It has been three months since we received leaked confirmation that the yet to be officially announced DirecTV HD tuner for Vista Media Center (VMC) was part of an upcoming update code named Fiji (expected in October). The fact that so much time has passed and our sources still haven't actually received a tuner was really starting to bother us. So we got even more concerned when we learned that the first release candidate issued to testers was missing required pieces to make the HDPC-20 possible. Unlike the previous beta releases, RC0 was missing native H.264 support which is vital to both DirecTV support and the latest Hauppauge HD PVR component capture device. Then to add insult to injury, many are now reporting that the update that will be officially called Windows Media Center TV Pack will only be available through OEMs. We're not sure if this means you'll have to download the update from Dell (for example) rather than Windows Update, but we can't see how the update could effectively be restricted to OEM installs. The testers we've talked to have reportedly been told that H.264 and DirecTV support have been pushed to Windows 7, which would mean it'll be 2010 before we see it. More about Fiji after the jump.

Hot on the heels of DISH Network's call center expansion comes word that DirecTV is doing similar by opening up a 114,567-square foot facility in Huntington, WV designed to improve customer service. The center becomes the satcaster's sixth in the US, and some 550 company customer service representatives and supervisory staff will be employed here. Maybe it's expecting a rush of new calls about a bundle of new HD channels we aren't at all expecting? Ah, a man can dream, can't he?

AT&T and DISH's tumultuous relationship seems to be ending, with the satellite company filing an 8-K form with the SEC indicating its received notice from the telco that it plans to end their marketing collaboration as of December 31. The possibly ill-fated from the beginning arrangement hasn't necessarily gone beyond the point of no return, since AT&T reps have indicated this was simply necessary for a six-month notification, but the company is still "discussing options" with DISH. Multichannel News contacted DirecTV and they indicated they too, are also still negotiating with AT&T in a bid to market triple-play services in areas where it hasn't rolled out U-Verse service yet. At this point we're expecting a drunken teary phone call from one or both (or all three) parties wondering where things went wrong any minute now.

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[Image courtesy GiftsByExpressions]

While DirecTV On Demand surfaced for select HR21 owners way back in February, the satcaster has finally pulled the service from beta to release it nationwide. Starting today, subscribers with a DirecTV Plus HD DVR or R22 DVR receiver will have access to over 4,000 SD and HD titles whenever they choose, and yes, everything will be delivered gratis. Additionally, the service will offer up customized programmer home pages, internet remote scheduling and an expanded array of pay-per-view titles. Of course, we couldn't close this out without asking for some feedback, so be sure to put the screws to DOD when you get home and let us know how things turn out.

DirecTV looks to make the most of DirecTV 11's test period, before things go live in September, testing out an experimental payload at a second test location. While the satcaster collects readings on recently-allocated bandwidth and other satellite traffic to plan future launches (adding even more channels, or maybe 1080p broadcast television), we'll just keep twiddling our thumbs. Specifications, speculation and all other data necessary to satisfy the satellite geek within resides beyond the read link.

[Thanks, sixto]

If you enjoy juggling six screens at once, you should seriously considering switching to DirecTV or DISH Network. As the back-and-forth action between the two continues, DirecTV is serving up Wimbledon Interactive in order to provide viewers with a multi-screen montage of grass court action. The satcaster is teaming up once again with ESPN2 in order to "provide nearly 200 hours of live interactive coverage of the first five days of the 2008 Wimbledon Championship." The half dozen screens will include live ESPN2 coverage, a Wimbledon Extra for keying in on crucial matches / highlights, and shots from four other courts which can be expanded to full screen at the touch of a button. As you know, the first fuzzy ball flies on June 23rd.

Whoa, that was speedy. Just hours after the retransmission agreement between LIN TV and DirecTV was made public, hordes of subscribers are jumping for joy. Why all the leaping, you ask? Because many of the channels in the pact are already airing in gorgeous HD around the country. Flip on your tele and let us know if you're so lucky.

[Thanks, Rob]

LIN TV sure does take these retransmission agreements seriously, and while it seems that things aren't going so great between it and Charter, all is well with DirecTV. The recent agreement covers television stations "owned and / or operated by LIN TV in 15 markets," including networks in Albuquerque, Austin, Buffalo, Dayton, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Springfield, Providence, Norfolk, Toledo, Mobile, Hartford-New Haven and Ft. Wayne. Of course, we never really heard that there was any discord between these two parties in particular, but it's good to see all systems are go at least for the foreseeable future.

