# DIRECTV Group, Inc. Investor Day - Feb. 28, 2008



## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

This thread is a reminder and discussion about the DIRECTV Group, Inc. Investor Day February 28, 2008, starting at 8am ET, running thru 12:30pm ET. You can join the conference from the links at *DIRECTV's Investor Relations website*.

Once the webconference starts, listeners and readers are welcome to start blogging and discussing the announcements. In other words, please don't post in this thread until after the conference starts. 

If you have any problems getting into the conference, please start another thread so we can keep this thread solely for the conference materials and discussion.

Thanks,
Tom

_Earl Addition_: Link to presentation PDF: http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/12/127/127160/items/281632/001_DirecTV_Master_v1.pdf


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

And so it begins!

3 objectives this morning:
1) Better look at recent results
2) Real in depth look at the US and Latin America businesses
3) Look forward the next 3 years and their vision

This should be interesting!

I hope that seeking alpha does a transcript. I only plan to post on anything really interesting in between work calls.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

They do have a technology roadmap they will talk about. Mentioned that the real foundation work has already been laid. 

This will be a cool insight into the hardware, can't wait.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Summary of Chase's into: 
Basically that they are really happy with where they are and happy with how they compete. The cable bundle is always talked about but they feel they compete well since more then half their customers have broadband today. Need to improve on Customer Service.

Now the CFO Pat Doyle is talking.
Their plan of taking on "higher quality" subscribers and not just anyone has slowed growth a bit but also has led to lower churn and higher paying customers. So they feel this strategy has worked.

He keeps talking about the numbers which I won't post.


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

Declining costs of DVRs/HD receivers/HD-DVRs. For those wishing a return to TiVo, not looking good.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

LOL. I think it's obvious that Tivo isn't coming back but TCF doesn't agree.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

They feel upgrade costs have peaked. I think they are basically saying that the upgrade to MPEG4 equipment for HD has been done for the majority already and that they are just now getting the stragglers.

Ahhhh, an actual number. Only half a million swaps left to do and will be more proactive now that costs have gone down.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Here we go, technology talk about the path going forward.

Romulo Pontual the CTO is up.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Nice. He said that if their competators think they can catch up by year's end will be suprised.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Looks like they are moving toward just using 99, 101 and 103 eventually. Makes sense.

D11 going up in March.

*D12 is actually going to be launched to enhance HD capacity!*


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

2008: 150 HD channel capacity with D11. Over 200 HD channels with D12 in the fleet.

At least 100 HD local markets by end of 08.


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## tyler_9110 (Feb 1, 2008)

How many Local HD Markets right now?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

tyler_9110 said:


> How many Local HD Markets right now?


77


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

Alright, one unified DVR that's HD-ready!


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Setop boxes.

ALL boxes by mid 2008 will be HD ready. No more SD only boxes.

HD-DVR
HD Basic

By 2009 just a whole home DVR and that's it.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

The strategy of having just one DVR platform has worked and has great benefits. 

(Sorry Tivo).

By the way, I see this as the first step to going all MPEG4 say in 5-6 years or so.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Talking about the SWM Slimline. Just one cable into the home for most installations.

With this technology they can just drop ship boxes to a customer instead of having to roll an install truck (thank you!)


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

More unique top of the line products coming.

Interactive will grow.

Mentioning how they will leverage IP technology and use broadband as the backend return to DirecTV (we are seeing this now with IP callback on the HR2x series).


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Media Share.

Stream full HD resolution programs from your DVR to your computer (as talked about at CES).
Streaming video from PC to DVR (which we have now).

Stream Internet radio and flickr to your DVR as well as YouTube.

They really want to capitalize on the home infrastructure using IP delivery.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Movies Now service coming in Q2 via satellite. Hmmmmm. No other details.

Next step of Media Share is viewing programs on your PC that is on the DVR.

*Also mentioned the ability to do this to the HD base boxes.* First I've heard of this. Sounds like it means streaming programs from the HD DVR to the H21 for example. Excellent news indeed.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Entertainment and Programming talk now.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Nothing new so far. Just touting their HD advantage.

Has mentioned the hope to expand the HD Extra package.

Sports very important obviously to DirecTV. Sports rights costs keep going up.
They will not make deals that don't make sense.

Mentioned LIN and Sinclair battleing with retransmission.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Eric Shanks now, Entertainment VP.

Nice dig on Time Warner. LOL.

Want to keep up with unique sports packages. All HD for Extra Innings and so forth.
Interactive stuff with sports very important.

Branching out to other sports. All major golf and tennis events.
Exclusive Masters HD content and interactive and Mix channels. Will take this same thing to all major golf and tennis events.

Exclusive channel content on the 101, want to expand this. Gets about 10 million viewers a week.


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## syphix (Jun 23, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> Movies Now service coming in Q2 via satellite. Hmmmmm. No other details.


Making a guess...might this be select "on demand" movies stored in the reserved space on HR20/21's?


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Video to and from the PC by quarter 2.

*DirecTV game search in the guide coming 2nd quarter. So if you tune or choose to record a game that is blacked out it will try to find it on another station that isn't blacked out for you.* Sounds pretty cool actually.

Designing new user interface in 2009 and remote control.
Comment from focus group user on this - "Easy to use as Tivo and more features"

Features:
"Dashboard" of everything on your box including recommendations. Sounds like they are working on a "Tivo suggestions"
Turbo Tune coming for your 9 favorite channels. (Not quite sure what this is.)
"Bonus button" on remote that you can custom program similar to a Blackberry.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

syphix said:


> Making a guess...might this be select "on demand" movies stored in the reserved space on HR20/21's?


Great guess. Makes sense. I remember they mentioned last year that some most popular On Demand content will be available via sat or pushed to the hard drive.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

More ads in the guide banners. Ugggg. But it's a way to make money.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Sales and Marketing presentation now. 

Probably nothing news breaking in this one. I need a quick break. Back in a bit.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

bonscott87 said:


> Video to and from the PC by quarter 2.


I would hope that they said "in Q2". By Q2 is tomorrow.


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## TimGoodwin (Jun 29, 2004)

harsh said:


> I would hope that they said "in Q2". By Q2 is tomorrow.


Make that Saturday.

Sorry, make that April 1.


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

TimGoodwin said:


> Make that Saturday.
> 
> Sorry, make that April 1.


Harsh thinks there are 6 quarters this year. :lol: :lol:


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## krock918316 (Mar 5, 2007)

MikeR7 said:


> Harsh thinks there are 6 quarters this year. :lol: :lol:


:thats:


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## BNUMM (Dec 24, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Video to and from the PC by quarter 2.
> 
> *DirecTV game search in the guide coming 2nd quarter. So if you tune or choose to record a game that is blacked out it will try to find it on another station that isn't blacked out for you.* Sounds pretty cool actually.
> 
> ...


"Turbotune" is a feature that the Hughes receivers used to have. It would bring up a small box in the corner of the screen with up to 9 of your favorite channels.


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## Soundteck (Aug 28, 2006)

35+ Male is their target yet what is up with the 101?? Seems MTV'ish to me... bu ti guess that is one nugget for the 20 somethings.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

BNUMM said:


> "Turbotune" is a feature that the Hughes receivers used to have. It would bring up a small box in the corner of the screen with up to 9 of your favorite channels.


Ahhh yes I remember that on my old Hughes E-86. I used that every Sunday by programming each Sunday Ticket game to one of the buttons and that allowed me to quickly switch between games. I wouldn't find it useful for that anymore with ST Interactive as I just use the yellow button to switch between games but still a cool feature nonetheless.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Well, doesn't look like a whole lot of interesting stuff upcoming in terms of new stuff. A Customer Service presentation and then a lot of Latin America and Mexico stuff. I'll still listen as I can as I find this "inside" stuff facinating.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

I do like what he's saying that it's unacceptable for the installers to not do the job right the first time. Like having to go back and repoint the dish a month later. 

Duh. 

*Maybe* something will change with the installers.


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## dbooth (Nov 6, 2007)

bonscott87 said:


> Movies Now service coming in Q2 via satellite. Hmmmmm. No other details.
> 
> Next step of Media Share is viewing programs on your PC that is on the DVR.
> 
> *Also mentioned the ability to do this to the HD base boxes.* First I've heard of this. Sounds like it means streaming programs from the HD DVR to the H21 for example. Excellent news indeed.


you mean to another hr2X not to the h21 there is no networking in the h2x boxes


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## Michael D'Angelo (Oct 21, 2006)

dbooth said:


> you mean to another hr2X not to the h21 there is no networking in the h2x boxes


The H21 has a ethernet connection but it does nothing right now. The H20 does not have one.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Designing new user interface in 2009 and remote control.
> 
> (...)
> "Bonus button" on remote that you can custom program similar to a Blackberry.


Thank you, thank you, thank you, for preparing to redesign the remote.


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## LameLefty (Sep 29, 2006)

> Movies Now service coming in Q2 via satellite. Hmmmmm. No other details.


I have suspected for some time that it's possible to "dump" content (especially SD content) at faster-than-realtime rates onto a spooling hard drive using the newer sats. With D11 and eventually D12, there is a LOT of bandwidth up there.


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## dbooth (Nov 6, 2007)

BMoreRavens said:


> The H21 has a ethernet connection but it does nothing right now. The H20 does not have one.


ic well that stinks :-D


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

I forgot about the call but was looking over the PDF presentation at http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/12/127/127160/items/281632/001_DirecTV_Master_v1.pdf. I wonder why they took the time/dollars to develop the R16 when according to the presentation SD DVR's are going away? I was also disappointed that there was no mention of MRV but the whole home HD DVR shows up in the 2009/2010 time frame, hopefully we don't need to wait that long before we see MRV.

