# DIRECTV 1st quarter conference call/web cast Thursday at 14:00 EDT



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

I looked and didn't see a thread about this, if there is one sorry I did search and got nothing.

Anyway, from http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=461112

_" Print page Email page Download PDF 
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DIRECTV Announces Conference Call and Webcast for First Quarter 2010 Financial Results and Outlook

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Apr 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will host a conference call and Internet webcast to discuss its 2010 first quarter financial results, outlook and other forward looking information on Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET.

Date: Thursday May 6, 2010

Time: 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET

Dial-In: 877-852-6575 (US) 
719-325-4869 (International)

Conference ID Number: 4566217

Webcast: www.directv.com/investor

Host: Jon Rubin, senior vice president 
DIRECTV Financial Planning and Investor Relations "

_

Just wanted to remind folks of this happening today. It will be interesting to see if Dish's advertising will have had an impact on subscriber growth.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

Wonder if they'll mention D12?


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

2pm ET tomorrow. (fixed title)


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Sixto said:


> 2pm ET tomorrow. (fixed title)


DOH!, That's what happens to old retired folks, you forget what day it is.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Earnings:http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=467215​


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## fornold (Sep 4, 2006)

> White finished, "Looking forward, we plan to build on DIRECTV's operating momentum and its heritage of innovation. We have already begun extending our HD leadership as we launch more than 30 new HD channels over the coming weeks. Later this year, we will introduce several other compelling products including a greatly enhanced DIRECTV Cinema, multi-room viewing, 3D programming and the debut of our much-anticipated home media center. We also have exciting growth plans in Latin America highlighted by unparalleled coverage of the FIFA World Cup beginning next month including the region's most comprehensive HD coverage and daily broadcasts of original content."


He restates the new 30 HD channels.

Interesting, he mentions the debut of the Home Media Center later this year.


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

Sixto said:


> Earnings:http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=467215​


What does it mean where it says:
"....an extra week of revenues for the NFL SUNDAY TICKET package."

What extra week ?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

dcowboy7 said:


> What does it mean where it says:
> "....an extra week of revenues for the NFL SUNDAY TICKET package."
> 
> What extra week ?


IIRC it was because one game was played on 1/2/10 so part of the revenue spilled into the 1st quarters earnings. Guess they spread it out per week of games.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

US metrics:

Another light quarter for domestic net additions (100,000). Q4 was 119,000 and was considered "below estimates".

Churn is down incrementally to 1.48%.

579,000 customers added for the year.

SAC is down substantially.

Average monthly bill is $85.47.


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

Low churn and pretty high monthly avg.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

The conference call is starting now for those that are interested ...


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

11% growth due in part to company efficiencies and the improving economy.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

New products to strengthen reputation:

National HD of Univision & Telefutura (start of upgrade to more than 160 national HD channels)
MRV next week
3D in June - leadership role
ESPN3D
In3D
Events including MLB in 3D in July (NYY v. SEA)

enhanced DIRECTV Cinema


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

70% of new customers in 1st quarter are getting HR or DVR services. Saves money on needing to later upgrade an installed customers to advanced services.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Financial stuff ..


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

MRV next week, good.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

DIRECTV wants to talk about delivering TV service to customers wherever and whenver they want it (during investor conference later in the year) ..


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Latin America Stuff ..


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

ARPU better than expected (more premiums, etc. is the reason)

Lower contribution from Telco partners (FiOS & Uverse + lower land line usage)


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

best offers to best customers ..

Increase in churn is related to the lower end customers who tend to shop around for the best prices.

All financial numbers came in better than internal targets


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q&A starting ...

Q: In terms of interactive advertising, there is a deal with Dish, etc. How is it going? How would a subscriber use it?

A: pleased with interactive venture .. Fairly early based, premature to say how it's going. Looking at a number of different strategies to strengthen ad revenue .. how to get it on box, targeting, 35 million market (between Dish & DIRECTV)


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## bananfish (Aug 13, 2007)

elwaylite said:


> MRV next week, good.


Does that mean national release of HR24 next week?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

(all of this is paraphrased)

Q: when talk about return of capital, appeal and feasibility of dividends, etc.

A: First priority is to get balance sheet to the appropriate level, so DIRECTV is looking to do share buyback, etc. to help shareholders. Dividends will be affected by tax rates, etc from government.

Q: SAC Disconnects between Sat, Cable & Telco?

A: It's still competitive out there, there has been elevated churn levels in territories where FiOS and Uverse are being rolled out. Trends since first quarter are encouraging, though. In line with gross & net adds .. The quality of the subscriber is improving.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: Since you're using the Internet for your VOD product, how are you dealing with bandwidth issues

A: The FCC ruling will help, not too worried it seems

Q: With ARPU going up, how do we look at this going forward.

