DirecTV HDTV - Page 466

If DirecTV doesn't provide anything, then who should I pay my overinflated bill to?

With the new HD channels coming to DirecTV, there really aren't very many left that too many people care about. For the women, Style, Oxygen and perhaps OWN (although other than the Lance interview, when has anybody desired to watch it). For both genders, Reelz, Sundance and FMC. Some people may complain about a lack of the CSpan channels in HD but I can guarantee it doesn't get less boring in high def. Other than some of the regional sports networks, is there any other channel a significant number of people are clamoring for in HD?

Outdoor and Sportsman channels

GSN - still can't figure out why we don't have this one yet, its partially owned by DIRECTV.

Well, as I've posted before, I'm scheduled for my DTV install next Sunday the 27th, however I'm still on the fence about having it installed.
I'm not afraid of change, the UVerse has been good for us, but its not blowing me away...I think a sign of a good service is when you really don't have any complaints about it and can get used to it and it just lives with you and your lifestyle, but now and then something should blow you away and make you say, "hey I got a great service"...

I don't know...if AT&T or any service will do that for me, DTV maybe?

They aren't a provider - they're a distributer.

The studio is a content creator.
The station is the content provider.
The cable or satellite company is the content distributer.

So, the money you pay goes like this:

The cable company takes a portion to pay for the fees they pay to distribute the channel in a manner that makes it easy to view, plus expenses, plus profit.

V V V V

The money they collect that doesn't go to them then goes to the channel which takes out the portion they need to pay for the content and the expensive of putting bugs on it and inserting commercials, plus a profit.

V V V V

They then pass along the fees they need to pay for the content, which goes to pay all the actors, crew (including 6 producers and executive producers and a dozen or more writers) and the various sundries, including special effects - plus a profit.

DTV will be here tomorrow. I couldn't be more disappointed with FIOS TV, the internet speeds are great but the dvr hardware, dvr interface, and programming leave a lot to be desired. not to mention the limited HD channels on the NHL center ice package and some HD channels missing on the main programming compared to DTV.

My only concern is the actual instlal, I dont want this thing on the house and requested pole mount...hoping it wont be an issue since the ground is frozen.

Reminder (since Ken H doesn't moderate here anymore, somebody needs to do it):

 

Official, AVS standard abbreviations:

 

DTV - digital TV (as in OTA)

 

D* - DirecTV

 

E* - Dish Network (Echostar)

Edited by Rammitinski - 1/20/13 at 6:14pm

I was gonna, but you beat me to it.

tomayto tomahto

Am I the only one that keeps losing their close captions. I'm not sure when it started, but I continually lose close captioning on my HR20-100. I'm using a component connection like I have for the last 5 or 6 years. Anybody else?

Antennas work just fine in bad weather. Where I used to live we had some pretty powerful thunderstorms and at that time I would watch TV on our HR20's thru the antenna. The same with where I am now, thick clouds roll through and even tho D* goes out the antenna still works. The only time I had any issues with the antenna was if there was a lightning strike extremely close to the house the video would stutter for a second, but that is it.

OTOH, relatively benign weather phenomena like frontal systems or low-level temperature inversions can create havoc ... not to mention skip. Then again, I would have zero chance of pulling in any of the stations affected by these phenomena with such an antenna as that Terk.

Choosing which CW station to TiVo is always a last minute call here.

Any news when the new HD channels will be added?

Some this week, some next week.

I'm new to DTV. Will DTV announce the new HD channels in the msg box?

Nobody else losing their close captioning? Oh well I guess it's about time for an upgrade, the HR20-100 has been a good DVR, but I'm getting where I like my close captioning more and more as I get older. It actually helps keep me more focused on the content.

installed and couldnt be happier right now. blows fios tv out of the water.