For the folks that listened, was it mentioned how much longer they'll consider Media Share and DoD as beta products?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

LameLefty said:


> I have suspected for some time that it's possible to "dump" content (especially SD content) at faster-than-realtime rates onto a spooling hard drive using the newer sats. With D11 and eventually D12, there is a LOT of bandwidth up there.


The slides say this will be for all "Plus DVR's" so to me that means they're not using the Ka band sats but the Ku sats.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

RAD said:


> I forgot about the call but was looking over the PDF presentation at http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/12/127/127160/items/281632/001_DirecTV_Master_v1.pdf. I wonder why they took the time/dollars to develop the R16 when according to the presentation SD DVR's are going away? I was also disappointed that there was no mention of MRV but the whole home HD DVR shows up in the 2009/2010 time frame, hopefully we don't need to wait that long before we see MRV.
> 
> For the folks that listened, was it mentioned how much longer they'll consider Media Share and DoD as beta products?


I suspect -- and it is only a suspicion -- that the R15s were expensive to produce and R16s much less so. Even for a transitional product they need a supply of them on hand.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

I got sucked into a meeting so I missed the last 45 minutes or so. Grrrrrrrr.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Ok, so where is D12 going to get parked? And who's going to launch it?


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

RAD said:


> I forgot about the call but was looking over the PDF presentation at http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/12/127/127160/items/281632/001_DirecTV_Master_v1.pdf. I wonder why they took the time/dollars to develop the R16 when according to the presentation SD DVR's are going away? I was also disappointed that there was no mention of MRV but the whole home HD DVR shows up in the 2009/2010 time frame, hopefully we don't need to wait that long before we see MRV.
> 
> For the folks that listened, was it mentioned how much longer they'll consider Media Share and DoD as beta products?


To me it sounds like MRV will be coming with the Media Share upgrades 2nd quarter or so. They emphasised many times about watching HD content anywhere in the house and not have to be on the DVR that actually recorded it.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

dbooth said:


> you mean to another hr2X not to the h21 there is no networking in the h2x boxes


No, he specifically mentioned viewing programs from the DVR on their "HD basic" receiver which would be the H21.


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## seanb61 (Jan 19, 2007)

Listening to the call - all I have to say is "ya know"


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## cforrest (Jan 20, 2007)

Ok I just went through the whole pdf, lots of great info there. HD Capacity with D12 looks like it would still keep ahead of Cable come 2009, even with Cable deploying DOCSIS 3.0 around then. Ads in the guide I hate, hope Directv rethinks it. Kept talking about redesigned ODU, not sure if the dish is going to get redone again or it is just SWM Slimline. They did show an orbital map with Directv looking to focus everything at 99, 101 & 103 only. I assume they will move away from 119 & 110, just a question of when, if they do. In all pdf is good to look over when you have time.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

And that's it. Wow, what a long call. Some very interesting things coming up over the next year or two.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

I expect that the Slimline will get a redesigned LNB with no 110/119, probably available with or without SWM (some people will want more than 8 tuners). Maybe they could get by with a slightly smaller dish if no 110/119.

A lot depends on where D12 will be located.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

RAD said:


> I forgot about the call but was looking over the PDF presentation at http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/12/127/127160/items/281632/001_DirecTV_Master_v1.pdf. I wonder why they took the time/dollars to develop the R16 when according to the presentation SD DVR's are going away? I was also disappointed that there was no mention of MRV but the whole home HD DVR shows up in the 2009/2010 time frame, hopefully we don't need to wait that long before we see MRV.
> 
> For the folks that listened, was it mentioned how much longer they'll consider Media Share and DoD as beta products?


One of the reasons:
SWM

And currently, it is still cheaper for them to have develope (and produce), the R16... for the SWM aspects... then for the HD-DVRs to go out in just SD mode.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Earl Bonovich said:


> One of the reasons:
> SWM
> 
> And currently, it is still cheaper for them to have develope (and produce), the R16... for the SWM aspects... then for the HD-DVRs to go out in just SD mode.


I only bought this up since on page 40 of the presentation, the time line for 2008 doesn't show a SD DVR, just SD Basic, HD Basic and HD DVR. Since the R16 came out in January based on that slide it didn't make sense unless the timeline is incorrect and they plan to continue making the SD DVR an option for customers.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

I like the fact that they are planning from a Strategic (as opposed to tactical) position. This is one of the key things that separates DirecTV from its competitors IMHO.

They view HD DVRs and other elements (SWM) as strategic components for the ultimate goal of HD and related viewing growth. They have a plan in place, have been executing it, and continue to have a clear path for at least the next 3-5 years.

Most others are in "how do we catch up" mode.

Since ultimately content is king, the Liberty closing now also opens up the door to additional advantages there too.

In any case, while a number of details were not "new" overall, there is a definitive course being followed. Remember the audience - investors should have heard a solid message and related information.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

bonscott87 said:


> Mentioned LIN and Sinclair battleing with retransmission.


Did they go into any more detail at all in regards to LIN? Those of us in LIN markets are dieing.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Indiana627 said:


> Did they go into any more detail at all in regards to LIN? Those of us in LIN markets are dieing.


They didn't go into any more depth...


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Indiana627 said:


> Did they go into any more detail at all in regards to LIN? Those of us in LIN markets are dieing.


He just mentioned that it was an ongoing battle and also mentioned that LIN and Sinclair have been in battles with cable for the same thing (so it wasn't unique to DirecTV which if it was would be a bad thing to investors).


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Did they mention any timeframe when they would start adding PBS to the HD LIL markets?


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

RAD said:


> I only bought this up since on page 40 of the presentation, the time line for 2008 doesn't show a SD DVR, just SD Basic, HD Basic and HD DVR. Since the R16 came out in January based on that slide it didn't make sense unless the timeline is incorrect and they plan to continue making the SD DVR an option for customers.


Probably like anything else it's just a plan and they are ways out from it. And delays can always come in. Look at what happened when they stopped production on the HR10-250 but didn't have their own HD-DVR to replace it. There was about 6 months of "no mans land" there and then they were pressured into releasing the HR20 a bit early. I'm sure they don't want to repeat that again.

So you roll out the R16 which is cheaper then the R15 and is SWM capable. It could be 6-9 months at least before they start to phase out the SD units as they want to continue to wait for the costs to come down. I think on one of the slides it showed that in 2009 the cost of the SD DVR would be $170 while the HD DVR would be $210 or so. They will probably want to wait for a full transition until it gets this close. Thus it makes more sense to just stop production on the SD DVR when the costs are close.

And with the elimination of SD units overall by 2010 I really think they are setting up a total MPEG4 transition for the middle of the next decade if not sooner if HD uptake is greater then they expect. If by 2012 lets speculate that 50%+ of their customers have HD and thus MPEG4 boxes and of the other 50% most have MPEG4 boxes that have been going out the previous 3-4 years, it makes it a whole lot easier to convert the remaining then if they just up and try to convert 40 million receivers. In this way they can spend then next 5 years slowly getting everyone MPEG4 ready and the users don't even know it. Very good plan. Assuming that's what they are doing. 

And talk about support costs going down long term if not only you have the same UI but you just have 1 or 2 actual receivers hardware wise. That will really help in terms of cost and better customer service, one would hope.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

RAD said:


> Did they mention any timeframe when they would start adding PBS to the HD LIL markets?


No. This was all about high level stratigic planning over the next 2-3+ years. There were very few details down to that level outside the hardware/technical things. They didn't mention anything specific about any channels or timeframes.


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## JayPSU (Jul 17, 2007)

Well, it sounds like they intend to make some improvements on the receivers and eventually enable control of your DVR from anywhere in the house. The only thing I miss from Dish Network is their receivers (622/722). The user interface was fantastic, capability to record 3 programs at once, and capability to run two tv's from the same HD DVR box. I miss it.


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## texasbrit (Aug 9, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Probably like anything else it's just a plan and they are ways out from it. And delays can always come in. Look at what happened when they stopped production on the HR10-250 but didn't have their own HD-DVR to replace it. There was about 6 months of "no mans land" there and then they were pressured into releasing the HR20 a bit early. I'm sure they don't want to repeat that again.
> 
> So you roll out the R16 which is cheaper then the R15 and is SWM capable. It could be 6-9 months at least before they start to phase out the SD units as they want to continue to wait for the costs to come down. I think on one of the slides it showed that in 2009 the cost of the SD DVR would be $170 while the HD DVR would be $210 or so. They will probably want to wait for a full transition until it gets this close. Thus it makes more sense to just stop production on the SD DVR when the costs are close.
> 
> ...


Also remember that all the new "SD Locals" markets are using 99/103 and need "HD" equipment to receive SD locals. And the same thing will happen to all the DMAs with SD locals on 72.5, they will move to 99/103 also when 72.5 goes away. So they will have a whole load of people using "HD" equipment to get SD, and the existing SD equipment (including the R16) won't work for those DMAs. Another reason for moving towards a single platform solution.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

texasbrit said:


> Also remember that all the new "SD Locals" markets are using 99/103 and need "HD" equipment to receive SD locals. And the same thing will happen to all the DMAs with SD locals on 72.5, they will move to 99/103 also when 72.5 goes away. So they will have a whole load of people using "HD" equipment to get SD, and the existing SD equipment (including the R16) won't work for those DMAs. Another reason for moving towards a single platform solution.


