View Full Version : HD Wars: Comcast Takes On DirecTV... 400 HD Channels by EOY, 800 by EOY 2008
Earl Bonovich
06-12-07, 07:47 AM
HD Wars: Comcast Takes On DirecTV
COMCAST COULD WELL BE GEARING up for a pricey marketing campaign to combat DirecTV's seemingly successful efforts to claim leadership on the HD front.
A top company executive said last week that the cable operator will offer some 400 high-definition channels by the end of the year, and 800-plus by the close of 2008. In addition, Comcast has data showing that two-thirds of people prefer its HD picture to the satellite feed, according to co-CFO John Alchin.
...
See the rest of this story at: MediaPost (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=62111)
Go Comcast! Turn on the heat! The more pressure these guys apply to each other the better the service will become.
veryoldschool
06-12-07, 07:53 AM
Any competition is good.
NOW! Its time to QUESTION!!!! WHERE ARE THESE HD CHANNELS COMING FROM!!!!:D
Earl Bonovich
06-12-07, 07:56 AM
IMHO... there is a difference between "turning on the heat"/competition and Marketting fud
But 400 HD channels in the next 6 months?
Heck... people are having a hard time figuring out what the 100 will be for DirecTV... let alone trying to identify another 300... and then another 400 after that for 2008.
If COMCAST is going to use "new math", and count each HD network broadcast in each of their markets.... then if DirecTV uses that math as well... they possible will be at 1,500 HD "channels" by the end of 2008
HarleyD
06-12-07, 07:59 AM
Is comcast counting locals perhaps?
Besides all the national HD channels they could be counting OnDemand stuff, who knows. All I know is that it's good to see the various distributors getting into this pi**ing match.
I wonder if AT&T's going to also get into the game, but too bad you'll be able to stream one or two channels into your home at a time;)
compnurd
06-12-07, 08:30 AM
I can see Comcast doing that in maybe 15 markets. No way there entire network
Earl Bonovich
06-12-07, 08:34 AM
I can see Comcast doing that in maybe 15 markets. No way there entire network
Even in one market....
I can't even think of 400 SD networks/channels... let alone 400 HD ones.
I wonder if the reporter was confusing HD with Digital....
veryoldschool
06-12-07, 08:42 AM
Even in one market....
I can't even think of 400 SD networks/channels... let alone 400 HD ones.
I wonder if the reporter was confusing HD with Digital....
How many coax cables are they planning to use?
Unless there is fiber coming to the house, they would need to: have 2-3 coax feeds, or switch the video on demand, or have they found a way to use 3 GHz of bandwidth?
jtrain73
06-12-07, 08:45 AM
Even in one market....
I can't even think of 400 SD networks/channels... let alone 400 HD ones.
I wonder if the reporter was confusing HD with Digital....
I think they are counting On-Demand HD offerings. According to the article, Comcast's home Philadelphia market showed the MSO had some 24 linear channels in HD, plus about 175 additional feeds.
Translation:
24 channels in HD (including locals)
175 HD on-demand offerings
I have family in Philadelphia and I have seen their HD on-demand and about 175 different programs/movies sounds right, as does the 24 channels offered in HD.
So 400 HD channels includes HD on-demand offerings. Either the reporter doesn't realize this or Comcast is being very deceptive.
Hutchinshouse
06-12-07, 08:45 AM
Bandwidth, we don't need no stinking bandwidth.
I'll believe it when I see it.
veryoldschool
06-12-07, 08:49 AM
Bandwidth, we don't need no stinking bandwidth.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Maybe you don't need "no stinking badges", but I can't get enough bandwidth. :lol:
machavez00
06-12-07, 08:57 AM
I can see Comcast doing that in maybe 15 markets. No way there entire network
Even in one market....
I can't even think of 400 SD networks/channels... let alone 400 HD ones.
I wonder if the reporter was confusing HD with Digital....
Comcast is not everywhere anyway. Cox is the major player in the Phoenix area with some small companies in the outskirts. I don't see any cableco investing that kind of money in say Minot ND or Pahrump NV.
(or Bisbee, Bullhead City, Kingman, Holbrook, Window Rock, Taos, Socorro.....)
say-what
06-12-07, 08:57 AM
They're definitely counting each On-demand offering as a unique channel.
