HDTV Magazine
(Not logged in)  Sign In  |  Register  |  HelpHelp
HDTV Almanac - DIRECTV Adds HD Channels
By Alfred Poor
HDTV Professor
Posted on July 30, 2008
Category: General Interest
Facebook StumbleUpon Add to Del.icio.usDel.icio.us Save ArticleSave Email ArticleEmail Print ArticlePrint


Receive instant notification of new columns: Register Now to receive notification of new HDTV Magazine Columns via email as soon as they are published.


The space race is now measured in number of high definition channels, and DIRECTV is continuing with its successful drive to stress HD coverage to attract subscribers. This week, the company announced that it will be adding more than 30 additional HD channels next month, which adds up to a total of more than 130 HD channels. This increase was made possible by the new DIRECTV 11 satellite, which was launched last March. DIRECTV 12 is slated for launch next year.

The company also announced that it will complete its transition to using MPEG-4 compression for its video, which allows for greater efficiency than the MPEG-2 compression used by many video services. DIRECTV also has plans to offer HD movies in 1080p resolution before the end of the year.

The race to offer the most HD channels is in danger of becoming a bit like adding more blades to a razor. At some point, it becomes just a statistic because you don’t have time to watch all those channels. However, if the additional channel happens to carry content that you care about, then the increase is likely to be more important to you. And DIRECTV clearly wants to give you more choices than any other service.

Sphere: Related Content

Posted by Alfred Poor, July 30, 2008 6:00 AM

Reader Commentary

See Forum Topic: HDTV Almanac - DIRECTV Adds HD Channels (0 replies)
Showing only excerpts from 0 out of 1, Read More

More on General Interest

More from Alfred Poor

About Alfred Poor

Alfred Poor is a well-known display industry expert, who writes the daily HDTV Almanac. He wrote for PC Magazine for more than 20 years, and now is focusing on the home entertainment and home networking markets.