# DIRECTV 3rd Quarter Conference Call scheduled



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

From http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=415971

DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will host a conference call and Internet Webcast to discuss its 2009 third quarter financial results, outlook and other forward looking information on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.

Wonder if they'll be able to continue the growth that they've had the past few quarters?


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

From directv.com:


> EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct 15, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DIRECTV (NASDAQTV) will host a conference call and Internet Webcast to discuss its 2009 third quarter financial results, outlook and other forward looking information on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.
> 
> Date:
> Thursday Nov. 5, 2009
> ...


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

It's on my calendar at work.


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## kevinwmsn (Aug 19, 2006)

I wonder if they could give an update on Versus and a projected D12 launch date.


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## aa9vi (Sep 4, 2007)

kevinwmsn said:


> I wonder if they could give an update on Versus and a projected D12 launch date.


How about when we are finally going to deal with the HBO onDemand and channel issues and other national HD D* doesn't have that Dish does?

I guess that would be a smart question and we can't pose those to the bean counters. That would cause a short-circuit!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

aa9vi said:


> How about when we are finally going to deal with the HBO onDemand and channel issues and other national HD D* doesn't have that Dish does?
> 
> I guess that would be a smart question and we can't pose those to the bean counters. That would cause a short-circuit!


Methinks D12 will be the answer to most of that.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

bonscott87 said:


> Methinks D12 will be the answer to most of that.


D12 won't really have an impact on HBO On Demand. I think it's just a $$ thing or who they have chosen to provide On Demand.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> D12 won't really have an impact on HBO On Demand. I think it's just a $$ thing or who they have chosen to provide On Demand.


I believe Scott was responding to this portion of the other poster's question...



aa9vi said:


> How about [...] and other national HD D* doesn't have that Dish does?


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## Movieman (May 9, 2009)

Drew2k said:


> I believe Scott was responding to this portion of the other poster's question...


Yea OnDemand content will have nothing to do with D12 but might get discussed at the meeting since a lot more people are trying to use this service. Im pretty sure they will bring up additional HD channels.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Remember that this is just a financial conference call that goes over the numbers (profit, sub growth, stock, etc). It's not often that much else gets discussed and almost never do things like individual channels or something like HBO onDemand will be talked about.

What I would expect would probably be a question about Versus since that is a very public thing. But what are they going to say? What they already have in the press.

They will certainly mention D12 and the extra capacity it will bring, they have in all previous calls.

I'm just reminding people to temper their expectations, this is just a financial call and nothing more.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

These numbers will be very interesting....to see how they compare with the first two this year...suspect new adds to be down...no surprises there.

Once in a rare case, we hear a peak at "new things" mentioned, but these are mostly financial overview calls.


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## rmd68 (Oct 11, 2009)

I wonder if there will be any talk in regard to getting rid of the ridiculous ECF.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

rmd68 said:


> I wonder if there will be any talk in regard to getting rid of the ridiculous ECF.


No there won't this is a financial call. The ECF has nothing to do with this.


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## rmd68 (Oct 11, 2009)

Shades228 said:


> No there won't this is a financial call. The ECF has nothing to do with this.


Darn! I guess I'm going to be a holdout switcher for another quarter.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Results announced at http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=422185

_"The DIRECTV Group, Inc. (NASDAQTV) today reported that third quarter 2009 revenues increased 10% to $5.47 billion, operating profit before depreciation and amortization1 (OPBDA) increased 8% to $1.35 billion while operating profit increased 4% to $685 million compared to last year's third quarter. Third quarter net income attributable to The DIRECTV Group increased slightly to $366 million while diluted earnings per share increased 12% to $0.37 compared with the same period last year."

...

