HIGH-DEF DISC NEWS TAGGED "DIRECTV"Receive High-Def Disc News via RSS

DirecTV's New UI Previewed on Site - No Release Date Yet

Tue Oct 25, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: DIRECTV, Firmware Upgrades (all tags)

DirecTV customers are getting a faster, better looking user interface, but when is a mystery.

One of the things that people really don't think about often enough when talking about their cable or satellite service is the interface that they have to deal with when trying to find their favorite show, bring up some on demand programming or access a recording. A good UI often goes unnoticed while a bad one can completely break the experience.

DirecTV's new update is going to bring a lot to the table. For starters, the guide has been completely redesigned for HD televisions and looks much nicer than it used to. DirecTV is pretty high on this, and they've added plenty of colorful graphics to the menu, including images for the shows you watch and those that it recommends to you.

Perhaps most importantly, everything moves faster. Significantly faster, according to the people who are currently in the beta test for the new interface. After all, as pretty as the interface is, it's not what you've turned on the TV to see.

Source: Engadget

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DirecTV Growth Slows - VOD Sales Down

Mon Aug 08, 2011 at 03:30 PM ET
Tags: DIRECTV, Industry Trends (all tags)

Though the growth may be slower, subscriptions are still growing.

Cable and satellite subscriptions are slowing due to cost cutting, cord cutting and a still difficult economic climate. That doesn't mean everyone's losing customers though, and that's something that DirecTV CEO Mike White stresses.

"We weren’t down versus a year ago; we just weren’t up 20% [like] we were in the first quarter," says White. That's an important distinction to make, especially in a market where the possibility of losing more customers than you're gaining is a distinct possibility.

One of the things that White says is essential moving forward is an expansion of the TV Everywhere. "It’s critically dependent on the distribution relationships," says White. He says that the challenge moving forward with online streaming and similar services lie not with the technical side of thing, but with contracts.

Source: Home Media Magazine

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DirecTV Considering a Netflix-Like Service

Fri Apr 29, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: DIRECTV, Netflix, Streaming (all tags)

A poll that recently went out to customers lays out the details more specifically.

When surveys go out to consumers from big companies, that tends to mean that something new is on the way. A Netflix survey went out shortly before the service was announced for the PS3 and a Netflix survey went out at a similar time for the Wii.

Now a survey has gone out to DirecTV customers. It doesn't ask about Netflix integration specifically, but focuses on what people like about Netflix over DirecTV and customer opinions on a new service. One of the pieces of the survey gives some specifics.

"In this next section, we would like you to evaluate a new service that DirecTV is thinking about offering to their customers," it says. "DirecTV plans to offer a streaming-only Netflix-like service for a flat fee per month, which would appear as a line item on your monthly bill."

Customers would be able to choose from thousands of movies and TV shows, but content would be limited a bit more strictly than Netflix. Past seasons of TV shows would be offered, but movies would all be over five years old.

It doesn't sound like something that would be capable of real competition with Netflix, but instead something that might tempt DirecTV subscribers to switch.

Source: Zatz Not Funny (via Engadget)

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DirecTV Intros 3D Opera and More in April

Tue Mar 08, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: DIRECTV, Opera, 3D (all tags)

DirecTV subscribers with a love for 3D will have a few new titles to look forward to next month.

When you think 3D, you probably think about intense action-oriented movies full of special effects and intense explosions. It seems to be the standard.

DirecTV is taking another approach. Starting in early April, you'll be able to swing on over to DirecTV Cinema (channel 104) and check out Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia. No, it's not some cool obscure Italian horror flick - it's an opera.

The opera was filmed live on February 23 at the London Coliseum and performed by the English National Opera.

If the fine arts aren't your thing, you can check out some of the Hollywood movies hitting in the next month, including 'Piranha 3D,' 'Jackass 3D,' 'Tangled' and 'Tron Legacy.'

Source: TWICE

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The 24/7 3D Channel 3net Launches on DIRECTV

Mon Feb 14, 2011 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: 3net, 3D TV, DIRECTV, Industry Trends (all tags)

February 13 marks the beginning of what may be a new era in television. That, or a fad that dies quickly and painfully.

