Uplink Activity 4/30/08 1:25 PM EDT

The argument that the channels that are in HD are unimportant is a Red Herring. What matters is whether or not that channel has programming in HD that interests a large number of people.

Clearly, most of the posters complaining about Sci Fi were complaining about particular programs, NOT THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE 24 HOURS A DAY! If you watch BSG it is going to piss you off that you don't have Sci-Fi in HD. It would not matter if that was the ONLY thing on the schedule in HD. It would still piss you off.

Same thing for Monk on USA.

(For the record, I don't watch either channel much).

I would bet that if you look at all the Commercial (as opposed to pay, like HBO) channels that broadcast in HD, you would be hard pressed to find many that broadcast more than 50% of their schedule in HD. Does that mean that Dish should not carry Discovery, or TLC, or ESPN, or ESPN2 in HD because most of those schedules are NOT in HD?

About the only channels that broadcast 100% HD programming are ... wait for it ... the voom channels. As well as the other HD specialty channels like Discovery HD theatre, MHD, Universal HD, HD net etc. The only "Mainstream" cable channel that I am aware of that produces nearly all of its programming in HD is National Geographic.

In short, if you follow the logic that a channel is not worth carrying in HD unless its schedule is predominantly in HD, then we can roll back the clock to 2006 and go with Voom and Discovery HT and HDnet and be happy.

Hear's the way I see it: If there are programs on a channel that I watch that are produced in HD but not carried by Dish (the HD Leader) in HD, then I feel I have, as a long time Dish subscriber, a right to complain about it.

So I don't care if most of the stuff on Spike is NOT in HD. Some of the Powerblock shows are now and all of them will be by fall. And I don't care if most of the stuff on Speed is not in HD. Almost all of their north american racing coverage is or will be, and that's the stuff I watch. Same for Bravo. And ESPN News.

Of course it is also my right to switch, which is the plan. And I will post about it when that day comes. Judging by the state of the leaves on the trees, I would say May 15 is about right. As it happens, Uverse should be available to me about the same time, so I might look at that as well.

What matters to me in the end is that I am now convinced that Dish will be behind in HD for the foreseeable future. And that there are things that I will want that will be available on D* and Not on E*. I have no confidence that E* will carry the Olympics package from NBC, for instance.

So my contract is up with Dish. I need another receiver for another HD TV. Do I do a 2-year committment with D* or do I sign up for two more years of Wednesday frustration from Dish?

It's not a hard call to make.
 
TNGTony posted this earlier in our pub members area.

He sums things up better then I ever could so I am going to repost his message here as it says it all. :)



+4:up


Let's face it. HD Locals provide MUCH more content that meets the needs of the masses to those viewers who do not have them, than do the national channels on the list. Period.

If you have HD locals already, imagine if you didn't. You would want them.
 
Most people watch the major networks, yet they only broadcast 3 hours per night in HD, except for a few but growing number of other programs and sports of course. But on a 24 hour basis, its way less than 50%.
 
Most people watch the major networks, yet they only broadcast 3 hours per night in HD, except for a few but growing number of other programs and sports of course. But on a 24 hour basis, its less than 50%.


Yes, and those three hours a night on the BIG 4 provide the most popular shows in the country.
 
TNGTony posted this earlier in our pub members area.

He sums things up better then I ever could so I am going to repost his message here as it says it all. :)

Since Scott said that Dish told him there would be a lot of HD by the end of May we have seen the following HD channels come on line

USA
SciFi
CNN
Providence - ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox
Jackson, MS - ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox

So Jackson, Ms now has the local fox channel available?
Can someone else confirm this?
Thanks
 
Currently D* only has one HD channel that E* doesn't and that is FX... the rest of the networks have no HD Content so you might as well just change the SD to stretch. FX is pending due to the fox lawsuit.