""In the United States, DIRECTV revenues increased 9% to $4.7 billion due to solid subscriber and ARPU growth. Continued robust demand for our service fueled an 8% increase in gross additions to 1.1 million subscribers and net additions of 136,000 primarily due to the addition of AT&T as a marketing partner and record demand for our industry-leading HD and DVR services." Hunter continued, "In fact, about two-thirds of new subscribers signed-up for HD and/or DVR services in the quarter representing the highest level in our history.'_

It will be interesting to see how Dish does this quarter especially after all the anti DirecTV ad's they've been running durning it


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

I will do my best to live blog this but my head is elsewhere today. Would be good to get my mind off things though. 4 minutes to go.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

And we are up and running.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Remember that this is mainly a financial call. I will not post any boring finance stuff.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> Remember that this is mainly a financial call. I will not post any boring finance stuff.


Thanks...you do a great job with these!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Wanted to have a better balance of sub growth and cash flow. 3rd quarter results reflect this.

Record high advanced services uptake, two thirds of new subs get HD DVRs. HDDVR subs up 50% from last year.

Gross additions up 8% from prior year, strong from AT&T.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

First time ever, more new customers sign up for HD DVRs then just HD or DVR service.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Strict retention policies. This may result in higher churn but is a good trade off to get rid of those customers that are always calling in for deals and money off.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

SAC still went down due to using refurbs and costs of new boxes going down despite record demand for the HD DVRs.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Latin America stuff now.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Key nearterm goals.

Streaming NFL games to cell phones is much more popular then they thought.
TV Apps has also been popular.

New services coming out:
1) NEW whole home MRV and networked DVRs coming out in a few months that have new hardware and media built in.
2) NEW advanced search engine coming soon to be more like a PC including DVD cover art
3) NEW movie service which will piggy back on the new satellite. [He talked a bit more but I missed it. This might be the "Netflix type" service that was talked about in the last couple calls.]
4) New Sat will also increase capacity to over 200 HD channels


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Questions.

Q: What do all these new advanced boxes, how will that effect SAC (amazing it's kept so low so far).

A: There will be a bit more commitment into products into the home so it will put upward pressure a bit but also opportunity for revenue such as installation costs.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: Ongoing ARPU bump with these new boxes?

A: Looks to be a monthly charge for whole home MRV viewing so that will be ongoing revenue. Also those connected to broadband tend to buy more services.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Streaming NFL games to cell phones is much more popular then they thought.


Mobile views of NFLST this year is double the PC views of NFLST last year.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> Q: Ongoing ARPU bump with these new boxes?
> 
> A: *Looks to be a monthly charge for whole home MRV viewing *so that will be ongoing revenue. Also those connected to broadband tend to buy more services.


Here's a potential area of concern...hmmm...unless they're talking about installs and equipment only....


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: How are they able to buck the trend in programming expenses.

A: Some of it is because premiums don't have as much uptake but a lot of it is in good negotiations. But a lot of it is that we are still growing while others are flat or losing subs. Also a lot of costs that others are running into now DirecTV already went thru the past few years.

No big retrans agreements coming up until after 2010.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> Q: How are they able to buck the trend in programming expenses.
> 
> A: Some of it is because premiums don't have as much uptake but a lot of it is in good negotiations. But a lot of it is that we are still growing while others are flat or losing subs. Also a lot of costs that others are running into now DirecTV already went thru the past few years.
> 
> *No big retrans agreements coming up until after 2010*.


That's good news!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Here's a potential area of concern...hmmm...unless they're talking about installs and equipment only....


He pretty much said that there would be a monthly charge for MRV (paraphrasing). My guess is maybe like the DVR fee? There were no other details, no prices listed and no followup question on it. It was just a quick "yea we're looking at monthly fees for the mutli room whole home DVR thing that will offset some of the costs to SAC".


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> He pretty much said that there would be a monthly charge for MRV (paraphrasing). My guess is maybe like the DVR fee? There were no other details, no prices listed and no followup question on it. It was just a quick "yea we're looking at monthly fees for the mutli room whole home DVR thing that will offset some of the costs to SAC".


Thanks for the added info....a new fee for that would not be welcome by many folks, as you all know...

They could also make $$$ from installs and setups, as well as equipment.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: Churn was up a bit, is that just due to the on purpose slow down, and will that continue.

A: Expect churn to be a bit up in the 4th quarter from last year 4th quarter. Many of it due to continued credit tightening, not bringing on questionable customers, looking for high quality customers.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: Still on track to break even or slight profit on Sunday Ticket?