A: Additional NFL game was a big increase in the ARPU in Q1, things dragging down last year are now positive.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Board has approved procurement of DIRECTV-14 (guess they're skipping DIRECTV-13 ) .. Fits into a 500-600 Million CapEx.

DIRECTV-14 would be a replacement or spare


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## Smthkd (Sep 1, 2004)

D14? Will this be another Ka Hi/Lo or BSS sat?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Smthkd said:


> D14? Will this be another Ka Hi/Lo or BSS sat?


Only approved to get started .. nothing beyond that ..


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## jefbal99 (Sep 7, 2007)

Smthkd said:


> D14? Will this be another Ka Hi/Lo or BSS sat?


D13 was already planned and canceled

Linky


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## Smthkd (Sep 1, 2004)

Doug Brott said:


> Only approved to get started .. nothing beyond that ..


 Gotcha! :up:


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: Telco deals pending, losing a portion of wholesale distribution - are there any protections in current contracts?

A: Frontier/Verizon - deal is already done. Contract will continue for several years. Qwest - good partners, reached out to speak with both Qwest & Century to continue relationship, but nothing complete at this point.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: Skewed more towards profitability but managed costs .. How are trade-offs going forward?

A: Looked at weekly as to whether balance is right or not. Managed costs for retention - programs didn't really kick in until Q2. Still there were a significant number of gross adds. Continuing to work on churn, initiatives put in late in quarter are already starting to work. Retain loyal subscribers is the most important thing.

Q: 3.5 BB buyback, is that as much as you can do for year?

A: There could be more, but tax rules will be followed very closely.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: Q2 it appears negative net adds .. smaller year over year increase over churn .. Is that the right way to think about it or do you think the improvement seen in Q2 is enough.

A: Not expecting a negative quarter in net adds. Churn already appears to be improving over Q1. Expecting a positive quarter.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Technical difficulties ..


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## jefbal99 (Sep 7, 2007)

Doug Brott said:


> Technical difficulties ..


two dropped calls in a row...


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: DISH has success among independent dealers, what are you doing about that?

A: @ DIRECTV Revolution, dealers got a lot of new information and introduction to new programs. Training materials improved, deals improved .. Optimistic how dealers will perform over the next year.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: The G&A costs dropped 20% sequentially .. What's going on there?

A: (We didn't pay any of the management - joke :lol .. Transaction costs of repatriating $$ from Venezuela are improved, G&A costs grow at a slower rate than others.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

VERY interesting how he asked TiVo question.

VERY.

"not sure of exact date"

"late this year, maybe early next"


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: Where do you see your voluntary churn subscribers going?

A: It's pretty equal across the board. Somewhat higher churn rates in areas where there is a major roll out of Uverse or FiOS.

The DISH ad recently isn't contributing much to the churn.

Q: Where are you with regards to the new TiVo?

A: We've had talks with Tom Rogers/TiVo .. They have specs for the box and a box should be available end of this year or early next year. Working closely with TiVo and expect to see a new box in the not too distant future.

Q: how different?

A: To be honest, we are all working on a lot of the same things. Demos internal has TV Apps that include YouTube, movies, photos, VOD, so a lot of the same "connected experience" across the screens is strategic. DIRECTV has been working on this for the last year or two and we will see more later this year. The functions and features of TiVo is not materially different than what DIRECTV has in their HMC


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## jefbal99 (Sep 7, 2007)

Sixto said:


> VERY interesting how he asked TiVo question.
> 
> VERY.
> 
> ...


Also that they've seen a Demo Tivo box


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Q: Targeted marketing issues for MDUs?

A: Looking at channels for targeted strategies for MDUs .. It's important to retain good subscribers, second look for selected channels/strategies .. 

Q: Disciplined approach to international growth?

A: Scan around the world as to what might make sense. There are preliminary discussions .. LA better than expected. Foreign ownership hard in other countries. DIRECTV will look for opportunities, but doesn't expect anything outside of US/LA that currently exist .. Expansion in LA more likely than adding other geographical areas.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

jefbal99 said:


> Also that they've seen a Demo Tivo box


His reaction to the TiVo question was classic. Certainly seemed like he hadn't given it much thought.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Last Question ..

Q: Thoughts on gross adds .. What about 3rd & 4th Q compared to last year?

A: Not guidance given .. expect things to be down year over year as we go through the year. Q1 was the toughest (Digital transition), but year will be down (US Business).

LA business will be "terrific"


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Yeah, finally after how many quarters, we get a TiVo question .. Part of the response seemed to be (I'm reading between the lines here) .. 'I saw a demo and it looks just like what we have.'

