Will My 6100 Get HD In Near Future?

[sledge]

I have a 6100 and a 3yr old HD set with a great picture. There are changes coming at Bev and someone says my 6100 will not get HD broadcasting in near future.
I understand Bev will soon offer an upgrade at my expense because of a thing called Nimiq4(????)mpeg???.
Dear god, will this BS never end. Is that all they do in their exec offices, dream up ways of sockin it to sledge.
Is there a legal inexpensive way to prepare for the change?
They have their 9200 on special, I hear, but I dont want a PVR.
What do you guys recommend, outside of pirating.
Should i get a new receiver now or wait? Which receiver?

[Nemnoch]

Actually, I don't think there is any official word on what's is going to happen if an existing subscriber like yourself wants to trade up to one of the new mpeg 4 recievers when they are released.

I would wait. It will be a while yet before the 6100 is totally obsolete.
See what offers come up for existing subscribers who want to upgrade when the new models are released and when BEV truly switches to MPEG 4 devices.

Nem, who thinks he will bide his time

[North_of_Calgary]

Originally Posted by sledge

I have a 6100 and a 3yr old HD set with a great picture. There are changes coming at Bev and someone says my 6100 will not get HD broadcasting in near future.
I understand Bev will soon offer an upgrade at my expense because of a thing called Nimiq4(????)mpeg???.

"Near" is a bit of an overstatement. It will likely be 2009 before any MPEG-4 channels come out. At that time it may also be only new HD channels and the existing HD channels may be left as is for a few more years.

There are many customers in your situation. Eventually a hardware replacement will be required but at who's expense is an issue BEV will have to decide on. If it's fully the customers expense they will piss off a lot of people like yourself and have an exceptionally large churn rate. So likely there will be some sort of highly discounted upgrade path for customers like you. But who knows - none of those decisions are official yet and may not be for another year. And there is nothing you can do legally or otherwise to modify your 6100 to get around this issue.

So the recommendation is to sit tight and enjoy your "great picture" for now. You say your TV is 3yrs old but you don't say how long you've had your 6100. If you've had it for 1 or 2 years already and with another 1 or 2 until there are any MPEG-4 issues that effect you, then that's a pretty decent run. If you can get 3-4 years out of it, then it's done pretty well for a new technology item like this. It's not like a CRT TV - that technology has been around for half a century and a good set can easily last you a decade or longer. It's more like the iPod: Tuesday will be the 6th anniversary of the 1st gen launch date and when was the last time you saw someone with a G1 iPod.

So don't panic yet. The answer to your question is "wait". The 9200 is in exactly the same predicament as your 6100 - neither support MPEG-4. See the posts on the 9242 for the discussion on the first MPEG-4 compatible receiver from BEV.

[SensualPoet]

Any word about the 6141? I notice it is mentioned on the Bell website now. Actually the "6141S". Doesn't seem to be any different than existing model (maybe a black exterior?) except for MPEG4 capability. Same price, too: $299.

[Nimiq 1]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Any word about the 6141? I notice it is mentioned on the Bell website now. Actually the "6141S". Doesn't seem to be any different than existing model (maybe a black exterior?) except for MPEG4 capability. Same price, too: $299.

Nothing official yet from Express Vu on a release Date.


Express Vu have however, changed the naming structure for these models, gone is the old **20, which meant with a 20" Dish, in comes a Suffix;

Confirmed for the 9242

9242S = System, Receiver, Dish and SW44 when required.
9242R = Receiver ONLY.

My best Guess for the 6141

6141S = System, Receiver, Dish and SW21 when required.
6141R = Receiver ONLY.

[hugh]

Should i get a new receiver now or wait? Which receiver?

Just hang on. It will be a long time before you need a new receiver and Bell will give you plenty of notification.

[Nimiq 1]

Perfect answer Hugh, I will copy the shortcut to this post, as I believe we will be using it an awful lot in the next few months.....lol

[Battscrew]

Just noticed at Best buy they are selling the 6100 for 150.00

[SensualPoet]

Are those 6100s labelled as "Final Clearance" like the 9200 HD PVRs in this week's Best Buy flyer?

[sledge]

Thanks a lot folks. I've been kinda waiting for a satelite provider like Bev to come up with new tech that would get rid of the 75 ft of cable that runs from my sat to the receiver. But I guess they are so paranoid about possible hackers that they spend their resources fighting a problem that they actually encourage with their paranoia.

Sledge

Y'know 5.000 yrs ago the fellow who invented the wheel thought he'd invented the ultimate tool. Good thing the rest of mankind was able to refine the wheel without worrying about the GRC knocking on the door down trying to stop progress or individual initiative.