This is their current list of HD offerings: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/14/147565/HDTV.pdf
Comcast is not everywhere anyway. Cox is the major player in the Phoenix area with some small companies in the outskirts. I don't see any cableco investing that kind of money in say Minot ND or Pahrump NV.
(or Bisbee, Bullhead City, Kingman, Holbrook, Windowrock, Taos, Socorro.....)
It wouldn't take a ton of money to do it, just move the majority of the analog channels to digital which frees up a ton of bandwidth. Of course the customers will then need to pay for digital STB's to get channels that they used to get in analog.
Earl Bonovich
06-12-07, 09:16 AM
It wouldn't take a ton of money to do it, just move the majority of the analog channels to digital which frees up a ton of bandwidth. Of course the customers will then need to pay for digital STB's to get channels that they used to get in analog.
And hence the major advertising campaign that Dish and DirecTV have in Chicago right now.
If you are going to change to digital boxes, why not change to ours....
JLucPicard
06-12-07, 09:23 AM
If they are counting each On-Demand offering as an HD channel to get to the 400, the folks taking D* to task for including the HD Sunday Ticket feeds in their 150 are going to have a field day! :lol:
Not that it matters all that much cause they could both have 8,000 HD channels and the content would still be getting worse....
but...
A HD VoD channel could be used 24x7 while the NFL ST channels are 3 1/2 hours a week max...if at all (not all NFL ST channels that are listed are even used every week).
I believe there will be 400 Comcast channels even less than I believe
there will be 100 DirecTV channels.
Comcast has occasionally expressed the amount of its HD content in
"hours" per period. Perhaps this is the souce of the writers figures.
I'm just saying... :shrug:
uncrules
06-12-07, 10:25 AM
If they are counting each On-Demand offering as an HD channel to get to the 400, the folks taking D* to task for including the HD Sunday Ticket feeds in their 150 are going to have a field day! :lol:
I made this same point on a avsforum thread back when Comcast started touting that survey that had people picking their PQ over D*'s PQ cause back then Comcast was claiming they had 200 HD channels. 20 were national HD and the rest were different HD VOD offerings. This opens the door for D* to count their upcoming HD VOD as well.
It's all fuzzy math.
Stanley Kritzik
06-12-07, 11:56 AM
HD Wars: Comcast Takes On DirecTV
See the rest of this story at: MediaPost (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=62111)
My question is: when are we going to see the DTV stuff that Earl and others are working with generally available? Things like frequency translation, etc., so we can upgrade our systems, use one wire, conventional splitters and amplifiers, etc. I want to replace/upgrade my 3-LNB dish and my Tivo, but I want to do it with the new stuff that should be coming "real soon now". Anyone know?
Stan
Earl Bonovich
06-12-07, 12:00 PM
My question is: when are we going to see the DTV stuff that Earl and others are working with generally available? Things like frequency translation, etc., so we can upgrade our systems, use one wire, conventional splitters and amplifiers, etc. I want to replace/upgrade my 3-LNB dish and my Tivo, but I want to do it with the new stuff that should be coming "real soon now". Anyone know?
Stan
With regards to SWM.... probably not till Mid Q3/Q4
veryoldschool
06-12-07, 12:00 PM
My question is: when are we going to see the DTV stuff that Earl and others are working with generally available? Things like frequency translation, etc., so we can upgrade our systems, use one wire, conventional splitters and amplifiers, etc. I want to replace/upgrade my 3-LNB dish and my Tivo, but I want to do it with the new stuff that should be coming "real soon now". Anyone know?
Stan
"Should be" third/fourth quarter this year.
ddrumman2004
06-12-07, 01:11 PM
800 channels......geez! I still bet that with 800 HD channels, there will still be times when there is absolutely nothing on worth watching.
Yeah, I can't even get HD from Comcast at all in my area. Even if they somehow pull this off, kind of goes back to what Earl mentioned. 400 HD channels here, here, and here. Direct 100 HD channels nationwide.
captain_video
06-12-07, 02:38 PM
It looks like Comcast is playing the same numbers game that DTV started and throwing it back in their face. While both services may have the capacity to offer the number of HD channels they claim the fact is there just isn't enough HD programming to fill the coffers for either provider. I think if both providers were forced to report the actual number of channels available to every national subscriber, and not just individual markets, they'd be running a dead heet.
