View Full Version : Technical questions of Direct TV vs. Dish
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I am confused. I am basically trying to decide which service will provide the best quality now and for the next few years:
1. Can both services broadcast in 1080i?
2. Will either service broadcast or have the capability to broadcast in 1080p soon?
3. Will either service change significantly after 2009?
4. Are new satellites going up soon that will change the service offering?
HDTVsportsfan
11-25-07, 08:24 PM
1. Yes, when available. ie; source
2. None of us here probably know...i wouldn't count on it though
3. Again...who knows
4. DirecTV has another going up at the begining of the year.
narcolept
11-25-07, 08:24 PM
1. Yes
2. No, not "soon" in a relative sense.
3. It's only 2007, don't know
4. DirecTV is launching a new bird at the end of the year or January to provide more HD LIL capacity along with national HD. Dish has 2 scheduled sometime after that, but I'm unsure what capacity it will provide for them, this question would be better asked relative to DishNetwork in one of the Dish forums here.
dpeters11
11-25-07, 09:29 PM
On #2, except for things like PPV it's really putting the cart before the horse. Until channels start broadcasting in 1080p, neither Dish, DirecTV or cable companies will support 1080p. PPV and On Demand would be possible exceptions, but unlikely.
It's hard to know what will happen in 2008 for both services, let alone 2010.
Neither will broadcast 1080p in the forseeable future, as there is no programming content available to them to do that, and there isn't expected to be any within the next few years.
As far as 2009, if you are referring to the change of over the air broadcasting from analog to digital, that will have no effect on either DirecTV or Dish Network.
Carl
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I am confused. I am basically trying to decide which service will provide the best quality now and for the next few years:
1. Can both services broadcast in 1080i?
2. Will either service broadcast or have the capability to broadcast in 1080p soon?
3. Will either service change significantly after 2009?
4. Are new satellites going up soon that will change the service offering?
The biggest difference in the two services is the transmission used; Echostar (aka Dish Network) is solidly in the Ku/dbs-band, and will continue with that for many years to come. Because of that, they are limited in where they can get orbital slots (have to toe the line on the 9deg spacing rules, i.e. 110/119/129 etc.).
They fell on their face a couple years ago trying to get Ka sats approved for build and launch due to lack of cash up front, the FCC voided their applications due to the inability to meet 'benchmarks'. That's why while DirecTV, having jumped through the hoops for Ka (DirecTV10/11 took just about 4 years to build, $1B total cost through launch) has more bandwidth at the 99/103 positions than the entire fleet of Echostar Ku/dbs sats (500Mhz each of course), spread between 61.5degs all the way up through 148deg. If you want to receive ALL Echostar programming, it takes at least 5 dishes, or at least one 'superdish' 3/4LNB type plus 1-2 other 18" dishes for the 129/148 slots. Those dual-LNB dishes you see getting the 110/119 slots get only about half the SD and almost no HD.
A lot of Echostar's transmission has to be duplicated at the 61.5deg and 129deg locations, due to the fact that folks on the east coast can barely get the 129 sat, while those on the west coast have the same problem with the 61.5deg sat.
Echostar does have a couple of new Ku/dbs sats under build contract, will probably be launched into the 160deg slot and maybe a Canadian slot in the 90's (if they can get permission to do so). Of course, the 160deg slot will be unviewable from the east coast.
Probably 2-3 years from now, DirecTV will be deep into retiring the Ku/DBS transmissions, as no new sats will be launched except for Ka-Band. They have already started putting SD locals on the Ka-Band spotbeams, and this will continue apace.
A bit of that is speculation, but the handwriting is on the wall. Echostar is now on the road to split itself up into several different companies, and may get enough cash together to make another run at Ka-Band.
The other questions have been answered by others, but the big news continues to be Ka, and will be the obvious transmission media of choice for now and the future, with 4 times the bandwidth (minimum) of Ku/DBS, and sat spacing of 4deg rather than 9deg. It's the wireless equivalent of fiber vrs. coaxial.
Heem(JimmyG)
11-26-07, 12:05 PM
WOW!
1948GG Excellent reply. Why doesn't DirecTV use the Ka Band argument in sales pitches?
1948GG Excellent reply. Why doesn't DirecTV use the Ka Band argument in sales pitches?
'Too Technical' would be the answer.
DirecTV has been aiming it's sales pitch for the last several years at solidly 'cable' folks, i.e., there is an entire generation of consumers who've never even had a rooftop OTA antenna, in fact a huge percentage of communities have restrictions against mounting antennas, despite federal laws that are supposed to prohibit such. In fact, many states (including the one I live in) have ruled AGAINST the FCC/Federal rules, and those state rules have yet to be challenged in Federal Court.
Basically, the general consumer doesn't care where their service comes from, coaxial, fiber, or satellite, just that the 'get the service'. Of course, the general publics confusion over HD (every poll shows that folks don't even know they are watching SD programming, they think that simply having an HD set means they are watching HD....!) shows that the whole field is ripe with.....
I have given several seminars to communities, both retirement and others, in my local area, and the questions one gets reminds me of the first day of class in some very low grade; the retirement folks remember antennas from way back, but it's generally been 30+ years as they've had cable ever since. The 'younger' folks (40 and under) have NEVER had an antenna. Of ANY type!
A lot of it is like trying to explain manual car transmission to folks who've always had automatics. Except worse. The years I've spend teaching in 'developing' countries helps a lot in 'going back to basics' to explain things!
Neither will broadcast 1080p in the forseeable future, as there is no programming content available to them to do that, and there isn't expected to be any within the next few years.
I would disagree. What about all the movie channels? Surely they have access to programming at 1080p resolution. Sky in the UK has a 1080p movie channel I believe.
texasbrit
11-27-07, 04:39 PM
I haven't seen any examples of states trying to support rules that go against the FCC, can you point me to some references??
fancydancy
11-27-07, 05:00 PM
I would disagree. What about all the movie channels? Surely they have access to programming at 1080p resolution. Sky in the UK has a 1080p movie channel I believe.
I'd be shocked to hear any provider in the US broadcasting in 1080p, that's twice the bandwidth of what everyone else would consider good enough (720p/1080i).
I'd be shocked to hear any provider in the US broadcasting in 1080p, that's twice the bandwidth of what everyone else would consider good enough (720p/1080i).
I don't believe anyone in the US is broadcasting 1080p, but I was replying to the poster who said that there was no 1080p content available to broadcast.
Christopher Gould
11-27-07, 07:38 PM
Probably 2-3 years from now, DirecTV will be deep into retiring the Ku/DBS transmissions, as no new sats will be launched except for Ka-Band. They have already started putting SD locals on the Ka-Band spotbeams, and this will continue apace.
D* will not retire ku transmissions. Its bandwidth. why give it up? 101 never its a full slot. 110 and 119 can always use the ku sats the that retire from 101.
vBulletin® v3.7.6, Copyright ©2000-2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.