# The devil you know..... Murdock dumps D.



## Matt L (Aug 13, 2000)

I guess we can all start speculating on what the future now holds with Murdock gone from D. The new guy has a background in cable so that may help, but I wonder if there are some sections in that contract that tie D to the receivers Murdock's company builds.

I guess we can have a year plus of speculation just like with 6.3.....

Directv Sold


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## Redux (Oct 19, 2004)

Matt L said:


> I wonder if there are some sections in that contract that tie D to the receivers Murdock's company builds.


Brings to mind the Atrades taking over Dune from the Harkonnen. Personally, I wouldn't eat in the company cafeteria for a few months.


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## doncoolio (Jul 9, 2006)

Redux said:


> Brings to mind the Atrades taking over Dune from the Harkonnen. Personally, I wouldn't eat in the company cafeteria for a few months.


Best analogy/post I've seen all year.


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## Seminole (Oct 27, 2003)

Mybe TIVO will be back???


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## Andrew_S (Nov 12, 2001)

Oh goody, Liberty Media. I imagine they'll ruin DirecTV with cost cutting measures much like they're currently sinking the Atlanta Braves.


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## jamesbobo (Jun 18, 2000)

From what I've read in another thread, Liberty is part owner of Starz. Could Starz HD be on the horizon?


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## Fish Man (Mar 4, 2002)

Seminole said:


> Mybe TIVO will be back???


We can hope.

They may have gone too far technologically with the NTS technology (specifically MPEG4 capability) for it to be economically feasible to revisit TiVo.

They may have also burned their bridges good-will wise.

Time will tell.


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## drew2k (Jun 10, 2003)

Matt L said:


> I guess we can all start speculating on what the future now holds with Murdock gone from D. The new guy has a background in cable so that may help, but I wonder if there are some sections in that contract that tie D to the receivers Murdock's company builds.
> 
> I guess we can have a year plus of speculation just like with 6.3.....
> 
> Directv Sold


This is being discussed in the DirecTV forum in a thread created last evening:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=330373


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## SpankyInChicago (May 13, 2005)

Isn't Liberty Media a "family values" (read: radical Christian) pro-Republican media company? If so, all you pr0n lovers can kiss it goodbye. Maybe I am mixing up my media companies.


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## Avenger (Mar 26, 2002)

SpankyInChicago said:


> Isn't Liberty Media a "family values" (read: radical Christian) pro-Republican media company? If so, all you pr0n lovers can kiss it goodbye. Maybe I am mixing up my media companies.


Oh, I certainly hope so. Then I can feel somewhat better about sending my money in to DirecTV each month.


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## harley3k (Jul 19, 2006)

SpankyInChicago said:


> Isn't Liberty Media a "family values" (read: radical Christian) pro-Republican media company? If so, all you pr0n lovers can kiss it goodbye. Maybe I am mixing up my media companies.


Well that would be just great for D* profits...
They don't break out the revenue from their adult channels when reporting profits, but some industry experts believe they earn as much as $500 million a year from it.

-h


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## harley3k (Jul 19, 2006)

harley3k said:


> Well that would be just great for D* profits...
> They don't break out the revenue from their adult channels when reporting profits, but some industry experts believe they earn as much as $500 million a year from it.
> 
> -h


Ah... I just found this 2004 60minutes article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/21/60minutes/main585049.shtml) that mentions Liberty Media as being one of the 'largest owners and programmers of in-room pay-per-view' for hotels (including plenty of adult programming).

I think the adult programming is safe.

-h


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## dt_dc (Jul 31, 2003)

harley3k said:


> Ah... I just found this 2004 60minutes article (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/21/60minutes/main585049.shtml) that mentions Liberty Media as being one of the 'largest owners and programmers of in-room pay-per-view' for hotels (including plenty of adult programming).


That's through their "On Command" subsidiary.


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## Mikehdtv (Feb 18, 2004)

SpankyInChicago said:


> Isn't Liberty Media a "family values" (read: radical Christian) pro-Republican media company? If so, all you pr0n lovers can kiss it goodbye. Maybe I am mixing up my media companies.


No you're thinking of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. Malone is behind Discovery Channel, USA, QVC, Encore, and STARZ.

Mike


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## speedcouch (Oct 23, 2003)

jamesbobo said:


> From what I've read in another thread, Liberty is part owner of Starz. Could Starz HD be on the horizon?


God, I hope so! :up:

The ability to get Starz and Cinemax in HD had me seriously considering going to FIOS about a month ago. But then I decided I wasn't willing to give up my Tivo...
Still, it's difficult to watch their premieres in SD and without DD. Broke down and watched King Kong on Max the other night though. I wasn't expecting much from the movie (and wasn't disappointed), so I wasn't willing to wait for it to come to HBO-HD.