Very good point. If you want to DVR your locals in those markets then you need the "HD" DVR to do it. R16 won't work.


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## newsposter (Nov 13, 2003)

i dont mind ads in the guide as long as they prevent rate hikes! Heck why not have a model where commercials are inserted in the NP list etc and give me credit for watching them


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## ehilbert1 (Jan 23, 2007)

I just wanted to thank you guys for keeping us updated and whats happening. I know it takes time to come on here and post all that. So thanks again!!!!


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

The PDF had much detail. A very nice read.

So glad to see the transition to one DVR for SD & HD. Been wondering about this for a long while. Will be very efficient to have one DVR developed by one team (in California), with no middle man, that gets all the latest and greatest features. They'd make one change and the whole universe would get the enhancement.

Probably also further explains the need for the external OTA tuner. You get one generic DVR for SD & HD, maybe just have a different hard-drive, or some swapable hard-drive, and at a reasonable price-point with the external OTA available as an option.

Very nice to see DirecTV with a clear vision ... could never imagine the local cable company with 2% of the same vision ... great story DirecTV!


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## lucky13 (Nov 27, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Designing new user interface in 2009 and remote control.
> 
> "Bonus button" on remote that you can custom program similar to a Blackberry.


Sounds like the return of the ToDo button.


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## davemayo (Nov 17, 2005)

I was thinking the same thing.


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Designing new user interface in 2009 and remote control.
> Comment from focus group user on this - "Easy to use as Tivo and more features"


What? you mean it's not that way now?


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

newsposter said:


> i dont mind ads in the guide as long as they prevent rate hikes! Heck why not have a model where commercials are inserted in the NP list etc and give me credit for watching them


Don't bet on no rate hikes. They announced the other day that they were going to increase revenues by 16% by the end of 2010 and do that despite slower subscriber growth. That increase is going to come from someplace.

On another note...these projections were disappointing to the street as the predictions for growth in subscribers and revenue by the end of 2010 were substantially higher.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

bonscott87 said:


> Video to and from the PC by quarter 2.
> 
> *DirecTV game search in the guide coming 2nd quarter. So if you tune or choose to record a game that is blacked out it will try to find it on another station that isn't blacked out for you.* Sounds pretty cool actually.
> 
> ...


WOuld automatically remember last nine channels you watch and you could tune to them with one click maybe color button or quick menu.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

newsposter said:


> i dont mind ads in the guide as long as they prevent rate hikes! Heck why not have a model where commercials are inserted in the NP list etc and give me credit for watching them


the ads are not for products but for new services, programs and channels so if DIRECTV launches a new ON demand channel a banner ad can show customers where to find it.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

bonscott87 said:


> Very good point. If you want to DVR your locals in those markets then you need the "HD" DVR to do it. R16 won't work.


SD locals are on 119 and 101 in spot beams I dont think any are moving to 99 or 103 .


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

Ken S said:


> Don't bet on no rate hikes. They announced the other day that they were going to increase revenues by 16% by the end of 2010 and do that despite slower subscriber growth. That increase is going to come from someplace.
> 
> On another note...these projections were disappointing to the street as the predictions for growth in subscribers and revenue by the end of 2010 were substantially higher.


I found it curious, that voluntary churn is basically flat over the last 3 years...in other words all the improved churn is due to better credit/higher quality customers

but increased HD, DVR+ and aother services has not reduced voluntary churn a single basis point since 2005.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Ken S said:


> Don't bet on no rate hikes. They announced the other day that they were going to increase revenues by 16% by the end of 2010 and do that despite slower subscriber growth. That increase is going to come from someplace.
> 
> On another note...these projections were disappointing to the street as the predictions for growth in subscribers and revenue by the end of 2010 were substantially higher.


Why wouldn't you bet on rate hikes, they happen every year like clockwork. I have premier package and this year it went up 5%, if they do that same for the next 2 years they're almost there. Plus they also expect more customers to take advanced services, HD and DVR's, that's an extra HD enabling feeed and the DVR fee. So IMHO easy to come up with 16% without any 'drastic' price increases, an least I hope I'm right and it doesn't make cable look cheap


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## forecheck (Jun 13, 2002)

I am guessing with the end of SD equipment that will also mean the end of the mandatory $9.99 HD fee if you have a HD reveiver?


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

RAD said:


> Why wouldn't you bet on rate hikes, they happen every year like clockwork. I have premier package and this year it went up 5%, if they do that same for the next 2 years they're almost there. Plus they also expect more customers to take advanced services, HD and DVR's, that's an extra HD enabling feeed and the DVR fee. So IMHO easy to come up with 16% without any 'drastic' price increases, an least I hope I'm right and it doesn't make cable look cheap


Reread my first sentence. . Although I can see how it could be confusing if you didn't read the post I was responding to.

I do think there will be rate hikes. I also think that ARPU will be around $100 by 2010.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

forecheck said:


> I am guessing with the end of SD equipment that will also mean the end of the mandatory $9.99 HD fee if you have a HD reveiver?


They'll incorporate it into new packages. Just like they did with the cost of locals which used to be an option. There is no way they're going to drop the price of the basic package their HD users are paying for by $10...unless competition forces them to do so.


----------



## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

mikewolf13 said:


> I found it curious, that voluntary churn is basically flat over the last 3 years...in other words all the improved churn is due to better credit/higher quality customers
> 
> but increased HD, DVR+ and aother services has not reduced voluntary churn a single basis point since 2005.


Uh, the Tivo zealots were claiming churn would go up. Launching a new product that had its issues and not increasing churn is a victory.

Besides, there were other factors involved. The rest of the industry caught up to the standard technology. How many people had cable DVRs 3 years ago?


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

dvrblogger said:


> the ads are not for products but for new services, programs and channels so if DIRECTV launches a new ON demand channel a banner ad can show customers where to find it.


I don't mind the banners except that they are jarringly ugly!


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Ken S said:


> Reread my first sentence. . Although I can see how it could be confusing if you didn't read the post I was responding to.
> 
> I do think there will be rate hikes. I also think that ARPU will be around $100 by 2010.


I did understand you correctly, you do say there will be rate hikes.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

RAD said:


> Why wouldn't you bet on rate hikes, they happen every year like clockwork. I have premier package and this year it went up 5%, if they do that same for the next 2 years they're almost there. Plus they also expect more customers to take advanced services, HD and DVR's, that's an extra HD enabling feeed and the DVR fee. So IMHO easy to come up with 16% without any 'drastic' price increases, an least I hope I'm right and it doesn't make cable look cheap


I guess I misread your first sentence...no matter.

I will guarantee fee increases if for no other reasons DirecTV has built them into their projections. If you look at their presentations you can see them built into ARPU growth.

Also, don't forget the chairman is a "cable" guy.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

I have very few expectations there won't be rate increases. But the tea leaves I'm hoping for are that DIRECTV thru better cost management and other revenue sources will be able to continue to keep those increases lower than "cable" with a much higher level of service.

I know for a fact the my comcast bill would be more than $110/month higher with this many DVRs and that I'd only get 10 hours HD (or so) recordable on each! :eek2:


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Tom Robertson said:


> I know for a fact the my comcast bill would be more than $110/month higher with this many DVRs and that I'd only get 10 hours HD (or so) recordable on each! :eek2:


I track mine for entertainment comparison purposes....my bill with Comcast would be $67.50 per month higher for comparible equipment and services, and then I'd get a whopping 18 HD channels for that (which of course doesn't even begin to compare).


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> I have very few expectations there won't be rate increases. But the tea leaves I'm hoping for are that DIRECTV thru better cost management and other revenue sources will be able to continue to keep those increases lower than "cable" with a much higher level of service.
> 
> I know for a fact the my comcast bill would be more than $110/month higher with this many DVRs and that I'd only get 10 hours HD (or so) recordable on each! :eek2:


Tom,

My fear is DirecTV projected $20B gross for 2010. The "Street" was hoping for $23B gross in that year.

If the stock starts to get beat up because of the lower projected growth of subscribers and total revenue they will look to make it up somewhere. It's always important to understand who the bosses really are (the shareholders). Remember, they buy DTV stock based on future projections. Also remember that a large amount of the compensation packages for DTV executives is based on stock options...so their goal too is to keep that price moving up.

I also think DirecTV knows there is a ceiling on how much they can charge and keep increasing subscriber growth...so outside of strange phenomenon in the industry I don't see huge price hikes either...but somewhere around 5% or so should be expected.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Ken S,

Thanks for the details. While I am an investor in stocks and agree with everything you said, I do not invest in DIRECTV (for a number of reasons, including being very careful with insider trading rules) so I hadn't looked up the difference between the street and DIRECTV projections.

Thanks again,
Tom


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## bluemoon737 (Feb 21, 2007)

Earl Bonovich said:


> 77


And STILL missing Norfolk/Va Beach/Portsmouth!!!!


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Tom Robertson said:


> Ken S,
> 
> Thanks for the details. While I am an investor in stocks and agree with everything you said, I do not invest in DIRECTV (for a number of reasons, including being very careful with insider trading rules) so I hadn't looked up the difference between the street and DIRECTV projections.
> 
> ...


