After nearly 3 years of planning and what seems like a decade of breathless "We're the HD Leader" hype, DirecTV has finally released the first wave of its expanded national HD channel lineup, with 21 new channels lighting up early Wednesday morning.

TV Predictions provides details of the new channels:

A&E HD (channel 265)
Animal Planet HD (channel 282)
Big Ten Network HD (channel 220)
CNN HD (channel 202)
Discovery Channel HD (channel 278)
The History Channel (channel 269)
The Learning Channel (channel 280)
The Movie Channel (channel 544)
NFL Network HD (channel 212)
Science Channel HD (channel 284)
Showtime Too HD (channel 538)
Showtime West HD (channel 540)
Smithsonian Channel HD (channel 267)
Starz Comedy HD (channel 519)
Starz Edge HD (channel 522)
Starz HD East (channel 520)
Starz HD West (channel 521)
Starz Kids (channel 518)
TBS HD (channel 247)
The Weather Channel HD (channel 362)
Versus/Golf Channel (channel 604)

Although I'm a longtime DirecTV subscriber, I've found that I haven't been able to get caught up in all the excitement about the details of this too-long-in-the-making expansion of DirecTV's HD programming and I've yet to ante up for the equipment upgrades required. While I find a few of the channels interesting -- A&E, Animal Planet and the History Channel -- I have to admit that none of these will make up a significant part of my "must see" viewing. I'm also surprised to see that the Sci-Fi Channel is not among the first wave of new HD channel releases, and this is sure to be a major online talking point, as it has been one of the more eagerly anticipated additions.

On the plus side, DirecTV definitely scores an important brownie point on the usability front, as the new HD channels will automatically "map" to the existing standard-definition version. This eliminates any learning curve for accessing the new channels, a feature that will be especially useful as HD newcomers take up the service in coming months and years.

But don't get me wrong -- I do think DirecTV's aggressive expansion of HD programming is great news and an important development, as it significantly raises the competitive bar. It's clear that bar will continue to be pushed upward by DirecTV and its competitors, and that's great for everyone who loves HDTV, regardless of how they receive it.

I'll definitely be taking on some type of upgrade in order to receive additional HD programming, probably before winter sets in with a vengeance. But I still haven't completely ruled out a switch to DISH Network, which has been the true HD leader for the past couple of years and isn't likely to fade into the background now that DirecTV is actually delivering on its oft-repeated HD promises.

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