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10-18-2005, 06:40 PM
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#1 of 12 
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Local Time: 02:22 AM
Local Date: 10-16-2008
Posts: 61
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mpeg-4
I've seen an awful lot of direct tv/hd tuners for sale lately, and was wondering if these are going to be rendered useless when direct tv switches to mpeg-4 decoding, maybe someone could clarify this for me or dirct me to athread that explains it.
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10-19-2005, 07:36 AM
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#2 of 12
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Member
Location: Southaven, MS
Join Date: Aug 2000
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When D* starts broadcasting local HD in MPEG4 later this year, your old HD receiver will not stop working even if you live in one of the first DMA's. They are going to keep the CONUS national HD feeds up and running until the majority of the HD receivers have been swapped out. That could be a year or two. If you already get your local HD via OTA, then there's no reason to upgrade to a MPEG4 receiver.
To speed the process along, they may add new HD channels that are available only to people who upgrade. I'll bet they do that with the Sunday Ticket next year.
Finally, if you have an HD receiver already, D* won't leave you stranded. They will upgrade you for free or a small fee. Nothing is official yet but in the past they have NEVER made people pay for a required hardware upgrade.
-Robert
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10-19-2005, 08:10 AM
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#3 of 12
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Location: Columbia, MD
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And in case you were wondering why all those HD tuners are for sale, it is not because everyone is trying to dump them because of the mpeg4 switch. It is because D* dropped the price of the hdtivo from $550 to net of rebate and credits $200 or less. All those boxes are from the people who swapped them for HD tivos. The price on the tivo is back up.
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10-19-2005, 08:06 PM
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#4 of 12
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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thanks for the info fellas I feel updated. (lol)
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11-04-2005, 09:40 AM
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#5 of 12
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Member
Location: The Great Indoors
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What picture improvements (if any) can I expect from switching to the new mpeg 4 box?
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
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11-04-2005, 11:07 AM
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#6 of 12
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Member
Location: Columbia, MD
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None. With the caveat that if the additional available bandwidth allows D* to start broadcasting HD in a less compressed format, everyone's HD ought to get better, not just the Mpeg4 boxes. Not to mention, that at least initially, MPEG4 will only be used for the locals. If you are getting your locals with an antenna, you're already getting the best pq there is.
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11-08-2005, 03:45 PM
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#7 of 12
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Member
Location: The Great Indoors
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Quote:
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If you are getting your locals with an antenna, you're already getting the best pq there is.
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I am, so it sounds like there's no reason for me to upgrade, right?
"Music is a magic carpet loaded with oils and other soothing potions, it's just what you need when you don't know what you need, when you've got more questions than answers." - Bob Lefsetz
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11-08-2005, 05:32 PM
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#8 of 12
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Member
Location: Columbia, MD
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That's right. Until directv starts putting programming exclusively on mpeg4 encoded channels that you want, there is no reason to change. There also may be reasons to not change -- like you don't want to leave tivo which is very likely to not be available on an mpeg4 capable dvr.
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11-15-2005, 06:04 PM
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#9 of 12
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Do you know if Dish Network is also going to have to make a similar mpeg4 switch?
Are any of the current Direct tv hardware supporting mpeg4 yet?
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11-16-2005, 07:08 AM
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#10 of 12
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Location: Southaven, MS
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Yes and yes.
-Robert
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11-16-2005, 01:56 PM
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#11 of 12
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