DirectTV adding 155 HD channels!

[topspeed]

Hey guys,

I just found out that DirectTV is launching over 1000(!) new channels, of which 155 will be in HD. Their release date is slated as "late Summer, '05," which we all know means probably 1st Qtr '06. Still, this is a huge boost in programming considering DishNetwork only offers 15 or so HD channels including the Voom package. According to Dish, their scheduled increase in HD programming (slated for 1st Qtr, '06) is an additional 10 channels by comparison.

Bye-Bye Dish, hello DirectTV!

I found this out when Dish truly ticked me off by trying to charge me $858 to install their HD-DVR instead of the $250 they offer new subscribers. That's right, if you an existing subcriber, you know...the kind that's been sending checks to Dish every month for years, you get bent over for an additional $600 over some Joe Blow that just walked off the street! Does anyone else have a problem with this? Conversely, DirectTV is offering their $499 HD-DVR (incl. $100 rebate), 4 addn'l free receivers, a $99 DVR (with a $100 rebate; yes, they pay you a dollar.), a free dvd player, and free install. For those of you in the cheap seats, that's 1 HD receiver, 4 SD receivers, 2 DVR's, 1 DVD player, and a partridge in a pear tree for $499.

Oh

Hell

Yeah!

[L.J.]

I thought all programming was suppose to switch in 2006. Am I missing some info?

[Eric Z]

LJ- the HD switch date keeps on getting pushed back. I'm not even sure there's even a date out there now.

[N. Abstentia]

That's exactly why I dropped Dish and went to DirecTV. I saw they were giving away DVR's to new subscribers. I had been on Dish for 3 years and wanted a DVR so I called them to see what kind of deal I could get...they were free to Joe Blow which I understand is a promotional thing but I would be glad to pay $49 for one. They wouldn't budge from $299.

$299 for me, free for Joe Blow. Thanks, Dish.

My next call to Dish was to cancel service and when I told them why they were ready to sell me one for $99, and it's not even Tivo. Too late, buddy. Bye bye Dish.

[L.J.]

155 HD channels sure does sound good. I have comcast cable right now and I think I'm only getting about 13 channels.

[topspeed]

That's exactly why I dropped Dish and went to DirecTV. I saw they were giving away DVR's to new subscribers. I had been on Dish for 3 years and wanted a DVR so I called them to see what kind of deal I could get...they were free to Joe Blow which I understand is a promotional thing but I would be glad to pay $49 for one. They wouldn't budge from $299.

$299 for me, free for Joe Blow. Thanks, Dish.

My next call to Dish was to cancel service and when I told them why they were ready to sell me one for $99, and it's not even Tivo. Too late, buddy. Bye bye Dish.
I spent most of the morning going around and around with a supervisor at Dish regarding the skewed logic of their upgrading policies to no avail. I feel they should at least offer their existing subscribers the same deal they offer newbies, but clearly opinions differ.

[Mr Peabody]

When jumping on new service that requires out of the pocket money you had better ask if that receiver is MPEG 4 or compatible or it will be a throw away soon.

I have a definite problem with new customers getting a give away deal while an existing loyal customer don't get a break. I had that problem with Dish back when they went to Dish 500. They were giving it away to new customers and wanted to charge me. I just did without for awhile and then I tried to cancel service and they gave me 500 and some other stuff to stay.

Another thing bad about both satelite services is that they charge at least $5.00, and more if it's HD, per receiver plus the HD programming on top of your basic stuff so you can't get HD for less than $70.00 and that's too much. I recently went back to cable. They offered a killer deal on all the movie channels to dish owners and with cable I can get some HD channels free with the DVR service. So I have HD on 2 TV's and just about every movie channel and still under $70.00. Of course, I'm having trouble finding out why I can't get a digital audio signal from their receiver and have been fighting that for over 60 days. I wanted to stop the cable over that on principle but when checking pricing on the satelite services I decided to live with the sacrafice and hope some day they will figure out how to get me a signal. I have my locals, one HBO and one Showtime in HD. That's another thing, in these HD packages, are those channels you'd really watch? The way they are doing HD programming I just don't think it's a good value yet and that's a shame since they are really pushing the TV's.

