14 new H/D markets announced by D* today

[moonman]

http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=850780&highlight=

[rifleman69]

Well it's about time they rolled out Portland Oregon...I'll wait until football season to see if it's worth it to get the H20...somehow I don't think so, as if it doesn't record anything...I most likely don't want it.

[Kamakzie]

Wow my locals are in the list too!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I will be able to get CBS digital 2 now without constant dropouts! But I still need a DVR that will be compatible...

[vertigo235]

Greensboro, NC is an interesting choice, I would have pegged that as a very small market.

[videojanitor]

Even more interesting is Reno -- that's market 112! (Greensboro is 47 -- one notch higher than Las Vegas).

[SleepyBob]

But I still need a DVR that will be compatible...

Yeah, I got pretty excited when I saw my DMA until I remembered that.

[Kamakzie]

So does this mean these markets will have all the locals.. No contract disputes?

[BGLeduc]

I too am surprised to see my city; Albuquerque, in the list.

That said, this is a non-issue for me, as I get all the digital locals just fine via antenna, but it will put put additional pressure on Comcast, since they are at logger heads with our CBS affiliate, and do not offer their HD feed.

Which kind of makes me wonder if D* is paying the local CBS affiliate for the feed. That is the big point of contention with Comcast; they won't pay, so the CBS station says they can go screw.

So, for those that have been through this, how does it go down? Does D* give you a ring and tell you about it? That will be a great opportunity to tell them no thanks, I will be keeping my HD Tivo!

Brian

[videojanitor]

So does this mean these markets will have all the locals.. No contract disputes?

I have no inside knowledge, but that seems unlikely, since some of the channels are missing from the markets that have already been rolled out. Here in Sacramento for example, they're feeding the ABC, NBC and CBS stations, but not FOX (yet).

[moonman]

In addition to the 20 Markets that are already up, D* should be adding another 30 by Q3
--------------------------------------------
Austin Texas Q3'06
Albuquerque N.M. Q3'06
Baltimore Md. June 06
Charlotte NC June 06
Cincinnati Oh. Q3'06
Cleveland Oh. June 06
Denver Co. June 06
Fresno Ca. May 06
Hartford Ct. June 06
Grand Rapids Mi. Q3'06
Green Bay Wi. Q3'06
Greensboro NC. Q3'06
Indianapolis In. June '06
Las Vegas NV. Q3'06
Madison Wi Q3'06
Memphis TN. Q3'06
Miami/FT laud Fl June '06
Milwaukee WI. May '06
Orlando FL. June '06
Phoenix AZ. May '06
Portland ME Q3'06
Portland OR Q3'06
Providence RI. Q3'06
Raleigh NC. June '06
Reno NV. Q3'06
Salt Lake City UT. May '06
San Antonio TX. Q3'06
Seattle WA. June '06
St. Louis MO. May '06
West Palm Bch. FL. June '06

[SpankyInChicago]

So does this mean these markets will have all the locals.. No contract disputes?

Assuming all are available in your area, you'll get ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. No PBS, no WB (or UPN or whatever they are now), no other locals, and not regional sport networks.

This sucks for me who is an avid fan of PBS. Another check in the "cable" column for me. In a market like Chicago where we have 3 PBS stations and countless other independent stations (including the home broadcast location for WGN), DirecTV is really falling short on delivery of HD locals.

I don't believe in God, but if I did, I would pray that Tivo Series III gets here ASAP.

[fjwagner]

I don't believe in God, but if I did, I would pray that Tivo Series III gets here ASAP.

I doubt God would care less whether you had a Series III or not. :)

[taj2]

Does this mean anything if you do not have an MPEG-4 Reciever?

I have an OTA Antenna but have spotty reception and am hoping to have HD locals by football season....does this mean I need to buy a new receiver?

[BGLeduc]

Does this mean anything if you do not have an MPEG-4 Reciever?

I have an OTA Antenna but have spotty reception and am hoping to have HD locals by football season....does this mean I need to buy a new receiver?

No.

Yes.

[Todd]

How the hell is the Norfolk, VA area (#42) NOT on that list but places like Reno are?? WTF??

[codespy]

Green Bay and Madison are HD now and Milwaukee, the largest population in the state, isn't yet? Weird.

I guess it doesn't matter. Not rushing out to get the H20 with all the issues.

I'm gonna milk the mpeg2 until the very end, unless they come out with the HR30-250 HDTivo box.

[Kamakzie]

Anybody here have MPEG4 locals available now and if so how does it look?

[ssandhoops]

Green Bay and Madison are HD now and Milwaukee, the largest population in the state, isn't yet? Weird.


Green Bay and Madison are not HD now. The announcement was for markets that will be added later this year. Milwaukee will still be the first Wisconsin market with HD locals via DTV.

[codespy]

Good. I hope this news isn't from the same corporate guy who said the HR20-250 would be available in Q2 of 2006.

[Indiana627]

Where's Buffalo??? Argh...

At least I'm not a Flyers fan. I guess they were as determined as the Sabres that there wasn't going to be a game 7!!!

[Jon J]

DirecTV must not be too interested in signing up HD local viewers. Nashville has been up almost a month and not a whisper from DirecTV. No e-mail about it. No snail mail about it. No offers whatsoever.

Maybe they've run out of equipment. ;)

[jamesbobo]

DirecTV must not be too interested in signing up HD local viewers. Nashville has been up almost a month and not a whisper from DirecTV. No e-mail about it. No snail mail about it. No offers whatsoever.

Maybe they've run out of equipment. ;)

New York City has been up for three months and I haven't heard a word about it either.

[AccidenT]

Does this mean anything if you do not have an MPEG-4 Reciever?

I have an OTA Antenna but have spotty reception and am hoping to have HD locals by football season....does this mean I need to buy a new receiver?

According to a letter some people have received, if you have any distant HD feeds, they'll be shut off once your market gets MPEG-4 locals, regardless of whether or not you have an MPEG-4 receiver.

[Sparky]

Since they are only offering the big 4 networks and no HD DVR I see no reason to make any kind of move. I have good OTA for 3 of the local networks and the 4th is distant. I would like to see more HD channels added that are out there.