A: Had a very good season so far and exceeded their expectations by far with the number of subs taking it along with Superfan. Very strong demand for it still. Still a lot of years left on the contract but it's going well so far.


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## Crow159 (May 23, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Thanks for the added info....a new fee for that would not be welcome by many folks, as you all know...
> 
> They could also make $$$ from installs and setups, as well as equipment.


I think it all depends on what the fee is. If it's $5.00 a month per account (comparable to the DVR fee) I think a lot of people would jump on it. The big problem is that when someone pays for something, they expect it to work perfectly, every time. With it being free, people are more willing to cut them some slack as to the quality since it's just an added benefit.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

Crow159 said:


> I think it all depends on what the fee is. If it's $5.00 a month per account (comparable to the DVR fee) I think a lot of people would jump on it. The big problem is that when someone pays for something, they expect it to work perfectly, every time. With it being free, people are more willing to cut them some slack as to the quality since it's just an added benefit.


I would rather pay a higher up front cost for the box rather than an ongoing nagging fee. If DTV starts nickle and dimeing me over features i'll be considered churn.


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## Crow159 (May 23, 2007)

As always, Thanks Bonscott. You do a great job with these. I always look forward to these type of threads.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Crow159 said:


> I think it all depends on what the fee is. If it's $5.00 a month per account (comparable to the DVR fee) I think a lot of people would jump on it. The big problem is that when someone pays for something, they expect it to work perfectly, every time. With it being free, people are more willing to cut them some slack as to the quality since it's just an added benefit.


So if someone would be paying $5.00 per DVR now, $10.00 for HD service, and then have to pay $5.00 for MRV in addition, that would be OK?

Not sure how well received that would be...just sayin....


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: about SWM8

A: SWM is being used on all installations starting in 4th quarter. Just makes it so much easier on installs and will help next year with MRV.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: How has VOD been working and any plans?

A: Any given time about 500K-600K connected online with VOD and they do tend to buy PPV services. Continue to make it robust and the user experience better. Hope that "DirecTV Movies" will continue that next year.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

With D12 sat there will be much stronger push capability with movies/PPV.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Q: What about the TV Everywhere concept

A: They are very active in talking with the content providers about it. So they are in a good position to be ready along with the other distributors that they can authenticate subs.


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## Crow159 (May 23, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> So if someone would be paying $5.00 per DVR now, $10.00 for HD service, and then have to pay $5.00 for MRV in addition, that would be OK?
> 
> Not sure how well received that would be...just sayin....


Oh, I'm not happy about it, but the cat is out of the bag now. They admit they are charging for it. I'm just trying to picture what I would do if I'm going to charge.

Unfortunately, my picture realistically has me charging more than that due to the support and installation of all these Moca networks for the people that will get it. I certainly wouldn't want my support staff having to troubleshoot problems with the customers existing home network. I would insist on having my own installed network for some amount of control over a fee generating feature.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Still going, just boring financial questions or on Latin America.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

And with that, the call is over.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Crow159 said:


> Oh, I'm not happy about it, but the cat is out of the bag now. *They admit they are charging for it*. I'm just trying to picture what I would do if I'm going to charge.


I thought they are considering if/what/how to charge...not a sure thing....


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

For a financial call a lot of good nuggets and quite a few good questions too.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I thought they are considering if/what/how to charge...not a sure thing....


We'll have to wait until Seeking alpha gets the transcript up but I thought he said they were "looking" at charging for MRV. But again, let's wait for the transcript to see the exact wording and not take apart my live typing which may not be 100% accurate.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Biggest new things for me were:

1) Confirmation of new hardware/receivers coming out that will support MRV and networking built in. HR30 perhaps?

2) Whole new search overhaul coming. Much needed. And seeing as they mentioned it on this call as part of the presentation that certainly makes it a big high visible item.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> We'll have to wait until Seeking alpha gets the transcript up but I thought he said they were "looking" at charging for MRV. But again, let's wait for the transcript to see the exact wording and not take apart my live typing which may not be 100% accurate.


