SD gone in 2018?

[raoul5788]

Its not the HD, its the KU vs KA bands that are being used.

Most of the sd feeds are on ku, the hd is mostly on ka. It's the ka that is more susceptible to rain fade.

 

[Jimbo]

Sorry I should have said the KA band. I remembered something about the KA that DTV uses it for the best HD PQ but HD staying out in bad weather is the trade off?

The thought is that IF they can get rid of the SD that resides on the 101 Sat (thats the majority of it) they can then move HD to the 101 Sat which puts it on the KU Sat and those HD channels would not have the fade issue as much as the current KA.

 

[CSM]

The thought is that IF they can get rid of the SD that resides on the 101 Sat (thats the majority of it) they can then move HD to the 101 Sat which puts it on the KU Sat and those HD channels would not have the fade issue as much as the current KA.

Isn't the 101's life span nearing its end? If not would they HD PQ be the same on the KU and the KA band?

 

[Jimbo]

Isn't the 101's life span nearing its end? If not would they HD PQ be the same on the KU and the KA band?

IF the 101 life expectancy is coming to its end they will launch another or move one to its place.
Theres more than 1 sat at most of these locations already.

 

[Jimbo]

Most of the sd feeds are on ku, the hd is mostly on ka. It's the ka that is more susceptible to rain fade.

Correct ... did I mix them up ?
I can never remember which is which.

 

[raoul5788]

Correct ... did I mix them up ?
I can never remember which is which.

No, just making sure it was clear which was which.

 

[raoul5788]

IF the 101 life expectancy is coming to its end they will launch another or move one to its place.
Theres more than 1 sat at most of these locations already.

There is one being built to go to 101.

 

[Jimbo]

There is one being built to go to 101.

I knew one was being built, but didn't know where its scheduled to go.
101 would make sense, then they have a new Sat up there when they go to HD only and more than likely the new Sat is much higher power than the current ones.

 

[raoul5788]

I knew one was being built, but didn't know where its scheduled to go.
101 would make sense, then they have a new Sat up there when they go to HD only and more than likely the new Sat is much higher power than the current ones.

It won't necessarily be hd only, but it will be ka only. SD can be ku or ka.

 

[Jimbo]

It won't necessarily be hd only, but it will be ka only. SD can be ku or ka.

If the object truly is to remove SD, it would be. .... eventually.

 

[raoul5788]

If the object truly is to remove SD, it would be. .... eventually.

The object is to remove ku signals. Most think of sd as being ku, but 'taint necessarily so.

 

[Jimbo]

The object is to remove ku signals. Most think of sd as being ku, but 'taint necessarily so.

Thats because SD is the only thing on that Sat for the last 20 years. (there may be a few HD on there somewhere, but I'm not looking it up .... (HD Conus Locals maybe (NY) ?)

 

[raoul5788]

Thats because SD is the only thing on that Sat for the last 20 years. (there may be a few HD on there somewhere, but I'm not looking it up .... (HD Conus Locals maybe (NY) ?)

NYC conus hd locals are on 99.

 

[Claude Greiner]

101 KU Band with all 32 transponders is like Boardwalk when it comes to satellites.

Directv ain't giving it up !

What will likely happen once SD goes away they will move all the popular HD channels like history to 101, and any new channels go on 99/103.

They can do it because everyone who sees 103/99 gets 101.

 

[slice1900]

The object is to remove ku signals. Most think of sd as being ku, but 'taint necessarily so.

The object isn't to remove either Ku or SD, it is to remove MPEG2. Directv uses MPEG2 solely for SD, but some SD channels are MPEG4. After 2019 there will still be Ku, Directv will still be broadcasting from 101 and still be using some SD (but whatever SD is left will be MPEG4)

There are still some unknowns, like will 110/119 go away etc. that will become clear as the date draws closer. 95 will definitely go away, which means that after 2019 people who subscribe to international packages will no longer need a second dish.

 

[Claude Greiner]

One thing is for sure. 4K is the next big thing.

Just as we went from the SD to HD transition starting 15 years ago, the same thing is going on as everything shifts to 4K.

I'm really surprised we don't see any new receivers for the past 8 or 10 years that can Handel a higher compression than MPEG4 8psk.

 

[Don in CT]

One thing is for sure. 4K is the next big thing.

