HD Absolute customers

JimMcC

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Apr 4, 2004
580
0
What are your favorite movie channels? I can't stand watching movies with commercials. Are there any without commercials, other than HDNet? Thanks.
 
Thanks. So Universal is the only other one? I think MGM just has one short break in the middle of movies.
 
Universal sometimes will play a movie during the middle of the day and not have any commercials. Sometimes its an old tv show.
But its been a long time since I saw a commercial free broadcast in the hours close to prime time.
But even then, the commercials are few and far between. Not like on fox or abc where you have a commercial every 5-7 minutes.
 
I can't believe how easy it is to skip past commercials in movies with a DVR and the 30 second skip ahead button. I wouldn't want to ever be without it.

EVERY movie I record (from well over 12 channels) on Absolute HD is viewed without watching the commercials, so I can stand watching then all.

If you'd like a list of the channels or a list of satellite receivers that have DVR's, let us know - and you too can watch movies without watching the commercials.

Plus I recorded scores of movies during the 3 month free-preview of HBO and Showtime that I've not all watched, and they don't have commercials.
 
I can't believe how easy it is to skip past commercials in movies with a DVR and the 30 second skip ahead button. I wouldn't want to ever be without it.

EVERY movie I record (from well over 12 channels) on Absolute HD is viewed without watching the commercials, so I can stand watching then all.

If you'd like a list of the channels or a list of satellite receivers that have DVR's, let us know - and you too can watch movies without watching the commercials.

Plus I recorded scores of movies during the 3 month free-preview of HBO and Showtime that I've not all watched, and they don't have commercials.

You have to physically press the skip button, listen to a screaming commercial ofr one second before skipping again or backing up because you went too far, then listen to screaming commercials end in order to head back into a movie at the right point. It's very distracting and really messes up key moments in movies since that is where they like to insert commercials. Most channels that insert commercials ALSO cut movies in order to make them fit into very specific timeslots. This also disrupts a good storyline. Most channels that show movies also zoom out the picture to fit a 16x9 widescreen tv, ruining the original wider than 16x9 format of many movies.

Storyline interruptions and screaming commercials
Edited for time and content
Zoomed out from OAR format

No thanks.


You don't mind it, good for you.

A list of channels and dvrs??? Press your guide button. DVR list? These days, if you are new to DVRs there is one, the 722.

You forgot to mention the external hard drive option as the internal drive on the dvr will fill up very quickly. I currently have 5.
 
Storyline interruptions and screaming commercials
Edited for time and content
Zoomed out from OAR format

No thanks.

Manual interaction to skip commercials is far superior to sitting there passively whilst being screamed at, which is all you get for $35 per month. Editing for time and content isn't as bad as it used to be. Even USA and TNT are allotting 2.5-3.5 hours so that they don't have to pare down a 2 or 2.5 hour movie. In the later hours of the day, MGM and Universal also relax standards on what types of content get cut, but you'd need a DVR to record them unless you're usually up at 3AM.

You have to pay to play. I have the channels you have, plus the Foxes, plus EncoreHD, and I pay...$70 per month. I don't subscribe to premiums, because I can't justify $0.50 per DAY for the CHANCE to watch a decent movie or 26 episodes of a TV show. If you can't deal with $35 a month for the exact same content that most people pay double that for, get a Netflix account.

I think you mean zoomed in from OAR, which is even common on the channels that you pay for, like HBO and Showtime. Honestly, I prefer that "bug," because letterboxing is a waste of electricity and reduces the size and resolution of the picture I actually can see. Again, I have to say, when USA premiered Miami Vice, they didn't crop at all, so you're starting to see the lowly network channels pandering to aspect ratio snobs.
 
The Dish skip forward button will keep count. I will often hit the button 5-6 times really quick to leap past entire commercial blocks before evaluating if I need to skip more. Very few channels have less than 3 minutes of commercials in a row any more. I subconciously adjust the number of skips depending on the channel. Many times I have skipped the block before I realize that I have hit the button, talk about a pavlovian response.
 
