I'm waiting for the mini 5s instead of that damn sail..   but looks like I'll be going with whatever is available before the fall scifi in hd comes out..

I would put one of those big ugly full sized dishes in my yard if it meant I got HD to my Media Center.

my area has no mpeg4 channels yet so I have the ability to wait still.

D* launched NYC MPEG-4 locals in Jan 2006, no?  Should be on Spaceway 2.

last I heard is we were delayed until end of 2007...  I could be wrong but I have every local that appears in the lineups and on the site...

Chris - Moderator:

DavidinCT:

Could not agree more here. As a DIY person for my Media Center, the fact that I can't add a Cable Card system to it, ticks me off. So if Directv offers it, and I get my locals in HD, I would move in a heartbeat. I already have a dish on my roof (the old owners had directv) ready to go !

You would actually need a new 5-LNB dish to get those MPEG-4 locals.  If you have lived there more than a year, chances are an installer would still need to come out and swap dishes.

 

I did Directv installs one summer when I was out of work from my IT consulting job. So I could put up the dish myself. It's not a big deal about getting a new dish, as if I go to directv and sign a contract, it would be a free install anyway....

I have cable now, it would be great if I could get a cable card setup for my MCE box but, as I can't Directv might be the only way, if a item like this comes out (dual tuner, PCI card).

Any updates to this?  How long is this project going to take? 

I'm looking to switch to Directv before the NFL season but I won't do it unless they get a tuner card out this year.  (It's only been 18 months since they announced this.)

 

Nothing official, but I think you have a while to wait still.

Chris - Moderator:

Nothing official, but I think you have a until to wait still.

Either I'm getting slow in my old age, or that sentence made no sense.  :-)

 

I too am getting really tired of the silent treatment from both MS and D* on this issue.  I understand that Jessica can't comment on it, but both companies really need to release some information about this thing.  I'm really hoping it's not going to turn into a PoS like the DRM laden OCUR tuners.

Makes more sense now. 

You can dream that it will not be DRM laden, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.  Just like the cable industry doesn't own the content in question either does D*.  It will be protected.  The big question is will it be a solution we can all buy without a new PC or not.

Oh, I'm not getting my hopes up.  Unfortunately I don't believe that Hollywood will ever realise that there's nothing they can do that will stop "pirating" of their content, and that the DRM crap does nothing but piss off the regular consumer because of all the restrictions.  Though you'd think that if enough companies (MS, D*, E*, cable, etc.) stood up to them, they'd have to give in.

Oh well, thanks for the update.

I htink he's speaking figuratively :-)

 

Exactly. Ian can't say, and neither can I. Plus, I'm not even sure we know the right answer to that question. Things always change...

Could you "not" tell us if we will have it in time for Christmas? Or if (at least) there is any timeline! (You must have SOME Idea of what "not" to tell us!)

makryger:

Could you "not" tell us if we will have it in time for Christmas? Or if (at least) there is any timeline! (You must have SOME Idea of what "not" to tell us!)

I think it is unlikely we'll see D* support this year. IMHO of course. Is that vague enough to not anger The Man? We'll see. There is a whole gaggle of people dedicated to that effort, and they all still have jobs so it's moving forward so who knows? A lot of pieces have to fall in place to make it happen across a lot of teams.

I really wish I could just spill the details of our current plans. But I'm sure Jessica would hit me with the ban-hammer and I'd never post again. Of course if I was banned from TGB then I'd have more time with my VM6000. Mmmmm. Digital oscilloscope.....

 

So you have a "gaggle" (read > 5) of people "dedicated" to it for over two years with no expectation of delivery of a product?  When did Microsoft become the Federal Government? (Oh, yeah-Vista)

WRK