I don't own any DTV stock at present and haven't for quite some time. Not for any reason to do with the service...just haven't believed them to be a great investment. The analyst projections are always a bit...umm...jaded. Remember analysts generally work for companies that make a lot of money by having brokerages...brokerages make money when they sell stock . So...always take them with a grain of salt. But you can't take the pressure these folks put on a corporation lightly.

Frankly, being a public company kind of stinks if you're into long-range planning, but there is something to be said for spending lots of other people's money too


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

dvrblogger said:


> SD locals are on 119 and 101 in spot beams I dont think any are moving to 99 or 103 .


All the latest SD locals have been added on the KA sats at 99 or 103 and thus to get those SD locals you need MPEG4 receivers. It's expected that any new SD markets will also go on the new KA sats, there just isn't any room on the old ones.


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## PoitNarf (Aug 19, 2006)

Take a look at slide #52! Streaming to cell phones! I have an iPhone, sign me up for the trials plz, k thx


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

bonscott87 said:


> Setop boxes.
> 
> ALL boxes by mid 2008 will be HD ready. No more SD only boxes.
> 
> ...


I predicted last Summer or Fall that DirecTV would soon start deploying only HD boxes, and everyone poo-pooed my prediction. :wave:


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## mattgwyther (May 22, 2007)

Moving to a new SD-Basic, HD-Basic and HD-DVR would free A LOT of bandwidth. No need to broadcast redundant SD & HD Locals. SD spot beams could be phased out.


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## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

mattgwyther said:


> Moving to a new SD-Basic, HD-Basic and HD-DVR would free A LOT of bandwidth. No need to broadcast redundant SD & HD Locals. SD spot beams could be phased out.


Not for a very, very long time. Still millions and millions of SD-only receivers ...


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## mattgwyther (May 22, 2007)

Sixto said:


> Not for a very, very long time. Still millions and millions of SD-only receivers ...


Agreed, but this is the first road map to start the phase out.... 6 years for today comes quicker than 6 years for next year.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

The reduction in OEM costs for the boxes from '07 to '08 (slide page 21) is impressive.:allthumbs


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Sixto said:


> Not for a very, very long time. Still millions and millions of SD-only receivers ...


Define "very, very long time". Could easily happen within 5 years of the time that they start deploying only MPEG4 HD capable boxes.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

forecheck said:


> I am guessing with the end of SD equipment that will also mean the end of the mandatory $9.99 HD fee if you have a HD reveiver?


But not necessarily the end of the fee. There will still be both SD only and HD subscribers, but SD only subscribers will have HD boxes that are locked to outputting only SD resolutions and not authorized to receive any of the "HD only" channels.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

*bonscott87* - thank you SO much for scribing during the call. The play-by-play makes me feel like I was there ...

:up:


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Setop boxes.
> 
> ALL boxes by mid 2008 will be HD ready. No more SD only boxes.
> 
> ...


Whole home DVR ... is this the replacement for what was originally Home Media Center? One central recorder with client receivers doing playback?

My concern with this has always been that the centralized recorder will only have two tuners. I havve 5 HD receivers capable of recording 10 HD streams at a time, plus I have two SD receivers capable of recording 4 SD streams at a time. *I never have conflicts!*

How will the "whole home DVR" achieve that???


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> Video to and from the PC by quarter 2.


Cool!



> Designing new user interface in 2009 ...


Introduction of high-res graphics? Please? :up:



> ... and remote control.


Yes! Hopefully it's not a white case! And hopefully the DVR will *support more than TWO discrete IR code sets*!!!



> "Bonus button" on remote that you can custom program similar to a Blackberry.


Ah, this was something I've asked for since I joined the CE program! 

My cell phone was able to reassign the functionality of the UP ARROW key, and it's a no-brainer to let customers customize their remote.

I'm so glad DIRECTV is listening! :up:


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Ken S said:


> I don't own any DTV stock at present and haven't for quite some time. Not for any reason to do with the service...just haven't believed them to be a great investment. The analyst projections are always a bit...umm...jaded. Remember analysts generally work for companies that make a lot of money by having brokerages...brokerages make money when they sell stock . So...always take them with a grain of salt. But you can't take the pressure these folks put on a corporation lightly.
> 
> Frankly, being a public company kind of stinks if you're into long-range planning, but there is something to be said for spending lots of other people's money too


Although DTV had lackluster performance in '07, it is up more than 80% since the beginning of '06.


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## bjflynn04 (Jul 27, 2004)

If you look at page 48 of the PDF I love the new look of the Active Menu with Weather Channel Weather in the upper left corner.


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## kog (Jul 11, 2007)

bonscott87 said:


> Setop boxes.
> 
> ALL boxes by mid 2008 will be HD ready. No more SD only boxes.
> 
> ...


I just saw the part in the PDF where they funnel all the units down to 1 box. Now their decision to do the HR20/21 design in house makes total sense. Because eventually it will be this design that grows into the whole home DVR which will be the ONLY box sent out to customers. This also pretty much puts the final nails in the coffin of the DirecTV-Tivo relationship.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> Although DTV had lackluster performance in '07, it is up more than 80% since the beginning of '06.


Cartrivision,

I'm not saying they haven't done well during that period. Just didn't hit my parameters for investment. Of course, sometimes I think my main requirement is that it goes down to new lows . Seriously, I've had investments that have done better than DTV and some that have done worse. I certainly don't have a crystal ball when it comes to the market...just try and watch the industries I like and pick some long-term winners.

Someday in another thread we should poke around predictions for this industry 5 - 10 years out.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

kog said:


> This also pretty much puts the final nails in the coffin of the DirecTV-Tivo relationship.


I looked at it more like the grass starting to re-grow, on the dirt that was thrown on top with the Replay Purchase...


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## VLaslow (Aug 16, 2006)

Great review of the call. Thanks to Scott and everyone else for their comments.


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Did anyone notice in the sales and marketing section the slides (around slide 82 I think) showing the ads for DirecTV?

Those are the types of ads that can get them in trouble. Specifically, the comment about a FREE Receiver or DVR Upgrade.

Unless they are giving the DVR away without any payments due on it it's not really free. Since we all know it's a lease and not a gift we also know that they're going to require it be returned when the customer leaves the service. They also fail to mention any programming commitment in the advertisements.

Now, it's very possible that these weren't live ads and that in reality they would have more information. But, I know I've seen similar.


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

Ken S said:


> Did anyone notice in the sales and marketing section the slides (around slide 82 I think) showing the ads for DirecTV?
> 
> Those are the types of ads that can get them in trouble. Specifically, the comment about a FREE Receiver or DVR Upgrade.
> 
> ...


I've seen and heard the "free hd receiver or dvr upgrade" in ads around New Orleans for the past 6 months to a year. Page 84 and so on, are typical print ads like the one's I've seen.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> Whole home DVR ... is this the replacement for what was originally Home Media Center? One central recorder with client receivers doing playback?
> 
> My concern with this has always been that the centralized recorder will only have two tuners. I havve 5 HD receivers capable of recording 10 HD streams at a time, plus I have two SD receivers capable of recording 4 SD streams at a time. *I never have conflicts!*
> 
> * How will the "whole home DVR" achieve that???*


No takers?


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## Teronzhul (Sep 21, 2006)

I think it is far too early to speculate about the whole home dvr. 

With the SWM they could put 8 tuners in it for all we know, then set it up to output onto 8 QAMs, diplex it back onto the same cable, then feed all of the tvs in the house via that using no additional receivers at all. Of course that would be very optimistic and likely never happen due to sending clear QAM, but it would be awesome if they did. 

Anyway, whatever they do I can't imagine for a second that a whole house DVR would be limited to only 2 tuners.


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## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

From slide 79: Target Demographics for Profitability --> Men 35+, married, homeowner, >$70K income, college educated.

How the heck does this mesh with the feature choices of the HR2x series? No kids mentioned; why interactive gaming? High income; why not buy a PS3 for real gaming and media share? High profit desired; why no DLB for those sports subscribers? College educated; DOD may make sense here with the advanced networking skills required.

IMHO, there is still a disconnect between Marketing and Engineering given these targeted demographics, and it only gets worse for other age groups.


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## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

From slide 24: Programming Expense as a % of Revenues --> Sports (includes ala carte, RSNs, and NFLN)

2005 – 7.1%, 2006- 7.8%, 2007- 8.1%

Why the price increases for NFLST, MLBEI (etc.) if the cost is almost constant? Why the SF charges if the RSN costs are already accounted for?


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Ken S said:


> Did anyone notice in the sales and marketing section the slides (around slide 82 I think) showing the ads for DirecTV?
> 
> Those are the types of ads that can get them in trouble. Specifically, the comment about a FREE Receiver or DVR Upgrade.


Yeah, you'd think they'd at least consult a lawyer before doing stuff like that.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Teronzhul said:


> I think it is far too early to speculate about the whole home dvr.


I agree. Did you notice that picture of the whole home DVR wasn't even a picture of a prototype or a mockup. It appeared to be a picture of an HR21 stretched vertically to make it look taller, which turned the front panel "circle of LEDs" into an "oval of LEDs".


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> No takers?


I expect the unit to have at least 4 tuners, with that said, I would still need at least 2 units....


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## Supervolcano (Jan 23, 2007)

Dr. Booda said:


> From slide 79: Target Demographics for Profitability --> Men 35+, married, homeowner, >$70K income, college educated.
> 
> How the heck does this mesh with the feature choices of the HR2x series? No kids mentioned; why interactive gaming?


Most married men over 35 years old have ... kids.
Kids are implied with that demographic.
No need to mention that.



