more recent distributor so fewer of their customers have SD.  The issue is the tremendous capital cost in replacing millions of receivers at a pretty good cost per unit pop.

[DegenerateDish]

4K is going to bomb.

[rocky_warrior]

4K is going to bomb.

I don't think it's even going to reach enough mass to be considered a bomb.  Maybe "4K is going to thud"?  I'd agree with that.

[DegenerateDish]

I don't think it's even going to reach enough mass to be considered a bomb.  Maybe "4K is going to thud"?  I'd agree with that.

I work for a display mfg (commercial, not consumer), and we strongly consider 4k to be the next 3D. Public won't embrace it, cost/availability of content.

I'd rather buy a 70" or above 1080 TV than a 46"-55"
4k, not even a question in my mind.

[Spotcheck Billy]

4K would be a joke since there isn't enough bandwidth now for anyone to distribute full 1080p

I haven't seen a demo but supposedly there is no noticeable improvement except on very large screens, it reeks more of marketing ala 240hz LCD sets etc.

[ChicosBailBonds]

4K is going to bomb.

It depends and you could be absolutely right.  It certainly will do better than 3D.  4K is more than just enhanced picture, it allows the splicing of data within the picture.  As an example, you could have video on 2/3 of the display and incorporate independent graphics, different video, etc in the other 1/3 that is dynamic, not all part of the same video stream.

I don't think it will bomb, I also don't think it will be as great a jump as HD.  It's somewhere in between.  The key will be the cost of the 4K television sets and how much content is out there.  You need all for it to succeed.  New MPEG4 codecs coming out as well, which will help on the badwidth consumption which is another negative for HD and especially 4K

[ChicosBailBonds]

4K would be a joke since there isn't enough bandwidth now for anyone to distribute full 1080p

I haven't seen a demo but supposedly there is no noticeable improvement except on very large screens, it reeks more of marketing ala 240hz LCD sets etc.

This where a company like DIRECTV can do something (again) that many others can't.  It is bandwidth intensive, but we can use reverse band to deliver something like this while cable cannot.

I've seen the demo, it definitely makes a different on the larger screens.  That's why this will be a product mostly consumed by your higher end crowd and not every day guy like HD, though even HD adoption still isn't universal. 

It won't bomb, but it isn't the same as HD either.  I certainly wouldn't categorize it as a marketing item....there are things 4K is capable of that "regular" HD is not, regardless of bit rate or resolution (1080i, 1080p, 720p)

[tower912]

Missed the first 5 minutes of the game as the dish went out on a wind-free 45 degree day.   8 minutes to reboot.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Missed the first 5 minutes of the game as the dish went out on a wind-free 45 degree day.   8 minutes to reboot.

You guys need to get rid of DISH Network....seriously.

[MUBillsTil2017]

Hey Chicos,

I ordered HD through DirecTV and they showed up today with a bigger satellite. Of course none of this was mentioned when I called. There is no way I'm putting one of those eye sores on my house. It's bad enough as it is, now I'm putting a bigger, more obnoxious one up?

Time to switch back to cable.

I got fed up with cable around 1997.  sh!tty equipment and worse service out here in NorCal.  Switched to DTV in 1997 and a early HD adopter in 2000 and have kept their service ever since.  With cable I had homicidal moments in front of the TV.  DTV hasn't gotten under my skin except for the costs.  Out here with occasional monsoon winter storms I have never lost signals with DTV.   One  time I got into a war with my home owner association over the placement of my dish, but other than that, DTV has been an after thought.

[SaintPaulWarrior]

I got fed up with cable around 1997.  sh!tty equipment and worse service out here in NorCal.  Switched to DTV in 1997 and a early HD adopter in 2000 and have kept their service ever since.  With cable I had homicidal moments in front of the TV.  DTV hasn't gotten under my skin except for the costs.  Out here with occasional monsoon winter storms I have never lost signals with DTV.   One  time I got into a war with my home owner association over the placement of my dish, but other than that, DTV has been an after thought.

Have had DTV since June of 2000 and couldn't be happier.  Every once in awhile I might have to get out the ladder and broom to brush off snow but that is very rare.

[real chili 83]

Have had DTV since June of 2000 and couldn't be happier.  Every once in awhile I might have to get out the ladder and broom to brush off snow but that is very rare.

Thinking about it after seeing the wireless set up JB has at his new crib.

I see they have some year end deals too.  Just worried about giving up my Comcast email that I've had forever. 

Chicos, got any coupons? 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Thinking about it after seeing the wireless set up JB has at his new crib.

I see they have some year end deals too.  Just worried about giving up my Comcast email that I've had forever.  

Chicos, got any coupons?  

Friends and Family offer....just PM me when you are ready.  As for email, I long ago switched to a "neutral" email provider so I wouldn't be tied to a provider if I switched.  Whether it is gmail, hotmail, yahoo, or whatever, it is provider agnostic and gives you a lot more flexibility to move as you wish.

[mu_hilltopper]

This could also be posted to the Doom thread ..

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/directv-races-to-decommission-broken-boeing-satellite-before-it-explodes/

Cheeks, any comment?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

This could also be posted to the Doom thread ..

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/directv-races-to-decommission-broken-boeing-satellite-before-it-explodes/

Cheeks, any comment?

He's currently in a spacesuit getting ready for a space walk.

[Cheeks]

This could also be posted to the Doom thread ..

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/directv-races-to-decommission-broken-boeing-satellite-before-it-explodes/

Cheeks, any comment?

First off, it's a load of crap click bait.  It's a backup satellite that covers Alaska only.  If this was 10 years ago, it would be a big problem as SW1 was covering most of the USA, but that bird long ago was put into backup role and is way past its intended lifespan.