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DISH Network's AMC-14 satellite "a total loss"

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 11th 2008 at 6:09AM Breaking News

Despite hopes to the contrary, it looks like SES AMERICOM is treating the AMC-14 satellite mishap like the time you rear-ended that bus full of nuns in your Suzuki X90. Stranded at a less than advantageous orbit after an anomaly in its second burn of the fourth stage on March 15, the company decided that trying to reposition it at this point was too risky, and would result in a severely shortened lifespan. As a result, SES is cashing in on a $150 million insurance policy, and coming out of this smelling like a rose. DISH Network has more satellites planned for later this year and claims the failure won't affect its plans, so HDTV owners shouldn't lose out badly either. The only real loser here is AMC-14 itself, destined to decades of floating around as space junk, or a quick and fiery end in Earth's atmosphere -- plans for its retirement are still being "explored".

DISH Network's AMC-14 satellite may not be totally lost

by Darren Murph posted Mar 17th 2008 at 7:10PM Breaking News


Just in case you haven't had your fill of satellite launch news in the past 72 hours, here's yet another spoonful. In a release posted today on SES AMERICOM's website, it not only affirms that the recently launched AMC-14 satellite didn't reach its intended orbit, but that things may not be as bad as previously expected. 'Course, the company could just be trying to paint as rosy a picture as possible here, but Martin Halliwell, President of SES ENGINEERING, is quoted as saying that the satellite "is healthy and is operating nominally in a stable orbit under the control of Lockheed Martin." Furthermore, he notes that "[company] engineers are currently exploring various options for bringing AMC-14 into its proper geostationary orbit," but does concede that regardless of what option is exercised, excess fuel will have to be utilized in order to "propel the satellite to its correct orbital position, thereby reducing its service life." Nevertheless, the outfit's CEO closed by stating that it could not "speculate on the impact of the orbit raising activities on both the in-service date and the service life of AMC-14," but at least all hope isn't lost just yet.

[Thanks, Joe J.]

AMC-14 mishap apt to delay DISH Network's HD rollout

by Darren Murph posted Mar 17th 2008 at 3:39PM


Not like it comes as any real surprise or anything, but it seems as if the unfortunate failure experienced by DISH Network's AMC-14 satellite over the weekend will leave those waiting anxiously for more HD in a world of hurt. According to an 8-K filing with the SEC, the company has stated that the "launch anomaly will result in a delay of its rollout of some high-definition channels, including some local network channels." Of course, some analysts have already pointed out the obvious -- that DirecTV now has even more time to stretch its lead in HD quantity -- but given that the launch of its DirecTV 11 was delayed today for unspecified reasons, not all is well in that camp, either. The bottom line is that DISH subscribers (or would-be customers) will now be waiting even longer for another major boost in HD, and regardless of what carrier you use, that's awful news.

DISH Network's AMC-14 satellite fails to reach orbit

by Darren Murph posted Mar 15th 2008 at 9:39AM Breaking News


Tough news, DISH Network subscribers. The AMC-14 satellite that lifted off from Kazakhstan just hours ago failed to reach orbit. Reportedly, an "anomaly occurred during the second burn of the Breeze M upper stage," causing it to never reach its final destination. As it stands, a Russian State Commission has begun an investigation to understand what caused the mishap, but unfortunately, we've no idea when a replacement will be ready for liftoff. Here's to hoping the DirecTV 11 has much better luck when it blasts off in just a couple of days.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Toshiba sez it wouldn't change a thing, still thinks HD DVD is better

by Darren Murph posted Feb 19th 2008 at 6:47PM


We've always heard that there's no need in regretting, and apparently, Toshiba is following said mantra after the collapse of its beloved high-definition movie format. In an interview with TechRadar, Toshiba's deputy general manager of HD DVD Olivier Van Wynendaele stated that it "wouldn't change anything that it did," and continued on to say that "circumstances saw to it that [Toshiba] had to make the decision not to continue, but that doesn't mean [the company] did anything wrong." Just in case you couldn't already sense the inability to swallow one's pride, Mr. Van Wynendaele also proclaimed that its format was "a finished standard, unlike Blu-ray," and concluded by noting that HD DVD was still "better than Blu-ray." Maybe he really didn't get the memo?

[Image courtesy of Bexhuff, thanks David]




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