Dr. Booda said:


> High income; why not buy a PS3 for real gaming and media share?


The HR2x receivers aren't "built around gaming". The bandwidth it takes to provide you the "Game Lounge" channels is so minimal that they'd be fools to not provide them ... and they probably make more off that service than they do from PlayboyTV!!!

Why would you need a PS3 for "Real Media Sharing"? Do you not expect their current mediasharing to get better? Remember that the CURRENT mediashare is BETA!!! It says that right in the upper left corner's logo of the mediashare menu. I'm sure they plan to do a lot of work on it when they get a handle on some more pressing issues that the current HR2x softwares have.



Dr. Booda said:


> High profit desired; why no DLB for those sports subscribers?


How would DLB help to raise their profit margin?
It wouldn't, not one bit.

Seems to me the $4.99 mirroring fee for additional receivers is a better profit maker. Big sports fans with a high income have multiple tv's ... and ... you guessed it ... multiple receivers.

I've never had a high income in my life, in fact I'm a 38 year old substantially in debt ... but even I had 4 tv's (and 4 receivers) in the living room of my one bedroom apartment when I lived for sports. I never used or needed DLB to see what I wanted to see.



Dr. Booda said:


> College educated; DOD may make sense here with the advanced networking skills required.


Advanced networking skills?
To get DirecTV OnDemand working?
Your kidding, right?
DoD is so "plug n play" it's pathetic.

Your sarcasm is quite obvious.
Beginner networking skills is more what it takes.
Nothing more, nothing less.

And if you meant to say for the Media Sharing instead of DoD, then I'll forgive you a little for your comment because uPnP makes it a little more challenging, but they ARE making that easier too as they progress with making the BETA mediashare functions.

Last week they added ability to ping the receiver, and 2 weeks before that they added an automatic uPnP networking popup to the task tray when your pc's first detect the HR2x asking you if you wish to share your media with your receiver.



Dr. Booda said:


> IMHO, there is still a disconnect between Marketing and Engineering given these targeted demographics, and it only gets worse for other age groups.


The only one who's disconnected is .... you.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

mikewolf13 said:


> I found it curious, that voluntary churn is basically flat over the last 3 years...in other words all the improved churn is due to better credit/higher quality customers
> 
> but increased HD, DVR+ and aother services has not reduced voluntary churn a single basis point since 2005.


DIRECTV stated lower churn amoing owners of advanced products. It is higher quality and more satisfied customers who focus on the whole experience not just the latest deal from cable or dish or telco.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

kog said:


> I just saw the part in the PDF where they funnel all the units down to 1 box. Now their decision to do the HR20/21 design in house makes total sense. Because eventually it will be this design that grows into the whole home DVR which will be the ONLY box sent out to customers. This also pretty much puts the final nails in the coffin of the DirecTV-Tivo relationship.


and the NDS middleware will RIP all Linux all the time coming soon.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

Drew2k said:


> No takers?


expect any multi room solution to have 5 or 6 tuners and support 3-4 tv. The technical boittlenecks are the disk and network bandwidth and performance of the chips used to do this,


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

Teronzhul said:


> I think it is far too early to speculate about the whole home dvr.
> 
> With the SWM they could put 8 tuners in it for all we know, then set it up to output onto 8 QAMs, diplex it back onto the same cable, then feed all of the tvs in the house via that using no additional receivers at all. Of course that would be very optimistic and likely never happen due to sending clear QAM, but it would be awesome if they did.
> 
> Anyway, whatever they do I can't imagine for a second that a whole house DVR would be limited to only 2 tuners.


with the swm they just output to your exisiting cable network there is no need for QAM conversion in an average size house .Even MDUs can use existing qpsk/dvb-S2 modulation schemes.


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## dvrblogger (Jan 11, 2005)

Ken S said:


> They'll incorporate it into new packages. Just like they did with the cost of locals which used to be an option. There is no way they're going to drop the price of the basic package their HD users are paying for by $10...unless competition forces them to do so.


none HD customers will not get HD channels so the rates will not change due to the fact that they eliminate the r15/R16


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

Great job on the reporting thanks everyone.

No mention iof fixing their f'n audio dropouts???


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Dr. Booda said:


> From slide 24: Programming Expense as a % of Revenues --> Sports (includes ala carte, RSNs, and NFLN)
> 
> 2005 - 7.1%, 2006- 7.8%, 2007- 8.1%
> 
> Why the price increases for NFLST, MLBEI (etc.) if the cost is almost constant? Why the SF charges if the RSN costs are already accounted for?


They're not constant. Packages like NFLST have escalating fees. People just see the total and years and divide, but that's not how it works. The contract is $3.5 billion and has a five-year term.

I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure this is pretty close to the way it scaled per year.

2006 - $500M
2007 - $600M
2008 - $700M
2009 - $800M
2010 - $900M


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## Supervolcano (Jan 23, 2007)

Ken S said:


> They're not constant. Packages like NFLST have escalating fees. People just see the total and years and divide, but that's not how it works. The contract is $3.5 billion and has a five-year term.
> 
> I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure this is pretty close to the way it scaled per year.
> 
> ...


Can we trade him for some high draft picks?
Price is already getting a little too steep.
I think I dropped the package 3 years ago when it went above $200 a year.

At the rate your quoting, NFLST people will be paying $500+ a year by 2010.
:eek2:


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## Teronzhul (Sep 21, 2006)

dvrblogger said:


> with the swm they just output to your exisiting cable network there is no need for QAM conversion in an average size house .Even MDUs can use existing qpsk/dvb-S2 modulation schemes.


You misunderstand my intent, as I'm envisioning a setup with only one receiver in the house. Using just the SWM and its frequencies for transmission would still require a sat receiver or decoder of some type at each TV location.

I think it would be fantastic if we could do away with the sat receivers at each individual location. Running 8 HDMI cables from the source is not conducive to a simple/reasonable install. If they were able to modulate the output from the whole home DVR onto 8 QAM channels, then you would need only the one unit tucked away, and by diplexing it back on the same cable you could conceivably feed an entire house with one unit using RF remotes without running a single additional wire. Then simply tune the TV in question to whatever channel corresponds to the RF remote for that tuner on the D* box.

Again, that is overly optimistic as sending 8 QAM outputs would not be a trivial task, and it would have to be clear QAM unless they included cablecards for each tv. This also would force the assumption that each tv in the home was qam capable, which likely won't be the case for another 10 years for the majority of homes.

It is just a vision, not an expected reality.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Steve Robertson said:


> Great job on the reporting thanks everyone.
> 
> No mention iof fixing their f'n audio dropouts???


Not that type of meeting.

And they are constantly trying to attempt to eliminate all broadcast issues...


----------



## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

I am quite interested in the new remote control and wish that they had a picture of it in the slideshow. 

One thing I hope they change is the current method of holding Mute + Select to program the remote. I have a friend with only one arm and he finds this very annoying. 

Holding down the “setup” button programmed the older blue universal remotes. He had no problems with those.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

PoitNarf said:


> Take a look at slide #52! Streaming to cell phones! I have an iPhone, sign me up for the trials plz, k thx


This was not a beta, it was live for anyone who subscribed to the NFL Sunday Ticket + Superfan last year.

One thing that I thought was interesting, when the NFL Supercast was live you were going to SlingMedia's website to watch the programming.

If I remember correctly the URL for the Supercast was http://nfl.directv.slingmedia.com


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Ratara said:


> I am quite interested in the new remote control and wish that they had a picture of it in the slideshow.
> 
> One thing I hope they change is the current method of holding Mute + Select to program the remote. I have a friend with only one arm and he finds this very annoying.
> 
> Holding down the "setup" button programmed the older blue universal remotes. He had no problems with those.


I don't think they are finished designing it, thus why no photo.


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## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

I'm surprised to find that there was no mention of the broadband over powerlines initiative (unless I just missed it). I'm still chomping at the bit to get that if it's faster than my 6Mbp/s DSL.


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## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

Supervolcano said:


> Most married men over 35 years old have ... kids.
> Kids are implied with that demographic.
> No need to mention that.
> 
> ...


It's nice to see that insults are preferred to analysis. I read the slides and responded to what was present. Having performed quite a number of such presentations, I know that not every thought can be expressed on a figure; however these were questions that arose from these slides.

I don't care if media share is "beta", it's still not as attractive as what the PS3 does. Will it get better, I have no idea. Why was it released to the entire customer base if it is a beta product anyway? Why not fully develop a feature versus have it crash receivers? It's another example of rushing something to market just to have a me too feature like FIOS or others.

DOD is not plug and play, a router is necessary to make it work. If you are not a computer geek, setting up a home network isn't trivial. For media share it is, but not DOD. Not every broadband customer has a router for their network, so linking broadband availability to DOD access as DirecTV did in their presentation is a reach.

How is a $60 annual fee for mirroring larger than $300 for NLFST or $200 for MLBEI? The sports subscriptions are the most expensive packages offered, and are therefore the most attractive for securing profit. Adding DLB to make sports subscribers happy and not cancel their $300 package makes more business sense than adding fringe features like gaming that are inferior to other available options in the marketplace. Promoting how DLB works and it's usefulness for sports viewing could attract new subscribers to increase profit.


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## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

Ken S said:


> They're not constant. Packages like NFLST have escalating fees. People just see the total and years and divide, but that's not how it works. The contract is $3.5 billion and has a five-year term.
> 
> I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure this is pretty close to the way it scaled per year.
> 
> ...