3D is here, and from the look of things it just might be here to stay. Especially if IMAX, Discovery, and Sony have anything to say about it. Their 3D channel 3net hit the air on Sunday, February 13.

DIRECTV is the first carrier to offer the channel and has high hopes for the content. "Quality 3D programming is vital to the success and increased adoption of the technology," says DIRECTV vice president Derek Chang. "It is clear that 3D is here to stay and is only going to get better."

If you have DIRECTV and a 3D capable TV, you can switch on over to channel 107 to experience it for yourself.

Source: Discovery

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The Sony Movie Channel Launches on DISH, DirecTV and U-verse

Wed Oct 20, 2010 at 03:00 PM ET
Tags: Sony, DISH, DIRECTV, U-Verse (all tags)

It's hidden in the higher programming tiers, but it just might be worth checking out.

If you've got a hankering for some Sony movies, you're in luck. The new Sony Movie Channel is dedicated to showing Sony movies and only Sony movies.

"We're seeing a strong demand for high definition movie content," says Sony Pictures Television president Andy Kaplan. "Sony Movie Channel was designed specifically for the Hollywood movie fan, bringing our high-quality catalogue of feature films directly to viewers."

Movies are presented in HD and in uncut and uninterrupted states. Programming will be selected from over 3,500 Sony films which have won 184 Academy Awards as the company is quick to point out.

If you're a DISH subscriber, you'll get to try out the Sony Movie Channel free for the first month and can find it on channel 386. DirecTV subscribers will need to switch to 563 and U-verse subscribers can find it on 1791.

Source: PR Newswire

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DirecTV's 24 Hour 3D Channel 'N3D' Launches July 1st

Wed Jun 30, 2010 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: 3D, DIRECTV, Industry Trends (all tags)

Content partners have been named, but specific programming is still unannounced.

3D televisions have been selling well, but there's still not much to watch on them. Between the World Cup matches on ESPN3D and the one or two 3D Blu-rays available, you're really limited to what you can watch. But on July 1st, that changes, a little.

On the first of the month, DirecTV will be launching a channel called N3D that's got 24 hour 3D content. There's still no word on exactly what shows will be on N3D, but DirecTV has teamed up with Fox Sports, MTV, HD Net, NBC, CBS and plenty of others.

There will be documentaries as well as music and dancing programs that were created exclusively for N3D, but prime time sounds like it will be full of more traditional programming.

The new channel will officially launch at 9:30am Eastern on July 1st.

Source: Multichannel News

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Satellite Services Adding "Free HD For Life"

Tue Jun 08, 2010 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: DIRECTV, Dish Network (all tags)

But will getting rid of fees make a difference to potential subscribers?

DirecTV and DISH Network are back at it again, this time dropping fees to make their services more attractive. And that's cool, there's no question about it. Cheaper HD is always a nice thing.

And high definition programming is what the new promotions are all about. Both of the companies are boasting "Free HD for life," which eliminates the fees formerly associated with HD channels, assuming you enable auto bill pay on your account.

One of the potential problems with the deal is that it's waiving fees people may not have known about in the first place. If someone wasn't aware that they'd be charged a premium for HD, for example, all this is doing is letting them know that the fee existed.

Is it enough to get people to switch from their current service to a satellite service? We'll see.

Source: DirecTV, DISH

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DirecTV Launches Whole-Home DVR

Tue May 18, 2010 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: DVR, DIRECTV (all tags)

Customers will be able to watch and record shows on any set in the house.

It doesn't get much cooler than DirecTV's Whole-Home DVR service. It's something we've been anticipating for a while and it just might be enough to convince consumers to switch.

Whole-Home DVR takes its cues from home media servers. Rather than having a separate DVR for each room of the house, DirecTV's new service connects every TV to a single DVR with enough space to handle it.

For a $3 monthly service charge, you'll be able to watch shows from that centralized DVR at any TV in the house. And it's not just playback, you can adjust your DVR recordings from any room too. No more getting up and running to the living room at two in the morning to make sure you've got 'LOST' set to record.

