Our sources confirmed that it will NOT be in HD. Apparently there are no HD cameras on location in Fiji ... so unless they are upconverting ...

- Shane
(HDTV Magazine)

Would you mind providing a little factual basis for this claim? I read the referenced press release and found nothing within it that indicates HDi (no longer called iHD) is not supported.

Check the HD DVD standard. In order for a player to be an "HD DVD" player, it MUST support HDi. It is required. If this unit doesn't, then it is NOT a dual-format player.

- Shane Sturgeon
HDTV Magazine

I think these original articles (Forbes & Multichannel News) are without much merit. I've done some research, and what we have here is an analyst who is making some predictions, along with the quote from Robert Mercer citing a "September/October" time frame for product shipment.

Their plan since CES has been for an August rollout, and I have confirmed with DirecTV that they will be rolling it out to the LA market in "mid-August", and then to the rest of the country in the "weeks immediately following".

So yes, some markets might not have the units available until September/October ... but from everything I can tell their rollout is on-schedule.

Cheers,

- Shane Sturgeon