Who got the technology first?

[rlinman]

I have been reading the forums a lot and it seems like there are many people saying how slow DTV is with technology compared to Dish. Correct me if I am wrong and I can be wrong but Im curious about...

First company to offer HD in every room
First to have WHDVR
The newly dubbed HR34 now Genie came out a year before the Hopper
The newly dubbed nomad now GenieGo has been available for SEVERAL years

and these are hot topics that are important to customers now, im not saying Dish didnt later come out with innovative technology first, but what is important to the customer now. I agree that Dish came out with previous mentioned technology with some flashy commercials and a little feature here and there (PTAT, live mode sling) but the core technology DTV has had a lot longer.

Of course I am a little biased towards DTV but when people post omg when is DTV going to get with the picture and get something comparable to the hopper/sling/joey I feel like providing some education on the matter.

 

[lparsons21]

According to this wiki page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television_in_the_United_States

Both Dish and Direct started HD in 2002. I couldn't find anything to tell me which was actually first that year.

But both services had HD in every room available by using individual receivers/DVRs.

D* did get WHDVR first, and the HR34 was released before the Hopper.

All that said, both D* and E* now offer WHDVR, each using slightly different approaches to accomplish that. To me they are nearly the same in abilities, but the Dish equipment is much, much faster in operation. Frankly I've never understood why most of D*'s HR series have always been very slow in operation compared to E* equipment.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

DISH will say they had Multi Room DVR first since their DVR's could feed two signals to two rooms at the same time and share the same hard drive. But for true Multi Room Viewing DIRECTV did it with the existing HR series before there was even such a thing as a Genie. So to me I say DIRECTV wins there, even though DISH was technically doing two room setups for years.

As far as the GenieGo (Nomad) goes, DIRECTV was years behind on that technology and is no where close to what DISH has. DISH was transfering content to devices many years ago with their PocketDISH product, and the GenieGo (Nomad) does not broadcast live content outside the house. So I would say DISH wins there. I personally wouldnt invest in a GenieGo (Nomad) myself.

But all is not lost, you can add a standalone Slingbox to your DIRECTV receiver and watch live TV anywhere.

 

[lparsons21]

I do remember that when I got my first HDTV, I started looking at HD providers. At the time, Dish was the only viable provider since it had so many more HD channels than either Direct or Mediacom.

 

[TNGTony]

IIRC DirecTV offered a single HD channel (as a demo) first. Dish then jumped way ahead on the number of HD channels available for a couple of years. Of course most of them were the Voom channels. By the time I got my HD receiver Direct had more "conventional HD" than Dish, but Dish had more channels in HD because of Voom. Shortly after Dish dropped Voom and surpassed Direct in standard HD channels. It has been a back and forth thing since.

The Dish two room HD receiver (HD one room, SD second room) came way before a similar HD receiver, as Scott mentioned.

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

Kinda seems like this belongs in the warzone, not dtv forum, as im sure alot of dish folks would say theirs is better or was first. Truth be told its two seperate animals.

Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ke4pym]

According to this wiki page : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television_in_the_United_States

Both Dish and Direct started HD in 2002. I couldn't find anything to tell me which was actually first that year.

Nooooooooo they did not (at least for DirecTV). I was a DirecTV customer from 1997 until 2002 when I bought my 64" RPTV HD set. DirecTV had no HD offerings at the time. At least not for the general public.

A call from the regional manager where I bought my TV to Time Warner got me hooked up with a hand-built HD STB. The TV was delivered on a Wednesday and I had HD from TWC on a Thursday. At the time, there was a 90 day waiting period to get HD from TWC. There were 4 channels at the time.

I remained a TWC customer until they hosed me in 2010 and came back to DirecTV in October of 2010 to a much better HD offering.

 

[raoul5788]

If you left in 2002, and Directv started in 2002, you probably left before they offered it.

 

[harshness]

If you left in 2002, and Directv started in 2002, you probably left before they offered it.