[Woochifer]

topspeed -

Keep in mind that a lot of those additional channels will be the digital broadcasts for local stations. Most of the nonbroadcast networks like A&E and MTV have not gone HD yet, so obviously they will be part of the mix at some point. Directv has had this HD expansion in the works for a while, and it's only a matter of when they can launch enough new satellites to cover the bandwidth needed for all those additional HD channels. I don't think that the HD expansion will occur all at once because they have at least two new satellites scheduled to go into service in 2006.

As Peabody mentioned, Directv's about to switch their HD system over to the MPEG-4 format, which would actually make their existing HD receivers useless in a few years. Current HD subscribers will all need new satellite receivers eventually. But, Directv hasn't announced any upgrade plans, so it's a matter of how much current customers will get charged for new hardware. Right now, Directv's HD offerings lag behind both Dish and cable, and with the HD receivers they currently use, the satellites they point at don't have much bandwidth left for additional HD channels and the new satellite coverage will be in MPEG-4. But, they do have NFL Sunday Ticket in HD. :)

As far as I know, Directv has not come out with any MPEG-4 receivers yet, and that's because they have not started the MPEG-4 HD broadcasts yet. I thought about upgrading my Directv service to HD last year, because even though I don't have a HDTV I wanted to get the 5.1 audio and widescreen letterboxing that comes with HD broadcasts. But, then I read about Directv's pending transition over to MPEG-4, and decided that I would wait until the dust settles (and when I get a HDTV) before upgrading.

That sucks that Dish is trying to charge you that much for the HD-DVR, and Directv's offering you a pretty sweet deal. Maybe switching service might be a way to light a fire under Dish's backside, but keep in mind that Dish has announced that they would support MPEG-4 as well (current issue of Home Theater has an article about MPEG-4). I'm not sure what this would mean for existing their HD subscribers, but if you go for the DVR at this time, that thing too might wind up requiring a receiver upgrade within a few years. I know that adding Voom's satellite greatly expanded their capacity, which gives them an edge over Directv's HD offerings until Directv's new satellites are up and running. Might want to do a little bit of snooping around on some of the satellite TV sites and see what Dish's plans are.

[EdwardGein]

Is there a link someone can provide that actually says which channels actually broadcast in (true) HD? I get my basic HD through Time Warner & there are only about 10 channels or so (including HBO & Showtime) you can get in HD from them. I know the WB & UPN broadcasts in HD but for some reason Time Warner doesn't carry them. I don't think Sci Fi which of the non HD channels I watch the most broadcasts in HD or Turner Classic Movies. Even if they do, I'm worried that they might be like TNT HD- phony out of focus with the wrong aspect ratios or something (in my opinion) of old shows- newer ones like The Closer are fine but old shows are terrible. One thing I don't understand, can non HD filmed movies/shows be shown properly in HD? I asked this because what's on TNT HD is a disgrace and only someone totally brain dead wouldn't notice.

I don't subscribe to HD Net because other than ESPN in HD, its not worth the extra money to me. Also I noticed that some shows like the Apprentice on HD NBC are not full widescreen- does this mean they aren't true HD and if not, why aren't they shot for the full screen?

[Mr Peabody]

Dish's new 942 receiver is MPEG-4. I think new customers can lease one for an extra $5 or $10 bucks on their bill and existing customers have to buy one for somewhere around $600 or $700 bucks, you'll have to check with Dish for specifics. The 942 is HD and a DVR. It also has 2 tuners.

[swgiust]

All the information that I have seen is that Direct TV has or is planning to launch
satelites that will give them the capacity to run 150 HD channels. Think about it,
there isn't 150 channels of HD being produced ANYWHERE. If it's not getting filmed
in HD, then it's not going to be broadcast in HD.

[edtyct]

Well, I suppose DirecTV can always do what VOOM did (and, of course, it will since much of the new programming comes from VOOM)--that is, distinguish channels simply by content. In other words, one channel could specialize in chick flicks, another in horror movies, etc. It could also buy the kind of travelogue, documentary, or home-improvement material that Discovery, PBS, or INHD routinely show and broadcast it on a separate channel, too. A certain proportion of its programming could also be upconverted, which may or may not be readily idenfied as such.

