"reached orbit but hasn't become operational yet..."

Considering they currently are testing it with 80 feeds of HD video, I'd say it's going pretty well.

I do agree there were some substantial risks of their ad campaign running before the satellite had even launched, let alone was operational, but DirecTV was also facing some serious competitive issues and they apparently felt the risks were worth the opportunity to get people to choose to wait rather than jump on other services.

 

LOL! Your ignorance makes it clear that you've obviously never been involved in the implementation and marketing launch of a new product or service. Software companies, car companies, consumer electronics companies, etc typically announce their products months ahead of time, even though they know there's a risk the schedules may slip. Apple may be the only large company that announces products the day they are available, but they're definitely in the minority.

The bigger question in my mind is, though - just exactly WHY are you SO upset and almost wishing failure on DirecTV? There's something behind this, I just know it. Somebody poke a stick in your anthill? LOL!

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think the actual HD video feeds were available yet, in engineering/testing mode or otherwise. From what I've read, all that's available are guide placeholders for the new channels, but no video yet.

 

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http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=364286

 

Thanks, Doug. I did see that thread, as well as the original thread at AVSForum, but my interpretation was that the channels were merely on the guide in engineering mode and that there was no programming being transmitted yet. But I could be wrong.

Either way, I _do_ think they are real close and (back to the OP's point), if DirecTV were thinking they'd slip, they probably wouldn't be ramping up the marketing as it appears they've done the last few days.

 

If you've ever been in sales you will understand that if you don't have what the customers wants tell them what you are going to have. Think of a preacher telling his flock how good things are going to be in the promised land.

 

It seems assured your butt will stay firmly attached and if you laugh you'll laugh alone.

 

First, microsoft doesn't sell computers.

Actually that's EXACTLY what they did though -- Most of the PC's sold a couple of months before the release of Vista came with coupons to upgrade as soon as it was available.

 

Microsoft did sell computers with Vista before it was offered. I work at Costco in the electronics department and this is what they did. They sold the computer with XP in it, but put a sticker and littered the place with literature that stated you will be able to get a free upgrade to Vista once it was released. That is selling a computer using Vista to push the sale before the product was released.

Roy

 

To the OP's point...

Just about EVERY company out there follows this model...
They announce, what they have reasonable belief to happen...

The Current generaiton of gaming systems XBOX360, PS3, Wii all announced a LONG time before they were released.

TV networks... promote the heck out of shows that are not goign to air for months... and may only last a week.

Sports teams... actively sell season tickets for the NEXT season, which has ZERO guarantees to it.

Automanufaturers... they show you their next years model car, about a week after the current model is released

...... and so on

This is no the first sat they have launched, I think it is their 14th or 15th....
They have a pretty good handle on what to expect for it.

They even have a "backup" one ready to go, if there were significant problems.... sure things may have been delayed (As seen by the SeaLaunch explosion, which has pushed back some of their plans to 2008).

 

Following through that thread, and the two threads at other forums linked to it, many of the channels showing up in engineering mode are either placeholders or on only part time.

That being said....

DirecTV-10 has reached its position at 103 and is undergoing test. The mapping of about 20 new transponders labeled "103(b)" in the signal strength screen are visible to all customers who have Ka/MPEG4 capable receivers.

These transponders, if you are nerdy enough to sit there and play with your signal strength screen, can be seen lighting up with signals of various strengths for a time, and then shutting back off.

Perhaps, some of the content of these 80 mapped channels pops up on them when they do light up. (I wouldn't know, as I don't have an "engineering" access card and am not authorized to see them).

The bottom line is, things are starting to happen at the 103 orbital slot. Those things look all good and none bad, and strongly confirm that lots of new HD from DirecTV is coming very, very soon. Albeit, not viewable on the TiVo based DVR, but coming none the less.

This makes the OP's statements and position little more than trolling, IMHO.

 

So let me get this, obviously you are a DirecTV subscriber, and probably paying the HD Access fee, unless you're just using your HR10-250 for OTA. Why again would you wish failure on the company YOU are paying to deliver an improvement to the service YOU are already paying for? Could this be wishful thinking hoping some kind of failure would delay the likely imminent obsolescence of your MPEG-2 equipment?

You're right, Fish Man, this is a troll.

 

It was risky prior to launch; with the satellite in orbit and in operational testing, it's really minimal risk something will go wrong affecting the entire satellite; these things are designed with a whole lot of fallback capabilities so a problem in one area can be isolated and its effect minimized to a small portion of the overall capability of the satellite. A total failure is just really a tiny, tiny, tiny possibility.

 

Really... could you please give us the history lesson on DirecTV failed SATs...
I don't recall any of them failing, or not functioning to their specifications.

In fact, some of them are allready past their expected life expantacy, and and are still looking like that they will continue to function for a whiles to come.

So please... can you provide us with the track record for DirecTV's failures when it comes to that Sats...

 

I think restino's thoughts on this topic have "reached orbit but haven't become operational yet."