# I heard Directv SD will be gone in 2019?



## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

I have been away from the forum for some time now, and I am sorry if there is a thread on this already but I cannot seem to find it.

I heard a story from a boat owner that the 101 satellites will be shutdown and decommissioned in 2019. He uses the Ku band SD channels on his boat and is not happy. I also think this whole dumping of SD is a bad move by Directv. I have 4K OLED at home and a nice setup but I know that many Boat owners and RV owners depend on SD systems. Many of these people are not going to switch to a new motorized offset dish system just for Directv when they can use Dishnetwork SD instead.

I can only assume Directv will be putting new Ku band satellites in the orbital slot and most likely using them for HD content with much fewer channels. Is there any detailed information available on what they will be doing and when? BTW I assume it has to be a KU replacement not Ka because if not they would need to change everyone's LNB setup. 


Thanks for any info.


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## KyL416 (Nov 11, 2005)

MPEG2 will be going away in 2019, there will still be SD content. Any remaining SD content will just be MPEG4 SD:
Directv announces 2019 date for dropping MPEG2 SD

No one who can say anything on the record knows what the actual plan will be for the 101 slot after the MPEG2 shutdown. There's been speculation that they might carry MPEG4 SD simulcasts on the 101 slot, but nothing has been confirmed outside of some people getting letters saying they'll need to swap their SD equipment by April 2019. They're probably going to do it regionally on a market by market basis since for many SD subscribers this also involves truck rolls to swap older dishes, so that might not even be the hard date for when MPEG2 will end nationwide.

Provided that your friend has an actual mobile account, and didn't just do a DIY thing with their in home account where as far as DirecTV is concerned they're a residential subscriber with a mix of HD and SD equipment, they should be alerted well in advance of any shutdown what they need to do to keep their boat service.


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## dtv757 (Jun 4, 2006)

not sure how D* works on RVs, Boats ETC .. but I imagine if ATT/D* is making a big change like this they will make new equipment to pick up the new signal. 

What i dont know is if you have to purchase the equipment for these situations... 
but when HD came out and they first went to ka/ku i think the upgrade was free ??


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## studechip (Apr 16, 2012)

They will likely have free upgrades up to a cut off date.


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## Rob (Apr 23, 2002)

KyL416 said:


> MPEG2 will be going away in 2019, there will still be SD content. Any remaining SD content will just be MPEG4 SD:


I just happened to call Directv to complain that The CW Network in San Diego is not carried in HD on Directv. So, they passed me over to Tech Support, which I know tech support has nothing to do with the problem. First they tell me the reason it is not on in HD is the San Diego CW station doesn't broadcast in HD and does not provide their signal to Directv in HD. I told them that is not true. They than said that Directv is going full HD soon and all channels will be in HD. I told them, that's not the case, Directv just dropping the MPEG-2 duplicates, and that's not going to rectify the CW in MPEG-4 being in SD.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Just a small foot print: no one word in that hints about killing DSS modulation [on sats 101,110,119] and underlying APG, FW, EMM systems !


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

P Smith said:


> Just a small foot print: no one word in that hints about killing DSS modulation [on sats 101,110,119] and underlying APG, FW, EMM systems !


To be clear, are you saying that MPEG-4 compressed HD or SD video can be carried as payload data in the 130 byte (or is it actually 131 bytes with the header?) DSS format TS packets. And the current DIRECTV HD receivers can decode them?

And AC3 audio can be carried in DSS packets as well?

Sent from my LG-H932 using Tapatalk


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

nope, but theoretically possible encapsulate anything into DSS packets, while overhead is definitely higher then DVB-S/S2 using slightly bigger packets with a length 188 bytes
BTW, payload size of DSS packet is 127 bytes


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

No one knows for certain what will be carried on 101 after they discontinue MPEG2 SD, because for whatever reason Directv hasn't made any official pronouncements.

Since we don't know what will happen with 101, we don't know what will happen with marine/RV systems with round dishes that are capable of receiving 101 only. Maybe they will get all channels in MPEG4 SD, maybe they will get some subset of HD channels. The only thing we know for sure is that their old MPEG2 SD receivers will quit functioning, and they'll need H2x HD receivers beginning April 2, 2019. Either way the locals currently delivered to certain markets from spot beams on 101 will go away, so if someone is receiving non-NYC/LA locals with a 101 dish that ends soon.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

P Smith said:


> Just a small foot print: no one word in that hints about killing DSS modulation [on sats 101,110,119] and underlying APG, FW, EMM systems !


They can't kill DSS, the network tuners in some HD equipment (at least as recent as certain models of H24) are DSS/DVB-S only. Best case they could cram all the "metadata" like APG etc. into the fewest number of transponders possible and leave those DSS, and convert the rest to DVB-S2.

Without the need to support older receivers that don't have a network tuner there's probably no need to keep the 'slow APG' PIDs that are spread around all/most of 101's transponders today, so I should think they'd be able to fit everything into a single transponder - i.e. the one they currently use for the guide channel now.

If it has room for channels, and the receivers can't handle MPEG4 encapsulated in DSS, they could use MPEG2 for some slate channels where video doesn't matter much like Music Choice. Just because they are dropping MPEG2 SD doesn't mean they can't use it for a few channels where it makes sense.


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## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

studechip said:


> They will likely have free upgrades up to a cut off date.