We already knew the MountainWest Sports Network was destined to land on DirecTV eventually, and while we had heard that September was looking like a good candidate for a launch month, fans of the conference will be delighted to know that it'll be going live on the satcaster this August. Beginning on Wednesday, August 27th -- just in time for the BYU opener against Northern Iowa on August 30th -- The Mtn. will go live on channel 616. Notably, it'll be available on DirecTV CHOICE (and higher packages) for Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Dallas / Fort Worth / San Diego, though customers outside of these regions will be required to subscribe to DirecTV's Sportspack. For more on what to expect from the network this football season, head southwest to the read link.

DirecTV has been queuing up series for its exclusive The 101 channel for some time now, but if you were curious as to when the next would arrive, here's your sign. Defiance Entertainment's Odyssey: Driving Around the World is all set to make its US debut on said network, as it ventures to take viewers across "four continents and two oceans, all to raise money and awareness for Parkinson's disease." The show attempts to integrate "extreme adventure travel with social responsibility," and will touch down in places such as Costa Rica, Macchu Picchu, Argentina, Australia and Myanmar (just to name a few). Travel junkies, set your HD DVRs -- the 13-episode series takes off on June 5th at 8:00PM ET.

Believe it. Your wildest (okay, maybe one of your wildest) dreams is about to come true. Tonight at midnight (local time, we presume), South Park will air for the first time ever in high-definition (on TV) when "Imaginationland" takes center stage on DirecTV's The 101. Viewers can delight in the feature-length, director's cut from May 30th to May 31st, and if that wasn't enough, the season eight premiere -- "Good Times With Weapons" -- will also be broadcast in HD on the same station. We can't say for sure that this is a sign of things to come, but we doubt we're alone in hoping so.

[Image courtesy of Scott Tenorman / Comedy Central]

DirecTV TiVo owners won't give up on having TiVo and DirecTV together -- no matter how many HD channels DirecTV adds -- at least they received a little consolation recently as DirecTV pushed down a long awaited update (6.4a). All the new features included in the update are an old hat to stand-alone TiVo owners, but appreciated all the same as DirecTV subscribers can finally take advantage of having a Recently Deleted folder, Overlap Protection, and DirecTV Remote Booking. As for the rest of the cool features missing like Multi-room viewing, TiVo To Go, and Internet content, we figure they have about as a good of a chance of being added as there is that DirecTV will release a new MPEG4 DirecTiVo, so don't hold your breath.

[Via GizmoLovers.com]

As our tipster Rob so eloquently put it: "Gentlemen, start your satellite." According to fresh documentation from the FCC, the agency has granted DirecTV "temporary authority" to operate its recently launched DirecTV 11 satellite and "conduct in-orbit testing." The satcaster will also be allowed to "conduct telemetry, tracking and control operations" when the window opens on May 25th. September's getting closer all the time, eh? [Warning: PDF read link]

[Thanks, Rob]

For folks frustrated by those annoying game blackouts, DirecTV has unveiled a new feature that will certainly brighten those sports-filled days ahead. The GameSearch technology, which will be provided gratis, recognizes if a user tunes to a channel in which the game it carries is blacked-out, and if so, it automatically searches to find the tilt on another channel. Once the search concludes, it will give the viewer an option to catch the matchup on a different network if that option is available, and if no alternative is found, they'll be notified of that as well. GameSearch is reportedly now available on the HR20 and HR21, while users of the R22, R15, R16, H20 and H21 set-top-boxes will get gifted later this year or next.

[Image courtesy of Home Theater Mag]

One of the challenges satellite providers have faced when deploying multi-tuner DVRs and HD, is the fact that most homes only have one wire running into the house and each tuner in each HD DVR needs its own wire -- so if you have four HD DVRs, you need eight wires! That is about to change and our friends over at Satelliteguys.us have gotten a chance to spend some time with DirecTV's new Swing Wire LNB. Using the Single Wire LNB on your DirecTV satellite dish, a single wire can with splitters can service all your dual tuner DVRs and you can still record two shows at once. You will also no longer need those annoying B-Band converter and you can finally use OTA diplexers again -- but odds are the splitters in your house will have to be upgraded, as well as any old receivers. A Single Wire Multi-switch that was also recently released can be used with four coax runs to your existing LNB, includes an OTA input for diplexers, and still eliminates the need to run two coax cables to each dual tuner DVR. Of course you really don't need to know any of this, because the DirecTV installers will just start using the new equipment in the near future to ease the burden on themselves when doing new installs, but either way here's one less reason not to switch to satellite.