I read the slide and did the math; the total cost for sports subscriptions is almost constant. Any other increases are not coming from the provider cost.


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## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> The reduction in OEM costs for the boxes from '07 to '08 (slide page 21) is impressive.:allthumbs


This slide is misleading as the HR21 doesn't include the OTA costs anymore in 2008 while the HR20 did in 2007. It may be that the cost trend is downward, but to make an accurate comparison the cost of the AM21 should be included. Going forward however, the projected cost numbers are valid.


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Dr. Booda said:


> I don't care if media share is "beta", it's still not as attractive as what the PS3 does.
> 
> DOD is not plug and play, a router is necessary to make it work.


There's one thing I've found that Media Share will do that the PS3 doesn't (if it does let me know) view a slide show and also have music.

As for DoD and your router comment, that basically will be the case for anything that requires more then one network connection. How different is it then setting up Media Share? You still would need something on your network to provide the DHCP function unless you do static addressing and if you know how to set up static you can do a router.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Dr. Booda said:


> This slide is misleading as the HR21 doesn't include the OTA costs anymore in 2008 while the HR20 did in 2007. It may be that the cost trend is downward, but to make an accurate comparison the cost of the AM21 should be included. Going forward however, the projected cost numbers are valid.


I am not sure why it is misleading...

It is in fact a drop in the cost to manufacture the DVR...
And yes, one of the main reasons why it dropped, is the removal of the cost for OTA.

Since the AM21 is targeted to be charged at a rate, very close to the actual cost of the unit... There may not be any "cost" involved to DirecTV with regards to the AM21.


----------



## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Dr. Booda said:


> I don't care if media share is "beta", it's still not as attractive as what the PS3 does. Will it get better, I have no idea. Why was it released to the entire customer base if it is a beta product anyway?
> 
> ....
> 
> DOD is not plug and play, a router is necessary to make it work. If you are not a computer geek, setting up a home network isn't trivial. For media share it is, but not DOD. Not every broadband customer has a router for their network, so linking broadband availability to DOD access as DirecTV did in their presentation is a reach.


As for why it was released in "BETA"... to get it out there... to get the systems going on a large scale, while still having the ability to bring it down at anytime if needs major work.

Similar to RC candidates for most of the major software packages out there... those that want to work with it... can, those that want to wait... can.

-------

What is different between setting up DoD and MediaShare, that makes Mediashare "trivial".

I doubt most home users, that are not networking people... have switches (vs DSL routers), just sitting there connected to their units.

Most home DSL/Cable systems, are comming with small routers...
And honestly... the way they have built most of these newer routers, they are very easy to setup for the average home user.

Getting the network connection from point A-B is the same for DoD as it is for MediaShare...

The only thing that may be different, is firewall settings on some really locked down routers... but most should be good to go right out of the box.


----------



## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

Earl Bonovich said:


> I am not sure why it is misleading...
> 
> It is in fact a drop in the cost to manufacture the DVR...
> And yes, one of the main reasons why it dropped, is the removal of the cost for OTA.
> ...


I say it is misleading because the intent of the slide was to show how the OEM costs have dropped for the manufacture of the DVR line. You are correct that the HR21 is cheaper to produce because of the omission of the OTA tuners, but that is a separate issue from the intent of the slide. If I see a slide like this, I want to know if DirecTV truly has their supply chain reigned in and it appears that there has indeed been improvement in the OEM cost baseline; however doing so by the removal of a piece of the box isn't valid. If the BOM has changed, then it's not an apples to apples comparison. Their forward looking projections for 2009 are valid only if the HR21 is the only box produced and it has all of the same hardware as present.


----------



## Oblong Desoto (Jan 18, 2008)

This was very good information for someone like me who is still on the fence contemplating an HD upgrade. Knowing their future plans makes signing that 24 month commitment seem more tolerable.

I'm particularly interested in the SWM integrated slimline dish. Too bad DLB wasn't mentioned, since that is the reason I'm still watching SD on my new LCD TV.

Thanks for the coverage and the link to the slides! 
:goodjob:

-OD


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## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

RAD said:


> As for DoD and your router comment, that basically will be the case for anything that requires more then one network connection. How different is it then setting up Media Share? You still would need something on your network to provide the DHCP function unless you do static addressing and if you know how to set up static you can do a router.





Earl Bonovich said:


> What is different between setting up DoD and MediaShare, that makes Mediashare "trivial".
> 
> I doubt most home users, that are not networking people... have switches (vs DSL routers), just sitting there connected to their units.
> 
> ...


Thanks guys, you proved my point. I am not a computer guy and had a heck of a time setting up my home network three years ago. My DSL modem didn't have a router, the same situation for other cable modems at the time also. While I agree things have improved immensely over the last three years in regards to router setup, there are still issues that arise (as exhibited on these forums wrt HR2x networking). Firewall conflicts and MAC filter use can stop the computer illiterate in their tracts and lead to frustration. I don't view hooking up the HR2x to a network as "plug and play" like was described by Supervolcano as user's home networks vary.


----------



## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

RAD said:


> There's one thing I've found that Media Share will do that the PS3 doesn't (if it does let me know) view a slide show and also have music.





Earl Bonovich said:


> As for why it was released in "BETA"... to get it out there... to get the systems going on a large scale, while still having the ability to bring it down at anytime if needs major work.
> 
> Similar to RC candidates for most of the major software packages out there... those that want to work with it... can, those that want to wait... can.


I just checked my PS3, and it can't play music during a photo slideshow; neither can the HR2x currently without crashing. Maybe the PS3 will have that capability in the future, but Sony is smart enough not to throw a software release out there that is unstable. Beta releases should be reserved for a small set of users and not included in a NR.


----------



## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

Oblong Desoto said:


> This was very good information for someone like me who is still on the fence contemplating an HD upgrade. Knowing their future plans makes signing that 24 month commitment seem more tolerable.
> 
> I'm particularly interested in the SWM integrated slimline dish. Too bad DLB wasn't mentioned, since that is the reason I'm still watching SD on my new LCD TV.
> 
> ...


Food for thought...check out the Annual report 2 and 3 years ago and see how many of their plans did or did not come to fruition....

if nothing else it may temper your frustration later on , if things go off-schedule


----------



## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

Slide 97 - 2008 Churn Initiatives --> Address customers rolling off commitment.

I agree here that they had better focus on this one or else their voluntary churn will increase for the first time in four years. What is involuntary churn anyway? Those customers that were given the boot because of various reasons? Beyond not paying their bills, are there really that many bad customers to add up to 50% of the voluntaries?


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Dr. Booda said:


> I just checked my PS3, and it can't play music during a photo slideshow; neither can the HR2x currently without crashing.


My HR20 & HR21 do it OK.


----------



## Dr. Booda (Jun 18, 2007)

RAD said:


> My HR20 & HR21 do it OK.


I glad your boxes work, but mine running the latest NR show the behavior quoted below. When these issues crop up, the box locks up.



y_not said:


> Media Share Issues
> - Occasional "Unable to Access Media" errors. Happens when hitting back. Also happens when trying to play something for the 1st time.
> - Playing MP3's - Initial play of a dir. & track skipping results in tracks that don't play. They act like they are, the progress bar moves & the time counter goes but no sound.
> - Playing MP3's - The "Play All" function seems to randomize instead of playing sequential.
> ...


----------



## Oblong Desoto (Jan 18, 2008)

mikewolf13 said:


> Food for thought...check out the Annual report 2 and 3 years ago and see how many of their plans did or did not come to fruition....
> 
> if nothing else it may temper your frustration later on , if things go off-schedule


Point well taken. Thanks, Mike!

-OD


----------



## swans (Jan 23, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> No takers?


house DVR can be compared to RAID technology with a cooperative OS.

I have 3 HR20s currently on a home network. I have a menu option that lets me choose whole house DVR. If I enable it on all three, then they start to act as one. I see one list for the scheduler, to do, and recorded programs.

I can't really visualize that this would be very hard. It shouldn't be.

The big issues probably relate to the loss of one drive as with RAID (instead of 90 hours total you have 60), or the loss of 2 tuners with 5 recordings scheduled (one of the DVRs is offline for some reason.)


----------



## swans (Jan 23, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I track mine for entertainment comparison purposes....my bill with Comcast would be $67.50 per month higher for comparible equipment and services, and then I'd get a whopping 18 HD channels for that (which of course doesn't even begin to compare).


the comparison of 'how many' HD channels each provider has!

I don't have HD locals. If 70 percent of what I watch is on the big 4, then cable provides me with 70 percent of the HD I care about. Where as DirecTV only provides me with 30 percent.


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

Dr. Booda said:


> I say it is misleading because the intent of the slide was to show how the OEM costs have dropped for the manufacture of the DVR line. You are correct that the HR21 is cheaper to produce because of the omission of the OTA tuners, but that is a separate issue from the intent of the slide. If I see a slide like this, I want to know if DirecTV truly has their supply chain reigned in and it appears that there has indeed been improvement in the OEM cost baseline; however doing so by the removal of a piece of the box isn't valid. If the BOM has changed, then it's not an apples to apples comparison. Their forward looking projections for 2009 are valid only if the HR21 is the only box produced and it has all of the same hardware as present.


The intent of the slide was to show that DirecTV has to shell out significantly less money for each box they put in a customer's house compared to previous years, not to show what a good job the OEMs are doing at getting costs down on specific boxes. Nothing misleading about it.


