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Author Topic: Home Theater Forums?  (Read 22735 times)

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Offline dmonterisi

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #45 on: December 06, 2006, 09:14:26 AM »
interesting info, nick...thanks.  the verizon piece is interesting and something i was gonna ask about.  i got rid of my home phone a few months back, but i got something in the mail from verizon yesterday about getting directtv over my phone line.  i had no idea this was yet available and was actually just looking at this online.  it looks like you can get DirectTV directly over the phone line.  I am very intrigued by this, but i cannot get it right now because i will not be in my apt for a full year and not sure if where i'll be moving will have the directtv capability.  still, it's great to see competition is this market for those of us in apt buildings that previously did not have access to DirecTV.



The last providers are the wild card here, the telcos.  They have the network in place in some areas to immediately jump in and provide TV services.  Add to that, they are losing business to Vonage and cable co's, so they are looking to mega package all services (voice, mobile, data, video).  Currently in most markets, they are gated like the cable cos are in that their embedded infrastructure cannot handle the high bandwith requirements associated with TV.  But, in the neighborhoods that have deployed fiber optic cable, their bandwith is significanly larger than what anyone else in this space can offer (considering in the cable space you would need to lay a bunch of coax, and in the satellite space, you would need more sats in the sky and new receiver equipment).  The key is and always has been fiber in the ground.  That said, Verizon has 2 experimental neighborhoods, one in Florida, one in California that they are providing quad services to today (phone, mobile, data, video), and once they perfect the business model, I would expect to see them and other service providers jump into this market with both feet.  Fact is they absolutely dominate the cable cos, by in effect giving away phone services at cost and make it back on video/data.  In addition to the fiber though, acquiring content (which is not cheap) is a barrier to entry.  But I dont see this as a huge issue to these guys in that they are losing money through lost voice services by not doing this and most of them have the coffers to cover the initial expense, as long as the business case justifies it on the back end.


Offline nickgregory

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #46 on: December 06, 2006, 09:16:42 AM »
interesting info, nick...thanks.  the verizon piece is interesting and something i was gonna ask about.  i got rid of my home phone a few months back, but i got something in the mail from verizon yesterday about getting directtv over my phone line.  i had no idea this was yet available and was actually just looking at this online.  it looks like you can get DirectTV directly over the phone line.  I am very intrigued by this, but i cannot get it right now because i will not be in my apt for a full year and not sure if where i'll be moving will have the directtv capability.  still, it's great to see competition is this market for those of us in apt buildings that previously did not have access to DirecTV.

absolutely and this is really the middle ground that the telcos can do today, until they get the infrastructure in place...

Offline dmonterisi

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #47 on: December 06, 2006, 09:21:39 AM »
do you happen to know what the directTV termination fee is?  if i were to get it over verizon and move to a place that cannot get directtv, how much would it cost me to terminate?

Offline nickgregory

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #48 on: December 06, 2006, 09:24:53 AM »
do you happen to know what the directTV termination fee is?  if i were to get it over verizon and move to a place that cannot get directtv, how much would it cost me to terminate?

it used to be ~$160....but now that you dont own the equipment any more, and are "leasing" it from them (complete crock imo), the buyout is $300 if you leave early in your contract.  Now that said, I have heard of folks when they move, they call DTV and get the Move suspension, which basically puts your account on hold until you move and then they send someone out to install.  From what I have heard if it is determined at that install that you cant get dtv (cant install a dish where you are living, or other type blockades) they allow you to cancel.  No personal experience though...

Offline dmonterisi

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #49 on: December 06, 2006, 09:27:57 AM »
you know looking at it further, it looks like you still need a directtv dish.  then, why is verizon sending me this?  i just checked verizon's site, their fiber optic service is not available to my neighborhood yet, but it looks like some areas around here have it.

Offline nickgregory

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #50 on: December 06, 2006, 09:29:58 AM »
you know looking at it further, it looks like you still need a directtv dish.  then, why is verizon sending me this?  i just checked verizon's site, their fiber optic service is not available to my neighborhood yet, but it looks like some areas around here have it.

I have read that verizon is partnering with DTV so that the perception is that it is "packaged or bundled" services even though you still need a dish...trying to compete with the cable cos until they get a legit IPTV offering

Offline dmonterisi

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #51 on: December 06, 2006, 09:30:49 AM »
gotcha.  it will be nice when their fios service is available, though.

Offline Ed.

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #52 on: December 07, 2006, 03:51:39 AM »
wow, totally missed this thread.  Looks like I'm joining late.

have you guys seen this:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/06/chinese-manufacturers-prepared-to-switch-from-dvd-to-evd-in-08/

its a shame that it appears to be for china only though.

