Sweet Direct TV

[Flasch186]

just flipping through the guide and found all sorts of new HD channels. thank you thank you thank you sweet Direct TV.

[timmynausea]

Sweet. Good eye, Flasch. I was hoping that BravoHD would be among the first to get added, though. I wanted to watch Top Chef in HD tonight.

[Critch]

I miss my DirecTV.

Canceled it last week (contrary to scare stories online, canceling was no problem at all by phone), now I miss Setanta and Timmy Tivo (as we'd lovingly named our little DVR). After the horror of years with Comcast, DirecTV service and customer service was a breath of fresh air.

Three cheers for DirecTV and lots of other sycophantic crap like that!

[cartman]

I'll have to see how many of the new HD channels I can get with my Sony SAT-HD300 receiver and 3 LNB dish. I'm guessing I'll need a 5 LNB dish, since the new HD channels are coming from the new satellite.

[Kodos]

We are edging closer to having DirecTV and our beloved Tivo back. We have an offer in on a house, and once it goes through, DirecTV will be at the top of the list of things to set up. Comcast--your days are numbered!

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Critch

I miss my DirecTV.

Canceled it last week (contrary to scare stories online, canceling was no problem at all by phone), now I miss Setanta and Timmy Tivo (as we'd lovingly named our little DVR). After the horror of years with Comcast, DirecTV service and customer service was a breath of fresh air.

Three cheers for DirecTV and lots of other sycophantic crap like that!

I cancelled mine as well, but not to go to cable. I just have an antenna doing the HD locals. If I ever wanted non-broadcast channels again, I would race back to DirecTV.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by cartman

I'll have to see how many of the new HD channels I can get with my Sony SAT-HD300 receiver and 3 LNB dish. I'm guessing I'll need a 5 LNB dish, since the new HD channels are coming from the new satellite.

To get any of the new HD channels, you will need a 5 LNB dish, and a new box (HR20, H20, or H21.) Also, you need B-Band convertors on the box (which is what my other thread was about on here.)

[rowech]

Can anybody give me what channels are now HD? Is there going to be a major price increase with this? I'm currently with Time Warner (who I despise) and want to switch but have been waiting to see how this all plays out.

[Critch]

I canceled my DirecTV to move to Verizon FiOS TV and Internet.

Seemed like a good time, trees were interfering with the reception, my Tivo DVR was dying, plus I wanted a step up from DSL.

No regrets about FiOS TV, but I still miss DirecTV.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by rowech

Can anybody give me what channels are now HD? Is there going to be a major price increase with this? I'm currently with Time Warner (who I despise) and want to switch but have been waiting to see how this all plays out.

The new channels that require the new receivers and sat:

A&E (265), Aninal Planet (282), Big Ten Network (220), CNN (202), Discovery Channel (278), History channel (269), TMC East (544), NFL Network (212), Showtime West (540), Showtime too (538), Smithsonian (267), Science Channel (284), Stars Comedy (519), Stars East (522), Stars West (540), stars Edge (520), Stars Kids and Family (518), TBS (247), TLC (280, Versus/Golf Channel (604), The Weather Channel (362)


Channels that were already in HD and are still available on older sats and boxs for now:

HBO, Showtime, HDNET, UHD, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and one or two others that I'm forgetting.

For existing customers, no price increase. For new customers, if you order a package that has the regular channels you get the HD versions (for example the Stars package), there are a few channels that are HD only and they will be 4.99 extra per month for new customers.

There also will be another couple of dozen channels launching over the next month or two including the one that I want the most (Sci-Fi channel.)

Also, regional sports networks will be shown nationally in HD soon, which I'm looking forward to.

[Doug5984]

I was actually upgrading my system today to the new 5 lnb dish, and a new HD DVR in the living room, once the tech got it all installed he was flipping though the channels and said, they must have just put these up because they weren't on here last night. Worked out nicely for me...

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The new channels that require the new receivers and sat:

A&E (265), Aninal Planet (282), Big Ten Network (220), CNN (202), Discovery Channel (278), History channel (269), TMC East (544), NFL Network (212), Showtime West (540), Showtime too (538), Smithsonian (267), Science Channel (284), Stars Comedy (519), Stars East (522), Stars West (540), stars Edge (520), Stars Kids and Family (518), TBS (247), TLC (280, Versus/Golf Channel (604), The Weather Channel (362)


Channels that were already in HD and are still available on older sats and boxs for now:

HBO, Showtime, HDNET, UHD, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and one or two others that I'm forgetting.

