This from Int Launch Services, July 1:

"It is Sunday morning and L-6 days to launch. After two relatively quiet days of ILV checks, it is time to move it to the Breeze M fueling station. This is day one of two days performing one of the more hazardous operations we will witness during a launch campaign. The ILV is positioned on a specially designed rail car -- specially designed in that it needs to support the entire length and mass of a fully integrated Proton M launch vehicle!

With the ILV ready to roll, the troops gathered outside of Hall 111 in anticipation of the transport. Between the cool air, light breeze and bright sunshine, there couldn't be a better morning to transport. It's breathtaking to watch the horizontal ILV roll slowly out of the building. The only thing that could bring on more goosebumps would have been Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" (think "Apocalypse Now") playing on loudspeakers as it came out!

The unit was towed out via a locomotive, and then backed up into the Breeze M fueling station, which looks like a huge carport of sorts. This is its home for two days as the Breeze M multi-burn main engine takes on fuel. All fueling operations are completely controlled by Khrunichev specialists.

Because of the nature of the fueling operations, Building 92A-50 is cleared of all non-essential personnel. With the perfect weather and a day off, a large number of the American team took a bus ride in to Baikonur City. The rest of us decided to give the kitchen staff an evening off, and plan a long overdue Sunday summer cookout."

There is a launch webcast site (http://streamvox.streamos.com/vyvx/ils070607/)

The launch will be shown on the directv customer care channel for those wondering.........but not in hd, kind of ironic.

The launch will be shown on the directv customer care channel for those wondering.........but not in hd, kind of ironic.


I guess they'll replay it this Fall in HD when they have the bandwidth. :D

I guess they'll replay it this Fall in HD when they have the bandwidth. :D

LOL! :D

I guess they'll replay it this Fall in HD when they have the bandwidth. :D

Gotta fill those "150 HD channels" with something, right? ;)

I guess they'll replay it this Fall in HD when they have the bandwidth. :D

:D LOL :D

I'll be watching the webcast

Proton DIRECTV 10 Launch July 6th at 9:16pm EDT

I'll be watching the webcast

Proton DIRECTV 10 Launch July 6th at 9:16pm EDT
Just watch it on D*s ch:570.

Just watch it on D*s ch:570.

I'm a Comcast sub, I won't stand for inferior PQ and down rezz'd HD channels. Plus I currently get damn near twice near the HD channels than with D*.

Not trying to start a pissing match or fan boy argument, but I'll stick to the webcast

I'm a Comcast sub, I won't stand for inferior PQ and down rezz'd HD channels. Plus I currently get damn near twice near the HD channels than with D*.

Not trying to start a pissing match or fan boy argument, but I'll stick to the webcast


then what the hell would possibly make you interested in the launch at all?

Just watch it on D*s ch:570.


what's 570? i thought the customer service channel is 201?

then what the hell would possibly make you interested in the launch at all?

I like watching rocket launches, raw power, hoping for an explosion (j/king)...Just into things like launches. The main thing I miss from Comcast is HDNet, I'd love to see NASA launches in HD.

Maybe if D* brings their PQ back to full quality, especially on the HD channels, then I might think about a switch. I''ll be keeping an eye on my friends D* system after September and beyond as we have the same TV. I'm after the best PQ and channel selection.

We'll see what the next few months brings if the bird gets launched successfully, orbited, and online.

The main thing I miss from Comcast is HDNet,

You gotta be in the minority. Most folks I know have dumped Comcrap in favor of D* - including my son. Their DVR, according to everything I have heard, is one of the worst POS ever created by man.

You gotta be in the minority. Most folks I know have dumped Comcrap in favor of D* - including my son. Their DVR, according to everything I have heard, is one of the worst POS ever created by man.

Going completely off topic, but the Moto box isn't bad and the interface, while not great is all I've ever used. I'm thinking about trying the Tivo software upgrade when it comes to my area. Boston is supposed to be the first area to get it in July.

Besides the fact that it gets slowed down, I really like the Comcast guide and have even gotten my wife to stop channel surfing in favor of using the channel guide an info button while watching the current channel in the upper corner.

I'd never change providers just because of an interface when the HD and SD PQ that I've seen on so many D* setups is so utterly poor. I've good things about thier MPEG4 LiLs, but I'll wait for Lansing to get a spot beam or the new birds with all the new bandwidth, MPeg4, and new channels.

