DIRECTV to Offer 11 HBO/Cinemax Channels in HD

[Shane]

Continuing to pack its lineup with premium-quality HD channels for launch this fall, DIRECTV will begin to roll out the HD feeds of 11 HBO and Cinemax channels nationally in September.

In addition to the HBO (East) HD channel it currently offers, DIRECTV will launch the following HBO/Cinemax channels in full-time HD: HBO West, HBO2 West, HBO2 East, HBO Family East, HBO Family West, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, Cinemax East, Cinemax West and MoreMax. The channels will begin rolling out in September and continue to launch through the rest of the year. DIRECTV currently carries each of these channels in standard-definition.

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[BuddAdams]

Note that this depends on a satellite launch in July and the "rollout" just starts in September, and that there are lots of East-West duplicates, and the price is?
Any news on Dish plans? They raised their rates 20% just after we switched last summer, however their recorder works very well as contrasted with DIRECTV's which still apparently has loads of complaints. Having experienced the intermittent death spiral of one of their recorders earlier I can attest that it is a real pain. Any positive news on that device or a working replacement?
BA

[akirby]

Mine's been working fine since February.

Typically the HBO HD channels are included if you buy the HD and HBO packages. I expect the same here.

[Shane]

I just recently published an article about their HD expansion:

DirecTV - The March to 100 National High Definition Channels

In there I mention that there are no plans to increase the price. So it will remain at $10.99 for the HD Package.

I have their new HR20 as well ... and while I had some problems early on, it's been rock-solid for the past 3-ish months.

- Shane

[rtywonia]

If Directv pulls this off - it would be great. I have had two of the new Directv DVR's HR20's and they work much better than my old TIVO hd DVRs. I am very pleased with them. I have also had Dish and they are good - but in the end - he who has the most content with decent quality will be the winner. I say decent because neither Dish or Directv is great in terms of quality.

[kq6qv]

I have two HR20s. I use one for ABC and CBS, and I use the other for NBC and HBO. I also get Dish Network, but my old 6000 receiver does not pick up all the HD channels.

DirecTV richly deserves the scorn they received for the abominable software they delivered for early HR20s. But to imply that those boxes are still disasters does a disservice to people trying to decide what to do next. DirecTV automatically downloads improved software to those boxes about once per month, most recently two nights ago. The HR20 is now a product I strongly recommend to anyone.

In terms of features, the HR20 is almost as nice as TiVo units like the HR10. In terms of reliability, the HR20 now surpasses the HR10. Repetitive audio dropouts and sync problems are still occasionally a problem. I do not know if the newest release fixes these.

Unless Dish Network has a big announcement in the works, it looks like they are going to fall seriously behind DirecTV. -Ken

[rtywonia]

totally agree - the software keeps getting better and better with the HR20 -- hte new upagrade last night was provide a new easy to use cool looking interface. I paid $1k for my TIVO boxes and they were far from perfect. The Directv boxes (HR20) are as good or better. And Directv seems to finally be delivering on their content commitments. I have had them all Directv, Dish, Voom etc. If you are a new buyer - Directv seems to be the way to go. IMHO

[BuddAdams]

While it's certainly reassuring to hear that the HR20 is probably past the beta stage, I still feel extremely lucky to have dodged that phase with Dish; mine worked perfectly from day one. On rate increases, I doubt, with some certainty, that they are ever announced in advance. I'd guess that Dish was fairly successful at drawing D'TVs customers away with higher HDTV quantity; they got me after 12 years. Then they set the hook; ugh. But I'll stay until D'TVs promises materialize. What about the 5 LNBs and the number of cables into the house?. Dish uses 1 cable, and even runs two receivers off of it. As I live in a valley, Satellite is the only option: Any comparisons of Dish-D'TV HDTV? I can say that PBS, local channel rebroadcast via Satellite in STD only, is so bad I've given up on it. In fact all the local channels are *&^%$ so I read the paper for local news. Is Lynchburg-Roanoke, VA atypical?
BA

[rtywonia]

I liked dish - don't get me wrong. They did not have local PBS HD when i had the service. Directv is supposed to have PBS HD option which will be great. # of cables is not a big issue. Content - #of channels is key. DirecTV will far supass Dish with this latest announcement.

Regarding quality - I A-B switched both and could not see a difference. Neither is up to the HD quality of BluRay or HDDVD.

I would say that when VOOM was a stand alone company, their quality was awesome much better than anything available today

One last plug for Dish- the Rave channel is an awesome channel if you like music video.

I hope Directv comes out with something similar - not CDNOW which sucks

[kq6qv]

Bud- The multi-switch for a 5-LNB dish is more complicated, but it is housed in the dish so it is invisible to the user. The AT9 5-LNB dish has 4 output connectors, one for each of 4 receivers. An output port and cable cannot be shared by two receivers (unless one receiver is always powered off). The San Francisco PBS affiliate likewise is not providing an HD uplink to DirecTV, but the other local stations are. -Ken