The hd-lite issue was an mpeg-2 problem. The new mpeg 4 looks great!

MPEG 4 looks about as good as it gets from amy provider and all the HD channels are going to be MPEG 4.  DirecTV and their competitors can not give any better quality than they are supplied by the providers.  HDLite isn’t a term to be use as it was in the past.

okay…I now hate Cox cable.  I hadto switch from my beloved DirecTv when I moved to a “gated” community which doesn’t allow dishes.  Cable bites the big one.  My 50” Sammy plasma is going to waste.  I am so jealous of DirecTv people, I am going to weep quietly in the corner now.  Poor me

tarek - Your “gated” community can’t keep you from getting a sat dish.

Check here: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html

After 15 years with them I’m dumping DirecTV in December for FIOS because they dumped TiVO and because of HD Lite and their attempts to avoid discussing it..

I know I’ve said this before but they think a DVR is the same thing as a TiVO in the same way that Hyundai thinks the Tiburon is the same as a BMW M Coupe. Without my TiVO I don’t care if they offer every channel ever created. I had one of their DVRs for a week and it was horrible. I couldn’t read the text and there was no way to enlarge or change the fonts, it crashed by rebooting itself every other day, it didn’t have expandability or Wish Lists…it was a mess.

As for HD Lite, DirecTV won’t admit they do it even after repeated requests for someone there to explain to me why things look so compressed, and why they removed the ability to see what resolution is coming in.

Will their “1080p” movies be 1920 x 1080p or 1280 x 1080p? Just curious since they don’t mind redefining what 720p and 1080i stand for.

Remember, the codecs (compression -decompression software) support a range of bitrates.  Just as with BD or DVD, the quality can vary.  One may even find that different programs on the same channel are at differing bitrates, and therefore, quality.

Gee-  I read the document.  Unfortunately for me, I don’t have a patio or balcony that is exclusive to me.  I live in a condo unit that is housed in a multiple dwelling structure.  According to the FCC, the restriction of dishes on the roof of my buliding can be enforced.  No matter, I will be gone come Feb.
Thanks for the info though, it may come in handy later.

I agree that no gated community can stop you from having a dish. They may argue about where it can be. The law is on your side. Also I lived in the woods and put a dish 150 feet away. Worked perfectly.

There is an apartment in PGH, Pa (Gateway Towers) that converted the whole building to Direct and used the existing internal wiring. It is not a major thing to do.

DirecTV is not perect, no provider of television content is. That being said, they are far better than any cable co I have ever had. They are better than the Dish Network my neighbor has, in fact he is switching after coming to my house numerous times to find me watching something in Hi-Def he can’t get. FIOS may have better quality high def material (the difference is minimal) but a good friend of mine just got the whole month of July credited to his account due to his service going out for the fifth time this month. This after getting a half month credit for June for two service interuptions that month. I may have to deal with some channels being overly compressed but in the 5 years I have had DirecTC I have had zero service interuptions and my DVR as well as HD-DVR work flawlessly.

When will directv switch their HD receiver over to 1080p? Right now the programs are shown in 1080i or is their any difference. I have a 1080p TV
and like to see the full affects in HD.

Just some FYI. DirecTV is currently testing there 1080p on demand ch. nd let me tell you it is awesome. The down fall is that you must have an HDDVR that is connected thru the internet via the ethernet port on the back of the unit. I have downloaded 2 free test movies and they have both looked just as good as my blueray player. So i say we have a lot to look forward to.

The gated community can’t stop you from putting up a dish—it’s federal law.  Google the FCC regs on satellite dishes and tell your community board to stick it—unless there are historical preservation issues.