DirecTV News/Information/Questions Thread

[chfforrest]

About to make the switch from the otherwise horrible time warner to direct tv...Can anyone answer these questions for me??
If the gamecocks are on ppv can i get it on directtv?
Do I have to order the sports package to get espnu and csstv??
Thanks..Hope this is the right forum!!

[go_carolina_528]

Depending on your location you can get the Gamecocks on PPV. Sometimes its blacked out in certain parts of the country.

To get CSTV and ESPNU, i am pretty sure you have to get the sports package. They both are worth the extra money

[chfforrest]

thanks go carolina!!

[usc90grad]

About to make the switch from the otherwise horrible time warner to direct tv...Can anyone answer these questions for me??
If the gamecocks are on ppv can i get it on directtv?
Do I have to order the sports package to get espnu and csstv??
Thanks..Hope this is the right forum!!

I'm in Charlotte and have never had a problem getting Gamecock games on PPV.

And yes, you do have to pay extra (i.e. the sports package) to get ESPNU. I don't have it, so can't tell you if it's worth it or not. But you will love Directv! Time Warner sucks.

[COCKDIESEL]

In columbia you have to get the exclusive ppv to watch the games. Outside of SC you can just get gameplan most of the time. ESPNU and CSTV are extra but if you are a fan of college football and like to watch some teams you may not see all the time then they are well worth the 13 a month not to mention they have college baseball games which you don't get a lot of on other sports channels.

[Spur]

Ditching Cox for DirecTV was one of the smartest decisions I ever made

I am now getting MLB EI games in HD, Sunday Ticket, ext....

Love it

[chfforrest]

What do you mean by the "exclusive ppv's"???

[COCKDIESEL]

What do you mean by the "exclusive ppv's"???
Gameplan doesn't show USC games in South Carolina b/c they know that people will pay the 25 bucks for just that game. Gameplan is only 20 and you get the USC game plus whatever else is on their schedule for the day. So the exclusive is just the USC game and it cost more.

[cockyhoskins]

I just finished fishing my second line for my DVR so I can watch and record two different channels.

My question is this:

Do I need a phone line in the back of the box to order a PPV? Do I need a phone line in the back of the specific receiver on the TV I want to watch the PPV on or just one receiver in the house?

[COCKDIESEL]

Getting lonely in Charlotte are we? :lol:










Oh and I don't know I have never ordered ppv since I got directv.

[cockyhoskins]

I got DirecTV in Greenville. Still use TWC in Charlotte. However, I'll be recording games in greenville for the dvr. Can I just order PPV over the internet and it comes down to the box?

[Spur]

Chuck, the answer is no

I have my 2nd HR20 upstairs and it is not connected to the phone line and I have ordered PPV.

FYI, I only have one phone line and can record on each HR20 whatever I want, whenever I wan.t

[Cockadoo]

I'm looking to drop Charter like a bad habit, i'm tired of 'em. I had DirecTv previously with Sunday Ticket and all that jazz but trees around the house became a problem. So now that I have moved I'm looking to go back to satellite.

I'm very interested in Dish Network and from the research I have done it appears they have their stuff together.

I see they have more HD channels then DirecTv, however I know DTV is getting more soon. But I think Dish just adding even more recently. The start-up cost appears to be a helluva lot cheaper then DTV.

Can people with these systems share your experiences and maybe that will help make my decision easier.

[Spur]

I got DirecTV in November of last year and LOVE IT.

I love Sunday Ticket, I love Extra Innings in HD almost every night (10+ games a week in HD), I love the March Madness program....

It fits me perfectly.

The new sat is up for DirecTV and is already in testing mode. Should be up and working in the 1st/2nd week of September.

The 2nd sat should be up several months after that

So, DirecTV's HD channels should increase greatly the next few months

[Cockadoo]

^^ Have they said how many HD channels they will be adding?

The only thing that turns me off about DTV is that they want $299 for start-up cost with the HD equip. and Dish is free even for extra rooms.

[Spur]

You can get around the $299 if you are starting up.