Do some side-by-side comparisons, ya know

Hopefully by then, D* will have caught Comcast in HD channels in my area as they are seriously lacking right now.

You gotta be in the minority. Most folks I know have dumped Comcrap in favor of D* - including my son. Their DVR, according to everything I have heard, is one of the worst POS ever created by man.


yeah, i seriously think it was built by monkeys. i wrestle with the damn thing every time i visit my parents.

I can see it now....."directv sat10 catches on fire during launch, HD channels delayed till 2011"

If it does we'll know who to blame for jinxing it.
The Comcast sub probably realizes that all of the new channels that are going to start broadcasting in HD will also end up on his cable system, as well as Dish Network, FIOS etc. Good times ahead for all of us.

Moved to Hardware forum.

then what the hell would possibly make you interested in the launch at all?

Maybe the same reason people watch NASCAR - to see the drivers they don't like crash. ;)

A successful launch helps everyone as cable systems will have to add more channels to stay competitive. The MPEG4 channels DirecTV has now are beautiful! The HD locals from DirecTV have the same great picture as OTA!

Here's the link to the official blog:

http://www.ilslaunch.com/blog/

A successful launch helps everyone as cable systems will have to add more channels to stay competitive. The MPEG4 channels DirecTV has now are beautiful! The HD locals from DirecTV have the same great picture as OTA!

Absolutely. Love 'em or hate 'em, D* is raising the bar with this 100 HD channel schtick. Once that sat launches successfully, the race is on, and by the end of the year I predict most cablecos will go from first to worst in the HD race.

I am a D* customer *barely* eeking out reception through a bunch of trees in our yard (but it amazingly works; barely...) with my Directv/HDTivo unit. I have had D* over to try to upgrade to the new mpeg4 boxes (hr-20 I believe?) but they said that they could not get a good line of site with the new dish and were sort of amazed that my current setup was working.

Anyways, my question is whether the new DTV10 launch will be helping me get a new (better) line of site? Thanks

aab - Nope, it'll be sharing a spot with one of the other new sats that went up, the new ones are at the 99 and 103 slots.

I can see it now....."directv sat10 catches on fire during launch, HD channels delayed till 2011"

If that happens, I'll be on my roof hugging my new 5LNB dish and crying.

If that happens, I'll be on my roof hugging my new 5LNB dish and crying.

I will be in the backyard shooting mine with a 12 gauge! :D

I will be in the backyard shooting mine with a 12 gauge! :D


Threads like these kill me, do you think our neighbors know how crazy we are? I got the new dish a couple weeks ago, and I was out looking at it for about 5 straight minutes holding a beer like it was God or something.
Joe

Gotta fill those "150 HD channels" with something, right? ;)Right :rolleyes:.

As soon as that satellite is launched, I'm gonna call them and sign up for a two-year commitment immediately ;).

Threads like these kill me, do you think our neighbors know how crazy we are? I got the new dish a couple weeks ago, and I was out looking at it for about 5 straight minutes holding a beer like it was God or something.
Joe

Joebaseball you are dead on!!! I got my first DVR yesterday (5 lnb / HR20-100S) replacing my trusty old H10 and spent about 10 minutes looking at the dish right on the peak of my roof 3 stories up (walk in cellar). With me it's the wife who thinks I'm wacked not the neighbors. They all have other reasons; LOL.

Didn't plan it this way but I just realized the new sat launches tonight. Good timing on my part. Hope all goes well.................

Bumping, 4 hrs 35mins to launch

Website notes launch time change to 8:50pm

On channel 570, the D-10 launch "show" is on.

Interestingly D* 570 is about 10 seconds behind the webcast.

D-10 is on its way!

actually 18 seconds

rocket away!

Will someone PLEASE tell the commentator guy to shut up!!!

EDIT - Looks like he got the hint and quit talking over the Baikonur announcer.

D-10 is on its way!


"everything looks quite normal", dont think they had enough time to say that last time! Fingers crossed...
Joe

Second stage ignition.

Third stage ignition, fairing jetison.

Exciting stuff!!! Looking good!

So far so good.

Five Breeze M starts is kinda sacry.

The young whippersnappers of 2020 will never believe the hassle we went through to get HD.

Breeze M first burn underway.

Yes I was delighted to see this was the first deployment.