For existing customers, no price increase. For new customers, if you order a package that has the regular channels you get the HD versions (for example the Stars package), there are a few channels that are HD only and they will be 4.99 extra per month for new customers.

There also will be another couple of dozen channels launching over the next month or two including the one that I want the most (Sci-Fi channel.)

Also, regional sports networks will be shown nationally in HD soon, which I'm looking forward to.

Obviously there are contract issues that I can't fathom, but why Showtime West? Let's get Cinemax in HD first and while we are at it how about adding a few Cinemax channels. I am happy to hear about some of the other ones though! Especially NFL and TMC.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by panerd

Let's get Cinemax in HD first and while we are at it how about adding a few Cinemax channels.

There are plenty of places where you can get HD porn online for free...

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by panerd

Obviously there are contract issues that I can't fathom, but why Showtime West? Let's get Cinemax in HD first and while we are at it how about adding a few Cinemax channels. I am happy to hear about some of the other ones though! Especially NFL and TMC.

Several of the Cinemax channels are supposed to go live in HD within the next month.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I was worried that my setup might not work as I never could get the 498 test channel to work consistently, but all of my new HD channels are working brilliantly. I never understood the big deal of the MPEG2 vs MPEG4 arguments, but on the 60 inch screen the difference between a recent movie on HBO HD vs one of the new channels is definitely noticable. Some of the movies on the Stars HD channels right now are dazzling in appearance.

[Raiders Army]

Two words: NFL Network.

[CamEdwards]

Originally Posted by cartman

There are plenty of places where you can get HD porn online for free...

really? where? my, uh... my cousin wants to know.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

really? where? my, uh... my cousin wants to know.

Tell your cousin to search certain torrent sites.

[Ksyrup]

Anyone else seeing quirks with the new setup? First, it took me forever to realize that the new HD channels don't just replace the old channels (as I had read in a couple of places) and that I had to edit my favorites to de-select the old channels and select the HD channels. OK, fine, 30 minutes of my life wasted.

But then there's this problem - if you choose a channel straight from the guide or just by scrolling through the channels sequentially (and you've set your favorites right), you get the HD channels. But if you key in the channel numbers for the HD channels...no HD. You get the regular, non-HD channel...until you switch to another channel close by and manually channel up or down and go back to the HD channel, at which point you've finally got HD. So if you're watching Food Network and want to switch immediately to Discovery HD, the back button becomes irrelevant now, because you either have to use the guide to do it, or you key in 278, get the non-HD channel, channel up to 279, then channel down to 278...and finally you've got Discovery in HD.

I hope this is just a kink they are going to work through...

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm not having that problem, Ksyrup. If I enter in the number manually, it goes immediately to the HD channel even if I'm coming from another HD channel. Do you have Native resolution on or off?

[Ksyrup]

I have no clue. What is that?

[Eaglesfan27]

It is a setting that you should be able to view under the "setup tab" and then the HDTV sub-tab. Some people have reported similar problems to yours on dbstalk's forum and by turning that on, it can fix the problem. If it is already on, turning it off, and then on again can also fix the problem.

[saldana]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Anyone else seeing quirks with the new setup? First, it took me forever to realize that the new HD channels don't just replace the old channels (as I had read in a couple of places) and that I had to edit my favorites to de-select the old channels and select the HD channels. OK, fine, 30 minutes of my life wasted.

But then there's this problem - if you choose a channel straight from the guide or just by scrolling through the channels sequentially (and you've set your favorites right), you get the HD channels. But if you key in the channel numbers for the HD channels...no HD. You get the regular, non-HD channel...until you switch to another channel close by and manually channel up or down and go back to the HD channel, at which point you've finally got HD. So if you're watching Food Network and want to switch immediately to Discovery HD, the back button becomes irrelevant now, because you either have to use the guide to do it, or you key in 278, get the non-HD channel, channel up to 279, then channel down to 278...and finally you've got Discovery in HD.

I hope this is just a kink they are going to work through...

i dont have the problem either, but i know you arent alone...a guy in one of the Highdef forums is saying the same thing you are.

[cartman]

If can sweet talk my way into an upgrade for $19.99, I'll do it. But what I'm really waiting for is the DirecTV tuner card for Media Center Edition. Evidently it is ready to go, but D*TV has to get all of the content providers to sign off on it.