Thought so....thanks.

Great job on the notes!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Also curious:

No mention of Tivo in the presentation OR by any questions.

Almost makes you wonder if it's still on their radar.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

ffemtreed said:


> I would rather pay a higher up front cost for the box rather than an ongoing nagging fee. If DTV starts nickle and dimeing me over features i'll be considered churn.


Certainly the churn potential will figure into any future fees and they certainly don't want a wholesale exodus. Based on what has been said in the past, I envision the whole home scenario as a "super DVR" with more capability than current DVRs plus satellite boxes without tuners (network connection only, using DECA or ethernet). The "super DVR" would have a higher up front fee while the satellite boxes would be fairly inexpensive, but they still would have a monthly per-box fee, which could provide the return they are looking for, hopefully without a MRV charge for the current boxes.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> Biggest new things for me were:
> 
> 1) Confirmation of new hardware/receivers coming out that will support MRV and networking built in. HR30 perhaps?
> 
> 2) Whole new search overhaul coming. Much needed. And seeing as they mentioned it on this call as part of the presentation that certainly makes it a big high visible item.


Biggest news to me was re: MRV and the fact they will now roll out SWM as the standard new install method.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> We'll have to wait until Seeking alpha gets the transcript up but I thought he said they were "looking" at charging for MRV. But again, let's wait for the transcript to see the exact wording and not take apart my live typing which may not be 100% accurate.


I really thought I heard "Probably" with respect to charging. We should wait for the transcript to be certain though unless there is a replay and someone want to listen through that part again.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

The two notable quotes all in response to one person's question.

"Will mainly charge for the installation of those services" (Re: MRV)

"We'll probably add monthly charge for the 'whole home solution' which would include MRV & Broadband connectivity." (paraphrased)


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

bonscott87 said:


> With D12 sat there will be much stronger push capability with movies/PPV.


Does this mean they are going to be adding even more PPV with D12?


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Doug Brott said:


> The two notable quotes all in response to one person's question.
> 
> "Will mainly charge for the installation of those services" (Re: MRV)
> 
> "We'll probably add monthly charge for the 'whole home solution' which would include MRV & Broadband connectivity." (paraphrased)


OK - that has different implications than simply charging for the service on a blanket basis.

Thanks for clarifying.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

Doug Brott said:


> The two notable quotes all in response to one person's question.
> 
> "Will mainly charge for the installation of those services" (Re: MRV)
> 
> "We'll probably add monthly charge for the 'whole home solution' which would include MRV & Broadband connectivity." (paraphrased)


What I am reading is they are going to charge to keep your ethernet port active.

So all this stuff we have now, like using TVersity to share my music, hooked up to the net for VOD, some secret squirrel stuff for MRV, TVapps we are going to have to pay for in the future?


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

DodgerKing said:


> Does this mean they are going to be adding even more PPV with D12?


And they are going to charge us to have broadband hooked up so we can order the PPV.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

ffemtreed said:


> What I am reading is they are going to charge to keep your ethernet port active.
> 
> So all this stuff we have now, like using TVersity to share my music, hooked up to the net for VOD, some secret squirrel stuff for MRV, TVapps we are going to have to pay for in the future?


Not what I think their intent will be.

I can see them selling a Broadband services package that they *may* install, including the SWM, etc. to enable MRV and other web-based services.

For those who have this in place, there *may* not be any reason to change much of anything...but for new customers wanting to add these new services, they *may* choose to offer some kind of install, equipment, configuration package.

Overall, it sounded like not only have those *decisions* *not yet been made*, but the *specifics not all ironed out *as to how (if at all) to charge for these kinds of things.


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

bonscott87 said:


> Also curious:
> 
> No mention of Tivo in the presentation OR by any questions.
> 
> Almost makes you wonder if it's still on their radar.


Well, since the very first PR about the new HD TiVo deal, they have said the words "new box", I guess they are doing their part by bring out the new recievers that were talked about. It is up to TiVo to get it running on that box.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Not what I think their intent will be.
> 
> I can see them selling a Broadband services package that they *may* install, including the SWM, etc. to enable MRV and other web-based services.
> 
> ...