I was looking at the oppo player and the helios.  Now I see that oppo has another player coming out though:
http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/xq/asp/pid.137/qx/details.htm

I'm probably just going to go with that 1080p oppo and call it good, macroblocking aside.

I've been watching tv on my roommates 10 year old zenith, or my computer monitor for the last year and half, and before that other misc crappy tvs.  I'm sure whatever I get will be hands down better than what I've got at the moment.



Because nothing says "I have lots of money and am sort of confused as to how to spend it" like Bose.

Offline pjdavep

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #53 on: December 07, 2006, 07:15:58 AM »
that's a nice feature.  i have to go into the moto box service menu to change the output resolution (which requires turning off the box) so it's a PITA.

definitely convenient.  Of course at the end of the month in my move, I am getting the upgraded DTV dish and HD DVR to allow me to receive MPEG4 compression level broadcasts, so all bets are off if they carry over good features to the new HW

Nick, that new HD DVR (HR20-700) will allow you to choose "native resolution" in the settings, which will cause the box to output the native resolution whenever you change the channel.  People have complained about it though, because it takes a good second or two to adjust.  You can also change the output resolution like your current box.   These new DVRs are very buggy and don't have the OTA enabled yet.  Check out the HR20 forum at www.dbstalk.com for more info.

Edit: I checked the dbstalk forum this morning and they apparently have enabled OTA on the new HR20-700's!!  Now I'll think about getting one.

Later,
   pjdavep
« Last Edit: December 07, 2006, 08:26:14 AM by pjdavep »
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Offline pjdavep

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #54 on: December 07, 2006, 07:19:31 AM »

NBC is somewhat notorious for poor HD sports.  It's evident on their sunday night broadcasts as well.  I'm not sure where the problem is in their production, but based on internet comments, it seems pretty likely the problem is in their HD processing.


The problems with NBC have to be at the Master Control level.  The trucks they are using are the finest in the country (I built them ;)  )   Seriously though, they have some of the best equipment made at their disposal (everything is 1080p including cameras) , so the signal has to be being poorly manipulated once it leaves the truck's transmission room.  Bottom line is that just about every network needs to improve it's infrastructure to keep up with the market's technological advancements. 


My local NBC in Jacksonville, FL must use some pretty old HD encoders.  The Sunday Night Football looks great during a still picture, but any fast movement gives horrible macroblocking.  In contrast, the ESPN (lite) HD off the DirecTV feed looks great and rarely has the macroblocking problem.  I've been meaning to contact the NBC station engineer and voice my opinion...

Later,
   pjdavep
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Offline scervin

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #55 on: December 07, 2006, 12:07:58 PM »

NBC is somewhat notorious for poor HD sports.  It's evident on their sunday night broadcasts as well.  I'm not sure where the problem is in their production, but based on internet comments, it seems pretty likely the problem is in their HD processing.


The problems with NBC have to be at the Master Control level.  The trucks they are using are the finest in the country (I built them ;)  )   Seriously though, they have some of the best equipment made at their disposal (everything is 1080p including cameras) , so the signal has to be being poorly manipulated once it leaves the truck's transmission room.  Bottom line is that just about every network needs to improve it's infrastructure to keep up with the market's technological advancements. 


My local NBC in Jacksonville, FL must use some pretty old HD encoders.  The Sunday Night Football looks great during a still picture, but any fast movement gives horrible macroblocking.  In contrast, the ESPN (lite) HD off the DirecTV feed looks great and rarely has the macroblocking problem.  I've been meaning to contact the NBC station engineer and voice my opinion...

Later,
   pjdavep

Me too!  NBC seems way behind the curve when it comes to HD.  I always have problems with the OTA signal (always during Las Vegas when Sam is bending over for some reason  >:(  )

Offline nickgregory

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Re: Home Theater Forums?
« Reply #56 on: December 07, 2006, 12:44:08 PM »
that's a nice feature.  i have to go into the moto box service menu to change the output resolution (which requires turning off the box) so it's a PITA.

definitely convenient.  Of course at the end of the month in my move, I am getting the upgraded DTV dish and HD DVR to allow me to receive MPEG4 compression level broadcasts, so all bets are off if they carry over good features to the new HW

Nick, that new HD DVR (HR20-700) will allow you to choose "native resolution" in the settings, which will cause the box to output the native resolution whenever you change the channel.  People have complained about it though, because it takes a good second or two to adjust.  You can also change the output resolution like your current box.   These new DVRs are very buggy and don't have the OTA enabled yet.  Check out the HR20 forum at www.dbstalk.com for more info.

Edit: I checked the dbstalk forum this morning and they apparently have enabled OTA on the new HR20-700's!!  Now I'll think about getting one.

Later,
   pjdavep

nice DTV, has a slimline new dish and the new HD DVR lined up for me when  I move to my new house at the end of the month...glad to hear it isnt too far off from what I am used to!

 

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