Not impressed with Dish HD

[bob211]

I did have Comcast and there HD looked better than dish. Comcast and dish both have some of the same HD channels so thats what i am comparing it to.

Is Dish just upscaling and calling it HD?

off topic but i signed a 18 month contract and got dish HD free for 6 months will i be required to keep the HD channels for 18 months?

but all in all i like Dish better than comcast.

 

[Spaz]

Dish is giving you what the broadcaster is sending. If they are sending SD upconverted thats what Dish pushes out. Most channels only have a few shows in HD.

 

[garys]

And no, you do not have to keep the HD package in order to fulfill the committment.

 

[bob211]

Why pay for HD then when there are only a few real HD channels?

HD just seems so misleading with the way they are doing it.

but thanks for the info

I'll cancel the HD stuff before my free 6 months run out.

 

[WiCkeDuDe]

I agree with you. I bought a 622 and got the HD package yet the only channels I ever watched were SD. The HD offerings are pretty slim for my tastes. I realize other people may not feel the same way, but for me the HD was just not appealing for the price increase so I dropped HD. So far I have not seen much that would change my mind.

 

[goaliebob99]

Dish is giving you what the broadcaster is sending. If they are sending SD upconverted thats what Dish pushes out. Most channels only have a few shows in HD.

Actually its fully documented that dish is sending out hd lite on many channels where the broaudcaster is sending out full hd . Dish's solution to this wont be untill their new birds launch.

 

[rad]

Bob, has it been determined where all these satellites will be going? Are two of them going to Charlies new "All MPEG4" service which means it's only one that's going to the existing service? Does that one replace something that's there already or in addition to? Just curious how all this is going to play out.
Thanks

 

[MikeD-C05]

I think I remember Scott G. said that he thinks that DISH will be using the 86.5 and 97 slots for the relaunch of DISH in mpeg 4 . The funny thing is that the VIP Echostar service in total MPEG 4 is using the 85 slot right now. The foot path covers the entire United States and Hawaii and most of Alaska. But this service is for small cable companies who want to use them for their basic programming.

1)There was some speculation that when they send amc 14 up there in March to 61.5 that would freeup Echostar 3 to be used elsewhere.

2)THe echostar 11 going up in June would go to 110 and free up the conus beam sat there now to be used elsewhere : Echostar 8 or to take the place of the spare satellite doing nothing right now up there at 110 also : Echostar 6. THat would give us two different sats to be used else where at the slots of 86.5 and 97.

3)The Ciel sat going up at the end of the year will be for 129 and replace the crappy Echostar 5 sat. THey can junk that one for all I care. IT is worthless for good reception since it wobbles in orbit and the strength goes up an down every few minutes.

That is all speculation of what some think will happen. My worry is that the new mpeg 4 service is already up there and it is Echostar Vip service for cable companies. Maybe Charlie will let DISH subs who want an all mpeg 4 service go with the Vip service( IF its possible) but I wonder if it will be DISH or Echostar you are going with then. Who knows? But Charlie said to Scott at the Ces show that those plans will be discussed further as the new sats are all launched and in commission. So I don't think we will hear anymore about the all mpeg 4 service till late in the year .

 

[Tyralak]

I did have Comcast and there HD looked better than dish. Comcast and dish both have some of the same HD channels so thats what i am comparing it to.

Is Dish just upscaling and calling it HD?

off topic but i signed a 18 month contract and got dish HD free for 6 months will i be required to keep the HD channels for 18 months?

but all in all i like Dish better than comcast.

It's called overcompression. Dish goes crazy with the compression. They've turned HD into HDLite.

 

[bob211]

It's called overcompression. Dish goes crazy with the compression. They've turned HD into HDLite.

Im not going to pay extra for HD lite if thats what they call it, i see no differance in it than SD maybe a little bit but not anough to justify paying more for it.

I would think anyone that has seen real HD would be disappointed when they checked out what dish calls HD.

I did want to see them add USA network in HD but going by the other HD channels now i could care less because i know its not going to be real HD and not look much better so why bother with it.

 

[riffjim4069]

Ditto the HD-Lite sentiments...too bad because their 622/722 is better than TiVo HD/S3 and way better than cable's Motorola/SA HD DVRs.

 

[philssatellite]

I did have Comcast and there HD looked better than dish. Comcast and dish both have some of the same HD channels so thats what i am comparing it to.

Is Dish just upscaling and calling it HD?

off topic but i signed a 18 month contract and got dish HD free for 6 months will i be required to keep the HD channels for 18 months?

but all in all i like Dish better than comcast.

how long have you had it? make sure the installer set it up correctly.make sure the reciever is set up for 1080i.sometime they forget to do that before they leave.look in the menu 6 system setup then 8 hdtv setup. my picture on my 722 is great using hdmi cable. you may have already done this but wanted to let you know to check it anyway.it will help if it not setup correctly.