I hope you are right on this! Of course I am still upset with the "HD Extra" pack I have to 5 bucks a month for. I took the Receiver out of the kitchen so my bill didn't go up when I added that pack.


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## joshjr (Aug 2, 2008)

ffemtreed said:


> I hope you are right on this! Of course I am still upset with the "HD Extra" pack I have to 5 bucks a month for. I took the Receiver out of the kitchen so my bill didn't go up when I added that pack.


If your paying for the HD Extra Pack then thats your bad. You can get 3 months free. I have done this about 4-5 times now so pretty much I have had it free for over a year now.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

ffemtreed said:


> I hope you are right on this! Of course I am still upset with the "HD Extra" pack I have to 5 bucks a month for. I took the Receiver out of the kitchen so my bill didn't go up when I added that pack.


I'm just speculating like everyone else...but clearly, they indicated things have not been decided yet.

In the case of the HD Extra pack - that may come more into play next year when the new D12 satellite is in operation, in terms of what channels are added.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

joshjr said:


> If your paying for the HD Extra Pack then thats your bad. You can get 3 months free. I have done this about 4-5 times now so pretty much I have had it free for over a year now.


I shouldn't have to call and beg to get programming credits. If they are willing to give it for free they should just do that.

I also read in the thread they are starting to want to do away with people who are calling in always getting credits.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

DTV stock got a nice 6.3% pop from today's good news. Given the amount of DTV stock that I still have in my 401k as a former Hughes Aircraft Co employee, that one day pop will more than cover a few years of my DirecTV bill (including any future MRV charges)  and looking at the more important long term results, DTV stock has outperformed the broad market indices by about 75% over the past 5 years.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

ffemtreed said:


> I shouldn't have to call and beg to get programming credits. If they are willing to give it for free they should just do that.


You can get HD Extra for free online. Go online and drop it. Wait a day and add it back on and it will be free.



> I also read in the thread they are starting to want to do away with people who are calling in always getting credits.


I had a hard time keeping up when he was talking about this so I'm interested in what the transcript will read.

But from what I gather they are just continuing to tighten up retention credits and they commented that churn may go up a tic because they are tired of giving people $20 off a month when they call up every 6 months to cancel. So it's not like they are going to just drop people that are getting credits, it's that they won't be giving those credits out as much which may cause some people to actually follow up on their threat to leave.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

bonscott87 said:


> You can get HD Extra for free online. Go online and drop it. Wait a day and add it back on and it will be free.
> 
> I had a hard time keeping up when he was talking about this so I'm interested in what the transcript will read.
> 
> But from what I gather they are just continuing to tighten up retention credits and they commented that churn may go up a tic because they are tired of giving people $20 off a month when they call up every 6 months to cancel. So it's not like they are going to just drop people that are getting credits, it's that they won't be giving those credits out as much which may cause some people to actually follow up on their threat to leave.


Just curious, I never followed these types of calls before. how much of what they say is just accountants blowing smoke up... well you know .... ?? Historically how much do these actually mean in the real world?


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

ffemtreed said:


> Just curious, I never followed these types of calls before. how much of what they say is just accountants blowing smoke up... well you know .... ?? Historically how much do these actually mean in the real world?


If there is too much smoke and mirrors the SEC gets very cranky.

Now, there is a lot of numbers for the investors--if you're not an analyst or investor, there ain't much for us geeks. Bonscott does an awesome job staying awake for those few tidbits when they do slip in. 

Thanks, Bonscott!
Tom


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Key nearterm goals.
> 
> Streaming NFL games to cell phones is much more popular then they thought.
> TV Apps has also been popular.
> ...


Great job on the blog today Scott .. tanks!

I'm less than thrilled about the prospect of having to pay for MRV, so I hope they "look" at customer reaction and keep it free...


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Doug Brott said:


> We should wait for the transcript to be certain though unless there is a replay and someone want to listen through that part again.