You have to physically press the skip button, listen to a screaming commercial ofr one second before skipping again or backing up because you went too far, then listen to screaming commercials end in order to head back into a movie at the right point. It's very distracting and really messes up key moments in movies since that is where they like to insert commercials. Most channels that insert commercials ALSO cut movies in order to make them fit into very specific timeslots. This also disrupts a good storyline. Most channels that show movies also zoom out the picture to fit a 16x9 widescreen tv, ruining the original wider than 16x9 format of many movies.

Storyline interruptions and screaming commercials
Edited for time and content
Zoomed out from OAR format

No thanks.


You don't mind it, good for you.
Good for me is right. You must not have a mute button...:eek:

And that physical interaction rough, but I'm learning to deal with it...

A list of channels and dvrs???
Yes, that's what I said.

DVR list? These days, if you are new to DVRs there is one, the 722.
There are many DVR's.

You forgot to mention the external hard drive option as the internal drive on the dvr will fill up very quickly. I currently have 5
No I didn't, the topic was movie channels, not HD capacity. :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
You have to physically press the skip button, listen to a screaming commercial ofr one second before skipping again or backing up because you went too far, then listen to screaming commercials end in order to head back into a movie at the right point.

It sounds like you are using DTV, E*s DVR instantly advances 30 seconds without any sound or delay. As was said above, you can hit the button multiple times, w/o waiting. I usually hit mine (722K) 6 times, if I am still in a commercial, I hit it 2 more times, then one 10 second backup and there I am. Takes about 3 seconds all together.

Yes no commercials to start with would be better, but this is a close second.
 
It sounds like you are using DTV, E*s DVR instantly advances 30 seconds without any sound or delay. As was said above, you can hit the button multiple times, w/o waiting. I usually hit mine (722K) 6 times, if I am still in a commercial, I hit it 2 more times, then one 10 second backup and there I am. Takes about 3 seconds all together.

Yes no commercials to start with would be better, but this is a close second.

You can't count on there being the same number of commericals everytime and you can't count on those commercials being 30 seconds long either. I don't care how many times you press skip, eventually you are going to go too far and have to back up and it will not be perfect and you are going to hear screaming commercials or you will see part of a scene you didn't want to see until you got to it in real time and mess up the storyline only to back up until you have to watch 5 to 10 seconds of a screaming commercial before your movie comes back on. Even in your scenario of 6x presses, you will hear 2 or 3 seconds of screaming before you hit 2x more and then your 10secs back, hoping that's all you need, which it usually isn't.

But you probably don't care about having your storyline break and having to press buttons on a remote you have to hold at the ready for 2 plus hours insterad of just enjoying a full length unedited, unbreaking story.

I have had Dish since '97 and a dvr from Dish for many of those years. I know whereof I speak.

This doesn't even address editing for time and content and zooming OAR movies out to 16x9 so stupid joe six pack does't call whining about how he paid thousands of dollars for an HDTV and doesn't want to see black bars.

AS I SAID, if it doesn't bother you, fine. It's still nowhere near the no commercials, original OAR format we used to get before all those channels sold out or were dumped by Dish.
 
Good for me is right. You must not have a mute button...:eek:...

So now, instead of just enjoying a feature film from beginning to end without interruption, I have to press the skip button/back button perfectly while pressing the mute button on and off.

I guarantee you listen to a few seconds of commercials regularly and just don't care.

You obviously just don't care what hoops you have to jump through to watch your SD quality edited movies but many others do care and liked when there used to quality HD channels that did not hack up your movie.
 
...

No I didn't, the topic was movie channels, not HD capacity. :rolleyes:

You said you recorded scores of movies...

That's not possible on a dvr unless you are using one of the obsolete SD models and you are recording downrezzed, pan and scan movies.
 
You said you recorded scores of movies...

That's not possible on a dvr unless you are using one of the obsolete SD models and you are recording downrezzed, pan and scan movies.

Your information is out of date. ViP series DVRs have nearly limitless recording capabilities with the EHD option ($40 one-time fee). Plug in a $100 1TB hard drive, and store 100 movies on it. Fill that one, go get another disk, start again. If you have multiple DVRs in the house, I've heard that any of them will recognize that disk and play recordings from it.

Still, I don't see what you have to gripe about at $35 per month. You have the sweetest deal of anyone on this forum. Want more movies? Get Netflix.
 

May make switch, but first some questions that Dish couldn't answer

250' run to receiver?

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

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts