DirecTV not offering free HD upgrades as expected
Well, it seems like that reliable TV rumor site that reported DirecTV will offer their subscribers a free upgrade to MPEG-4 from MPEG-2 was a little off. Yes, there is going to be a free upgrade program put in place, but not right away. They are waiting till they switch all of the HD stations off the MPEG-2 compression and put them on the better compression that MPEG-4 offers.
Instead of offering the free program right away, DirecTV stated that an early adopters (thanks Richard) can purchase the new H20 receiver and dish upgrade for a low, low price of $99. That’s a good deal. Currently, DirecTV is offering a deal on the older equipment where a new and existing customer can get the HD box for free after a $200 mail-in rebate. So if you are low on the list of cities to get local HD, you may want to pick up the H10 box and spurge on a cheap antenna to get locals for the time being.
To catch up some readers up on what’s happening with DirecTV, they are starting to roll out their high-def local stations but they do not work with current HD equipment. A consumer has to have a new dish that can receive all five satellites and a H20 receiver. Eventually all of DirecTV’s HD stations will be on the better compression which will allow for more available bandwidth.
