For those who own their 9200, where does it state in your receipt that Expressvu will provide free of charge technology improvement protection?

Were 2700 owners upgraded without charge to 3100 IRDs?

No they were not, but does the 2700 still work? The 6100 and the 9200 receivers will become useless if Bell goes to mpeg4 replacing mpeg2 so in order to keep their paying customers paying, they would have to trade us up.

[quote]The 6100 and the 9200 receivers will become useless if Bell goes to mpeg4 replacing mpeg2 so in order to keep their paying customers paying, they would have to trade us up.[quote]

There seems to be some confusion here, and maybe it's all in my head, but I fail to see what the reason is for the alleged wholesale exchange scenario.
a) If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
b) where has it been officially announced that BEV intends to go the MPEG4 upgrade route ?

All rumors and speculation at this point.

The vast majority of 6100/9200 owners will have it connected to an HDTV so if all or even some HD channels switch to MPEG-4 then BEV will risk loosing a large percentage of that group unless they perform the swap. Not a comparable situation to the 2700->3100.

And on another note, God help us all if they go to Motorola boxes. Yes, the DSR530 was a disaster. But even to this day, I hate almost everything about the cable 6408 and 6412 HD-PVR boxes. Can't stand them compared to the 9200. (BEV: please stick with Echostar and the 9200, 622 product line!!!)

Amen to that!

-Mike

For what it's worth I spoke to a Audio/Video Store that sells Bell Dishs a few days ago.

The owner informed me that all HD Hardware will be swapped out. Bell will start with the older units first (model 6000s) and finish up with the 9200 PVRs. There will be NO COST to anyone for this upgrade ***See Below***

Of course it's required to switch to MPG4 which will allow Bell to carry upwards of 100 HD channels. The new model hardware is expected to be in stores Mar/Apr time frame.

**FREE HD for Grandfather Packages will no longer be available once hardware is swapped out**

These programming changes would be extra revenue to offset the cost of the hardware and may also be tied into a Price Increase for these Grandfather Packages (stated on another thread). As stated before on this board, Bell will find a way to cover the cost of the hardware upgrades. Nothing is FREE!

Please don't shoot the messenger, I am just relaying what I was told by a reseller.

There seems to be some confusion here, and maybe it's all in my head, but I fail to see what the reason is for the alleged wholesale exchange scenario.
a) If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
b) where has it been officially announced that BEV intends to go the MPEG4 upgrade route ?

jgvp, Bell must upgrade they are at or almost at capacity with the current amount of transponders. So if they wanted to add more channels it would be impossible with current equipment(some moving here and there could free up some space for a few channels only). So the upgrade is inevitable. No their has been no official announcement other than little teasers etc, call Bell they will tell u that hudge changes are happening this year.
They want to stay the HD leader and change must happen this year to keep that moniker.

I wonder if Bell will go with the ViP 622-1 instead of the ViP 622?

http://www.eetimes.com/conf/ces/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=KTMZ05XNQDM5GQSNDLQCKH0CJUNN2JV N?articleID=196802187

If Bell goes with this receiver (vip 622), and if the Hard disk in that unit is the same as the 9200, shouldn't we be able to record more than ~25 - 30 hours of HD since it's mpeg 4?

Good, it's about time the freeloaders pay for their HD.

Good, it's about time the freeloaders pay for their HD
Which freeloaders would that be?

...it's about time the freeloaders pay for their HD.Considering the absolute majority of satellite pirating is done using FTA receivers (90%+ I'd think), very few "freeloaders" have access to hidef (none from the FTA crowd had a few months when HD FTA receivers were non-existent).

Diogen.

Considering the absolute majority of satellite pirating is done using FTA receivers (90%+ I'd think), very few "freeloaders" have access to hidef
3 manufacturers already offer, or will offer by March, hi-def FTA receivers capable of decrypting MPEG4, with PVR capability to boot. Echostar needs to get their act together. But, as Echostar is merely trying to stay financially viable as their subs plunge, I suspect the only thing that will stop Dishnet & Bev piracy will be the forthcoming bankruptcy of E* (and thus the coinciding demise of BEV). Take that Charlie Ergin

Correct me if I'm wrong but given the financial duress of EchoStar, while rival DTV is thriving and taking many of Charlies subs, it's not wise to spend good money on E*/Bev equipment.

Further, I've read that two of the largest FTA makers, viewsat and pansat, are EACH making/shipping 50,000 to 100,000 receivers EVERY month now. This piracy is way out of hand. Mee thinks there are possibly more FTA pirates than there are BEV subs. Which means the legit subscribers, whether to BEV, Dish, Rogers and everyone, are paying more than their fair share!

They want to stay the HD leader and change must happen this year to keep that moniker.
hmmm... how are they the HD leader when Directv is offering 150 hd channels this spring? and 5 satellites. and less compression. and NO piracy.

BEV offers many of the same tired channels over & over (really, how many CBC & CTV channels do you need? i think one is enough and the rest are clutter, especially in this age of PVR's and multiple tuners).

DirectTV is an AMERICAN satellite company, which BEV is not competing with. As to the CBC's and CTV's, how many NBC's and ABC's do we need? The difference is that in the states, you're only allowed to receive your local network affiliates. In Canada we get to see all the locals, anywhere in Canada (at least via satellite).

-Mike

3 manufacturers already offer, or will offer by March, hi-def FTA receivers capable of decrypting MPEG4...I know that.
This is why I said "very few": they are few and far in between, cost more than twice, and not knowing how BEV is going to change their stream (modulation, encryption, etc.) makes buying such a receiver not a very smart move. And please leave the "firmware upgrade" argument aside for now.
Echostar is merely trying to stay financially viable as their subs plunge...
Mee thinks there are possibly more FTA pirates than there are BEV subs.... Where does this come from? Any links?

Diogen.

Where does this come from?
oh, hashhu

We're drifting ... let's try to keep this thread on topic please.

FTA, piracy, DirecTV can all be discussed elsewhere. Please don't hijack this thread.

forthcoming bankruptcy of E* (and thus the coinciding demise of BEV). Take that Charlie Ergin

With 13 000 000 subs, not likely.

Which freeloaders would that be?
Those 'grandfathered' for years of getting the HD nets for free while everyone else ponied up the 9.95 a month. My post had nothing to do with piracy.

I wonder if you would say the same thing if YOU were grandfathered. BTW, I was, but am no longer grandfathered.