I got my 1st DVR for $99 and just got my 2nd for free.

If you are going to get the Sunday Ticket, you can get a great deal on the DVR.

[MACXIMVS]

man i had direct tv sometime ago and it sucked ass on the saturday games ..sunday ticket was great though

[Cockadoo]

man i had direct tv sometime ago and it sucked ass on the saturday games ..sunday ticket was great though

What do you have now? I want to hear from someone with Dish Network. A friend of mine said a guy he knows who knows a guy bla bla bla said that he has Dish Network and wished he had DirecTv now. But I wanna here directly from someone who has Dish and see what they think about it. I know someone on here has it.

[wade8283]

I'm looking to drop Charter like a bad habit, i'm tired of 'em. I had DirecTv previously with Sunday Ticket and all that jazz but trees around the house became a problem. So now that I have moved I'm looking to go back to satellite.

I'm very interested in Dish Network and from the research I have done it appears they have their stuff together.

I see they have more HD channels then DirecTv, however I know DTV is getting more soon. But I think Dish just adding even more recently. The start-up cost appears to be a helluva lot cheaper then DTV.

Can people with these systems share your experiences and maybe that will help make my decision easier.

I have had both. Dish SUCKS BIG BALLS! They came out sadi the yhad it working and I got to turn it on and nothing. They came out 2 times to fix it and the thrid time the recommended I request a manager to come out. I set it up twice for them to come out and niether time did they show up. They also left al ltheir trash in my yard.

DirecTV is way way way better.

[Cockadoo]

I have had both. Dish SUCKS BIG BALLS! They came out sadi the yhad it working and I got to turn it on and nothing. They came out 2 times to fix it and the thrid time the recommended I request a manager to come out. I set it up twice for them to come out and niether time did they show up. They also left al ltheir trash in my yard.

DirecTV is way way way better.

Lol, sounds sorta like Charter.

[Spur]

You all have no idea what "bad service" is until you are a Cox customer

[atrain3067]

I got Dish Network and it's okay. We have problems w/ signal when a storm blows over, not sure if DirectTV is any better w/ that. Also, what Wade said about service is about spot on. If it ever messes up, good luck getting them to figure out how to fix it, let alone get out to your place.

[TheGuitarCock]

I have dish, its okay. I am gonna get DirecTV in a few weeks when I get my Plasma HDTV and I am gonna get the sunday ticket, HD and stuff

[Cockadoo]

You all have no idea what "bad service" is until you are a Cox customer
Hehe OK. Long story but a good one.

We had just finished building our new house right. But we were still living at the old residence. So I call Charter and tell them I want to transfer my service to the new address on such and such date. No problem there. Well they come to my new address unannoucned while I wasnt there and they said they couldnt hook it up without someone present. Ok, they didnt even need to go in the house because I prewired it, all they needed to do is run it to the box outside and it would have been complete. So no hook up that day but what does Charter do? They go ahead and disconnect it at my old address without having it transferred. How stupid is that. So now I'm without internet or tv service. I call them and I'm very pissed and I tell the person (different one then before so I have to tell the WHOLE story) and they are like oh that is our fault, we appologize. We can have your old address reconnected in about 5 days. WHAT! 5 days? It was yalls fault to begin with. Sigh, OK just hook it up. 5 days go by and I get a phone call on my cell. "This is charter and we are here to connect your new service.." at my old address. Im like its not new service its just a reconnection of old service. The cable guy is like well my work order has new service and I cant connect it unless someone is here. You got to be kidding me? All you have to do is reconnect it at the road. You dont have to go in the house. Well let me call my supervisor. Yeah do that. Ok we can do it. Good.