Cheryl


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## durl (Dec 1, 2005)

SpankyInChicago said:


> Isn't Liberty Media a "family values" (read: radical Christian) pro-Republican media company? If so, all you pr0n lovers can kiss it goodbye. Maybe I am mixing up my media companies.


please...


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

speedcouch said:


> The ability to get Starz and Cinemax in HD had me seriously considering going to FIOS about a month ago. But then I decided I wasn't willing to give up my Tivo...


In addition to carrying Starz HD at all, they'd have to give up their policy of all new HD channels being MPEG-4... which they might. Or else, allow Tivo to build an MPEG-4 receiver... which they might. But I won't hold my breath. Then again, Starz HD might be important enough to them that they'd find room to carry it MPEG-2.

Meanwhile, you could get a Series 3 Tivo + Fios...


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## cheer (Nov 13, 2005)

wmcbrine said:


> In addition to carrying Starz HD at all, they'd have to give up their policy of all new HD channels being MPEG-4... which they might.


If they're clinically insane, perhaps. But given the sats they've launched (and are in the process of launching), it's far more likely that it will start raining 1985 Nissan Maximas in all zip codes divisible by 7.


> Or else, allow Tivo to build an MPEG-4 receiver... which they might. But I won't hold my breath.


If it makes financial sense, they might. I'd bet if cable companies are successful selling Tivo-On-Cable-Boxes as a "premium" DVR service that Liberty might ponder something similar.


> Then again, Starz HD might be important enough to them that they'd find room to carry it MPEG-2.


Feh. Just what we need, another stupid movie channel showing HD versions of cropped and mangled movies.

Stanley Kubrick is spinning in his grave, I tell you.


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## TyroneShoes (Sep 6, 2004)

I actually know (well, have worked for) both devils, so "the devil you know..." stuff is kinda wasted on me this time. I prefer RM over John Malone by a significant margin, but at least this gives a company heading waaaaay down the wrong path an opportunity for course correction. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, so maybe this is a positive step. But I have the same pessimism about that as I do about the dems getting us out of Iraq before 2008.


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## dt_dc (Jul 31, 2003)

dt_dc said:


> That's through their "On Command" subsidiary.


BTW, Malone / Liberty Media is selling control of their On Command subsidiary to LodgeNet (the _other_ big provider of hotel room PPV).

Article:
http://www.cedmagazine.com/article/CA6400089.html

Malone / Liberty Media sure have been active recently ... sell OpenTV, get control of D*, sell control of On Command ... he must have some sort of 'overall' strategy in there somewhere ... not sure what it is.


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## herdfan (Feb 5, 2003)

Fish Man said:


> They may have gone too far technologically with the NTS technology (specifically MPEG4 capability) for it to be economically feasible to revisit TiVo.


NDS didn't develop the MPEG-4 HD DVR, Ucentric did. NDS developed the R15. RM doesn't own Ucentric, Motorola does.


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## Fish Man (Mar 4, 2002)

herdfan said:


> NDS didn't develop the MPEG-4 HD DVR, Ucentric did. NDS developed the R15. RM doesn't own Ucentric, Motorola does.


Ucentric was working on a whole house "Media Center" server for DirecTV. It appears to be permanent vaporware at this point.

The HR20-700 is extrapolated from the R15 and is NDS based. Much like the HR10 is extrapolated from the HDVR2 TiVo based units.


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## herdfan (Feb 5, 2003)

Sorry, but you're wrong. Ucentric was working on the HMC also. Check out these threads:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=641366&postcount=9

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=662996&postcount=14

http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=731963&postcount=29

And to top it all off:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=64138&highlight=Ucentric


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## Fish Man (Mar 4, 2002)

herdfan said:


> Sorry, but you're wrong. Ucentric was working on the HMC also. Check out these threads:
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=641366&postcount=9
> 
> ...


Doh!

Altzhimers must be kicking in. 

Now that you point out those links, I remember reading that and being really surprised at the time that they went the ucentric route (as opposed to simply extrapolating their NDS technology).


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## herdfan (Feb 5, 2003)

Fish Man said:


> I remember reading that and being really surprised at the time that they went the ucentric route (as opposed to simply extrapolating their NDS technology).


Given that the HR20 is so much more stable at 3 months than the R15 is at a year, it was probably a good decision.

Probably not as good as sticking with TiVo though.


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## Justin Thyme (Mar 29, 2005)

Who knows if this deal goes through, but if it does, I don't see why Malone would maintain a dependency on NDS. It is critical to Directv operaions and is in the hands of his former nemesis. So unless Malone is getting NDS in the deal or is sold off to a neutral and trustworthy supplier, the days of Directv distributing NDS boxes are numbered.

It would cost him a couple million to have motorolla or Tivo make him a new Mpeg4 box. Peanuts. 

Malone is a scientist and there are many technologies that could be exploited. Whatever he has in mind for Directv- it will probably be interesting.


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