Here's the transcript: http://seekingalpha.com/article/171671-directv-group-inc-q3-2009-earnings-conference-call?page=-1


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Here are specifics from the transcript.

*New Receivers with MRV:*


> In a few months, we'll start shipping the receivers that will provide customers with Whole-Home functionality including multi-room viewing, broadband connectivity for services such as VOD and TV Apps as well as access to connected PCs to view pictures, music and other media.


*New Search Functionality:*


> Also in a few months, we'll be greatly enhancing our user experience by introducing an industry leading search engine that in many ways will look and feel like a PC search. The advanced search experience will not only make it significantly easier to find exactly what you are looking, but will also include photos, DVD cover art as well as recommendations for similar shows based on your preferences.


*New Movie Service:*


> We are also planning to launch a new movie service next year, where customers will be able to access more than thousands of movie from either their PC or TV to view on their big screen TV. This service will be greatly expanded upon the successful launch of our next satellite D12, which becomes operational in the first half of next year. This new satellite will also increase DIRECTV's HD capacity by 50% over 200 national channels.


I believe this is the Netflix type service they mentioned in the Citi and Sachs calls a couple months ago.

*On the MRV Charge:*


> Yeah I think that there is a couple of things that happened there will probably add a monthly charge for kind of a whole home solution that would include multi-room viewing and broadband kind of activity so you will get a regular one and then we have seen on just kind of a limited basis that we have now and people that are connected to the broadband that they tend to apply more services and produce more revenue.


So yes, the exact wording is "probably".


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## pdxsam (Jun 20, 2004)

I would hope they can figure out how to do MRV over the coax vs via the ethernet port. Folks in older homes don't have ethernet jacks in every room of their house.

Maybe the SWM is going to act as a pseudo moca device?


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

This phrase could be interpreted a number of different ways, especially depending upon what the highlighted words may mean within teh context of the statement:

"will probably add a monthly charge for *kind of a* whole home *solution* that would include multi-room viewing *and* broadband kind of activity.."


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

pdxsam said:


> I would hope they can figure out how to do MRV over the coax vs via the ethernet port. Folks in older homes don't have ethernet jacks in every room of their house.
> 
> Maybe the SWM is going to act as a pseudo moca device?


You might want to review the first looks at http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1419520&postcount=4 for what solution might be available.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

RAD said:


> You might want to review the first looks at http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1419520&postcount=4 for what solution might be available.


As one of the authors of that First Look...I might just mention that the form factor of the test units may not be what is mainstream delivered as a final offering for SWM/DECA as a package.

In fact, we were pretty much told the test units would *not* be the same as the final version to the marketplace.


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## oldfantom (Mar 13, 2006)

The quotes I find interesting....

_New Receivers with MRV:
Quote:
In a few months, we'll start shipping the receivers that will provide customers with Whole-Home functionality including multi-room viewing, broadband connectivity for services such as VOD and TV Apps as well as access to connected PCs to view pictures, music and other media.
New Search Functionality:
Quote:
.... as well as recommendations for similar shows based on your preferences..._

The recommendations MAY be linked to the recommendations feature that TiVo owns a patent for. At least I think they hold that patent.

_New Movie Service:
Quote:
....which becomes operational in the first half of next year. ...._

They are getting soft on the D12 launch and start up. It was in Q4, now it is in first half. Not surprising, but the first time I think I have seen the words.


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## taz291819 (Oct 19, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Key nearterm goals.
> 
> Streaming NFL games to cell phones is much more popular then they thought.
> TV Apps has also been popular.
> ...


#1 is a big one to me. Hopefully the new boxes will be able to decode more codecs and higher bitrate, with streaming from PC.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

oldfantom said:


> New Search Functionality:
> Quote:
> *.... as well as recommendations for similar shows based on your preferences...*
> 
> The recommendations MAY be linked to the recommendations feature that TiVo owns a patent for. At least I think they hold that patent.


Wow, nice find. I can't believe we all missed that. Almost sounds like the DirecTV version of Tivo suggestions perhaps. Interesting.


