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DirecTV isn't licensed to broadcast in Canada.

what that means is that anyone who receives their signals does so in contravention of the Broadcasting Act, and in particular, s. 32(2).

however, DirecTV cannot prosecute under the Broadcasting Act; Canada has to. so in order to get Canadian pirates, they have to persuade the CRTC to go along. so far the CRTC hasn't cared much. this may eventually change, if more Canadians start getting DirecTV and StarChoice or somebody whines enough.

DirecTV isn't licensed to broadcast in Canada.

what that means is that anyone who receives their signals does so in contravention of the Broadcasting Act, and in particular, s. 32(2).

however, DirecTV cannot prosecute under the Broadcasting Act; Canada has to. so in order to get Canadian pirates, they have to persuade the CRTC to go along. so far the CRTC hasn't cared much. this may eventually change, if more Canadians start getting DirecTV and StarChoice or somebody whines enough.

DirecTV isn't licensed to broadcast in Canada.

what that means is that anyone who receives their signals does so in contravention of the Broadcasting Act, and in particular, s. 32(2).

however, DirecTV cannot prosecute under the Broadcasting Act; Canada has to. so in order to get Canadian pirates, they have to persuade the CRTC to go along. so far the CRTC hasn't cared much. this may eventually change, if more Canadians start getting DirecTV and StarChoice or somebody whines enough.

Why can't I get DIRECTV in Canada or Mexico?
We are legally prohibited from offering service outside the United States.

Why don't you just use the same address for tivo that you use for directv or buy a replaytv unit that doesn't require a subscription

That said, for those of us in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a large number of digital stations, DTV and HDTV are just lovely. On a clear day, my rooftop antenna picks up six or seven digital stations. The picture quality is stunning even on the standard definition stations, much crisper than the clearest cable channels and most DirecTV channels. And HD shows look better than the picture at the local movie theaters. The picture has yet to fail to elicit a "wow" when I've shown it to people.

And the cool thing is, it's on my computer using an ATSC tuner card which means I can record the digital signal to my hard disk for later viewing - not as slick as a TiVo, but adequate. (And before you ask why anyone would watch HDTV on a 17" monitor, the monitor on that PC is one of these, more or less, less expensive than a new HDTV if you buy it used.)

I do wish the prices would come down on more traditional HDTV sets and that they'd get the integration issues straightened out so a separate settop box wasn't required. Better market penetration will equal more incentive for the networks to produce more HD shows. But if you're willing to actually learn about what you're buying, the technology is out there and working.

That said, for those of us in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a large number of digital stations, DTV and HDTV are just lovely. On a clear day, my rooftop antenna picks up six or seven digital stations. The picture quality is stunning even on the standard definition stations, much crisper than the clearest cable channels and most DirecTV channels. And HD shows look better than the picture at the local movie theaters. The picture has yet to fail to elicit a "wow" when I've shown it to people.

And the cool thing is, it's on my computer using an ATSC tuner card which means I can record the digital signal to my hard disk for later viewing - not as slick as a TiVo, but adequate. (And before you ask why anyone would watch HDTV on a 17" monitor, the monitor on that PC is one of these, more or less, less expensive than a new HDTV if you buy it used.)

I do wish the prices would come down on more traditional HDTV sets and that they'd get the integration issues straightened out so a separate settop box wasn't required. Better market penetration will equal more incentive for the networks to produce more HD shows. But if you're willing to actually learn about what you're buying, the technology is out there and working.

I don't know about arrests, but under the DMCA, companies can seize property from people they feel have violated their IP. That is the companies themself can perform the raid, not the government.

Pretty creepy!

Here is the press release about the first such case:
http://www.directv.com/press/pressdel/0,1112,414 ,0 0.html

Of course, Dave will just lobby to outlaw TCP/IP b/c it's used to circumvent their encryption.

Iridium failed because it tried to pay for billions of dollars in satellite technology with a few subscribers spread between Outer Mongolia and Antarctica. Penguins, while noble and proud mascots, just don't have that kind of cash.

I gotta think satellite radio will fail for the same reasons. Urban areas have much cheaper access to many things, including radio, and much more choice. Even if the local radio broadcasts suck, the urban areas have cheap internet access. And there just aren't enough rural folk to make the radio bird economical.

To all those who point to the Hughes death stars pumping 800 TV channels down to the starving masses... I have one word: bandwidth. If the internet could support the TV bandwidth, those sats would be dead big time.

On the other hand, maybe the Iridium satellite buyers could start to broadcast radio to bolster their business!

I am disappointed that my service will now probably die.

History

I signed up with Phoenix Networks in April of 2000. They are/were a St. Louis-based ISP contracting with Northpoint for SDSL circuits with a static IP for reasonable prices. I received 768/384 for $40/mo., and the throughput on my circuit was always satisfactory.