A week later we have tv and internet again at the old address, but now I'm ready to transfer again. Charter says they will have someone at the new address on Wednesday between the hours of 8am and 5pm and wont turn off the old address until Friday. Im like OK now I have to waste a whole day sitting at home waiting for the Cable guy? She is like yes sir, its an all day appointment. Im like for who? Him or me? Anyways I wait ALL day. 5pm comes along and no sign of cable guy yet. Then the phone rings at 5:15 and he is like, Im running a little late but I will be there soon. Im thinking no duh, I have only been waiting since 8 Am this morning. I would hate for you not to hook it up unless Im here. So he shows up, gets a roll of cable out of his truck. Rolls it out across the yard. Im in the house and about 30 minutes later he comes in and says sir we have a problem. Im like what now? He says we cant run it across the sidewalk out back to get to the cable box. We will have to drill under it. Im like OK? He said but I cant leave the cable stretched across the sidewalk so I wont be able to hook it up today. I was getting furious at this point. I usually dont just cuss at strangers but I said "Are you f***ing serious?", "You made me wait until 5 f***ing thirty to tell me you cant hook it up?" He said "Sir I appologize but its company policy, I will contact my supervisor to put a rush on it and get someone out here fast." I said "Just do whatever the hell you gotta do, why cant you just run it under the house and bypass the sidewalk?" He said "That sounds like a good idea, but I just cant do that." I said "What the f*** ever". Still no TV or internet at my new address. That same day (Wednesday, not Friday) Charter cut off the cable at my old address AGAIN while I was waiting at my new address. Now I'm just irate. I call Charter and speak to like the fourth person, once again I have to repeat the whole story over. I said you guys told me you would wait until friday to cut it off, its only wednesday. Oh? wow your right we appologize again sir. We can return your service for you but it will take 7 days and I will have to cancel your current transfer request. Im like this is f***ing unreal. I said just forget it, keep the transfer request active.

It has been 7 days since the second botched transfer and no sign of drilling crew for sidewalk and no phone calls from charter themselves. Now it is like April 5th. I call charter and said I want an update on my current transfer status. She says hold on one sec sir. Sir it is scheduled for May 7th. I said Oh hell no! Yall was supposed to already have transferred this twice and the last time he said he would put a rush on it and now your telling me it is gonna be another month? She said yes sir thats when it is scheduled. I said Whatever and hung up. I get in the car and drive to the main office in Spartanburg and said I want to talk to the manager, supervisor whatever. They said Sir shes at lunch I will give here a message if you like so I tell them the whole story and they agree to tell her but in the back of my mind I know they wont. So I leave and go eat lunch and waste some time. I go back to the office to talk to her and she is in. I ask if anyone told her why I was there and she said no one has told her anything. I said thats typical. I tell her the story and she said we will get someone on it right away. I say thank you and leave. Days go by still nothing. No internet, no TV. Weeks pass, nothing.

Finally May 7th, comes. I wait all day at home. 5pm and still no one is here. I call charter and once again I have to tell the whole story over. She says to me. "Sir, May 7th is just the date that they have to schedule it by. The actual install date can be anywhere in a two week period after that." I was livid. "Why in the hell dont you just tell me the actual install date. Are you saying within the past month you couldnt have called to give me an actual install date? Yall are absolutely ridiculous." Click. Well the very next day a dig crew shows up. They are independent of Charter, just contracted. He looks at his work order and says "Yall have been waiting on this a while aint chee." I said "You dont even know." I proceeded to tell him the whole story and he says. "Well they could have called me a long time ago, we dont stay that busy." I saw red. But I was finally happy to have internet and tv back. Then charter has the nerve to call us a week later for a customer service survey on how everything went. Needless to say they got a one. Dumbass Charter.

If anyone can beat that then I truly, truly feel sorry for you.

[TheGuitarCock]

wow

[carolinachicken]

I have had both, and from my experience I prefer Dish Network over Direct. We had a few problems with Direct, nothing major. The free DVR equipment is what really sold us on Dish. The service that we get from Dish is great as well.

[horseshoefootball]

get whichever one the school doesn't use, because our campus TV is terrible. They added HBO channels this year, but you can't see anything for the static and fuzz.

[usc90grad]

I've had Directv for 8 years and love it. My neighbor had Dish and changed to Directv after one year. Dish gets you with their lower prices, but he said their service sucked.