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## chhc84 (Oct 2, 2009)

I have a suggestion for a sticky thread in General Directv Forum

list upcoming services improvements coming and list threads that cover them

like this

None of information is guaranteed and is listed for informational purposes only

2009
MRV over COAX tested

2010
1) NEW whole home MRV and networked DVRs coming out in a few months that have new hardware and media built in.
2) NEW advanced search engine coming soon to be more like a PC including DVD cover art
3) NEW movie service which will piggy back on the new satellite. [He talked a bit more but I missed it. This might be the "Netflix type" service that was talked about in the last couple calls.]
4) New Sat will also increase capacity to over 200 HD channels

and so on - can be used for channels and more stuff

that way there is a 1 stop shop for a brief overview of the potential future


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## chhc84 (Oct 2, 2009)

bonscott87 said:


> Wow, nice find. I can't believe we all missed that. Almost sounds like the DirecTV version of Tivo suggestions perhaps. Interesting.


need to here more, but that feature seems useless UNLESS - we can rate stuff

and have shows show up as similar to ours - sounds like it is only gonna give you ideas if you perform a search


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

> In a few months, we'll start shipping the receivers that will provide customers with Whole-Home functionality including multi-room viewing, broadband connectivity for services such as VOD and TV Apps as well as access to connected PCs to view pictures, music and other media.


Don't our current receivers already have all of this functionality? With the exception of MRV all of those features are already available to the public. I know for 100% certainty that MRV is able to be done on the current boxes.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ffemtreed said:


> I know for 100% certainty that MRV is able to be done on the current boxes.


Now you just need to convince DIRECTV.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

harsh said:


> Now you just need to convince DIRECTV.


Why?

They would already know that - it's their equipment.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Why?


So that they might contemplate releasing and fully supporting the feature for widespread use.


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## ffemtreed (Jan 30, 2008)

harsh said:


> Now you just need to convince DIRECTV.


Just tell them to come to my house and i'll give them a personal presentation.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

harsh said:


> So that they might contemplate releasing and fully supporting the feature for widespread use.


What would make you think that won't happen, as they even announced this as a capability planned for mainstream release...?

The fact that they now have announced this in a public forum simply reaffirms what others have speculated.


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

"New Receivers with MRV:
Quote:
In a few months, we’ll start shipping the receivers that will provide customers with Whole-Home functionality including multi-room viewing, broadband connectivity for services such as VOD and TV Apps as well as access to connected PCs to view pictures, music and other media."

Interesting info. Where/when is the first look on those new receivers?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> The fact that they now have announced this in a public forum simply reaffirms what others have speculated.


The fact that it hasn't been released _suggests_ that DIRECTV isn't convinced of something.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

taz291819 said:


> with streaming from PC.


This one has proven to be elusive. Keeping up with the various and sundry CODECs is a daunting task at best and not very practical to do in hardware (and not possible in the existing hardware). This is important as DIRECTV seems to have wandered off the Windows Media path.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

harsh said:


> This one has proven to be elusive. Keeping up with the various and sundry CODECs is a daunting task at best and not very practical to do in hardware (and not possible in the existing hardware). This is important as DIRECTV seems to have wandered off the Windows Media path.


Then again...that may not be the path of choice or preference...


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

Groundhog45 said:


> "New Receivers with MRV:
> Quote:
> In a few months, we'll start shipping the receivers that will provide customers with Whole-Home functionality including multi-room viewing, broadband connectivity for services such as VOD and TV Apps as well as access to connected PCs to view pictures, music and other media."
> 
> Interesting info. Where/when is the first look on those new receivers?


I wonder if Dtv will offer an exchange service, old for new, or will we have to pay another lease fee to get the new receivers?


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## kevinturcotte (Dec 19, 2006)

BubblePuppy said:


> I wonder if Dtv will offer an exchange service, old for new, or will we have to pay another lease fee to get the new receivers?


As long as our receivers can continue to receive all the channels they offer, they won't be swapping out anything for free.


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## BubblePuppy (Nov 3, 2006)

kevinturcotte said:


> As long as our receivers can continue to receive all the channels they offer, they won't be swapping out anything for free.