In what way does it blow fios tv out of the water? Im just curious, as im sort of looking to switch from Dish to Fios...but im not sure yet, those are the types of comments that are holding me back.

first, the receivers/equipment you receive from FIOS are garbage. the hardware and technology isnt even remotely comparable to what dish or directv offer. which really surprises me, here you have fiber running right into your home with all sorts of bandwidth at your disposal and they hookup receivers that are ancient. My 6 series motorola has lowest storage capacity ive ever experienced and the "client" box running on the second tv was infuriatingly terrible. Its hit or miss what youll get as well, they'll hook you up with whatever is in the van.

second, the software/interface for the DVR was straight out of 1999. yea, that bad. Slow, clunky, 4:3 with letterbox, awful looking, terrible to use, missed recordings, couldnt control live tv from client.....the list goes on

third, the programming is laughable at best. fiber to the home and they limit HD content on sport packages? give me a break. I was about to sign up for NHL center ice and noticed only 5 HD channels for the package and as I did research online, I found that they rarely use the 5 channels anyways. So good luck getting your game in HD , let alone picking the feed you want. not to mention the HD channels they are missing in the main programming altogether.

fourth, picture quality. everyone says FIOS doesnt compress the HD content and its fantastic. Oh really? I had dish prior and directv now....both satellites have better PQ than FIOS.



i think that may cover it. if you have satellite right now, you'll absolutely regret switching. the only bone ill throw FIOS is the internet connection. I am signed up with the old 25/25 plan and I routinely hit 30down/30up speeds. its stupid fast.

What do you feel about dtv as opposed to dish?

Yeah I might just go fios internet and see what kind of a difference it is compared to my comcast.

AVS conventions (repeated from just a few posts ago)

DTV = Digital television or OTA
D* = DirecTV
E* = Dish

So are you asking if over-the-air is better than Dish?

Just curious how some feel d* is compared to dish in channels, pq etc..

[edited to insert conventions used on AVS]

i had dish with a 622 and 722k. PQ is comparable. You wont see a big difference between the two.

Well D* (DirecTV) supposedly has the better picture due to bandwidth and some other technical details. I'd spend some time at http://www.dbstalk.com/ to get some really technical and detailed information, not that it can't be found here, but its all dish/direcTV talk there.

I'm agreeing with waltah above, I can't believe the companies like Verizon and AT&T have this fiber technology but yet consider their DVRs high end.
I was blown away when I called into AT&T to see if I could get the newest DVR STB from them, a VIP 2250 (currently VIP 1225), that is I was wanting to go from 300GBs space to 500GBs space, both are considered "HIGH CAPACITY" to them...lol...really? I guess they don't keep up with drive sizes these days. It probably doesn't help that I work for Seagate and so drive sizes are important to me, but 300GBs is almost like a 5MB floppy diskt to me, lol.

This is why I'm leaving AT&T this week, DirecTV comes out Sunday and Cox comes out Thursday for my internet.

I will let AT&T know that their service was fine, but it when it comes to the newest technologies, they let the competition pass them by.
I'm sure in two more years, it will probably be the opposite, just the pendulum swinging...

What they were saying the differences were over on dbstalk was this...

Also my take from being over on that forum for a few weeks was that the majority of people who know a lot seem to have and like DirecTV.
I posted questions in both the DirecTV an Dish sides, to get a feel from both, and it was very easy to tell that the Dish folks didn't have as much to brag about, feature and hardware wise. And when a Dish person tried to interject in the DirecTV side, they would shoot him down with facts that were not arguable.

So my feel was that DirecTV was/is the superior service based on my needs and likes. Sports, Movies, etc...they have just about every HD channel I watch so it was really pretty easy for me to pick them over Dish.

i was going to say PQ on directv was better but didnt want to look like a homer since i just got it installed yesterday. it isnt anything drastic but it is the best PQ i have experienced between dish, fios, and a local cable provider.

also for myself, the sports channels are out of this world. to have both home and away feeds in HD for my NHL package is worth its weight in gold alone. dish was hit or miss with hd content. D* seems to really go all out.

lol, well you're ahead of me, I don't have it installed yet at all. Sunday is my install, so all my info is from research and questions.

Can't you use a CableCard DVR like the Tivos on FIOS?

Hey, if you like NBA, the League Pass is free all week this week.

Yeah they usually do. You can also check back here. Keep an eye out between now and Friday morning.