Guys and Gals thanks for all the replies.
I don't think they are going to be offering free updates for the RV and Boat systems because these dishes are not cheap and in some cases they fit and fold down into exact sized fiberglass compartments. The limited Bandwidth of transponders on the KU band format of whatever new satellites they launch is really going to limit the HD channels unless they go to an offset feed system and multi sats which as stated will not fit onto most of the current systems and would cost a lot of money. I fear that the only free thing you may get is an LNB and receiver. The question is are they even interested in the market segment or are they going to just let it die.

As I stated in my first post I have been away from this forum for a long time, possibly like 4 or 5 years and now I come back and it seems like Directv is not what it use to be. I had a chat with customer service a few months ago and it was such a turn off that I almost dropped my subscription. I got the feeling that ATT is not really even interested in this market segment but just bought it to kill it.

One last question have they even announced the Satellite replacements for 101?


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## studechip (Apr 16, 2012)

dreadlk said:


> Guys and Gals thanks for all the replies.
> I don't think they are going to be offering free updates for the RV and Boat systems because these dishes are not cheap and in some cases they fit and fold down into exact sized fiberglass compartments. The limited Bandwidth of transponders on the KU band format of whatever new satellites they launch is really going to limit the HD channels unless they go to an offset feed system and multi sats which as stated will not fit onto most of the current systems and would cost a lot of money. I fear that the only free thing you may get is an LNB and receiver. The question is are they even interested in the market segment or are they going to just let it die.
> 
> As I stated in my first post I have been away from this forum for a long time, possibly like 4 or 5 years and now I come back and it seems like Directv is not what it use to be. I had a chat with customer service a few months ago and it was such a turn off that I almost dropped my subscription. I got the feeling that ATT is not really even interested in this market segment but just bought it to kill it.
> ...


I wasn't thinking of the mobile crowd, you might be right about them. I wonder if a redesigned lnb would work with the old dishes? That would make an upgrade much easier and cheaper.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

dreadlk said:


> I have been away from the forum for some time now, and I am sorry if there is a thread on this already but I cannot seem to find it.
> 
> I heard a story from a boat owner that the 101 satellites will be shutdown and decommissioned in 2019. He uses the Ku band SD channels on his boat and is not happy. I also think this whole dumping of SD is a bad move by Directv. I have 4K OLED at home and a nice setup but I know that many Boat owners and RV owners depend on SD systems. Many of these people are not going to switch to a new motorized offset dish system just for Directv when they can use Dishnetwork SD instead.
> 
> ...


This is a question for some of the expert installers on here.
If you have a dish and lnb that only gets the 101 sat in SD,
and they change to an H24 or H25 receiver,
Won't the old dish and lnb still pick up the 101 sat as long as you set it up for the 101 sat in setup ?
Wouldn't it still show what ever is on the 101 ? Realizing the 99 and 103 stats carry a lot of the programming.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

jimmie57 said:


> This is a question for some of the expert installers on here.
> If you have a dish and lnb that only gets the 101 sat in SD,
> and they change to an H24 or H25 receiver,
> Won't the old dish and lnb still pick up the 101 sat as long as you set it up for the 101 sat in setup ?
> Wouldn't it still show what ever is on the 101 ? Realizing the 99 and 103 stats carry a lot of the programming.


you should read a thread posted by Kyle - post#2

actually the thread going to repeat what posted there, it could be merged ...


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

dreadlk said:


> Guys and Gals thanks for all the replies.
> I don't think they are going to be offering free updates for the RV and Boat systems because these dishes are not cheap and in some cases they fit and fold down into exact sized fiberglass compartments. The limited Bandwidth of transponders on the KU band format of whatever new satellites they launch is really going to limit the HD channels unless they go to an offset feed system and multi sats which as stated will not fit onto most of the current systems and would cost a lot of money. I fear that the only free thing you may get is an LNB and receiver. The question is are they even interested in the market segment or are they going to just let it die.
> 
> *As I stated in my first post I have been away from this forum for a long time, possibly like 4 or 5 years and now I come back and it seems like Directv is not what it use to be. I had a chat with customer service a few months ago and it was such a turn off that I almost dropped my subscription. I got the feeling that ATT is not really even interested in this market segment but just bought it to kill it.*
> ...


The merger definitely changed things. CSRs seem to be "normal", if normal means poorly trained and capable of saying anything to end the call. Yeah, I get the feeling that the whole streaming juggernaut caught them by surprise. They seem to be lashing out in all directions trying to keep customers. Even have their own streaming service with ATT about to launch another streaming service. Feels like a blunder to me.

Rich


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## crkeehn (Apr 23, 2002)

Rich said:


> The merger definitely changed things. CSRs seem to be "normal", if normal means poorly trained and capable of saying anything to end the call. Yeah, I get the feeling that the whole streaming juggernaut caught them by surprise. They seem to be lashing out in all directions trying to keep customers. Even have their own streaming service with ATT about to launch another streaming service. Feels like a blunder to me.
> 
> Rich


If you are referring to ATT Watch TV, I think that will basically turn out to be a loss leader product to push their unlimited cellular plans. It has a limited number of channels and no DVR, but it does enable ATT to advertise all the "free" things you get with the unlimited cellular service. In fact, they have just started such an ad campaign.


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