Just as we went from the SD to HD transition starting 15 years ago, the same thing is going on as everything shifts to 4K.

I'm really surprised we don't see any new receivers for the past 8 or 10 years that can Handel a higher compression than MPEG4 8psk.

I see 4K taking longer to progress than HD did. Sure DirecTV can handle it but most cable companies don't have the bandwidth for it. Networks are not going to spend money for 4K if there is very little carriage available.

 

[slice1900]

I think comparatively few channels will go 4K. What's the point of 4K CNBC or 4K MTV? The major sports channels, plus probably some RSNs, will go 4K. Premium movie channels will go 4K (but probably only one or two, not all those many variations of HBO and Showtime) The 'premiere' stations of major cable networks like AMC, FX, TNT/TBS, etc. But channels like TLC, FXM, VH1, MSNBC...I don't see it ever happening. Not worth the additional production cost, or the cost to lease more satellite transponder space for the uplinks that deliver them to cable/satellite headends.

There weren't any receivers built that can handle higher compression than MPEG4 because Directv had already decided their future was going to be client/server. It is only the last few years that chipsets even became available for set top boxes with hardware support for HEVC (and none of them have a beefy enough CPU to do it in software)

 

[zidanetribal17]

Here is the deal. They can make as many dates as they want.

Until they can get rid of every standard definition receiver, the shut down can't happen.

So this is accomplished 3 ways

1) don't allow SD equipment to be activated on new or existing accounts which they are doing now. There are some exceptions being made on existing accounts.

2) churn. As SD customers disconnect they cannot come back end activate SD equipment.

3) upgrades for existing subs

Eventually the number of SD subs is so small Directv will go out and upgrade the remaining ones for free.

Very few people get shut down at the end after many phone calls and letters.

Actually they have moved onto step 3 already. I have a family member that has 4 D12s and in our market we have both SD & HD locals currently. Our SD locals are located on the 119 satellite while the HD locals are on 103 satellite. She called DirecTV about her bill (I told her just to ask for loyalty and mention contract end date) and then had me talk to the agent.

The loyalty agent actually explained that they are going to convert locals to HD only and all customers with SD equipment will need to upgrade to continue to get them. The agent then told me about the offers available to my aunt and these were available:

• SD to HD Upgrade: Genie and up to 3 Genie Minis with no commitment. All Advance Receiver Service charges waived until next upgrade.
• SD to HD Upgrade: Genie Lite and up to 3 Genie Minis with no commitment. All Advance Receiver Service charges waived until next upgrade.
  
• SD to HD Upgrade: 4 HD Receivers with no commitment. All Advance Receiver Service charges waived until next upgrade.

In regards to 1st offer I asked her (to clarify) "So you mean my aunt can upgrade to the Genie and 3 Minis, get HD service, DVR service and Whole Home DVR service free until they upgrade again" and she said yes. She told me offers vary based on account but where my aunt never had DVR service before she would get it free if she chose the Genie upgrade. I clarified which Genie she was talking about and she said "Genie 1" and that the "Genie 2" was not part of this offer. If she wanted "Genie 2" she would need a 2 year agreement and pay for all ARS charges.

So I tempted fate here and ordered the Genie + 3 Minis upgrade for her along with a $40/12 the agent offered. After the order was placed I had my aunt log into DTV.com and her email and the order conformation actually showed the Genie & 3 Minis were no commitment and under her "Recent Activity" the discounts were on her account. $10 off Advance Receiver HD until next upgrade, $10 off Advance Receiver DVR until next upgrade, $3 off Whole Home DVR until next upgrade.

I asked the agent "what about people that have standard DVR but no HD?" and she said if they were eligible for the Genie 1 SD to HD Upgrade with minis then they would get ARS HD and WH DVR free. She said the offers are designed so customers who only have SD equipment don't pay a penny more to upgrade to HD.

She even told me she had a guy who only had 2 D12s that called in wanting 2 more D12s and she got him the Genie + 3 Minis upgrade with no commitment and the only thing extra they had to pay was $7 for each additional TV.

While discounts are still loyalty if a customer is eligible for the SD to HD upgrade apparently any department that normally process equipment upgrades can do that she said. So it looks like they are in the process of moving SD only homes to HD based on that convo.