[MACXIMVS]

What do you have now? I want to hear from someone with Dish Network. A friend of mine said a guy he knows who knows a guy bla bla bla said that he has Dish Network and wished he had DirecTv now. But I wanna here directly from someone who has Dish and see what they think about it. I know someone on here has it.

neither my buddie has dish and it looks good..but i dont think you get a good a package as direct tv

[ewjake]

Iv'e got Direct and no probs with mine, very easy setup at stadium too

[sumbigspur]

don't be fooled by all the hi-def talk going on ... direct will only have the capacity to have over 150 hi-def channels ... fact of the matter is that there aren't that many hi-def channels out there ... both services are very competitive and any new channels will most likely be carried by both services ... it's simple economics ... the providers are paid by the sat companies based on their number of subscribers ... both services have wellover 12 million subscribers ... if you owned the programming would you give up the revenue?? ... look at the channel listings for both services ... direct offers sunday ticket (nfl) if that is of interest to you ... dish has more hi-def channels up than direct right now with both adding channels very often now as they become available ... also both sat companies are launching new sats for even more capacity ... would suggest going to a local sat store and not the 1-800 number and speaking to someone that installs both direct and dish and ask them to do a free site survey of your property to see if you might have any problems with either service as far as line of sight to the sat from the dish (i.e. trees etc) ... if none then go with whichever you want based on content or price ... using a local dealer with a store front usually results in a much better satisfaction level as the dealer is from your community and not 50 or 100 miles away and only comes to your area on tues or thurs etc. ... whichever you choose you will most likely be much more satisfied than you are with cable ...

[CockRoche]

You'll probably find just as many DTV supporters as Dish Supporter so they must be pretty equal. I suggest visiting highdefforum.com and dbssatellitetalk.com. You'll find enough info to keep you weighing your options for about three weeks.

[dirtycock]

I've had both but have had dish for about 4 years now. I prefer dish. I'm happy with it. The only thing I hate to see is these new low programming packages that are only about $40-50, and I'm stuck in the same package that costs me about $95 a month. As far as customer service both suck imo!

[uscfan79]

I am getting ready to move and am thinking about getting rid of my TWC and going to Directv! I havent had any problems with TWC but Directv offers so much more in HD channels for a similiar price. My only concern is that a few of my friends have Directv and for some reason the non HD channels dont look as good as cable. Is it just me??

I would appreciate any thoughts on which one I should get! Thanks

[SnellvilleSpur]

I had satellite for a few years and when it rained hard, you might as well read a book, because you wouldn't get service. It always seemed to rain at the most inopportune times (4th quarter of a big game, or middle of a film). The picture was okay, when it wasn't raining. After awhile, the dish needed adjusting, probably because the wind had blown it off kilter, but getting a service guy to the house was as bad as trying to get a cable guy.

I've had Comcast now for about 4 years and I love it. On demand programming, loads of HD channels and very high reliability, plus you don't necessarily have to have a cable box in each room. We have 5 rooms with TVs and 3 cable boxes. The other two rooms get 70+ channels with no additional cable box fee.

The HD cable box I have has a built in DVR with full-function HD. You can record and play back HD programming as if it's live. You can also record a program simultaneously while you watch a program. The cost for HD is only $5 more per month.

I'll never go back to the weather-beaten dish.

[usc90grad]

I've had Directv for 7 years and love it! Their progamming and pricing are much better than TW cable. Also their DVR/Tivo is awesome. I can count on one hand the number of times the service has gone out due to weather and those were in terrible storms.

If you go with satellite, make sure you go with Directv. I've heard bad things about Dish Network (crappy programming, etc).

[Spur]

DirecTV easily

I had Cox Cable for 20 years and recently switched to D* for a year now

DirecTV kills Cable....I get the Sunday Ticket, MLB games in HD with Extra Innings, Locals in HD, and in 1-2 weeks, D* will be tripling their HD channels now that D10 is up

I have had my D* go off for maybe a few minutes when it is pouring but nothing major.

[COCKDIESEL]

If your dish goes out b.c of weather it is out like ten mins. If your cable goes out b.c of weather it could be hours for service to return. I have had directv for over a year now and am very glad I switched after having TWC for 10 years. I don't know about comcast but TWC's customer service issues alone make Directv the better choice.