The times reported also lend even more credence to the notion of Q1/2011 for street availability ..


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## David Ortiz (Aug 21, 2006)

Sixto said:


> His reaction to the TiVo question was classic. Certainly seemed like he hadn't given it much thought.


It sounds like the HMC will be available before the TiVo box. Not something I would have predicted a year ago.

Thanks Doug for all the transcribing.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Doug Brott said:


> Yeah, finally after how many quarters, we get a TiVo question .. Part of the response seemed to be (I'm reading between the lines here) .. 'I saw a demo and it looks just like what we have.'
> 
> The times reported also lend even more credence to the notion of Q1/2011 for street availability ..


One could certainly get the impression that it's not that important to him. 

We can dig through the exact transcript later, but it was humorous to hear his response.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

David Ortiz said:


> Thanks Doug for all the transcribing.


Yes, thanks Doug.

It's not easy transcribing that stuff.

Thank you.


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

Why cant they ask a question like:
"other than the announced 30 how many more channels will directv add on D12" ?

Not that they would give a real good answer but would just like to see what they say.

Just to press the issue other than that 160 channel remark they give now.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

dcowboy7 said:


> Why cant they ask a question like:
> "other than the announced 30 how many more channels will directv add on D12" ?
> 
> Not that they would give a real good answer but would just like to see what they say.
> ...


I'd also love to hear the answer, but not an interesting topic to analysts and business people.

What matters is financial performance.

Most everything is related to financial performance, quarter-by-quarter, with year-to-year comparisons.

How D12 gets utilized, and exactly when, will be directly related to how the business folks feel it will help financial performance.


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## evan_s (Mar 4, 2008)

Smthkd said:


> D14? Will this be another Ka Hi/Lo or BSS sat?


My guess is that it will be KaHi and BSS destined for 99. This will allow them to add some Conus tps that everyone will be able to access right away and meet their requirement to start using bss at 99.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

evan_s said:


> My guess is that it will be KaHi and BSS destined for 99. This will allow them to add some Conus tps that everyone will be able to access right away and meet their requirement to start using bss at 99.


Certainly a good possibility, with use of the RB-1 license recently approved and paid for.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

I was sort of bummed about the answer to the new satellite question. They're going to get one new sat on order and to me it sounded like there wouldn't be another placed until that sat went up, the always have one sat in the pipeline comment.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

RAD said:


> I was sort of bummed about the answer to the new satellite question. They're going to get one new sat on order and to me it sounded like there wouldn't be another placed until that sat went up, the always have one sat in the pipeline comment.


With this economy, dollars are VERY tight these days.

With most major corporations, every expense $ is being tightly analyzed and re-analyzed.


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## jefbal99 (Sep 7, 2007)

David Ortiz said:


> It sounds like the HMC will be available before the TiVo box. Not something I would have predicted a year ago.
> 
> Thanks Doug for all the transcribing.


Agreed on both points.

Based on the answer, I wouldn't expect anything great, grand, or new from the Tivo box that DirecTV won't already have in their IRDs.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Sixto said:


> With this economy, dollars are VERY tight these days.
> 
> With most major corporations, every expense $ is being tightly analyzed and re-analyzed.


But they do have enough money to buy back billions of dollares of stock to make their stock holders happy. Just hope they're not being short sighted and not spending money on infrastructure.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

> The functions and features of TiVo is not materially different than what DIRECTV has in their HMC


Interesting!

So... it appears the HMC may be a different "beast" than the HR2x line?!

~Alan


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Doug Brott said:


> DIRECTV-14 would be a replacement or spare


The monumental question here is which frequency band. I'm pretty sure they must declare that tidbit early on in the process.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

David Ortiz said:


> Thanks Doug for all the transcribing.


+1


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

The exact words to the TiVo questions:http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=2446359#post2446359​


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Sixto said:


> I'd also love to hear the answer, but not an interesting topic to analysts and business people.


How DIRECTV is measured as a company should be based largely on meeting their business plan goals. If their plan calls for turning up x number of channels by a date and they make it, it is a positive indicator that they're in control. If the date slips, not so much.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Sixto said:


> With this economy, dollars are VERY tight these days.


The profit numbers would seem to contradict this.

Much of the happy news from this report, as it was last quarter, came from their Latin American operations. I suspect that management has recognized the higher return available there.


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## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

harsh said:


> The monumental question here is which frequency band. I'm pretty sure they must declare that tidbit early on in the process.