 

[JimK2]

I think I remember Scott G. said that he thinks that DISH will be using the 86.5 and 97 slots for the relaunch of DISH in mpeg 4 . The funny thing is that the VIP Echostar service in total MPEG 4 is using the 85 slot right now. The foot path covers the entire United States and Hawaii and most of Alaska. But this service is for small cable companies who want to use them for their basic programming.

1)There was some speculation that when they send amc 14 up there in March to 61.5 that would freeup Echostar 3 to be used elsewhere.

2)THe echostar 11 going up in June would go to 110 and free up the conus beam sat there now to be used elsewhere : Echostar 8 or to take the place of the spare satellite doing nothing right now up there at 110 also : Echostar 6. THat would give us two different sats to be used else where at the slots of 86.5 and 97.

3)The Ciel sat going up at the end of the year will be for 129 and replace the crappy Echostar 5 sat. THey can junk that one for all I care. IT is worthless for good reception since it wobbles in orbit and the strength goes up an down every few minutes.

That is all speculation of what some think will happen. My worry is that the new mpeg 4 service is already up there and it is Echostar Vip service for cable companies. Maybe Charlie will let DISH subs who want an all mpeg 4 service go with the Vip service( IF its possible) but I wonder if it will be DISH or Echostar you are going with then. Who knows? But Charlie said to Scott at the Ces show that those plans will be discussed further as the new sats are all launched and in commission. So I don't think we will hear anymore about the all mpeg 4 service till late in the year .

> 86.5 and 97 slots

Alot a west coast and nortwest wont be able to get 86.5 and 97 slots because of hills.

 

[fz5j2r]

Actually its fully documented that dish is sending out hd lite on many channels where the broaudcaster is sending out full hd . Dish's solution to this wont be untill their new birds launch.

GoalieBob,


Do you really believe they will use the new birds to increase resolution? It has been two years since they began the downward spiral for HD resolution. I actually get macro blocking on both of my premium Sony televisions on HD STATIONS!

I would be thrilled if they returned to where resolution was two years ago but I will not hold my breath.

 

[Poke]

Yes the new birds will help but its always a two way street no matter who you get service from. Dish can do their part and getting the new sats up will be a big plus but it not all controlled on their end. It also depends on the Network or HD Channel as well some broadcast things better than others. So Dish or whoever can do what they need to do but the Networks must make the right changes on their end as well.

 

[richiephx]

GoalieBob,


Do you really believe they will use the new birds to increase resolution? It has been two years since they began the downward spiral for HD resolution. I actually get macro blocking on both of my premium Sony televisions on HD STATIONS!

I would be thrilled if they returned to where resolution was two years ago but I will not hold my breath.

I think E* will be forced to raise the bar considering D* now, supposedly, has better HD picture quality than E* does. I hope D* keeps it that way too and doesn't regress like they did with SD and their MPEG2 HD. History tends to repeat itself but, in this case, I hope it doesn't because there will be many unhappy subscribers.

 

[primetimeguy]

GoalieBob,


Do you really believe they will use the new birds to increase resolution? It has been two years since they began the downward spiral for HD resolution. I actually get macro blocking on both of my premium Sony televisions on HD STATIONS!

I would be thrilled if they returned to where resolution was two years ago but I will not hold my breath.

It's the low bit rates / bandwidth that causes the macroblocking, not lack of resolution.

 

[glen242]

Actually its fully documented that dish is sending out hd lite on many channels where the broaudcaster is sending out full hd . Dish's solution to this wont be untill their new birds launch.

Could you point me to where its fully documented that dish is sending out hd lite on many channels where the broaudcaster is sending out full hd?

Thanks,

 

[DSpud]

If you can't tell the difference and/or there is very little difference between your SD and HD then your setup is not correct somewhere along the line. If you are depending on your installer to do it correctly, that is your first mistake. First, insure that your connection to your high def. tv is either HDMI, DVI, or Component Cables. If it is, Check to make sure your Dish reciever is set to the max resolution your TV can handle, either 720P or 1080i. When you do those two things, and your tv still looks bad, come back here and we will continue to try to find your problem.

 

[BuddyBoy]

Could you point me to where its fully documented that dish is sending out hd lite on many channels where the broaudcaster is sending out full hd?

No need to point you to any documentation, just capture the transport stream and look at it with any number of readily available tools.

All 1080i I've captured is sent as 1440x1080i. I've looked at HDNet, Showtime, HBO, Starz, PPVs, Voom channels and locals, and they've all been 1440x1080i. 720p seems to go out at 1280x720p (ESPN, Fox, ABC).