[Sgt. Cock]

The downside for both choices is the abysmal customer service. Neither service is a true utility, so FCC guidelines for maintenance of service don't apply, like with power, phone, gas, etc. The result is that is your service were to go out 10 minutes before kickoff, they will be out to fix it the following Thursday, provided you successfully reach someone.

After all of that, I'm partial to DirecTV over cable because of the increased number of HD channels and fewer unannounced rate hikes.

[rock23aj]

DIRECTV ALL THE WAY! Especially now when you can pay $69 a month for sunday ticket and get EVERY channel for free for 4 months. Ive had cable and Directv and cable doesnt even come close. More HD channels and all digital...

[Spur]

The one thing that has surprised me with DirecTV is how EVERYTHING is negotiated with them

I got both my HD-DVR's for a TOTAL of $199 (when each is usually bought for $299 each)...I got Showtime/HBO for 6 months free....etc...got Sunday Ticket Superfan for FREE

It's weird...if you are good at haggling...you can get a LOT of stuff for free

[MACXIMVS]

anybody lives in rock hill needs a sat tv

[usc90grad]

The one thing that has surprised me with DirecTV is how EVERYTHING is negotiated with them

I got both my HD-DVR's for a TOTAL of $199 (when each is usually bought for $299 each)...I got Showtime/HBO for 6 months free....etc...got Sunday Ticket Superfan for FREE

It's weird...if you are good at haggling...you can get a LOT of stuff for free

I second that. When my bill went up at the beginning of the year, I called and told them I would be switching to cable (although I wasn't going to). They immediately droppped my bill by $15 a month.

[gAmkok]

DirecTV is better than TWC. My service only goes out for about 5 minutes when a storm is coming (ironically it usually is back on while the storm is hitting), or after heavy winds that change the pitch of the dish. Cable used to go out on me much more frequently than DirecTV does. There are drawbacks though.

Their phone techs don't know very much - called three times on the same issue and got three different answers. Woulda called four but the third answer solved the problem. Also you'll probably have to watch the guys do the install. I didn't and they screwed the dish into my vinyl siding - not the brick like they told me, and not through the siding into a support - just into the siding (that's one reason the wind knocks the dish out or whack) - idiots.

If you need to readjust, you shouldn't need a tech. You'll get instructions on how to do it and there's an on-screen menu to walk you through the same. After a couple of times, I pretty much know without looking it up where to point the thing when I need to fix it.

[LeeSC]

I would have to put my vote in for cable. And not because the difference between TV service, but the package deals. I get TV/Internet/Phone at a great price.

I have Truvista in the Camden area and these guys are really trying hard to bring people back to cable after years of Charter constantly screwing people over. BellSouth/ATT absolutely RAPE people for phone service. DSL still cant compare to cable modem. I know DirecTV offer Sat internet, but it is unusable for some things (like internet gaming) due to latency issues.

I lived in Columbia/ Lexington for a long time and was very pleased with TWC. I rarely had service problems and if I did have a problem, it was resolved very quickly.

[Slacker USC]

I recently made the switch from TWC to DirectTV. Sunday Ticket sealed the deal for me. I'm paying extra for DVR, HD package, and other stuff, however its still about the same price I was paying for TWC, with more channels and MUCH better customer service.

I hate TWC in Columbia, and will be dropping my internet service from them as soon as I find a decent alternative.

[Order 66]

TWC sucks bawls. I hate that they're the only cable option in Columbia.

[geekcognito]

Time Warner and Comcast both suck.

I have Knology here in Charleston. Digital HD w/ DVR + HBO package and college sports package, cable internet, and local + free nationwide LD phone service for....wait for it...$112 per month.