From the sound of things, there's no downside to watching in the satellite rooms. You can still play them back in HD, and you've still got the ability to pause, fast forward, and rewind. Not a bad setup by any means.

Source: DirecTV

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Love 'Mad Men' & 'Breaking Bad?' Please Help!

Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 02:40 PM ET
Tags: AMC, DIRECTV, Comcast (all tags)

by Michael S. Palmer

A fellow HD enthusiast's plea for help!!!

I remember it well. Bored with nothing to watch. At the time I was a young man of modest means whose only companion was a Comcast HD-DVR. Sure, we didn't have many HD channels, but I could spend all day watching Discovery HD Theater anyway, so it didn't really matter.

Then, some anonymous genius snuck AMC's first original series, 'Mad Men', onto the On Demand feature. It was moving. Dramatic. And above all, for anyone craving a high definition fix, gorgeous. Sure the AMC channel itself wasn't in high-def, but who cares, I had their best product commercial free.


Next came 'Breaking Bad', another fully awesome cinematic TV experience. I couldn't believe my good fortune. Every week, I went back to On Demand, afraid. Perhaps it was mistake. What if this amazing, high-def programming would be taken away? But it never was. Life was perfect.


Until football…

Two years. A fiancée. And a quest to watch the New England Patriots each Sunday morning at home instead of a bar (beer still included) changed everything.

Enter DirecTV stage left with the NFL Season Ticket. The technician was late. The fine print terrifying. But I had the world. A satellite dish; an HD-DVR receiver that not only records a gazillion hours of high-def programming, but also doesn't break every week; and football. Life was ultimo-perfect.

Only On Demand is gone and AMC-HD doesn't exist for those of us bouncing TV signals off a microwave orbiting the Earth (insert sad emoticon here). 'Mad Men: Season 3' and 'Breaking Bad: Season 2' came and went. I wanted to watch them. Truly. But I couldn't. The letterboxed standard definition was indescribable. So I gave up. Decided to wait for the Blu-rays. And they are excellent.

If you have DirecTV, you are currently watching substandard (image quality) 'Breaking Bad: Season 3.' This summer, you'll choke down 'Mad Men: Season 4.' And finally this fall, die a little each day, for Frank 'The Shawkshank Redemption' Darabont's 'The Walking Dead.'

Depressed, I thought to myself. How can I fix this? How can one man make a difference (without a talking car named K.I.T.T.)? How can I fight The Man? Then I realized…on High-Def Digest, I have tens of readers! Mad with power, I had an idea. A rallying cry for high definition everywhere…

Friends, Romans, Country Forum Trolls, lend me your ears…!

And your ability to use the world wide webisphere. It's time to make noise. The more people who contact DirecTV, who demand to have a cable channel that just about everyone else already has… the sooner we all are to enjoying television shows we're currently paying not to watch. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is simple, and takes less than one minute:

DirecTV Customer Options:

A). Send an email. It's easy. Fill out your information (with account number if you have it handy, and CC me said info and your credit card number. Just kidding). Under the "Topic" menu, select "Programming". And under the sub-menu, select "HD Programming." Subject line: "Please add AMC-HD." And finally, a dull form letter for you to use, or adjust accordingly:

"Dear DirecTV. Please add AMC-HD to your channel lineup. It is unclear as to why this channel -- which is currently available on Fios, Comcast, and TimeWarner Cable -- has taken so long to join your programming. Please don't make me want to switch television providers. Regards."

Or B). Call 1-800-531-5000, press a few buttons, and ask them when they are getting AMC-HD. The customer service reps won't know, of course. So simply ask them to note the request.

Non-DirecTV Customer Option:

Using the Option A link, send this letter: "Dear DirecTV. I am considering switching to DirecTV, but I see you do not currently carry AMC-HD. Please add AMC-HD to your channel lineup so that I may enjoy it's quality programming. Regards."

Done and done. The more people who chip in, the better. Lacking AMC-HD is not the biggest problem in the world – there are always the Blu-rays, and it's high time someone finally got into an argument either for or against 'Avatar' – but just know you'll be helping fellow HD-junkies enjoy some quality TV.

Thanks in advance for all of your help.

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