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mwdxer1
mwdxer1
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Dish vs Direct TV Pricing

I just saw the new Direct TV pricing. All I can say is Ouch! I am glad to be with Dish even with disputes. Depending on what region you are in, I guess the pricing varies with Direct to top it off. For Sports fans I guess Direct is the place to go if you have the money to pay for it. I know friends of mine who has Direct were forced to go to a smaller package last year with the increases. I am not a Sports fan, so I would rather have other programming like the Diginets and I am still Grandfathered in for the Supers. The Movie pack offers a lot for $10 extra too. I am quite happy with Dish.
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DishSubLA
DirecTV always had the PRICE barrier (too expensive, especially compared to Dish, but even to our cable TV provider). The first two sat systems I ever saw at people's homes were DircTV (both households were MEGA sports fans and DTV was then the only provider of the exclusive stuff not only in NFL but MLB and soccer), and they were impressive systems and the PQ was easily superior to my cable TV provider.

Then my aunt & uncle got Dish because they had just gotten a big screen TV and did not like the LACK of channels of their cable provider compared to satellite, but Dish had the rebate program way back then and it was at Costco and they considered DTV, but did not want to pay the higher prices, so it was Dish. Thankfully, I steered her AWAY from the DishPlayer 7000/7100 that was a disaster. So, they were quite happy with content to watch, Dolby Digital surround sound and the much better PQ that Dish had then.

Then, after our cable TV provider couldn't come for over a WEEK to fix a problem that prevented us from viewing ANY TV during the holidays when the guys would want to watch the games, etc.--we were really angry, so I made the jump to Dish because we did see how the Dish system did its job (while looking 2nd rate to DTV as far as EPG), but we were motivated by Dish's LOWER prices--that was the deciding factor. Yes, back in those days the DTV hardware made by 3rd parties was, for the most part, superior, but then Dish added the Picture in Guide to the 3900/4900 series (the lower slaves were still using that awful, Micky Mouse looking guide compared to DTV's fancy guide displays) that made a big difference in the experience.

Then, a few years later, Dish moved past DTV in STB and a bit later in DVR's after Dishs rocky start, but Dish did offer getting a DVR in the house at a HUGE discount of one-time reasonable fee, while DTV had to charge extra and on top of EXTRA for the DirecTiVo's at the time. Then Dish just started giving you a DVR, while DTV was still had a price barrier.

Also, one still had to buy a DTV system on your OWN at full retail price from 3rd parties, while Dish--because it made its own hardware equipment, moved to the cable TV model of paying for the system for you and installing it FOR you, the subscriber, or at a nominal one-time fee that was far cheaper than DTV's full retail priced system you had to go to Best Buy and purchase AND pay for the separate installation fee.

DTV was engineered by a legacy govt. contractor, a part of the military industrial complex, who were used to designing with NO EXPENSE spared and inefficiencies because Uncle Sam would always pick-up the tab. DTV just didn't have a legacy of considering the consumer market much, and the real purpose for DTV was its exclusive sports offerings with all the other "cable" channels being for the wife and kids. And the original DTV management never took Dish seriously.

20 some years ago when Dish and DTV attempted to merge, Mr. Ergen got to look at DTV's books, and I clearly remember Charlie Ergen stating at some point to a question or something and tried to explain the merger, stating among other things that "They built a very expensive network . . ." I had always believed the DTV was pretty much LOCKED into their high pricing not just because of it exclusive sports, but that it had built a not efficient network/system for the service. And BTW, Charlie's plan was to retire the Dish brand and take the DirecTV name and brand for what would have been the merged company. The DTV brand back then was truly golden and had really made DTV a household name if you ever mentioned satellite TV, so that made sense. DTV was a VERY good service, but it was just too expensive for me and quite a few others.

Dish was built with economy, but a mission to provide the best possible quality PQ and sound possible with whatever limitations Dish may have (in terms of Xpndrs/bandwidth, etc), and a careful design to meet the price sensitivity of the average consumer, along with taking a strategy to be the "affordable" DBS company compared to DTV's always higher prices. I always found it interesting that while Dish could not compete to get NFLST away from DircTV, Dish would spend the money and tried harder in the realm of superior customer experience using Dish and better DVR's and STB tech over all.

The 721, although still using hard time DVR timers, was a leap in DVR tech with its Apps overlay (the weather was my favorite), 2 tuner DVR, and first ever for a DVR Picture-in Picture. While the first year was rough, it settled down to be a DVR all Dish users LOVED, and then the subsequent DishPlayer 522/625 (IIRC, I'm not sure of the model numbers), etc. were the refinement of (and name based timers) the ground-breaking 721, and really killed DTV DVR's for good.