[StarBuck]

Our DirectTV was out all day. :-/

[Terps]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

It is a setting that you should be able to view under the "setup tab" and then the HDTV sub-tab. Some people have reported similar problems to yours on dbstalk's forum and by turning that on, it can fix the problem. If it is already on, turning it off, and then on again can also fix the problem.

I have the problem with it not defaulting to the HD channel also, but if I turn native on I get black bars on the sides and I'd rather watch the analog signal stretched.

[Terps]

Dola,

Nevermind, even with native turned to on it still doesn't default to the HD channel.

[Terps]

Just going through the guide and it looks like they added some more HD channels, a couple regional sports networks, USA, Sci-Fi, Cinemax, and Music HD just off the top of my head.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Terps

Just going through the guide and it looks like they added some more HD channels, a couple regional sports networks, USA, Sci-Fi, Cinemax, and Music HD just off the top of my head.

Thanks, seeing this I just checked dbstalk's board and apparently they added about a dozen more including Cinemax East and West, HBO West, Bravo, SciFi, USA, Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic, New England Sports Network, Sportsnet New York, YES, and Music HD.

[rowech]

Is there a website that lists what channels are coming on the various cable/satellite companies? Currently, we're with time warner but are thinking now might be the time to switch to directv.

[Terps]

Some more HD channels added over the past few days.

Food Network, MGM, National Geographic, and CNBC were added on the 10th.

Today, they added: FOX Business Network, HGTV, FX, Speed, Fuel, The Cartoon Network, FSN Detroit, FSN Southwest, FSN Prime Ticket, FSN West, and 7 more HD PPV channels.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by rowech

Is there a website that lists what channels are coming on the various cable/satellite companies? Currently, we're with time warner but are thinking now might be the time to switch to directv.

You can go to the avsforums.com and under the HD programming forum there's a sticky that has a chart showing all the various cable/satellite/fios providers and what channels they offer and what channels they have announced. Most cable companies don't announce channels in advance until they have an agreement. I know my cable company has said they plan on having 50 HD channels by the end of the year but haven't announced any specifics. I've been thinking of switching to Directv because of the HD content now but hate the idea of having to deal with the installation to all the various rooms of my house.

[Ksyrup]

I think I've noticed when DTV is adding channels...it's nearly impossible to watch HD channels at the time. Last night, I couldn't watch TBS or ESPN in HD because every few seconds, I kept getting one of two error messages and the screen would constantly go black, then go back to the game. I remember something like that happening a few weeks back when they added channels, too. So I had a couple of sports programs I could have watched in HD last night, but wasn't able to.

I also haven't had time to figure out the problem I mentioned above where I'm unable to get HD on channels when I put in the channel numbers with the remote. I tried what EF27 suggested, and it made no difference. I just haven't had a chance to call DTV to see if they can fix it for me. But it's a tremendous pain in the ass - I can't use the back button at all, so if I'm switching between 2 or 3 channels - say, a local channel, ESPN, and TBS, I have to go to 248, go down to 247 to get TBS in HD, then to 207, down to 206 for ESPN HD, repeat ad nauseum. It fucking sucks. I'm going to have to take the time to call one night, I guess.

My biggest issue right now is not having HD locals. I can only get NBC and ABC with the antenna I have. And CBS is the worst channel in the world for reception to begin with, so Sunday football games look like a big blur on my HD TV. Anyone with DTV and no HD locals figured out what to do? Someone from another forum said that they knew of people who got written waivers from their local stations that allowed them to get DTV's main HD ABC/NBC/Fox/CBS feeds, but that seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through. Guess I'll add that question to the list when I call.

[Flasch186]

written waiver, not so hard if its legit.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Bee

You can go to the avsforums.com and under the HD programming forum there's a sticky that has a chart showing all the various cable/satellite/fios providers and what channels they offer and what channels they have announced.

Yep... it's a great resource. Here's the link to the thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=419472

I have Comcast and can't wait until we get History-HD (which is under "announced") and get the "limited availablity" CNN-HD in Atlanta (you'd think we'd be one of the first to get that channel in HD.. but whatever).

[cartman]

Ksyrup,

I have the HD waivers for my D*TV account. The catch is that your local station has to be owned by the network, and not be an affiliate. Also, you can't be able to receive OTA HD feeds from those channels. If you meet those criteria, you can get either the West or East Coast network feed. I currently get CBS and Fox in HD that way, since ABC and NBC in Austin are affiliates.

[rjolley]

Anyone have DirecTV and Starz, but gets a message that they can't view Starz' HD channels?