Last week they added SciFi and USA and immediately the bitching began that they weren't airing any HD content so why add more channels that do not show HD Content.

edit: I forgot Speed HD... not much of a racing fan so it skipped my mind

I am a dish subscriber, but get the facts straight.
Directv has more than those 2 channels in hd that dish doesnt. Check the listings. Not counting rsn, they also have bio hd, bravohd, toonhd, cinemax west hd, cmthd, cnbchd
cstvhd, disneyhd, espnnewshd, fox businesshd, fuelhd, fxhd, hbo westhd, mgmhd, tmchd, mtvhd, nickgashd, sho2hd, showesthd, smithsonianhd, speedhd, spikehd, 5 of the starz in hd, toondisneyhd, tennishd, weatherhd, vh1hd,
 
In a way I have to Disagree with Tony. Dish did commmunicate with their costomers on what channels were coming. Even though they did say that the contracts were signed they still dangled the carrot. These were the channels they announced on the last charlie chat. They should have added more than what they did on the national scene. Dish implied that they would have all of these channels and would have them soon. While locals maybe important to all. National hd is too, You need to have both. Not one or the other. For those who would like to back track and see what exactly they annoucned here is the link http://www.satelliteguys.us/1265697-post1.htmld

Dish HD Channels Coming Soon:
AMC
ABC Family
BET
Bio
Bravo
Cartoon
CNN
CMT
Disney
Espn News
HBO2
IFC
MTV
MoreMax
Nick
SciFi
Smithsonian
StarzEdge
Tennis Channel
Toon Disney
The Weather Channel
USA
VH1
WGN

Dish has only added 3 of the 24 on this list.
 
Directv has more than those 2 channels in hd that dish doesnt. Check the listings.

I'll partially recant... HD Channels that actually show HD that D* has that E* does not:

Non Premium Channels:
Speed
MGM
Mojo (never heard of this aside from in the threads)
Spike (although very few shows are in HD... similar to A&E HD)
FX (Also similar to A&E HD or USA HD) - likely held up due to lawsuit

News Channels:
Fox News - also likely held up due to law suit
CNBC HD
Weather HD
ESPN News

Premiums
HBO2
Starz HD Channels (4 misc channels)
Cinemax West
 
I'll partially recant... HD Channels that actually show HD that D* has that E* does not:

Non Premium Channels:
Speed
MGM
Mojo (never heard of this aside from in the threads)
Spike (although very few shows are in HD... similar to A&E HD)
FX (Also similar to A&E HD or USA HD) - likely held up due to lawsuit

News Channels:
Fox News - also likely held up due to law suit
CNBC HD
Weather HD
ESPN News

Premiums
HBO2
Starz HD Channels (4 misc channels)
Cinemax West

D* does NOT have Mojo or Fox News HD channels.

What's missing is that D* does actually show HD and E* doesn't have are:

Bravo
Biography
Smithsonian
Fox Business
HBO West
Cinemax West
Showtime West
Sho Too
Tennis

Those are off the top of my head, there may be more.
 
I'm sorry to pile on here but I agree with Bob. First it was, "Dish should add more HD by CES."...then it was by February...then it was by March...then it was 100 by year end...then it was by the next Charlie Chat...then it was by the end of April. Well, here we are at the end of April and we have 3 more HD channels since the promising started.

I'm tired of channels coming soon, I'm tired of uplinked as a placeholder, I'm tired of static slates now active and I'm tired of channels being uplinked but not available. None of this does anything for customers.

Saying Dish has added lots of HD because they made the same 4 channels available to a bunch of small markets is a load of b.s. If that's the case then why didn't anyone say, "Dish just added 400 HD channels when they made CNN HD available to 400 different markets? Now that I think of it, I'm suprised they didn't say that.

The bottom line (as I've harped on before) is communication. Why didn't Dish announce, "we will be adding lots of HD LIL's in April and National HD in May" if that was their plan?
 
Some of us want those HD Channels whether there is "actual" HD programming or not so that we can have the channel included in our programming package.... (HD Only Package!) - Not everyone is in the same situation here!.. While you try to make sense of why it's not important that we receive new HD channels now or later.... or tell others that there is no need to be impatient or be upset if they are not yet added... I feel we all have the right to be if we so choose. Just because it doesn't affect you or most of the others.. it does affect some. It's not up to a -few- people to decide which channels are more important than others. Everyone was waiting for Scifi and USA and hoping it would be added... there really is not much difference in wanting some of these other channels on the list.

If you did not receive the channel at all - you would be waiting each Wednesday with as much anticipation and disappointment as some of us do too..

I personally would like to receive some new HD Channels whether it has a lot of HD Programming or not. I would then at least have the programming... I can think of at least 5-10 HD channels I would like Dish to add... which I do not currently get their programming even in SD.

So yes.. if Dish actually stepped out and listed a bunch of channels and said look for these channels to be added soon.. I think that gives us all a reason to be anticipating these channels and then also disappointed when they have not been added.
 
