[kpepling]

I heard Mark Cuban on the Don and Mike radio show today. He mentioned launching a west coast feed of HDNet hopefully before the end of the year.

 

[bgall]

I hope he'd launch a new network rather than a complete duplicate, sounds kinda silly to me.

 

[CycloneGT]

I'm sure its just a 3hr delay for the West Coast Cable Companies. If E* and D* don't carry the West coast feeds of the premiums (HBO, SHO, etc..) then I doubt that would carry HDNet's west coast feeds.

 

[TonyW79SFV]

I say every network should get rid of west feeds. I like east coast hours.


For D* and E*, most premiums have east/west feeds, other networks are east only except for Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Cable takes the appropriate feeds for the region's time zone.

 

[ENDContra]

The majority of their primetime programming is repeated from 11PM-2AM every night...sounds like theres already a west coast feed built in.

 

[NetworkTV]

Quote:

Originally posted by TonyW79SFV I say every network should get rid of west feeds. I like east coast hours. For D* and E*, most premiums have east/west feeds, other networks are east only except for Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Cable takes the appropriate feeds for the region's time zone.

I don't know, I like having both feeds, especially when it's a heavy night for TV and a dual-tuner recorder still isn't enough. It's nice to have the option to view the West feed later on. Personally, I'd love it if I could get the West coast feeds of the affiliates, but, gosh darn it, my locals are up on the bird, so I'm not eligable.

 

[ANSEK]

I think Mark is making a mistake with this one. HDNet should launch a completely new channel like HDNet Sports or HDNet News instead of a West Coast feed of an existing channel. I would hate to see D* pickup a West Coast Feed of HDNet over something more worth while such as Cinemax-HD or Starz-HD.

 

[HiDefSooner]

With HDNet shutting down their HDNet OTA product November 1, maybe HDNet West is going to use the infrastructure that the HDNet OTA feed was using.

 

[vurbano]

I think its a good move. He could eliminate the repeats and develop new content. Im sure he doesnt have enough content yet for another channel. Unless you like watching loops repeat over and over all day. SOme of you seem to think he can just wave a magic wand and instantly 20 new compelling shows will appear. IM sure ABC, NBC, and CBS would like to get ahold of that wand too. LMFAO

 

[Marissadad]

I'm on the West Coast and I prefer getting the East Coast feed, then I can see all of the good stuff during Primetime.

 

[Steve S]

NOOOOOO! D* won't carry the West Coast feed, they're too busy adding network feeds for those too lazy to put up an antenna. Without the repeats for the West Coast on the existing channel I'll miss Smallville and most of the other good primetime stuff.

 

[NetworkTV]

Quote:

Originally posted by Steve S NOOOOOO! D* won't carry the West Coast feed, they're too busy adding network feeds for those too lazy to put up an antenna. Without the repeats for the West Coast on the existing channel I'll miss Smallville and most of the other good primetime stuff.

That's nice of you. It must give you a good feeling to know that you can get a good OTA signal. Some of us don't have that luxury.


As far as "lazy", I think it's unreasonable for you to assume everyone wants an ugly antenna on their roof. Those are the customers D* is trying to attract - the ones who wouldn't think of satellite unless they could get it all through the dish. Those are also the customers who will pay for all the other HD you want to get.


Stop being so shortsighted. Your ignorance is showing.

 

[HDTVChallenged]

Quote:

Originally posted by NetworkTV As far as "lazy", I think it's unreasonable for you to assume everyone wants an ugly antenna on their roof.

Haven't you heard? Big ugly antennas are the new gotta have status symbol. Old is New again.

 

[CZ Eddie]

Why would I want to watch east coast feeds? The best movies come on at 8PM, and in the east coast, 8PM is 5PM here on the west coast. I'm still battling rush hour traffic at that time.


HBO and Showtime air their best movies while I'm still in the car. And I don't have the luxury of recording these shows.


I think the only people who actually like the east coast feed are those who work odd hours (the minority) or others who are retired.

 

[ANSEK]

Quote:

Originally posted by NetworkTV That's nice of you. It must give you a good feeling to know that you can get a good OTA signal. Some of us don't have that luxury. As far as "lazy", I think it's unreasonable for you to assume everyone wants an ugly antenna on their roof. Those are the customers D* is trying to attract - the ones who wouldn't think of satellite unless they could get it all through the dish. Those are also the customers who will pay for all the other HD you want to get. Stop being so shortsighted. Your ignorance is showing.

I agree that "lazy" may not be the most appropriate term. I believe most of the "blame" for lack of quality OTA signal in many parts of the country belongs with the local stations themselves. Many stations are broadcasting at a fraction of the their normal power. This makes it difficult for people in many parts of the country to get a useable signal without going through more effort than what could be considered reasonable.