Not necessarily. They already hold BSS, Ka and Ku licenses for their slots. They actually only need formal FCC approval to launch and operate the specific vehicle at a specific slot, which would be a formality if no new frequencies are involved.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

harsh said:


> How DIRECTV is measured as a company should be based largely on meeting their business plan goals. If their plan calls for turning up x number of channels by a date and they make it, it is a positive indicator that they're in control. If the date slips, not so much.





harsh said:


> The profit numbers would seem to contradict this.
> 
> Much of the happy news from this report, as it was last quarter, came from their Latin American operations. I suspect that management has recognized the higher return available there.


Financial Performance.

Budgets are tight.

Facts.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

RAD said:


> They're going to get one new sat on order and to me it sounded like there wouldn't be another placed until that sat went up, the always have one sat in the pipeline comment.


Previous guidance seemed to suggest that the next satellite would be a Ku replacement.

I get the feeling that they're going to need to think hard about some more CONUS HD capacity before too long. 40 channels for two or more years isn't much of a cushion when the most recent HD capacity language seems to have turned from "more than 200" to "approximately 200".


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## Jason Whiddon (Aug 17, 2006)

They could drop 60 or so HD PPV channels, doh...


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Let's keep the discussion of new HD channels, and future capacity, to the appropriate thread. This one is for the conference call. Thanks.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

LameLefty said:


> They actually only need formal FCC approval to launch and operate the specific vehicle at a specific slot, which would be a formality if no new frequencies are involved.


I was under the impression that they had to declare the intended use(s) before a construction permit would be issued. Obviously it must fit within the owned bandwidth.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

harsh said:


> Previous guidance seemed to suggest that the next satellite would be a Ku replacement.


*Considering that D14 was mentioned in the conference call, I'm hoping discussion of it fits within Stuart's definition of "appropriate".*

I've often wondered, and I'm not sure if I ever received an answer as to whether or not it was possible for DirecTV to launch a BSS satellite to 111°, and put a few KU transponders on it to replace DirecTV 5 at 110?

I'm not sure it would be possible given DirecTV-5's current position at 109.8°, and I'm not sure if Dish would be happy with DirecTV if they went to the FCC to allow them to move the satellite closer to 111°, but again, it's something I've always wondered. It seems silly to keep a satellite at 110° simply for three transponders.

~Alan


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## evan_s (Mar 4, 2008)

I have seen some stuff in FCC filings that does indicate there is a little fudge that can be had which does need to be accounted for by reducing the power level so it is offering no more interference to sats that it is moving closer to than it would have if it was at the correct location but 110/111 with a single sat might be a little much. I'm sure time will tell. Dish also holds license for both Ku at 110 and BSS at 111 so they may be wanting to do the same thing too.


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## Skyboss (Jan 22, 2004)

Alan Gordon said:


> Interesting!
> 
> So... it appears the HMC may be a different "beast" than the HR2x line?!
> 
> ~Alan


I thought so too. Its also supposed to be part of the VMU alliance and if I'm not mistaken, the recent Samsung displays are compliant - meaning you put the Display on a network with the HMC30 and it pulls programing over CAT5 from the HMC as well as gives you access to other features like Blockbuster and NetFlix etc.... Plus your Windows 7 files.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Skyboss said:


> I thought so too. Its also supposed to be part of the VMU alliance and if I'm not mistaken, the recent Samsung displays are compliant - meaning you put the Display on a network with the HMC30 and it pulls programing over CAT5 from the HMC as well as gives you access to other features like Blockbuster and NetFlix etc.... Plus your Windows 7 files.


Valiant attempt, but I believe you are seeking the term 'RVU alliance' (pronounced R-View)


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## texasbrit (Aug 9, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> Interesting!
> 
> So... it appears the HMC may be a different "beast" than the HR2x line?!
> 
> ~Alan


We can be pretty sure that is true. The latest iteration of the HMC was shown at CES, see http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=170841&highlight=HMC30+CES


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

texasbrit said:


> We can be pretty sure that is true. The latest iteration of the HMC was shown at CES, see http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=170841&highlight=HMC30+CES


The wording from the post I quoted seemed to indicate that the HMC30 might be different in terms of features, and perhaps even GUI .... something which is of great interest to me, compared to the HR2x line.

However, after Sixto later posted the exact wording, it now appears I made the leap too fast as his exact wording no longer seems to indicate any differences.

~Alan


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## adkinsjm (Mar 25, 2003)

A lot of tech talk in this thread for what is supposed to be discussion of the conference call. No one wants on the call wants to hear if D* made a deal to carry E! HD.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

adkinsjm said:


> A lot of tech talk in this thread for what is supposed to be discussion of the conference call. No one wants on the call wants to hear if D* made a deal to carry E! HD.


:scratchin


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