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You're kidding right? I have 2 U.S. DBS providers right now and I'd drop both of them tomorrow if I could get all the Networks in HD and Showtime HD and HBO HD, HD PPV and Discovery HD via cable instead. |
You will not see any serious cable co carraige of HDNet, HD PPV, or Discovery HD for 5 years. HBO/Showtime/Locals in HD are available to approx 1% of the country right now and cable cos are fighting must-carry. It's entirely voluntary.
I hate my cable company and I hate their damn cable boxes that barely change channels right.
I guess it would help if I mentioned that I have a DirecTiVo and would NEVER go back to cable no matter what they offer, as their boxes, tech support, and downtimes SUCK!
I'll be even more committed to DirecTV when there is a DirecTV with TiVo that can record HD content. Then I will be able to record ABC, CBS, PBS, NBC, UPN, HBO, Showtime, and HDNet 1-4 all in HDTV quality. Time shifting and no commercials. Hell yes. Cable doesn't have anything on that.
If you think DirecTV is slacking as far as HD, you have not seriously considered or investigated the cable HD situation in this country!!
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The cable companies will definitely have the upper hand unless/until the technology changes enough to allow DBS to offer the locals in HD. |
R11, DBS will NEVER HAVE LOCALS IN HD. It is simply physically IMPOSSIBLE. An HDTV channel requires 6 MHz of bandwidth. The Ku band is a grand total of 2,100 MHz. Only 500 MHz in this country are dedicated/allowed/licensed to Dish Network and DirecTV COMBINED.
To have CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, and UPN in HD for 41 markets would be 1,200 MHz. (here comes the MPEG-4 misconceptions, I can feel em). We won't see encoding hardware and cable boxes that can deal with MPEG-4 for ~6 years.
And there is no reason why DBS should have to have locals, let alone in HD anyway!! It's only because digital broadcast of locals was not widespread.
If high-power digital broadcast of locals was available, covering a 15 mile radius of the top 41 markets, DirecTV probably wouldn't have launched a spot beam satellite for a bazillion dollars. Instead, they would have replaced all the boxes out there with smarter ones with an ATSC tuner, and all the firmware necessary to integrate the digital local OTA channels into the EPG seamlessly. You wouldn't even be able to tell you're watching a local channel OTA instead of from the satellite. (Actually you would cause the picture and sound would be a hell of a lot better!)