Just six more to go until DirecTV hits the 121 markets promised HD locals by year end, customers in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa; El Paso, Texas; Fort Wayne, Ind.; La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis.; Peoria-Bloomington, Ill.; and Rockford, Ill. joined the party today. Which ones are available in each market are your and are best guess, but Kevin let us know that Fort Wayne snapped on CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, and FOX, so here's hoping for the best.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Microsoft invited us, with a few others, to tour the eHome team office and lab's and of all the great things we saw -- pictured in the gallery -- the one that got us the most excited was to see the rumored DirecTV HDPC-20 USB tuner in action. Our dreams were a little dashed though, as we were reminded on numerous occasions that although Microsoft tests lots of hardware, not everything makes it to market. So in other words, the presence of any hardware in the lab is no way an announcement of future products. But this here tuner wasn't the only thing we saw, as there were even a few indications that DISH Network was being tested as well, and while we did see DISH multi-switches and a DISH TV screen up on a Media Center PC, we didn't see any specific DISH equipment connected to Media Center. This could mean the tuners are internal or maybe the tuners were just cleared out before we came through. More pictures of the HDPC-20 in action after the jump.

Admit it -- you're curious as to how DirecTV plans on spending / investing that $363 million in pure, sweet net profit that it just raked in, aren't you? If Q3 is any indication, it'll spend at least a snippet of it lobbying Congress. A rather vague report from the AP indicates that the satcaster spent $640,000 last quarter lobbying "on the digital television transition, sports programming, taxes and other issues." Unfortunately, the details about what exactly it was lobbying for on those issues were casually left out, so we suppose it's up to our imaginations to figure out the rest. Or, you know, wait until something decisive goes down.

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

The world is evidently DirecTV's oyster, as the satcaster has now launched an HD web portal for Argentinians just a week after going live with HD service in Latin America. Details about actual high-def offerings (outside of Fox HD and DirecTV HD Showcase) are still vague at the moment, but we are told that those who opt for the service will be handed an HD DVR capable of storing 400 hours of SD content and 100 hours of HD footage. Let us know if you gather up the courage to bite.

[Via The Argentine Post, thanks Santiago]

DirecTV's a few months behind on finishing up its summer HD locals expansion, but we're pretty sure subscribers in six new markets are willing to forgive the delay now that their favorite broadcast networks are in shining high-def. As of now, customers in Boise, Idaho; Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen, Texas; Macon, Georgia; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Traverse City-Cadillac, Michigan; and Fort Smith, Arkansas can tap into HD locals via DirecTV, and the satcaster can now claim that over 86% of US households are within range of 'em.

While many mega-corps are struggling just to make ends meet, DirecTV is basking in the glow of a rather awesome Q3. The satcaster proudly announced that it saw revenues increase by 15% to $4.98 billion, all while operating profit scooted up 16% to $658 million and net income shot up 14% to $363 million. As has been the trend of late, a fair chunk of its good fortunes came from subscribers opting for "premium" services, which is a fancy way of saying that customers are totally digging HDTV, HD DVRs and video-on-demand. Oh, and now that HD is live in Latin America, we actually wouldn't be surprised to see a fruitful Q4 just a few months from now. Recession? What recession?

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

So, that's what those HBO HD ads down in Latin America were all about, huh? As of this week, DirecTV is now taking orders for HD service in Latin America, and reportedly, those that sign up can receive an HD DVR capable of storing 400 hours of SD or 100 hours of high-def footage. Initially, there will only be four high-definition channels available (HBO HD, Movie City HD, Fox HD and DirecTV HD), but we suppose you've got to start somewhere. Has anyone down that way signed up? How's the image / audio quality?

[Thanks, Eduardo]

Read - DirecTV launching in Latin America
Read - DirecTV's official HD site (Peru)

Ah, the pains of progress. Not even two full months after DirecTV's HR22 began filtering out to eager users, in flies a first look at the forthcoming HR23-700. But don't fret -- there aren't too many differences here. It looks as if the HDD of the HD DVR is the same size as that in the HR22, with the major changes being a few cosmetic tweaks and internal swaps that could amount to better picture quality. It still looks as if there's no OTA tuner, and it'll be sporting the same wide band tuners as in the H23. Check the read link for the full writeup, and trust us, there's a lot in there to digest.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Since it appears the rumored DirecTV/DISH partnership won't come to fruition, the recent idea is that AT&T might be sliding into position to acquire DirecTV and all those HD channels. Multichannel News cited an analyst report issuing a buy rating on Liberty Entertainment shares, based on an increased probability of AT&T snapping up a piece of the satcaster, if DirecTV doesn't buy Liberty first. Enough maybes, coulds and probablys for you? Still, there's no need to wait if you want some DirecTV in your triple play right now.

Even DirecTV didn't have too much to say on this one, but as of today, its subscribers can catch the 24/7 high-definition version of CSN New England (also known as Comcast SportsNet New England) on channel number 630. The highlight of the add? More of those defending NBA champions in glorious HD.

We've asked you before whether it was "worth it" to switch from cable to satellite in search of a wider selection of high-def material, but now we're looking to see if any of you walked the talk. Have any of you readers actually ditched your programming provider in order to find another with more HD content? And if so, where did you leave and where did you go? Any regrets? Is life really that much better with more HD than one could ever watch in a single day? Brag / sulk away in comments below.

DirecTV customers that have been surviving with an SD feed of KOAA (NBC), KKTV (CBS) and KXRM (FOX) in Colorado Springs-Pueblo can finally rejoice. We're here to inform you that you won't have to spend yet another long, lonely winter without 30 Rock in high-def. As of today, the satcaster has delivered those three locals in high-def to the aforesaid DMA, which brings the grand total to 103 cities across the United States. You've still got 18 to go before the year's out to meet that goal of 121 locales this year, DirecTV -- the clock's ticking!

Update: Looks like DirecTV delivered all four of the broadcast networks today in Dayton, Ohio. 'Grats!

DirecTV isn't the first programming provider to pick up A&E Television Networks' new Crime & Investigation HD, but it's still in an exclusive group at this point. Starting today, DirecTV subscribers can tune into the high-def channel on slot 275, although some users are reporting that you'll need to reauthorize your DVR before it becomes accessible. Not a bad add, DirecTV, not bad at all.

[Via SatelliteGuys, thanks Chris]

[Thanks to Chris for the pic & everyone who sent this in]