I live in South Florida and I have no problem getting all OTA DTV stations in my area with a simple antenna array in my attic. If it was this easy for everyone I would feel that many are not making a reasonable effort to get free high quality (much better than D*) OTA broadcast. For now I can respect the challenges faced by many.


Given the very limited bandwidth available to D*, I have a major problem with D* adding HD channels that are not available to all HD subscribers. Currently more than half of D* HD lineup is not available to all subscribers. I would understand if the 7 HD channels available to all subscribers represented the universe of "national HD feeds" but, they do not. There are so many channel’s that would benefit all HD subscribers that D* has chosen to overlook in favor of catering to a fraction of their HD subscriber base.


When you look at the very restrictive policy for getting these limited availability channels it makes you wonder just what percentage of D* HD subscribers have access to these 8 channels?

 

[NetworkTV]

Quote:

Originally posted by ANSEK Given the very limited bandwidth available to D*, I have a major problem with D* adding HD channels that are not available to all HD subscribers. Currently more than half of D* HD lineup is not available to all subscribers. I would understand if the 7 HD channels available to all subscribers represented the universe of "national HD feeds" but, they do not. There are so many channel’s that would benefit all HD subscribers that D* has chosen to overlook in favor of catering to a fraction of their HD subscriber base. When you look at the very restrictive policy for getting these limited availability channels it makes you wonder just what percentage of D* HD subscribers have access to these 8 channels?

The point of the current HD broadcast network offering is not to get to everyone. It's a stop-gap measure until those other satellites are in orbit and they can do it right (satellites that have no real use other than spot-beam transmissions - meaning tons of wasted capicity if not used for LIL). The new HD locals that will go up with the new sats aren't stealing bandwidth that would be used for national channels. If anything (especially if D* wins the right to only carry the digital channels) they'll create more space on the existing birds by removing local channels that aren't the most efficient use of those sats.


The fact is, LIL attracts subscribers. More subscribers means more money for D*. More money for D* means more expansion of satellite infrastructure and (in the end) programming - HD included. Like the animated monkey said to the lion, "It's the circle of life."

 

[mx6bfast]

Quote:

Originally posted by Steve S NOOOOOO! D* won't carry the West Coast feed, they're too busy adding network feeds for those too lazy to put up an antenna.

I love it how the arguement always starts "those too lazy to put up an antenna"

 

[SonomaSearcher]

I think cable/satellite networks with dual (East and West) feeds will start dropping the second feed within a few years as DVR's become more and more omnipresent. This is ESPECIALLY true for those programmers who do not sell commercial time on their networks. It will probably take 8 to 10 years before the second feed is a thing of the past for all the cable/satellite networks.


However, for OTA (broadcast) networks with East and West feeds, it will take longer (15+ years) as DVR adoption will be much slower for most OTA only viewers. Also, the business model for the broadcast networks is much more dependent on commercial revenue, so it is certainly in their interests to resist the influence of DVR's for as long as possible.

 

[bonscott87]

Quote:

Originally posted by Steve S NOOOOOO! D* won't carry the West Coast feed, they're too busy adding network feeds for those too lazy to put up an antenna.

Lest one forget the huge cost involved as well. In my area only a huge rooftop model will do, being 50+ miles from the towers with hills and trees in the way to boot. So it's a minimum $500-$750 for a antenna to be installed. Or one could get it from cable or satellite they already have at no cost to them other then a programming fee. Gee, which choice might you think most will take?


Myself, there was already an antenna on my roof when I bought my house. If it wasn't there I'd probably be looking at cable for HD locals instead. And of course once I've got cable in the home, what stops me from seeing that maybe I could just get it all from them and get rid of D*? This is why D* knows they MUST get HD locals up as well as keep things like Sunday Ticket.

 

[Steve S]

Quote:

Originally posted by NetworkTV That's nice of you. It must give you a good feeling to know that you can get a good OTA signal. Some of us don't have that luxury. As far as "lazy", I think it's unreasonable for you to assume everyone wants an ugly antenna on their roof. Those are the customers D* is trying to attract - the ones who wouldn't think of satellite unless they could get it all through the dish. Those are also the customers who will pay for all the other HD you want to get. Stop being so shortsighted. Your ignorance is showing.

And an oval dish is so much more attractive than an antenna?


Who's really ignorant here?


The fact is that 100% of D*'s HD customers outnumber the small minority that really need HD network feeds, not to mention those who don't need it but whose delicate sense of decor is offended by an antenna or are you to ignorant to do simple math?


I pay for the HD channels, and the 100% of the customers being shafted for the minority whose decorating sense is offended by an antenna more than by an oval dish are also paying customers. We outnumber you by a large majority so if anyone's subsidizing something it's us, not the Network Feed eligible types.


The fact is that the majority of D*'s HD customers are being shafted by the network feed policy, we pay the same as you and get less. That's a simple fact, not ignorance.