1080p Comes To DirecTV (UPDATED!)
Yesterday DirecTV put out a press release alerting the world that DirecTV customers now have access to more than 30 new pay per view movies most of them in mind blowing 1080p.
1080p is the highest resolution available to HD fans and is the same format used by Blu-ray videodiscs.
While many HD fans will be happy with the news many of them will not be able to enjoy these titles for a few reasons. The first reason is many of the early 1080p compatible sets will not display the 1080p format that the DirecTV 1080p movies are being delivered in. That format is 1080p/24 format. Many of the older televisions that support 1080p only support the 1080p/60 format.
But if your television does support the newer 1080p/24 format you still might not be able to enjoy all the great 1080p content for about reason… bandwidth.
The issue with DirecTV’s new 1080p service is that many of the on demand 1080p movies will be delivered to customers DVR’s via the Internet, not via satellite. To download a 1080p movie it could take many people a good part of the day to download the movie. And due to the large size of the 1080p movies just downloading a movie or two could put you over your ISP’s bandwidth limits.
A number of ISP’s have started capping the bandwidth that customers are allowed to download per month. For example Time Warner cables Road Runner service announced that they were moving to a tiered service.
For $29.99 a month customers can download up to 5 Gigabytes a month.
For $39.99 a month customers can download up to 10 Gigabytes a month.
For $49.99 a month customers can download up to 20 Gigabytes a month.
For $54.99 a month customers can download up to 40 Gigabytes a month.
For customers going over their limit they will be charged $1 for each Gigabyte they go over.
Other cable internet services such as Comcast offer a more liberal 250 Gigabyte cap. But reports are other Internet providers are considering putting in bandwidth caps, including AT&T that is considering a 150 Gigabyte cap.
And while DirecTV is not telling how big a 1080p movie download is, I have been told by others that a 2 hour 1080p movie can be anywhere from 2 Gigabytes to 10 Gigabytes or more. You can see that these 1080p movies might cause issues between you and your Internet provider.
But if you don’t have broadband or you have an ISP with a cap all hope is not lost in seeing 1080p on DirecTV. As an update I received a note this afternoon from DirecTV stating that they will soon be delivering 10 of the 30 1080p movies via satellite, meaning customers do not need a broadband connection to enjoy some of DirecTV’s most popular 1080p offerings!
This news that 10 of the 1080p movies will be coming down via satellite now trumps DirecTV’s main competitor Dish Network which is currently offering only one 1080p feature available via satellite per month. And just like DirecTV’s 1080p offerings the Dish Network 1080p movies are also only available in the newer 1080p/24 format. It should be also noted that Dish Network is now making some 1080p content available via its DishONLINE service, which like DirecTV sends content to your receiver via the Internet.
It’s great that 1080p is here from the satellite providers, but pay attention to what your doing and where your 1080p video is coming from or it might cost you more then just the PPV fee. If you are on an ISP which has a bandwidth cap then perhaps its time to start looking for a new internet service provider.
DodgerKing commented:
FYI on TWC internet.
I use TWC cable for internet and they do not have caps in my area. It seems that these caps were only is certain regions. Perhaps we do not have caps due to the fact that FiOS is also available and they fear that many people would switch to FiOS for internet.
Jason Crandall commented:
As Rad mentioned, DirecTV is now using the satellite to send these movies. My receiver has 5 movies in 1080p pre-recorded and ready for purchase (on a reserved portion of the drive, seperate from customer storage).
To access, press LIST, then the GREEN button, select Top Movies.
BTW, don't select "Top Movies Now", this is the same movies, but in SD.
If you got $6, enjoy 1080p/24 HD.
Jqwest commented:
your tv will still be able to watch the 1080p/24...thats the same format as blu ray...it will just upconvert it to 1080/60(thats the format most older hdtv screens are set at
Chris commented:
Dtv's audio is currently 5.1 if the movie was made in 5.1. I'm sure in blu-ray it will be 7.1
Chris commented:
All DIRECTV is 5.1 (if it is recorded that way to begin with)
Rey commented:
too bad i can't take advantage of this. my set only does 1080p/60 not 24!
Pete Zieger commented:
Under Time Warner, why would anybody pick the 10gb or 20gb option if they weren't going over 20gb? The $1/gb over 5gb limit would still be cheaper.
Jeff commented:
Time Warner is dropping all their bandwidth caps as of yesterday.
Dave commented:
Why do you have so many typos in the last paragraph? No editors for your blog?
RAD commented:
Looks like DirecTV is also starting to push out 1080p/24 PPV's to the Top Movies folder now. Madagascar 2 was pushed out this morning in 1080p.
Brian commented:
They are in DD 5.1 on Dish, not sure about on Direct. Agree that it would be great to get the new lossless audio, but this is a good start.
Jay Cable commented:
It\’s clear from the cable landscape now being drawn, instituting caps on bandwidth usage, that DirecTV, if it truly wishes to tout its VOD capabilities, it\’s going to have to begin uploadingits HD PPV content to one of its sats, particularly those in \”full\” 1080p. Otherwise a $6 1080p movie is going to cost the customer closer to $10-12. Bottom line, DirecTV is going to have to rethink its delivery model, or price its PPV content accordingly.
Nathan commented:
According to DirecTV's webpage about 1080p:
"If your receiver is not connected to the Internet, you'll still be able to enjoy some movies in 1080p. To access the titles available to you, press the List button on your remote, then press the GREEN button to see Top Movies Now."
Wouldn't those shows be delivered as other "Top Movies" are delivered: via satellite in the overnight, unused hours?
Steve commented:
No where do they ever mention the sound. One advantage of blu-ray is lossless 5.1 or 7.1 sound. I'm assuming these DirecTV and Dish 1080p movies are 2 channel stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 at the best. While the picture may be better, they need to also upgrade the sound before I start forking over $6 a movie to rent.