If a national programmer decides to go Hi-Def you can bet that every HD provider will be anxious to pick them up once their infrastructure is capable of handling the bandwidth. I'd find it unlikely that either provider could entice a programmer into providing them with an exclusive rights deal. If they did I'd be less inclined to go with them mainly because that would mean my rates would likely increase to pick up the slack. XM and Sirius tried to go that route and look what happened to them. Exclusivity is not necessarily good for business as far as the consumer is concerned.
twistedT
06-12-07, 02:58 PM
Come on Comcast.... Just list the channels not the VOD. Thats like me saying that I have 1000 movie channels because I have 30 movie channels from D* and 960 DVD's!!!
Come on Comcast.... Just list the channels not the VOD. Thats like me saying that I have 1000 movie channels because I have 30 movie channels from D* and 960 DVD's!!!That would only be 990 channels. :D
twistedT
06-12-07, 03:20 PM
That would only be 990 channels. :D
DOH!:D
Sorry long day!!
veryoldschool
06-12-07, 03:24 PM
DOH!:D
Sorry long day!!
Go buy ten more DVDs. :lol:
love that tv
06-12-07, 06:35 PM
i dont care if comcast offers 1000 channels. How many can i get? how many channels does DTV have if they include all the cities they have locals for?
Titan25
06-12-07, 09:01 PM
The best part of this fight is not the # of channels, but that they are fighting over whose got the best PQ. That's a VERY good development.
JMCecil
06-13-07, 06:53 PM
The Gilligans Island Episodes 1 and 2 channel (West)
The Gilligans Island Episodes 1 and 2 channel (East)
....
The Gilligans Island Episodes 112 and 113 channel (West)
The Gilligans Island Episodes 112 and 113 channel (East)
The Green Acres Episodes 1 and 2 channel (West)...........
etc, etc, etc.
cjwells
06-13-07, 07:45 PM
The best part of this fight is not the # of channels, but that they are fighting over whose got the best PQ. That's a VERY good development.
I agree. I like the fact that they are fighting over PQ. I want PQ not Quantity.:D
This is actually good news, because now that Comcast has "fired back", this could lead to some reputable publication, or even a financial group, doing an in-depth side-by-side comparison of the planned HD offerings from DirecTV and Comcast. If someone does this, and does it right, the study should determine if the providers have the capacity to deliver (bandwidth), what the consumer impact will be (ex: upgrade costs, equipment replacement, etc.), and which company is running the more "honest" campaign.
If no reputable publications are currently working on this, anyone have any ideas how to gently suggest they do something like this?
waynenm
06-13-07, 08:49 PM
Comcast, Shmomcast. How many of us fled from them? Over compressed horrible picture quality. I remember once I put a 75w booster in line to deal with their crappy signal and got red tagged for potentially "interfering with airline traffic". I'm in the media business and respect their success. Great for some, especially where DSL is not available and Comcast is. But quality wise, they're not on the same playing field. At least not from what I think I see coming from D*. Of course, a better ad campaign does work! We'll see...
man_rob
06-14-07, 06:15 AM
From TV Predictions:
...Before you call Comcast to sign up, the exact number of channels depends upon your definition of what a channel actually is.
The cable operator is saying that it will have 400 high-def choices this year, which will include everything from local stations to high-def networks such as Discovery HD Theater to HD Video on Demand services such as new video releases.
In other words, if the movie Casino Royale is available in high-def on Comcast On Demand, that would be a channel choice. If Discovery HD Theater offers a handful of Planet Earth documentaries in high-def on demand, that, too, would be a channel choice.
With Comcast now providing more than 100 hours of HD VOD -- and expected to reach 200 hours by year's end -- you could see how it could suddenly get to "400 channels."
Christopher Gould
06-14-07, 08:12 AM
Comcast, Shmomcast. How many of us fled from them? Over compressed horrible picture quality. I remember once I put a 75w booster in line to deal with their crappy signal and got red tagged for potentially "interfering with airline traffic". I'm in the media business and respect their success. Great for some, especially where DSL is not available and Comcast is. But quality wise, they're not on the same playing field. At least not from what I think I see coming from D*. Of course, a better ad campaign does work! We'll see...
u could have had a signal leak and it could interfer with airline trafic radios same feq. you can sometimes here the air trafic on the meters used to find leaks. all it takes is a loose end.
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