----------



## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

swans said:


> the comparison of 'how many' HD channels each provider has!
> 
> I don't have HD locals. If 70 percent of what I watch is on the big 4, then cable provides me with 70 percent of the HD I care about. Where as DirecTV only provides me with 30 percent.


I think it's perfectly valid for DTV to tout that they have more national HD channels than anyone else.

But, You do make a valid point. I switched to FIOS and I'd guess 95% of what I care about seeing in HD...my locals, ESPN and my RSN is available to me despite having 1/3rd the national channels (roughly by memory..and I don't count PPV).

But, Of course DTV should advertise that they carry the most HD channels.


----------



## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

swans said:


> I have 3 HR20s currently on a home network. I have a menu option that lets me choose whole house DVR. If I enable it on all three, then they start to act as one. I see one list for the scheduler, to do, and recorded programs.


This is referred to as "Collaborative Scheduling", and is usually considered an extension of MRV. However, I don't think this is what DIRECTV has in mind for their "Whole Home DVR".


----------



## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Dr. Booda said:


> I read the slide and did the math; the total cost for sports subscriptions is almost constant. Any other increases are not coming from the provider cost.


No, it's not. The contract calls for escalating fees year over year. DirecTV may accrue for the payments differently though as it is a total price for the 5 years and not a year to year deal.


----------



## VLaslow (Aug 16, 2006)

Supervolcano said:


> Advanced networking skills?
> To get DirecTV OnDemand working?
> Your kidding, right?
> DoD is so "plug n play" it's pathetic.


Even beginning network skills don't exist in most demographics. The PowerLine stuff MIGHT be simple enough to make it happen for those folks.

Your other observations seem reasonable to me.


----------



## OverThereTooMuch (Aug 19, 2006)

I would assume that the "whole home" DVR would be something like the HDPC20 announced @ CES.

VERY disappointing to see no reference to this product by name in the presentation.

I'll be even more disappointed if it really is the whole home DVR and we have to wait until 2009/2010 for it, or if they've decided to scrap it completely because of this new strategy.

Do the current HD DVR's have 100 hours of HD storage (like it says on slide 41)? I thought it was less than that.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

OverThereTooMuch said:


> Do the current HD DVR's have 100 hours of HD storage (like it says on slide 41)? I thought it was less than that.


No, I assume that means that the HD DVRs will soon start shipping with 500GB disks instead of the 320GB disks that they now have.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

OverThereTooMuch said:


> I would assume that the "whole home" DVR would be something like the HDPC20 announced @ CES.
> 
> VERY disappointing to see no reference to this product by name in the presentation.


From past viewings.....they do not always include all their R&D projects in these presentations...


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Dr. Booda said:


> I say it is misleading because the intent of the slide was to show how the OEM costs have dropped for the manufacture of the DVR line. You are correct that the HR21 is cheaper to produce because of the omission of the OTA tuners, but that is a separate issue from the intent of the slide. If I see a slide like this, I want to know if DirecTV truly has their supply chain reigned in and it appears that there has indeed been improvement in the OEM cost baseline; however doing so by the removal of a piece of the box isn't valid. If the BOM has changed, then it's not an apples to apples comparison. Their forward looking projections for 2009 are valid only if the HR21 is the only box produced and it has all of the same hardware as present.


So here is why I think you may be missing the mark... Customers can/will be able to pick up AM21 and receive OTA, but they will be paying for this 100%, and Directv will not be eating any of the cost on that capability... So I would say that the cost to Directv for the entire HD DVR with OTA is dimensioning... All this means that it will be less money out of pocket for Directv to get an HD DVR with OTA into their customers hands than it was a year ago...


----------



## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

OverThereTooMuch said:


> I would assume that the "whole home" DVR would be something like the HDPC20 announced @ CES.
> 
> VERY disappointing to see no reference to this product by name in the presentation.
> 
> ...


They had basically the same information about whole house DVRs back in the 2006 annual report and prospectus. It may happen someday.

The HR21-Pro which is supposed to be released sometime soon supposedly has 100 hours of HD recording storage. Of course anyone with an eSATA drive can have that amount of storage on an HR2X-XXX


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

Ken S said:


> Of course anyone with an eSATA drive can have that amount of storage on an HR2X-XXX


Or more... 

-----

Something else I found interesting was on slides 40 and 41.

From slide 40 we can see that DIRECTV plans to only have HD DVR's by the end of this year and on slide 41 they state that by "Mid-2008, all DVR's are MPEG4 and HD capable".

However, slide 41 also shows that there will be 2 DVR's, one to be used in SD installs and one to be used in HD installs. The slide also has a picture of a R16.

Does this mean that the R16's are going to be MPEG4 compatible (but not HD) in the future?


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

inkahauts said:


> So here is why I think you may be missing the mark... Customers can/will be able to pick up AM21 and receive OTA, but they will be paying for this 100%, and Directv will not be eating any of the cost on that capability... So I would say that the cost to Directv for the entire HD DVR with OTA is dimensioning... All this means that it will be less money out of pocket for Directv to get an HD DVR with OTA into their customers hands than it was a year ago...


How do we know that D* isn't picking up any of the cost? The rumored price for this two tuner ATSC addon id $59.95, sounds very close to what one tuner ATSC converters are going to be costing.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Ratara said:


> The slide also has a picture of a R16.


Are you sure? Maybe it is an R20 and just looks like an R16.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

RAD said:


> The rumored price for this two tuner ATSC addon id $59.95, sounds very close to what one tuner ATSC converters are going to be costing.


At one time, it was rumored that DIRECTV would make the SWM-5 available to the general public for a reasonable cost. There were quite a few of them in testing, but now we know that they'll never make it to your local consumer electronics store.

In the mean time, DIRECTV has no answer for OTA nor SWM wants.


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## jacmyoung (Sep 9, 2006)

Decided to jump in after reading only the first page.

I am very disappointed by the fact MRV will not come until sometime in 2009, but most realistically in 2010. Partly because they want to use the mothership concept rather allow multiple HRxx's linked to do MRV.

Very sad indeed


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

jacmyoung said:


> Decided to jump in after reading only the first page.
> 
> I am very disappointed by the fact MRV will not come until sometime in 2009, but most realistically in 2010. Partly because they want to use the mothership concept rather allow multiple HRxx's linked to do MRV.
> 
> Very sad indeed


I must have missed it ... where was it said we won't have MRV until 2009 or even later?


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Ratara said:


> Or more...
> 
> -----
> 
> ...


From what was actually said in the conference the plan is this:
There will be just one DVR and that will be the HD-DVR (currently the HR21).
It will then be available in 2 configurations (SD and HD) that will offer 100 hours of recording.

So my guess is that they will have an HR21 (or it's replacement) with simply 2 different hard drive sizes. So in an SD only installation you'd get the smaller hard drive giving 100 hours SD recording. In an HD installation you'd get the larger hard drive for 100 hours of HD recording.
And it was mentioned that if users want more recording space they can simply use an external drive.

Obviously there is a lot of gray area here and who knows how it will actually pan out but that is what was talked about.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

harsh said:


> Are you sure? Maybe it is an R20 and just looks like an R16.


We know that the R16 can use a SWM, is there any reason why it could not see the Ka/Ku satellites?

Also, I have never heard of a R20, and the receiver picture on page 41 sure looks like an R16. (It also has a picture of a D12, why is that there?)

It also makes logical sense that the R16 could do MPEG4 and see the Ka/Ku satellites. Why would DIRECTV engineer a receiver that would be obsolete before the year is out? Or make 2 HR21's with different HDD sizes?



bonscott87 said:


> Obviously there is a lot of gray area here and who knows how it will actually pan out but that is what was talked about.


I understand all your points, there were a few items discussed that were open to interpretation. It's going to be interesting seeing what develops.


----------



## Sixto (Nov 18, 2005)

Ratara said:


> Why would DIRECTV engineer a receiver that would be obsolete before the year is out? Or make 2 HR21's with different HDD sizes?


Was probably simpler to add SWM support to a modified R15 hardware spec, and then tweak the code to use the SWM. Support for Ka band and other stuff may not have been so critical or may have taken serious $ to get done.

Also, they needed a SWM-capable SD DVR asap, with the SWMline Dish coming soon.

They probably compared the cost of an HR21 with smaller disk to a quickly developed R16 with SWM support and it paid to approve the R16 development.

Just a guess ...


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

They also needed the R16’s for the MDU’s.

The MFH2 system is *REQUIRED* for the new HD channels. The older MFH1 system does not work with the Ka/Ku satellites. The MFH2 system also requires SWM compatible receivers, and the R16 is the only SD SWM DVR made.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Ratara said:


> We know that the R16 can use a SWM, is there any reason why it could not see the Ka/Ku satellites?
> 
> Also, I have never heard of a R20, and the receiver picture on page 41 sure looks like an R16. (It also has a picture of a D12, why is that there?)
> 
> It also makes logical sense that the R16 could do MPEG4 and see the Ka/Ku satellites. Why would DIRECTV engineer a receiver that would be obsolete before the year is out? Or make 2 HR21's with different HDD sizes?


The R16 definitely does not support MPEG4. For example see the latest SD locals that were launched on the KA sats in MPEG4. Those people need an HD receiver to get their SD locals because an HD receiver is needed to see the KA sats and to decode MPEG4.

So it's already starting in small ways. It's just going to take some time to get the cost of an HR21 with small hard drive down enough to start rolling it out to all new SD subs.