DIRECTV turned up HD Net on September 6, 2001 (a Thursday) on channel 199 (previously DIRECTV's HD test channel). DISH would add HD Net and HD Net Movies two years later.

references: http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/dcp/news/hdnet-launches-directv/40367

http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=243648

 

[ke4pym]

I guess if you really want to split hairs. I left in mid-to-late 2002. Did some research - this is the oldest thing I could find:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DIREC...n+Package;+New+HD+Package+will...-a0102714896

In it, someone from DTV said they started HD coast-to-coast in what looks to be about 1999. I can tell you, when I called up DirecTV and asked about it, I was flat out told no, they had no HD offerings. So, while they may have had it for certain privy individuals, the general consumer couldn't get it. I may not be able to remember how I got to work this morning. But I clearly remember the events surrounding the purchase of that TV.

Interestingly Voom, launched in mid-2003 and at the time, was widely thought to be in a place to kick DirecTV's butt in the HD world. But, they went boom in early 2005 and then Dish picked them up in either 2005 or 2006. IIRC, they used that satellite's capacity to increase their own HD offerings.

http://tdgresearch.com/directv-boosts-hd-as-voom-prepares-for-doom/

 

[KAB]

All history aside, it's who is what now that counts.

 

[harshness]

All history aside, it's who is what now that counts.

You're forgetting what the topic of the thread is.

 

[raoul5788]

You're forgetting what the topic of the thread is.

I don't think he forgot the topic, I think he put it into perspective.

 

[harshness]

I don't think he forgot the topic, I think he put it into perspective.

Consider this: each carrier has leap-frogged the other throughout their history so it is necessary to take that into consideration when cultivating a perspective. Those that came to DIRECTV before they actually began their HD push back in 2007 (announced in 2004) or were waiting for the HMC (announced at CES 2005 and delivered in late 2011) have a different perspective from those who came on board in the intervening years.

 

[raoul5788]

And your post has what to do with the topic of this post?

 

[Mr Tony]

nothing......like usual
trolls seem to be like that

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

I have both DTV & Dish. I don't have the Genie or Hopper,but I have 3 DTV HD DVR's(HR22-100,HR23-700,HR24-500),2 DTV HD receivers(H24-700,H25-500) all connected by Whole Home DVR. With Dish I have 2 HD DVR's(both ViP722k) & 1 HD receiver(ViP211k,currently connected to an SD TV). I feel that DTV has the best HD TV picture overall. I have all of my DVR/receivers on "Native" & "original format." It means that changing channels is slow,but it's worth it for the great picture quality. As far as Dish goes,its HD picture is duller than DTV's. I had Charter Cable(which became Knology & now Wow) & even their HD picture was better than Dish's. I had to suspend services with both DTV & Dish for 6 months recently for personal reasons & just now got both up & running again. One pleasant surprise is that Dish's HD picture has improved,but it still isn't as good as DTV's. I will say that Dish's SD picture quality on my SD TV is very good & clear.
Overall,I like both services & feel that they complement each other. I use Dish for watching live TV & DTV for recording programs & watching them then afterwards. I could care less who came with what first,as long as they can please me now with what they have.

 

[zim2dive]

The newly dubbed HR34 now Genie came out a year before the Hopper

You mean a year before the software was up to user quality? And a year before adequate H/W was available, which is why they are now rolling out the HR44?

 

[raoul5788]

You mean a year before the software was up to user quality? And a year before adequate H/W was available, which is why they are now rolling out the HR44?

Both opinions, of course. Are you saying that Dish has never upgraded their hardware or software?

 

[harshness]

And your post has what to do with the topic of this post?

The caveat that announcing or shipping a product should not be equated with introduction of a finished product. I suspect that DIRECTV wasn't really proud of the HR34 until they renamed it Genie.

Would you buy a plug-in hybrid car that promised that the charging feature be implemented in the future? *


*obligatory automotive comparison