Five Breeze M starts is kinda sacry.

First Breeze M shutdown was nominal.

Yeh, but E* uses a bigger rocket for their launches, and they still have more HD channels than D*. D* is still nothing but promises. They haven't added a single HD channel yet.
:D

I know, wrong thread, but isn't there a forum rule somewhere that says you can't have more than 5 positive posts about D* before you are required to have a E* fanboy posting stating how bad D* service is and that it is nothing but promises. Since I didn't see any E* fanboys posting here I thought I would maintain the forum rules and dignity and say something bad about D* just to keep us on track.

Things look pretty good for now, just hope those solar panels all deploy properly once it gets on station for testing. Got my HR20 and H20's with the 5 LNB dish installed so as Spongebob says, "I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!"

Watching it after recording it. I'm glad that dude finally shut up during the lift off.

My favorite line "Right now it's going at a speed of ............... I don't have that information."

I'm not sure I've been this interested in a launch since 1969, heh.

So the 100 HD channels will be up by midnight, right? right?

:D

Second Breeze M burn completed.

Whats this whole thing cost?
Satellite, Proton rocket, Launch?

$10 per month at least until the end of the year :D

From the ILS website post at 6:25 AM ET:

We have just received confirmation that the fifth and final burn sequence has been completed nominally. The Proton Breeze M carrying DIRECTV 10 has successfully placed the satellite in orbit, completing the mission for ILS.

The bird is in orbit! The rest is up to Boeing and D* now to get the bird in shape for September service launch!

(Now time to order my Slimline!)

My Slimline install is scheduled for Monday. Got my Dad's done a couple weeks ago. Didn't want to take any chances that they fire up a bunch of HD channels ahead of schedule and installs get heavily backordered before I got upgraded.

I was thinking the same thing as CPanther and foxeng about upgrading. I wanted to do it before they started getting really busy. I was able to get mine installed 2 days after I placed an order for a new HR20 for $20. If you 2 haven't seen one yet it's a monster compaired to the 3-lnb. But now I'm ready :)

So how long would it take for the bird to get into it's final orbital slot? Does that usually take a week or 2?

I'm replacing 2 3-lnb dishes with a single 5-lnb, so hopefully the size shock will be mitigated a little bit.

Just got my slimline installed Friday. Would like to compare signal readings on sats 99 and 103. My readings on other 3 sats are 95-100.

Just got my slimline installed Friday. Would like to compare signal readings on sats 99 and 103. My readings on other 3 sats are 95-100.

Your 99 and 103 readings are unique to your location so comparing them with people from anywhere else is meaningless.
All transponders on the satellites currently transmitting from 99 and 103 are on spotbeams, each spotbeam is aimed at a particular area of the country. One transponder can be driving several spotbeams. If you have HD locals, they come from either one or two transponders on only one of the satellites, so any readings you see on the other satellite, plus all the other transponders on "your" satellite, are for other cities and you are seeing them because you are in the coverage of another spotbeam even though you can't receive any of the programming.
People in the east, where the cities with HD locals are close together, can often see signals on many of the transponders on both satellites. Peopls in the west, where the cities with HD locals are far apart, sometime only see their "own" transponders, so they don't see ANY signals on the "other" satellite at all.
When DirecTV10 starts transmitting, the higher numbered transponders at 103 will "light up" and everyone across the country will see many of them because they are carrying national HD. Some of them will still be spotbeams carrying HD locals for new cities so again you won't see all of them.

DirecTV 11?

what D* launch is scheduled next?

is it a backup or essential for more HD service in the USA ?

Thanks

Thank you, Texas Brit for making this much clearer. It looks like my dish is aimed correctly and I will be able to receive new programming on new sat. Also, wondering why readings are 25 points higher on this new DVR than they were on my receiver (only) '20-600'. I thought, inside, they were both 'about the same' as far as the receiver.

DirecTV 11?

what D* launch is scheduled next?

is it a backup or essential for more HD service in the USA ?
It is scheduled for early 08. It will go in either 99, 101, or 103, whichever one D* 10 isn't. I forget which but I think 99. I think D*10 is going to 103, but I'm not completely sure. Had you have asked me many months ago I would've been able to tell you for sure. :)

DirecTV 11?

what D* launch is scheduled next?

is it a backup or essential for more HD service in the USA ?