Delivery of the circuit required USWest (now QWest) to do their part and bring me a new pair to my house and they did dawdle, but after that, the install was seamless and my circuit met my expectations.

Northpoint offered a rebate program at the time of sign-up. I never received that rebate, though I am not too concerned about that. What bothered me was a few months after becoming a PhoenixDSL/Northpoint customer, I found out that Phoneix went under. Their service was maintained/acquired by Megapath, who retained the business clients and spun the residential customers to Telocity. Several months later, Telocity has yet to send me the hardware they say I "need" to use to access their service, and billing seems to be up in the air. I thought about leaving their stable for Megapath or QWest but decided to wait things out since Telocity has recently been made a subsidiary of Hughes Corporation, the muscle behind DirecTV/PC and I am intrigued by potential bundled packages.

Through all this, my service has been reliable. I marvel that any industry can maintain viability with such turmoil, let alone leave my connection solid and intact. I am happy my service still works (knock^2), yet realize what has been a good ride shall now come to its close and I must begin shopping.

There are some details here.

Apparently the technology uses a similar technique to the winCIH virus, chopping up the update code into smaller parts and inserting them into empty/unused areas on the smartcard's PROM.

Kurt

Your comment or question:

I currently have Cable TV, but plan to move to Satellite when our new house is completed early next year. However, an article at E-Town ( http://www.e-town.com/news/article.jhtml;$sessioni d$H1OHSLYAABGNNTYPVYXSFEQ?articleID=3944 ) says that DirecTV is now requiring installation of devices that can allow for remote disabling of HDTV-quality analog output. This, to me, is totally unacceptable -- anyone who pays for a signal, especially for an HD-quality signal via DirecTV, should be able to view that signal at full resolution with no restrictions. Discussion is raging about this issue at Slashdot ( http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=01%2F01%2F23%2 F2032213&cid=&pid=0&startat=&threshold=1&mode=nest ed&commentsort=3&op=Change), and it may behoove your company to read and contribute to the discussion there, especially if people are misinformed. However, if we are NOT misinformed, and Hughes/DirecTV feels it is their right to restrict how your customers view contenty they've already paid for, then I can promise you that your company will no longer be my choice for a satellite provider. Thank you for your time.

I can only watch one channel at the time. Why waste all this bandwidth on stuff you cannot possibly watch anyway.

I understand your point, but the only way that cable has competed against satallite is that the cable companies allow you to hook up as many TVs as you like for the same amount of money (and no extra equipment, except for speciality channels)

It's really important to some people that they can watch whatever program they want, while their spouse watches another, and each of their 1+ kids watches seperate programs in their own rooms. (IIRC, DirecTv or The Dish Network don't allow you to hook up more than 4 TVs per dish)

My DirecTV setup is about $20 a month less than what I used to pay for Digital Cable.

DirecTV has been broadcasting HBO in HDTV for more than a year now. You've gotta see it to believe it....

Here's DTV's original press release anouncing the service.

DirecTV has been broadcasting HBO in HDTV for more than a year now. You've gotta see it to believe it....

Here's DTV's original press release anouncing the service.

Um, not quite correct on the "only watch on PCs" bit...here's some stuff you might NOT know, tho...
1. Those nifty little personal satelite dishes (DirectTV, Primestar, etc.) are digital signals. How do YOU think there getting 200+ channels in there? Check DirectTV's own tech page
2. YOUR cable company may be getting digital signals! There's a "package" from TCI (or whatever there called these days (Liberty Digital, I think?) called HITS (Head-end In The Sky). What it does is it "takes" three or six or so analog channels, and sends digital signals in place of them. Then, the DIGITAL set top reads the signal, and translates it into a channel that you "see". See the HITS tech page

The big ones seem to be DirecTV/USSB and Dish Network. You'll have to look at the lineup and cost for each and make your own decision.

Your options for local programming are either get an antenna, or get basic cable. Many cable companies have an unmentioned, unadvertised, ultra-basic package of JUST the broadcast channels. Check with your cable company.

Looks like a rough row to hoe. I don't think there is much consumer demand for something like this because there are so many more attractive alternatives in competition for the consumer entertainment dollar. For example, DirecTV, Sony PlayStation, and DVD. With respect to bang-for-the-buck, DirecTV offers quite a bit of entertainment value, beating cable TV by a mile. From what I see, this AOL box is just another version of WebTV--something which has not really caught the consumers' eye (or pocketbook). With the coming mini-recession next year, I think it is an ill-advised time to venture into this market. Prediction: AOL stock will eventually tumble due to almost certain losses from this venture.