Yes, you read that right. :)

[Spur]

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1183309#post1183309

DIRECTV has just released 11 new channels in high definition! Look for these on a DVR near you:

Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD (Channel 640) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=102516)
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD (Channel 629) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=102653)
New England Sports Network/NESN HD(Channel 623) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=102676)
SportsNet New York HD (Channel 625) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=102677)
YES HD (Channel 622) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=102680)
Cinemax East (Channel 512) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99498)
Cinemax West (Channel 514) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99498)
HBO West (Channel 504) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99498)
Bravo (Channel 273) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101351)
SciFi Channel (Channel 244) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101359)
USA Network (Channel 242) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101362)

This is on top of the 1st wave being released 2 weeks ago

List of new HD channels (each line is a discussion thread link)
A&E (Channel 265) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99494)
Animal Planet (Channel 282) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101080)
Big Ten Network (Channel 220) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99482)
CNN (Channel 202) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99499)
The Discovery Channel (Channel 278) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101082)
The History Channel (Channel 269) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99503)
The Movie Channel East (Channel 544) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99508)
NFL Network (Channel 212) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99506)
Showtime West (Channel 540) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99508)
Showtime too (Channel 538) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99508)
The Smithsonian Channel (Channel 267) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99510)
The Science Channel (Channel 284) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101059)
Starz Comedy (Channel 519) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99511)
Starz East (Channel 522) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99511)
Starz West (Channel 521) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99511)
Starz Edge (Channel 520) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99511)
Starz Kids and Family (Channel 518) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99511)
TBS (Channel 247) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=99512)
TLC (Channel 280) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101062)
Versus / The Golf Channel (Channel 604) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101067)
The Weather Channel (Channel 362) (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=101087)

[97srad750]

Damn them. I need NESN HD for the baseball season.

[Spur]

More to come in October

[serbob02]

Haha, well Time Warner just added 6 new HD channels. YES!

[Ga_Gamecock]

is comcast going to raise the number of HD channels as well, or are they going to just going to continue to raise prices? wha whaa whaaaa

[Spur]

is comcast going to raise the number of HD channels as well, or are they going to just going to continue to raise prices? wha whaa whaaaa

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=424081

That is a long thread debating Comcast HD channels

Look at the dates of the posts though....some are old

[Ga_Gamecock]

wow

thats one long thread

it was started in 03

last post was yesterday/today

[Spur]

Right. It is VERY helpful though and you can ask whatever questions and probably get a good answer

[OCock]

Thanks to some of you guys, I just got the HD DVR from DTV and paid $0 instead of the $299. When I called they sent me to their "Retention Dept." and they were willing to do anything to keep me as a customer. Once I started about switching to Dish and getting their HD DVR for nothing, they were willing to do almost anything. All you have to do is know how to haggle. Anyway, thanks again.

[Spur]

Amen. Said that a million times. You have to haggle with them as much as possible.

I get deals everytime I need something. I even call back a few times

[Spur]

http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2007/10/22/daily18.html?jst=b_ln_hl

AT&T is looking to make a bid on either DirecTV Group Inc. or EchoStar Communications Corp., the parent company of Dish Network, according to a report in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, AT&T is talking with lawyers in Washington to get an idea of how long it would take to get such a purchase approved by the federal government. AT&T would possibly unveil the offer by year's end in order to get antitrust approval before a new administration takes over.

Such a purchase might give AT&T a better foothold in competing with cable companies by offering bundled phone, Internet and television services. Currently, AT&T is rolling out its U-Verse television service, which uses fiber optics and Internet-based technologies, but installing the necessary fiber-optic cables has proven costly.

Currently, AT&T's plan to roll out U-Verse in 18 million homes by the end of next year will cost the company about $6.5 billion.

A buy of one of the two companies would cost between $30 and $40 billion, according to the report.

Currently, the controlling stake in El Segundo's DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) is held by News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), but is in the process of being sold to Liberty Media Corp.

The deal is still under review by federal regulators.

The Journal report says that should the deal with Liberty go through and AT&T purchases all of DirecTV, Liberty would have to keep a 25 percent stake in the company, for tax reasons. The controlling stake currently being sold is 38.5 percent.

A purchase of EchoStar might be less complicated, as AT&T would deal with company founder, chief executive and controlling shareholder Charlie Ergen.

