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DirecTV 11 gears up for March 17th launch

by Darren Murph posted Mar 7th 2008 at 4:21AM


It's nearly time, folks. We've been counting down to March for some time now, and while we knew the DirecTV 11 satellite was undergoing final preparations for launch, we still had no idea exactly what day it was set to blast off -- until now. Reportedly, the "Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander have departed Sea Launch Home Port for the equatorial Pacific," and the liftoff is expected to occur within a 58-minute window at 3:49PM PT on Monday, March 17th. Best of all, live coverage of the mission will be available as of 3:30PM on the same day, so those with nothing better to do can check this thing out as it goes down just weeks from now.

DISH Network's AMC-14 satellite set for March 15 launch

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2008 at 8:38AM


Guess what, DirecTV subscribers? Your satellite provider isn't the only one launching a new bird into orbit next month. On March 15, the AMERICOM-14 (AMC-14) will blast off from Kazakhstan and begin its mission of providing DISH Network with "the bandwidth resources needed to increase the number of high-definition and other services offered by EchoStar nationwide." Of course, we've no idea how quickly customers will begin reaping the benefits from yet another sat in the sky, but we'll be a whole lot closer to knowing when this thing (hopefully) departs the atmosphere as planned.

[Via SatelliteGuys, thanks Joe]
[Image courtesy of LaunchPhotography]

Sea Launch officially preparing for DirecTV 11 launch in March

by Darren Murph posted Feb 14th 2008 at 5:29PM Breaking News


We had a hunch DirecTV's next bird would be departing from our sight sometime in March, and sure enough, a new note on the Sea Launch website confirms that preparations are being made to blast D11 off into orbit next month. As if that wasn't proof enough, the "Current Launch" section of the site details the entire mission and provides a link to tune in via streaming video once the trip is underway. Hang tight, DTV subscribers -- it seems that even more HD will be on the way sooner rather than later.

[Thanks, Jeremy K.]

DirecTV 11 satellite set to launch in March?

by Darren Murph posted Jan 16th 2008 at 8:50PM

If the successful launch of the Thuraya-3 mobile communications satellite -- combined with Earl Bonovich's expertise -- is any indication of the future, we'd say the DirecTV 11 has a decent shot of lifting off in March. Apparently, the aforementioned bird was the only one left to be launched before the D11 was given its turn, and sure enough, Sea Launch has just recently issued a release confirming that the Thuraya-3 has found its way into orbit. Of course, we won't see any new channels for awhile even after it goes galactic, but folks over at DBSTalk are already placing wagers as to the when D11 will head for the stars. Gear up, DirecTV users -- it seems that even more programming (or at least broader coverage) is coming soon(ish).

Read - DBSTalk: Q1 D11 launch
Read - Sea Launch Delivers Thuraya-3 Satellite to Orbit

MHD - Birds

by Richard Lawler posted May 10th 2006 at 4:26PM

HD Bird
HDTV owners like it when content providers go the extra mile, and that's pretty much what MTV did with these station ID spots for their high definition station, MHD. This cool animation which is entirely black and white was created by Psyops for the channel and also has 5.1 surround sound. Check out their page to see what kind of challenges they faced when animating for HD, maybe that's the reason we're not seeing prime-time animated shows like The Simpsons in high-def yet.

[Via the SD loving heathens @ AdJab]




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