----------



## jacmyoung (Sep 9, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> I must have missed it ... where was it said we won't have MRV until 2009 or even later?


In a slide shown on another forum, it has the chronology of the HD/DVR evolution by DirecTV, the MRV is listed as the last phase, with a notation of "2009/10" under it.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

Thanks *bonscott87*.

Anyone else notice that one of the "interactive" screens on page 48 was activating a receiver?


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

jacmyoung said:


> In a slide shown on another forum, it has the chronology of the HD/DVR evolution by DirecTV, the MRV is listed as the last phase, with a notation of "2009/10" under it.


Are you talking about this page from the DIRECTV presentation? All that's showing is the Whole Home DVR ... no mention of MRV.


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## jacmyoung (Sep 9, 2006)

If the "whole home HD DVR" is a completely different animal than MRV, then did they ever mention MRV at all?

I can say this, if they have shelved the MRV idea, in favor of this WH approach in 2010, I am going to make sure I don't have my contract extended in the next 23 months just in case some one else gets ahead of DirecTV.


----------



## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

Dr. Booda said:


> Slide 97 - 2008 Churn Initiatives --> Address customers rolling off commitment.
> 
> I agree here that they had better focus on this one or else their voluntary churn will increase for the first time in four years. What is involuntary churn anyway? Those customers that were given the boot because of various reasons? Beyond not paying their bills, are there really that many bad customers to add up to 50% of the voluntaries?


Voluntary churn is the customer choosing to leave. Involuntary is due to not oaying your bills.

voluntary churn went up 2006 over 2005 but in 2007 returned to 2005 levels...

so overall dtv is jest as successful as they were in 2005 in keeping customers...despite all the new channels and products and longer committments....

net add growth is also non-existent...


----------



## jacmyoung (Sep 9, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> Are you talking about this page from the DIRECTV presentation? All that's showing is the Whole Home DVR ... no mention of MRV.


Now that I looked at that slide again, I have an interesting obsevation. DirecTV plan to phase out SDDVR completely this year, and replace them with HDDVR, since SDDVR's are free of upfront fee, it implies sometime this year the HDDVR's will have to be free too.

The question is how soon.


----------



## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

jacmyoung said:


> Now that I looked at that slide again, I have an interesting obsevation. DirecTV plan to phase out SDDVR completely this year, and replace them with HDDVR, since SDDVR's are free of upfront fee, it implies sometime this year the HDDVR's will have to be free too.
> 
> The question is how soon.


I'm not sure what "upfront fee" you are talking about, but even after they switch to deploying only HD capable DVRs, there will still be "SD" installations and pricing. The difference will be, people getting installed for SD DVR service will get a HD DVR that is locked to only receive SD channels and/or only output SD resolutions.


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

jacmyoung said:


> If the "whole home HD DVR" is a completely different animal than MRV, then did they ever mention MRV at all?
> 
> I can say this, if they have shelved the MRV idea, in favor of this WH approach in 2010, I am going to make sure I don't have my contract extended in the next 23 months just in case some one else gets ahead of DirecTV.


MRV has been mentioned in every single financial call for the past year just about. It wasn't specifically named in this presentation but if you read the blow by blow the MRV functionality was talked about several times in terms of Media Share. In particular the ability to watch programs from the DVR "anywhere in the house" from your PC to even your basic HD receiver (re: H21).

MRV is coming and coming soon as part of the Media Share. I'd fully expect some sort of CE around it in 2nd quarter this year.

The "whole home DVR" is simply just an extension of this. By 2010 2TB or larger drives will be the norm and cheap and thus you could actually have one DVR record everything and watch stuff on other "client" receivers and PCs via MRV/Media Share. This is very similar in concept to the "Home Media Server" they touted at CES a few years ago.


----------



## bb37 (Dec 27, 2007)

bonscott87 said:


> With this technology they can just drop ship boxes to a customer instead of having to roll an install truck (thank you!)


Don't know how they can make this work with the average customer. Many of us on here might be able to install a slimline dish and get it pointed correctly for HD, but I can't see the average customer doing it. Pushing dish installation off on customers would seem to be A Bad Idea that will generate a lot of customer complaints.


----------



## Teronzhul (Sep 21, 2006)

bb37 said:


> Don't know how they can make this work with the average customer. Many of us on here might be able to install a slimline dish and get it pointed correctly for HD, but I can't see the average customer doing it. Pushing dish installation off on customers would seem to be A Bad Idea that will generate a lot of customer complaints.


He's talking upgrades rather than full installations. If you already have a dish connected with a splitter attached to all cable lines, you can simply add boxes to any existing cable outlets without the assistance of a tech.


----------



## jacmyoung (Sep 9, 2006)

bonscott87 said:


> MRV has been mentioned in every single financial call for the past year just about. It wasn't specifically named in this presentation but if you read the blow by blow the MRV functionality was talked about several times in terms of Media Share. In particular the ability to watch programs from the DVR "anywhere in the house" from your PC to even your basic HD receiver (re: H21).
> 
> MRV is coming and coming soon as part of the Media Share. I'd fully expect some sort of CE around it in 2nd quarter this year.
> 
> The "whole home DVR" is simply just an extension of this. By 2010 2TB or larger drives will be the norm and cheap and thus you could actually have one DVR record everything and watch stuff on other "client" receivers and PCs via MRV/Media Share. This is very similar in concept to the "Home Media Server" they touted at CES a few years ago.


That is what I like to hear, and I hope you are right. And I don't care about able to watch on a PC or the other way around, MRV to me is being able to watch among my HDDVR's linked together, nothing else I care for. I don't even care what they can or can not do in 2010.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Teronzhul said:


> He's talking upgrades rather than full installations. If you already have a dish connected with a splitter attached to all cable lines, you can simply add boxes to any existing cable outlets without the assistance of a tech.


I believe that is what they meant. Basically they want to make it as easy as it is now to go down to the cable company office and pick up a new receiver. You bring it home and plug it in to the coax. With the Slimline SWM you can do the same with a DirecTV receiver.

The other thing it may mean is simply they might finally allow receivers to be drop shipped at the request of the customer.


----------



## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

RAD said:


> How do we know that D* isn't picking up any of the cost? The rumored price for this two tuner ATSC addon id $59.95, sounds very close to what one tuner ATSC converters are going to be costing.


The new magnovox digital decoders that are selling at walmart for people who need to be able to pick up digital signals cost $50.00. We all know that the manufacturer is making money on these, as is walmart and others who will sell them. I'm not saying they'll make much, but something. The thing to remember is, there is no need for directv to put any kind of decoder into the AM21, just a receiver and pass the signal along. That saves a bunch of money, so I don't see why it won't be enough to supply their manufacturer with little profit and service the customer at basically no cost to them...


----------



## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

bonscott87 said:


> MRV has been mentioned in every single financial call for the past year just about. It wasn't specifically named in this presentation but if you read the blow by blow the MRV functionality was talked about several times in terms of Media Share. In particular the ability to watch programs from the DVR "anywhere in the house" from your PC to even your basic HD receiver (re: H21).


That particular 'bit' has been rattling around in my mind since the H21 series had the ethernet plug(s). That makes a whole lotta sense. But it will be interesting to see if some kind of beta roll-out happens, as you say, in the 2qtr. or thereabouts.


----------



## sagle (Aug 23, 2006)

I hope they allow for multiple HRXX's to be used as one virtual DVR. There are so many advantages to this method. 

- They would not have to develope new hardware
- Virtual endless expansion (add more tuners and space with more DVR's/esata disks)
- no hardware upgrades/swaps for all the HRXX's already in the field. 

I would love this method of MRV if they did it. The only downfall I see if requiring home networking to function, but I believe any version of media share MRV and/or whole home DVR would require networking. Of course all of this pie in the sky dreaming is assuming the current hardware can handle all the new items DTV wants in the MRV and/or whole home drv.

Anyway, I am not complaining. I like most of future direction DTV is touting. I look forward to any implimentation of MRV  

Can't wait to test/play with all the new stuff coming down the pipe  I am waiting on SWM (new dish or SWM-8) and MRV for me to buy as many HRXX's as I have TV's. :lol:


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## swans (Jan 23, 2007)

sagle said:


> I hope they allow for multiple HRXX's to be used as one virtual DVR. There are so many advantages to this method.
> 
> - They would not have to develope new hardware
> - Virtual endless expansion (add more tuners and space with more DVR's/esata disks)
> ...


I too want the multiple HD-DVRs to be the focus of my virtual recording and viewing. The downside to a single DVR or the media share option via a PC is you have a single point of failure. If I have 3 or more HD-DVRs then the possibility for failure is greatly reduced.


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## bwclark (Nov 10, 2005)

FWIW: DirecTV stock given a BUY rating today by Goldman Sachs.


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

cartrivision said:


> I'm not sure what "upfront fee" you are talking about, but even after they switch to deploying only HD capable DVRs, there will still be "SD" installations and pricing. The difference will be, people getting installed for SD DVR service will get a HD DVR that is locked to only receive SD channels and/or only output SD resolutions.


But the hardware cost to DTV is the same on a SD install and a HD install then, so wouldn't it be advantageous to give more of a discount on the hardware to those purchasing more expensive programming?

Why would DTV give away HD DVRs locked to SD for free and charge ~$200 for a HD enabled DVR box...it's counter intuitive. All you would need to do is order a SD install and then decide a month later to buy the HD package.


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