Thanks

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/factsheets/702/dtv10-11-12_factsheet.pdf

If I'm reading this information correctly, DirecTV 10 is going to the 103 slot and DirecTV 11 will go to the 99 slot. There is a third satellite that is an onground spare.

DirecTV 11?

what D* launch is scheduled next?

is it a backup or essential for more HD service in the USA ?

Thanks

Next sat will go early next year. It was bumped when the Sea Launch explosion happened. I believe it is an identical sat as D* 10 and will split the 150 national/ 1500 local capacities between them.

So it is just as essential for new services, but they've re-tasked them from splitting the local national channel load - to focusing the first on national and delaying the LIL rollouts in the smaller markets until the 2nd sat goes up.

I just can't wait to put my 7 HD DVRs (4 HR20-700s, 1 HR20-100 BLACK and 2 HR10-250s) to work! :) Of course the 250s won't be getting the newer HD channels...

I just can't wait to put my 7 HD DVRs (4 HR20-700s, 1 HR20-100 BLACK and 2 HR10-250s) to work! :) Of course the 250s won't be getting the newer HD channels...
Dang! Watching TV must be almost all you do. :)

So how long would it take for the bird to get into it's final orbital slot? Does that usually take a week or 2?

I think the application I saw on the FCC website said D* wanted to take a couple of weeks to float it into final slot and while it was floating over, to do the startup on it so when it reached its slot it would be ready to go. D* stated they were looking at a Sept 15 date to have it ready to go but I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them get it going earlier to try and head off some of cable's more HD marketing.

I think the application I saw on the FCC website said D* wanted to take a couple of weeks to float it into final slot and while it was floating over, to do the startup on it so when it reached its slot it would be ready to go. D* stated they were looking at a Sept 15 date to have it ready to go but I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see them get it going earlier to try and head off some of cable's more HD marketing.
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/servlet/ib.page.FetchAttachment?attachment_key=-130667

Well, there you go. It had been a few weeks since I had seen it and I couldn't remember everything word for word in it. The basics of my statement hold true. Mid September.

DIRECTV 10 Satellite Delivers First Signals from Space

The DIRECTV 10 satellite has sent its first on-orbit signals to the Boeing Mission Control Center in El Segundo, Calif., indicating that the satellite is healthy and operating normally.

An International Launch Services Proton Breeze M vehicle launched the satellite yesterday at 9:16 p.m. EDT (1:16 GMT July 7) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The ground station in Hartebeesthoek, South Africa, reported spacecraft acquisition 9 hours, 49 minutes later.

Boeing's advanced telecommunications technology aboard the 702 model satellite will expand DIRECTV's national and local high-definition services across the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska.

DIRECTV 10, one of three next-generation satellites Boeing is building for DIRECTV, features state-of-the-art antenna and payload subsystems and a 48-meter solar array, resulting in 18,000 watts of spacecraft power.

http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/7351

I just can't wait to put my 7 HD DVRs (4 HR20-700s, 1 HR20-100 BLACK and 2 HR10-250s) to work! :) Of course the 250s won't be getting the newer HD channels...

Yikes! I bet your monthly bill is enormous!

I am a D* customer *barely* eeking out reception through a bunch of trees in our yard (but it amazingly works; barely...) with my Directv/HDTivo unit. I have had D* over to try to upgrade to the new mpeg4 boxes (hr-20 I believe?) but they said that they could not get a good line of site with the new dish and were sort of amazed that my current setup was working.

Anyways, my question is whether the new DTV10 launch will be helping me get a new (better) line of site? Thanks

aab - I also have tree problems but only with the 110 and 119 slots. That is fairly common because they're not only a good deal away from the 99-103s but also lower in the horizon (the 119 anyway). If your situation is like mine, the new sats will indeed help because HD content will be shifted from the hard to get 110 and 119 sats to the new, easier to pull sat locations.

You can check your reception by satellite to see if the new sats will improve your reception situation (they WILL help me)!

D*10 is inching closer to the 102.8 degree slot. Now at 99.4 degrees. For the latest, go to http://www.n2yo.com/?s=31862.

Testing should begin soon.

D*10 is inching closer to the 102.8 degree slot. Now at 99.4 degrees. For the latest, go to http://www.n2yo.com/?s=31862.

Testing should begin soon.

I learn something new from you guys everyday !!