DirecTV - The March to 100 National High Definition Channels

[jerfilm]

Hi....

Thanks for added info....obviously, you can't "see" those towers thru mountains!

F.Y.I.--- I believe that BOTH satellite outfits can only provide LOCAL station broadcasts by way of a separate, outside antenna, not thru their dish (generic) feed? The rest will know! eli whitney

DishNet also brings in the locals via the Dish. Plus, you can get them away from home vs. D*TV which only beams to about a150 mile diameter or so of the main city.

[jerfilm]

Hello ---

If you've had that VIP-622 long enough, have you experienced how much of the total hard-
drive capacity is taken by recorded "HD ?"
GONE, in just one game, etc..

Seems like "HD" requires SO MUCH capacity that
500GB drives will be necessary??
eli whitney

It'll record around 28hours of HD or 200 or more SD....

[jerfilm]

And I say "currently" because on the latest Charlie Chat this week on Dish, it was mentioned that in August they will be activating the USB port to allow content to be tranfered to external USB hard drives.

Where can I read about this?? That would be exciting news if it's the truth.......would they be standard computer type hard drives? Powered thru the USB drive or separately powered? I guess that doesn't matter so much.

Jerry

[rfowkes]

You can get a summary of the 6/11/07 "Charlie Chat" (a regular feature on DISH with the CEO) at DBSTalk at http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t ... arlie+chat. While sometimes the tech details are a bit sketchy (that's left for the occasional "Tech Talk" program) these "chats" are a good bellweather for what's coming. And, unlike most other services, at least DISH is making the effort to allow customers to see what's on the horizon.

[jerfilm]

Thanks for that information. I went a step further and found that they rebroadcast the Charlie Chat on Channel 101 so I recorded it last night. And they did indeed say they will be activating the USB port for hookup of external hard drives. Claimed a small charge for activating the port but no monthly fees after that. Now the next question will be, will we be able to then hook the external hard drive to our computers and download the contents?? And perhaps burn our own DVDs? Exciting news, I think.

They also claimed that D*TVs claim of 100 HD channels by year end is blowing pure smoke (my words, now, not theirs.....) They claim there will be a half dozen or so added by year end and probably a similar number in the first half of 2008. But as of now, there simply aren't that many available....

[Shane]

And they did indeed say they will be activating the USB port for hookup of external hard drives. Claimed a small charge for activating the port but no monthly fees after that. Now the next question will be, will we be able to then hook the external hard drive to our computers and download the contents?? And perhaps burn our own DVDs? Exciting news, I think.

That would indeed be awesome, but I doubt it will be that open. What you will likely see is that it will enable expanded storage options, but that content would likely be encrypted so that it can only be played back through your Dish receiver.

Other devices (TiVo Series 3, Xbox 360, PS3) have this external storage capability as well but have not been implemented yet due to these copyright restrictions.

- S

[jerfilm]

That would indeed be awesome, but I doubt it will be that open. What you will likely see is that it will enable expanded storage options, but that content would likely be encrypted so that it can only be played back through your Dish receiver.

That sure won't surprise me, but there are a lot of brilliant hackers out there and for every encryption code, somebody will try to write a decoding program. There are already folks who are getting into their DVR hard drives and downloading to PC.....so who knows??? I think theres just a limit until somebody figures out how to do it......

[rfowkes]

I, too, am skeptical about "full functionality" of any USB external peripheral. For one thing there are Digital Rights Management issues involved and for another, Dish has already shown in other "external" solutions that they intend to abide by these restrictions. I own a Pocket Dish 700 which allows me to download SD content (about 40 hours worth) from my ViP622 to view on the road. However the Pocket Dish clearly does not allow downloading of HD content and a message states this if you try. Also, you can't even upload any downloaded SD content to another device - not even another 622! This would be helpful if I ever wanted to move content from one DVR to another in my house. I think the solution to this portability problem will involve the 622s "talking" to each other eventually so that you can access any program on any set in your house with a Dish DVR attached. But that's another subject for another time.

Clearly, the external USB drive is intended to increase the storage capacity of the current 622 30hr HD/200 SD specification. As long as they allow you to store HD content as well (which is a space eater) I'm fine with that. For a little over $100 I can add a 500g external drive and greatly increase storage space.

Now all I need is a solution to find enough time to watch all this stuff!

[exoren22]

Hi,
I'm new here, but felt compelled to create an account to relate to you my experiences relating to HD TV in the New York area.
First of all, my mom and dad have split custody; I get to spend a week with Dish Network at my dad's, and then a week with iO Cablevision HD at my mom's. I have the VIP622(Has the MPEG4 channels) as well as the 921(only MPEG2) dish boxes, and the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR.
I watch a lot of tv every week and record a few games weekly as well. We very rarely run out of room on the 622, and the 921 delivers a crystal clear picture. We get the locals on the 622, and both get OTA from both Philly and NYC. The OTA channels are noticeably higher quality only on the channels that broadcast 1080 content (CBS, for example). On the 921 I currenlty have 15 "standard" HD channels (Not counting ppv, hbo and the like, or special sports channels), and a few that only run during special events. The 622 has many more, around 25-30, I think (I would have to go to it and oot it up, maybe later).
My experience with cable, though, has been less than stellar. They advertize "more local hd" than satellite, but they eally have the same channels, plus some weird channel, like news 12 or something. There are 15 HD channels which are not special subscription or ppv. Their quality compared ot OTA locals is absolutely terrible; looking at them side-by-side will make you want to use OTA always, but without an hd OTA input on the box there is no way to DVR them (or watch them if your tv doesnt have an hd tuner). The DVR is slow, laggy and unintuitive, but I have used the 622, so I am spoiled.
The explorer has about 19 hours of record time in HD, but it has a SATA jack for external hard drives, and will recognize up to 500gb (yes, it really works, and no, you can't grab the shows off the drive and burn them). It is interesting that the local OTA channels broadcast overe cable are so terrible, considering the close proximity of New York (cable claims to pipe it in directly from the island), and the other channels (beamed into the central station from ... satellite) are not too shabby.
I have no experience with DirecTV, but this is just what I have found.

and btw I am watching "Deep Impact" on TNT HD and it looks great on dish.

[eliwhitney]

GOOD MORNING !

THANKS for your most interesting 'post'! I find it
especially neat that you have compared the other
"HD" picture qualities to that of your "OTA" and
found the latter to be preferred! That's 'supposed'
to be the end result BUT many - those who haven't
experienced "HD" via OTA - really believe that SOME sort of paid service IS mandatory!

If you have time, pick a sports show via ABC HD or FOX HD on your OTA--- it comes in 720p & I find it to be VERY IMPRESSIVE--certainly competative in picture quality / detail with 1080i.

Have a great day & keep us up-to-date?
eli whitney