UPDATE: This blog has been retired as of August 2011. See this post for more information or connect with me on Twitter.
Monday, January 10, 2005
DirecTV's move to MPEG-4
One of DirecTV's big CES announcements was that they will start rolling out HD local channels to about a dozen markets this year. While that sounds like great news for anyone living in those markets, there is some concern about hardware requirements.
The new HD locals will be MPEG-4 which will allow for more efficient compression of the video signal (more compression = room for more channels). Currently, DirecTV doesn't use MPEG-4. So all of us with HD DirecTV receivers who wish to receive the HD locals will need to upgrade our HD receivers (and possibly the dishes, too!).
If I have to scrap both my DirecTiVo service AND my $450 HD receiver in 2005, I will definitely be looking for a new provider (after 8 happy years with DirecTV). I can only imagine how those suckers who shelled out $1,000 for the HD TiVos feel.
One of DirecTV's big CES announcements was that they will start rolling out HD local channels to about a dozen markets this year. While that sounds like great news for anyone living in those markets, there is some concern about hardware requirements.
The new HD locals will be MPEG-4 which will allow for more efficient compression of the video signal (more compression = room for more channels). Currently, DirecTV doesn't use MPEG-4. So all of us with HD DirecTV receivers who wish to receive the HD locals will need to upgrade our HD receivers (and possibly the dishes, too!).
If I have to scrap both my DirecTiVo service AND my $450 HD receiver in 2005, I will definitely be looking for a new provider (after 8 happy years with DirecTV). I can only imagine how those suckers who shelled out $1,000 for the HD TiVos feel.
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12:08 PM
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 6; VP of Social Media at JPMorgan Chase; gluten-free; gadget enthusiast; hair metal aficionado; #Movember man View more on LinkedIn.
Recent Blog Posts
I really want to try Videora, but...
Netflix: Profiles
PVRBlog's CES TiVo wrap up
Netflix: Friends & UI
DirecTV's TiVo-less DVR
Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink"
Hammered on 43 things tonight
RSS Digest is cool!
Started using del.icio.us
Robo pr0n
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