Direct TV has been touting their new hi-def service but what they have downplayed and hardly mentioned is that current DTV hi-def receivers doesn't support the new mpeg4 format.

More that half a million Direct TV hi-def customers will have to replace existing high definition receivers soon. By the end of the summer, DTV will have implemented their new HD service which uses mpeg4, rendering current hi-def IRDs obsolete.

When DirecTV finally offered an “HD TiVo,� the demand was so strong that some consumers had to wait more than one year to get a unit at the $1,000 retail price. These expensive HD TiVos will not support the new format either. Even if you purchase a hi-def receiver today, you'll have to upgrade later to take advantage of the new format. The speed of current IRDs will not handle mpeg4 format.

The new HD service will be on a new satellite so all the roof-top dishes will have to be replaced as well.

Directv CEO Chase Carey stated they intend to pitch their new MPEG-4 equipped receivers (priced at $250-$275) initially to new subscribers. Conversion of its existing 500,000 HD subscribers "should take 12 months." He estimated that conversion will run under $500, including installation.

There is no mention of who will pay that cost but you can be assured it will not be Direct TV. I'd be really ticked off if I had to replace a $2000 HD/TiVo with an integrated DVD recorder with some low-end peice of junk DTV will be offering for $500 bucks.
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"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

I would really be pissed if the equipment that I bought for $2,000 from a provider was almost immediately rendered obsolete.

I would expect the provider to offer some compensation.

Maybe this is why I usually wait until the new technologies "shake out" and a clear market winner emerges. It is fun to play with the newest stuff out there, but there is a cost to that "fun".
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RunnerBiker ¿
"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." - Will Rogers

This is typical DTV behavior from my past experiences... just on a larger scale. I remember when they rolled out new cards to try stopping piracy. They rendered many customers service unusable until they actually called about it and were subsequently mailed a new card. Kinda like when they send out the card looping signals that supposedly only target pirated cards. However I know quite a few people, and have read many stories from people, that were legit subscribers whose cards were messed up. This required mailing in their old cards, waiting for DTV to check them out/fix them, and then DTV mailed them back. That's completely unacceptable behavior and customer service. Thankfully I no longer use their services and would probably never go back. I haven't followed them lately, but I think their should be a management shakeup there or something. That company is run by loons.

RunnerBiker wrote:

I would expect the provider to offer some compensation. Maybe this is why I usually wait until the new technologies "shake out" and a clear market winner emerges.

My guess is they offer some free service but not nearly enough compensation to offset the expense of new equipment.

I'm with you on waiting for the new technologies to mature somewhat before jumping on the bandwagon.

On a related note, it may be that we all only have a about a year to make the conversion to Digital TV if some politicians have their way.

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS -- Rep. Joe Barton, a strong supporter of speeding the shift to digital television, recently bought a new analog TV set -- the kind that will be obsolete if Congress mandates a nationwide conversion by the end of next year.

"It will have a hard date and that hard date could be Dec. 31, 2006," he told broadcasters.

The federal government is eager to make the change because the analog frequencies now used by broadcasters could be used by police and firefighters, who are running out of frequencies.

Nationally, only 12 percent of homes now have digital sets, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2329284p-8707714c.html

We could continue to use our analog sets with a Conversion/Free-To-Air box but the resolution on these analog sets wouldn't be high enough to experience all the advantages of Digital TV.

I've researched Plasma and LCD units and they tend to have slow refresh rates, which is not good for fast action like we see during sporting events and they suffer from burn-in like the old PC monitors. Viewing from an angle can also be a problem.

The best are still the large tube style HiDef units IMHO but I'm going to wait until the last minute before I change over.
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"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

mindctrl wrote:

That's completely unacceptable behavior and customer service. Thankfully I no longer use their services and would probably never go back.

I feel the same way about the cable company. They treated me like dirt when I was a customer. I called out a tech at one point and when he finally showed up, I showed him how I received a much better picture with my rabbit ears on some local channels that I did with the cable box. He told me that he couldn't compete with rabbit ears on those channels and there was nothing he could do. Needless to say, that was the last straw for me.

I hear Dish network has better service than DTV and it does appear to be cheaper. One big problem I see with the satellite services is that they track all your viewing habits (especially with TiVos) and report back to DTV via a phone line. I can't support that.
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"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

Gadget Wizard wrote:

I hear Dish network has better service than DTV and it does appear to be cheaper. One big problem I see with the satellite services is that they track all your viewing habits (especially with TiVos) and report back to DTV via a phone line. I can't support that.

It is possible to use DISH satelite with the "TiVO" like function and not be connected to a phone line. They charge you a monthly service fee if your receiver is not connected to a phone. It might be $1.50.

If you want to view a PayPerView (PPV) show, you can still make a voice phone call yourself to authorize that.
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RunnerBiker ¿
"Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip." - Will Rogers

You can run your DTV IRD without a phone line but a you MUST connect a phone line to a TiVo to get it initialized right out of the box. After the initiialization, you can run the TiVo without a phone line.

As you say, with any DTV IRD not connected to a phone line, you'll have to order PPV via phone or via the DTV website.

I'm not aware of the $1.50 charge. Must be something new as I've never known anyone to have to pay that fee.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/index.php
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"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

Another bit of 'info' to watch out for - the new 'broadcast flag' was supposed to be hardcore implemented on July 5th this year - meaning that 'flagged' broadcasts couldn't be digitally recorded! FCC rule. Last I heard, a court had overturned it on the basis that the FCC didn't have the authority to require it, but as Maximum PC pointed out, once it does go into effect, that 'TV Tuner' card you piad $29 for will be worth about $300 on eBay! EFF maintains a list of past and present devices that don't include that flag restriction. Stock up!


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"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - Mark Twain

Let's hope the "broadcast flag" stays killed but that would be wishful thinking.

I've looked into building a PVR and the best card seems to be winTVPVR350.
http://www.hauppauge.com/

It's fast enough to do quality mpeg2 but no DD51 or mpeg3/4. 199.00 is kinda steep but it would be fun to play with.

Stand alone DVD-RW units seems to be a good way to go at the moment. There is a D/A conversion process here but it wouldn't matter that much on SAT broadcast stuff as it's ultra compressed anyway.

Disadvantage is that you have to change DVDs. Need a changer/recorder.

This one has good reviews. 24bit and supports DTS.
http://www.upstateforums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1639
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"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."