I agree with TNGTony about what most of the HD nationals show. There are only about 1 or 2 channels (basically HBO2 and starz edge) that show HD all the time. I hope E* can get those two as soon as possible. Cartoon network and all the rest of the other channels mentioned are not on my "i want it now" list. I hate stretch-o-vision so i dont mind to wait until those channels show more real HD content.
 
D* does NOT have Mojo or Fox News HD channels.

What's missing is that D* does actually show HD and E* doesn't have are:

Bravo
Biography
Smithsonian
Fox Business
HBO West
Cinemax West
Showtime West
Sho Too
Tennis

Those are off the top of my head, there may be more.

Even if they do not show hd the pq is 100% better than sd.
 
D* does NOT have Mojo or Fox News HD channels.

What's missing is that D* does actually show HD and E* doesn't have are:

Bravo
Biography
Smithsonian
Fox Business
HBO West
Cinemax West
Showtime West
Sho Too
Tennis

Those are off the top of my head, there may be more.

I got my list from the D* vs E* thread so I'm not sure how current that list actually is. At any rate the differences are minimal as most of those channels do not have full time hd, or in some instances they are repeats (ex: Cinemax West mirrors Cinemax East but 3 hours later, HBO2 mirrors HBO 3 hours later)

In response to Jeffro there's no real reason to be upset as you're not missing anything. I'm more angry that the 2 SD channels I'd like (PBS Sprout and Noggin separated from the N) are not available but the alternative is a $300 hardware cost and a 2 year contract for less than ten hours a week of alternatives.
 
+4:up


Let's face it. HD Locals provide MUCH more content that meets the needs of the masses to those viewers who do not have them, than do the national channels on the list. Period.

If you have HD locals already, imagine if you didn't. You would want them.


+5

I am still crossing my fingers that Hartford get turned on next week :) with all four networks! I just switched from D* who only had three... and for a much better DVR!
 
In a way I have to Disagree with Tony. Dish did commmunicate with their costomers on what channels were coming. Even though they did say that the contracts were signed they still dangled the carrot. These were the channels they announced on the last charlie chat. They should have added more than what they did on the national scene. Dish implied that they would have all of these channels and would have them soon. While locals maybe important to all. National hd is too, You need to have both. Not one or the other. For those who would like to back track and see what exactly they annoucned here is the link http://www.satelliteguys.us/1265697-post1.htmld

Dish HD Channels Coming Soon:
AMC
ABC Family
BET
Bio
Bravo
Cartoon
CNN
CMT
Disney
Espn News
HBO2
IFC
MTV
MoreMax
Nick
SciFi
Smithsonian
StarzEdge
Tennis Channel
Toon Disney
The Weather Channel
USA
VH1
WGN

Dish has only added 3 of the 24 on this list.

This is the same reason I disagreed with Tony in the pub.
 
TNGTony posted this earlier in our pub members area.

He sums things up better then I ever could so I am going to repost his message here as it says it all.
Was it a "lot of NATIONAL channels?" No. Did Dish say a ton on NATIONAL HD channels? No.

Now, here is the question: What HD channels THAT ACTUALLY EXCISTS NOW WITH more than 1% HD content on it now is it that all you HD whiners are clamoring for? I know that DirecTV has more HD channels, but how many of those have more than 1 program every three months in honest-to-goodness HD? TBS HD is only now starting to show HD after the channel has been on for over 6 months with nothing but unwatchable streth-o-vision!--and its mostly Baseball!!!! SciFi HD has....Battlestar Galactica in HD and what else? At least they aren't stretch-o-vision so I could enjoy the Doctor. But really...calling SciFi an HD channel is a fraud.

TWC HD doesn't launch until june!
Cartoon network has NO HD content.
MTV HD has NO HD content
Does Speed HD exist?
Will Fox News HD have more than the ticker in HD?

Will we get more HD channels? Absolutely! But why force the issue to add non-HD HD channels!
Give it a rest! They'll come!
:)


I absolutely 100% agree with TNGTony's point. But the only problem is I was expecting Dish to make this point (of course in a polished manner!) and of course there are channels like ESPNEWS, SMITHSONIAN, MoreMAX that can be turned on.
 

Uplink Activity 4/23/08 1:30 PM EDT

Uplink Activity 5/01/08 2:00 AM EDT -- 3 minor moves

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)