Washington, D.C. (September 13, 2007) -- Editor's Note: 'The HDTV Rumor Watch," an occasional feature at TVPredictions.com, examines the latest gossip about High-Definition channel launches, new hardware and more. If you've heard a rumor about HD, send it to: swann@tvpredictions.com

Rumor #1
DIRECTV's new HD satellite is having serious operational issues and the satcaster could be forced to delay its high-def expansion until 2008.

The Truth: There's nothing to suggest there's any truth to this. In fact, DIRECTV has been testing the satellite and it should be good to go sooner than later.

I suspect the rumors are being spread by subscribers to other cable and satellite services and other mischief makers. And because DIRECTV has yet to begin launching the new HD channels, it's easy for them to play their games. But don't buy it.

Rumor #2
Sony will launch a $399 PlayStation 3 for the holidays.

The Truth: I think this is quite likely. And what makes it interesting for high-def owners is that the PS3 has a Blu-ray player inside. The lower-cost PS3 could give the Blu-ray format a big boost for the holiday season.


Rumor #3
Britney Spears is demanding that MTV not show her performance at last Sunday's Video Music Awards on MHD, its high-def network, on September 22.

The Truth: How do these things get started? The Brit meltdown will be available in glorious HD on MHD on  September 22 at 9 p.m. ET. Even if Britney was asking MTV to put the video in the vault, she doesn't have the juice these days to get it done.

Rumor #4
Comcast will add TBS HD in time for the Major League Baseball playoffs in October. (TBS has the rights to carry first and second round playoff games this year.)

The Truth: It could happen. Maybe even likely. But don't count on TBS HD being available in every Comcast market. Unfortunately, some systems still don't have the bandwidth to add new high-def channels. Keep an eye on Time Warner Cable, too. The cable op is a sister company to Turner Broadcasting, which runs TBS. Hard to believe that Time Warner will let DIRECTV be the only TV provider that offers TBS HD during the playoffs. Look for TW to add both CNN HD (another Turner-owned entity) and TBS HD in the coming weeks.

Rumor #5
More than one studio will drop its exclusive support of Blu-ray in the next month and decide to release films in both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

The Truth: Unlikely. The studios are holding their powder now to see how the marketplace plays out over the next few months. They want to see if Toshiba's $299 HD DVD player drives sales, whether Chinese-based companies introduce even lower-priced players, and whether Sony will lower player prices and push their studio allies to release more movies. After the dust settles -- mid-holiday season perhaps -- I think you'll start to see this thing really take shape.

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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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