I am not surprised that current DTV increases still result in DTV being the KING of EXPENSIVE, and only those who MUST have NFLST or other Regionals are willing to pay the higher prices. I suppose I am just too cheap, and I know more than a few who would like the greater sports offerings of DTV, but have chosen Dish for reasons that are economic as far as a choice among proper MVPD's.

Dish, less expensive and superior STB/viewer experience and features. How ironic for DTV today. AT&T did a great job in de-valuating what was a great brand, a really good service with a great reputation into a shadow of its former self.
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NashGuy
DishSubLA said:
Dish, less expensive and superior STB/viewer experience and features. How ironic for DTV today. AT&T did a great job in de-valuating what was a great brand, a really good service with a great reputation into a shadow of its former self.
Click to expand...
Yes. As I've posted elsewhere here, this is why I suspect that if/when DISH and DTV finally do merge, we'll see DISH live on as the surviving brand name for the nation's sole DBS service using their Hopper/Joey hardware platform. I expect that DTV customers would be able to stick with their existing hardware and grandfathered channel packages as long as they want, with the combined company perhaps referring to that customer group as being served by "DirecTV by DISH."
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edisonprime
NashGuy said:
Yes. As I've posted elsewhere here, this is why I suspect that if/when DISH and DTV finally do merge, we'll see DISH live on as the surviving brand name for the nation's sole DBS service using their Hopper/Joey hardware platform. I expect that DTV customers would be able to stick with their existing hardware and grandfathered channel packages as long as they want, with the combined company perhaps referring to that customer group as being served by "DirecTV by DISH."
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But I do know, that after Sirius and XM merged, they still have TWO SEPARATE PLATFORMS. They have their Sirius radios and their XM radios. There are SiriusXM radios as well, but those are just XM radios with an expanded lineup. Will DirecTV and Dish Network follow suit?
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Yespage
edisonprime said:
But I do know, that after Sirius and XM merged, they still have TWO SEPARATE PLATFORMS. They have their Sirius radios and their XM radios. There are SiriusXM radios as well, but those are just XM radios with an expanded lineup. Will DirecTV and Dish Network follow suit?
Click to expand...
Ultimately, Sat TV is going to transition to terrestrial 5G (and up) as well as streaming via a strand of glass and Snell's law. Dish has Sling, Directv has... well the same thing for streaming. So, merging because Sat is dying doesn't seem like the actual future as both of them will eventually be put to bed in their transition to terrestrial broadcasting.

The real big difference between Dish and Directv is that Ergen has a plan for the future that he has been developing for a decade (5G networking for consumer and business). Whether it works, we'll see, but if it does, it'll probably be pretty big. And if not, well, they have Sling and will shrink. Meanwhile, Directv was bought by AT&T and possibly doomed to being a high end online streaming platform as any other long-term plans were well out of the imagination of AT&T.
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NashGuy
edisonprime said:
But I do know, that after Sirius and XM merged, they still have TWO SEPARATE PLATFORMS. They have their Sirius radios and their XM radios. There are SiriusXM radios as well, but those are just XM radios with an expanded lineup. Will DirecTV and Dish Network follow suit?
Click to expand...
Yeah, pretty much. I'm told that modern DISH boxes can work with DTV installations (DTV rooftop dishes, wiring, and satellites) after a simple software/firmware update. So I expect that all *new* satellite subs going forward, after the merger, would get DISH receivers. And since there's a longer expected lifespan for the DTV fleet of satellites (the newest DTV sat was launched in June 2019), those new subs would get rooftop dishes aimed at the DTV sats (unless for some reason their location presented line-of-site problems for the DTV sats but not for the DISH sats, in which case their dish would be aimed at the latter).

But both sat fleets would continue to operate until they die in order to keep serving the large installed base of customers without the need for expensive re-installations. So nothing would really change for those customers who had been installed before the merger. Their receivers and dishes would keep working just as before. And they'd likely be able to keep their existing channel packages as long as they wanted.

The real changes would be what's offered to *new* subs signing up after the merger. They wouldn't have two brands (DTV and DISH) to choose from, only one. They wouldn't have two different sets of channel packages to choose from, only one. They wouldn't have two different hardware platforms (Genie and Hopper) to choose from, only one.