Ed

[swgiust]

Ed, your right. But in there lays the problems. I don't want 150 HD channels of old
movies and travel documentories. I want current, major network TV. I currently get
ABC, NBC, and CBS off air in HD. There are many top, top shows that are on right now that are NOT in HD. Until the networks start producing shows in HD, we are going to be stuck with old stuff. One bright note is the sports. ESPN, TNT, ABC, and CBS all broadcast at least some of their sports in HD.

[topspeed]

Ed, your right. But in there lays the problems. I don't want 150 HD channels of old
movies and travel documentories. I want current, major network TV. I currently get
ABC, NBC, and CBS off air in HD. There are many top, top shows that are on right now that are NOT in HD. Until the networks start producing shows in HD, we are going to be stuck with old stuff. One bright note is the sports. ESPN, TNT, ABC, and CBS all broadcast at least some of their sports in HD.

The network programs that are in HD will be available through DirectTV (as well as Dish) starting 1 qtr '06. Unfortunately, while the salesperson at Direct told me they were available now, the installer said otherwise and now I have to get an antenna. It's $50 so no biggie, but I wish they'd get their info right.

I got everything running yesterday with Direct and signed up for the NFL Ticket package, even though I'm much more into college ball. The promo has the pro games as well as every other channel, including all the movies, for $69. I'd spend more than that for the movie channels alone so the games are just a bonus to me. HD is simply stunning on the JVC, and I haven't even calibrated it yet! Cat In The Hat was on HBO-HD and it was truly amazing to see.

[Woochifer]

The network programs that are in HD will be available through DirectTV (as well as Dish) starting 1 qtr '06. Unfortunately, while the salesperson at Direct told me they were available now, the installer said otherwise and now I have to get an antenna. It's $50 so no biggie, but I wish they'd get their info right.

Actually, they might both be right. When I looked into this last year, I think that Directv was offering the national network feeds for CBS and Fox (?) to people who live in areas without local digital broadcast affiliates. That might have changed since now most local stations have their digital broadcasts up and running (the federal mandate only requires digital broadcasts, not HD).

Directv used to include the national network feeds for CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox on their regular service, and then a court ruling forced them to remove that service. A subsequent change allowed them to rebroadcast local stations, and I believe that the HD stations that Directv's due to add to their channel offerings will likely originate from local stations. If the rollout goes like it did when they started adding the local broadcasts to their service, then the first stations will come from major market affiliates, then the midmarkets after that. Not sure if the national broadcast feeds are part of Directv's HD plans.

[Mr Peabody]

HD content is one of the reasons I like getting the locals, or should I say network, in HD. The networks can churn out their one hour dramas and various shows a lot quicker than the movie industry will build their catalog. Of course, the sports broadcasts should be all coming in HD pretty soon I'd think.

Just think about how many local channels there are all together that the satelite companies have to carry. Probably an average of 6 to every city in the U.S., 155 would be a drop in the bucket. I wouldn't put it past any of the program providers to distort their claim by including some of this in their advertisement. Sure we have 155 new HD channels but 150 of them can only be received if you live in that city. I'd think carrying the locals though would even give a satelite company a leg up.

[topspeed]

Actually, they might both be right. When I looked into this last year, I think that Directv was offering the national network feeds for CBS and Fox (?) to people who live in areas without local digital broadcast affiliates. That might have changed since now most local stations have their digital broadcasts up and running (the federal mandate only requires digital broadcasts, not HD)...Not sure if the national broadcast feeds are part of Directv's HD plansYou're right on this. One of their marketing pushes right now is Fox in HD. Of course, if you want one of the majors in HD now, you'll have to pay for it. I'm just going to install the over-the-air antenna (got DirectTV to pay for it since they misrepresented their package) and enjoy.

Mr. P,
Both Dish and Direct are promoting local channels in HD at the first of '06. Of course, Direct includes the local channels in their base package while Dish makes you pay for them.