I would think that Dtv would offer some kind exchange program to get present customers into the new features, especially if the features bring in new revenue.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Then again...that may not be the path of choice or preference...


Granted, but when you're talking about making a broad range of content available on a set-top box product line, you have to go with what the hardware can do.

In the grand scheme, we can blame the content providers for not settling on a particular format but the end result is that without an upstream CODEC and DRM processor _like_ Windows Media, accomplishing multi-format playback on MPEG decoders as taz291819 desires is kind of a pipe dream.


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## MISpat (Apr 22, 2009)

I was also under the impression that MRV could be rolled out to the existing DVRs & HD receivers. Why not? They are networked after all! If I have to "buy" new equipment and extend my service contract for it, then MRV won't be entering my house.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

MISpat said:


> I was also under the impression that MRV could be rolled out to the existing DVRs & HD receivers. Why not? They are networked after all! If I have to "buy" new equipment and extend my service contract for it, then MRV won't be entering my house.


There was also mention of a possible one-time setup fee for MRV.


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## itguy05 (Oct 24, 2007)

harsh said:


> Granted, but when you're talking about making a broad range of content available on a set-top box product line, you have to go with what the hardware can do.
> 
> In the grand scheme, we can blame the content providers for not settling on a particular format but the end result is that without an upstream CODEC and DRM processor _like_ Windows Media, accomplishing multi-format playback on MPEG decoders as taz291819 desires is kind of a pipe dream.


COUGH MPEG4, COUGH. 
Can be wrapped in DRM (just ask Apple)
Can be played just about anywhere (thanks Apple) 
Is very high quality (ask DTV)
They already have experience with it
Their hardware supports it
Most PC's have support for it (thanks Apple)

There's no reason to use a proprietary standard CODEC like Windows Media anywhere.... Ever.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

itguy05 said:


> COUGH MPEG4, COUGH.
> Can be wrapped in DRM (just ask Apple)
> Can be played just about anywhere (thanks Apple)
> Is very high quality (ask DTV)
> ...


As an IT guy you must know that there are more wrappers around MPEG4 than there are web porn sites. *If the content providers can't settle*, there needs to be some sort of middle ground.

H.264 and AVC are popular right now but I've heard more than a few cries for one of the dozens of Quicktime formats and the legions of AVI bastardizations/renames (DivX).


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## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

harsh said:


> As an IT guy you must know that there are more wrappers around MPEG4 than there are web porn sites. *If the content providers can't settle*, there needs to be some sort of middle ground.
> 
> H.264 and AVC are popular right now but I've heard more than a few cries for one of the dozens of Quicktime formats and the legions of AVI bastardizations/renames (DivX).


A DRM-protected variant of H.264 is what Directv is already using for MPEG4 HD.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

LameLefty said:


> A DRM-protected variant of H.264 is what Directv is already using for MPEG4 HD.


The key word being "variant". If DIRECTV were to lead a charge to have this "variant" adopted for universal use, it would answer the challenge of not needing an intermediate format.


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## itguy05 (Oct 24, 2007)

> As an IT guy you must know that there are more wrappers around MPEG4 than there are web porn sites. If the content providers can't settle, there needs to be some sort of middle ground.


True but one base codec can play them all - you just have to decode the wrapper. Look at VLC - it plays most of the MPEG4 variants without issues. IIRC it's just a matter of decoding the headers.


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## taz291819 (Oct 19, 2006)

IMO, the best wrapper out there is MKV. It's free, and can handle just about any combination of video/audio/subs.


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## MISpat (Apr 22, 2009)

Probably a stupid question, but what is "SAC?"


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

MISpat said:


> Probably a stupid question, but what is "SAC?"


Subscriber Acquisition Cost. It's the average ammount that it costs to sign up a new customer.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Some light reading in advance of the Special Shareholder's Meeting on Thursday:

http://files.shareholder.com/downlo...f/Directv_Special_Proxy_Statement_-_Final.pdf

The part about the Greenlady stuff represents some staggering numbers.


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