The report also notes that AT&T is a previous investor in Colorado-based EchoStar (NASDAQ: DISH), as it invested $500 million in the firm in 2003.

[Spur]

http://dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=106550

*DIRECTV has confirmed it will carry all three games in high-definition this weekend for customers who have an MPEG4 HD receiver and 5-LNB satellite dish

[Spurred]

do you need to buy a new dish also when you make the switch to HD satellite?

[Click Clack]

do you need to buy a new dish also when you make the switch to HD satellite?

If your dish was installed prior to October 2005, then you will probably need a new dish... But the new HD dishes are free with free installation from Directv.

You can check out www.directv.com/hdcheck (http://www.directv.com/hdcheck) to find out more info.

[Spur]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6501370.html?industryid=47174

On its march toward 100 HD channels by the end of the year, DirecTV added several new national channels and regional sports networks to its lineup.

The company has been adding new channels in spurts over the past two months. The latest batch includes national HD networks MTV HD, VH1 HD, Spike HD, Nickelodeon HD and CMT HD. Bio HD will be added at the end of the month.

“The addition of MTV Networks’ popular channels to our HD platform makes DirecTV the only television-service provider to offer multiple HD feeds from all major programming providers,” DirecTV executive vice president of content strategy and development Derek Chang said in a statement.

The regional sports networks the company is adding include Altitude Sports & Entertainment, Comcast SportsNet New England, FSN Arizona, FSN Bay Area, FSN Cincinnati, FSN Florida, FSN Midwest, FSN North, FSN Northwest, FSN Ohio, FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Rocky Mountain, FSN South, SportSouth and Sun Sports.

The company also launched five new HD pay-per-view channels.

DirecTV is focusing on expanding its HD programming as a competitive differentiator to the cable companies. At the beginning of the year, the satellite-TV provider announced that it would have capacity to carry 100 linear HD channels by year-end. This summer, it launched a new satellite that would provide that capacity, and it expects to launch another satellite in early 2008 to give it the capacity to offer 150 HD channels by the end of next year.

[uscfan79]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6501370.html?industryid=47174Glad I decided to go with Directv now! Getting installed on Saturday:woo:

[JAYBEZ]

I have been really toying with the idea of switching the tv over to Direct TV and keeping the my internet connection on cable.

How is the signal with DTV? Any hangups or poor signals?

[Spur]

I have been really toying with the idea of switching the tv over to Direct TV and keeping the my internet connection on cable.

How is the signal with DTV? Any hangups or poor signals?
That is what I do. I have Cox down here for my internet and switched to DirecTV for TV

I haven't had any problems with the signal. I mean, when it is POURING in bad thunderstorms....ya, it will go out but not even for longer then 5 minutes. And I usually have my DVR set anyway (which I love from DirecTV) so it is no biggie

[JAYBEZ]

Well, the rain wont be a problem here is Charlotte/Rock Hill. The ground hasn't been wet in 4 months.

[uscfan79]

Is Directv HD as clear as TW HD? I am switching to Directv and just want to make sure I will be getting the same quality. The TW HD channels are very clear only problem is they dont match up to Directv when it comes to the amount of HD channels you get.

[OCock]

DTV is 100 x's better than TWC, espcially in the HD department. The only negatvie is that you can not get your local channels in HD through DTV without an Over the Air Antenna.

[Spur]

DTV is 100 x's better than TWC, espcially in the HD department. The only negatvie is that you can not get your local channels in HD through DTV without an Over the Air Antenna.

With the new bird up for DirecTV, I don't think it is long before Columbia locals are up on DirecTV. I already got mine down here.

With that said, DirecTV HD is fantastic. I have seen Dish/Cox HD down here and see no difference

[uscfan79]

DTV is 100 x's better than TWC, espcially in the HD department. The only negatvie is that you can not get your local channels in HD through DTV without an Over the Air Antenna.Yeah I had it installed yesterday and the picture looks great! The guy told me that I cant get HD locals yet but they expect by late Feb or first of March they will have it in the Columbia area!