Seeing Ksyrup's post above leads me to think that it was a temporary thing and it should work when I get home, but I'm wondering if it's working for anyone else.

[cartman]

Dola, I didn't have to contact the local stations, D*TV handled all of that for me. My understanding of the process is that D*TV notifies the station of your request, and they can challenge the OTA signal strength to your location. AFAIK, I've never heard of anyone actually being challenged.

Another, more inventive, method I heard is to tell them you are installing the receiver in an RV. That method evidently bypasses the whole waiver process.

[Ksyrup]

Either DTV's customer service is incompetent, their tech people are hopelessly behind the times, or it's a combination of both. I'm not at home so I couldn't call about the specific issue I'm having with the HD channels not in HD when I go directly to the channel, but I did call up just to find out whether they had any info about a schedule for adding local HDs for my area.

So I call and tell the lady who answers that I want to know when I can expect HD locals from DTV. She tells me that according to DTV's information, the reason I can't get locals in HD is that my local stations aren't airing in HD. So I explain to her that I know they are, and have been for at least a year, because I've been getting 2 of the channels in HD (ABC and NBC) with an antenna. She tells me that can't be possible. I tell her that not only is it possible, but I just checked on Time Warner's website, and for my area, they offer the PBS, Fox, and CBS channels in HD. So basically, if I switched to TW, I would get all 5 local channels (except CW, I guess) in HD between cable and antenna.

She puts me on hold to talk to the tech people. Five minutes later, she comes back and tells me that what I'm describing is impossible and that TW - she didn't want to say they were "lying" - probably has some inaccurate info on their website. At which point I point out, again, that they may be wrong, but I'm seeing at least 2 channels in HD with my own eyes, and the fact that TW's HD channels match up with what I can get with antenna suggests that they know what they're doing. At this point, she says she'll pass the information along, because according to DTV, we aren't anywhere near getting local HDs since they still believe no Lexington area channels are broadcasting in HD.

Fucking hell!

[cougarfreak]

How much do you guys pay for HD from Directv? I have dvr, and pay about 62.99, if I wanted to add all the HD channels except ones like HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc., how much would it cost me?

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

How much do you guys pay for HD from Directv? I have dvr, and pay about 62.99, if I wanted to add all the HD channels except ones like HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc., how much would it cost me?

It should only be $10.

[Ksyrup]

The HD service is a flat $10, but you have to buy the underlying packages to get HBO, Showtime, etc., in HD. I don't have any of those channels but have HD and I don't get those channels. Same thing with all of the regional sports channels. Without the sports pack, you get neither the channels nor the HD version of those channels.

I'm sure that makes sense, but I thought I'd point that out since I doubt you would pay as little as $63 a month for all of the packages you would need to get HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc., plus HD.

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Same thing with all of the regional sports channels. Without the sports pack, you get neither the channels nor the HD version of those channels.

Actually you should get your local sports channel and the HD for that without paying for the sports pack. So here in Kalamazoo I now get Fox Sports Detroit HD and Comcast Sportsnet Chicago HD. (Both were added in the past week or two.)

Considering that you get the locals, I've actually wondered why people pay extra for the sports pack. I guess it's the only way to get ESPNU. Other than that, I don't see why it's worth $10 a month.

[Ksyrup]

That's true. You get that one regional sports channel.

I buy it, at least during football season, because of the variety of college games being shown. Some are duplicates shown across all regions, but not always. But ESPNU is the biggie.

[rjolley]

Is the Big Ten Network part of the sports tier?

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Is the Big Ten Network part of the sports tier?

Nope. I get the Big Ten Network, so it's not part of the sports pack.

[cougarfreak]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

It should only be $10.

I may have to spring for their HD service if the price of the HD DVR ever comes down.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by cougarfreak

I may have to spring for their HD service if the price of the HD DVR ever comes down.

You can normally talk them into at least $99, if not free.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Talk about irony...

The rebate I submitted in April finally goes thru for $10 off per month! I am informed yesterday by my apartment building's management that due to work they need to do on the exterior and roof of the building, all sat dishes will be removed by their contractor. The work will be a long process, and may not be completed by the spring. So now that I finally get the rate for directv that I signed up for, I have to cancel it.

Oh, sweet irony!

[rowech]

Just got hooked up yesterday...I'm having a bear of a time figuring out which sports channels I get with the sports pack. I had assumed I got all of them. Is that not the case? Are they blacked out during special times?