Now, at some point in the latter half of this decade, all of the DISH satellite fleet may have died; the youngest sat in the DISH fleet will hit its 15 year expected end-of-life in 2026, IIRC. (That said, sats often do remain operable beyond the 15 year mark.) So before that happens, any of the installed customer base still using rooftop dishes pointed at the DISH sat fleet would have to be transitioned over to either internet delivery of their TV signals or have an installer come out and replace their dish with a new one pointed at the still-operating DTV fleet. This is likely one reason why we already see Hopper receivers incorporating internet-streamed live channels. For instance, if you subscribe to HBO or Cinemax now on DISH, a few of the less-watched channels in those services (e.g. HBO Signature) aren't beamed in via sat but are only available through an internet connection to the Hopper. They appear in the guide just the same as the normal sat-delivered channels and can be recorded to your DVR hard drive just the same. And heck, you can live stream ALL of the channels in your DISH service via their app on a Fire TV streaming device. So there's zero technical reason that they couldn't let new customers sign up today for service with a Hopper and Joey and just get the entire service via a broadband connection without even the need for a rooftop dish and the expensive installation process that requires. It's certainly possible, even likely, that at some point DISH because dish-optional.
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navychop
navychop
Let us not put the cart before the horse. There is no merger. Might never be.
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Scott Greczkowski
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
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Bobby
Bobby
I Wish I Was Eighteen Again - George Burns
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harshness
harshness
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
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EatMyVolts
EatMyVolts
Lonesome Road -- The Wonder Who?
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long_time_Dish
long_time_Dish
Lonesome Loser - Little River Band
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hwkn
Long LONESOME Highway-Michael Parks
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JSheridan
JSheridan
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

All DMA's now Western Arc

I know HipKat said that they were working on conversions but we got the official news yesterday right from Dish that starting next month all DMA's will be on the western arc, and all customers will be assigned to that. That's gonna mean a lot of customers around here aren't gonna get Dish unless there are exceptions. Too many mountains and trees.
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Foxbat
Foxbat
Unless Dish acquires DirecTV and its mid-USA satellite slots, I may not have Dish Network to reach 40 years. Or, I guess we could buy a new house…
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slow_poke_pete
Foxbat said:
Unless Dish acquires DirecTV and its mid-USA satellite slots, I may not have Dish Network to reach 40 years. Or, I guess we could buy a new house…
Click to expand...
have charlie buy you a new house :biggrin :clapping
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telstar_1
Well, I didn't immediately think of broadcast, where there are all kinds of digital "subchannels"- I remember back when digital broadcast began that supposedly the 6mhz channel would likely support just 1 HD program and that the added subchannels would likely have to remain SD. I don't watch enough broadcast to know. Are there a lot of the subchannels in SD-only, and how do they do that, like are they in 4:3 or some kind of low-res widescreen?
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Foxbat
Foxbat
slow_poke_pete said:
have charlie buy you a new house :biggrin :clapping
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I don't think my social proximity to Charle Ergen provides any special perks. Maybe if Foxbat, Jr. were to marry his daughter…🤞🏻🤣
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slow_poke_pete
Foxbat said:
Unfortunately, I don't think my social proximity to Charle Ergen provides any special perks. Maybe if Foxbat, Jr. were to marry his daughter…🤞🏻🤣
Click to expand...
that would be one hell of a convo :biggrin.
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osu1991
osu1991
telstar_1 said:
Well, I didn't immediately think of broadcast, where there are all kinds of digital "subchannels"- I remember back when digital broadcast began that supposedly the 6mhz channel would likely support just 1 HD program and that the added subchannels would likely have to remain SD. I don't watch enough broadcast to know. Are there a lot of the subchannels in SD-only, and how do they do that, like are they in 4:3 or some kind of low-res widescreen?
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New more efficient encoders. I think there's around 60 channels/sub channels now in the Tulsa dma. 480 widescreen for most of the sub channels, but some have 2 HD channels and a couple of SD sub channels while others have 1 HD and 5 or more SD sub channels. If they moved to mp4 or hevc encoding they could do higher bitrates for SD or more HD or even 4K in that 6Mhz channel. That could render some early digital tvs unable to tune though as they may not have the codecs for that. Considering 4K tvs have been on sale for years, I think it would be a very small minority of TVs with the problem. I'd rather see that happen and keep ATSC 1 than continue the move to a DRM enforced ATSC 3 world.
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SatZach
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Is Roku the new Legacy Cable?

The title was to catch everyone's eye lol! But it is a thought I've been having as I dev a Roku app for a client. You see many MAAANY years ago I got really interested in cable TV channels and even chatted with a regional carrier, Insight about what it took to get a channel number. It was surprisingly easy although prohibitively expensive.



You could petition, reserve a high channel number, they monitored performance and if they liked you, you'd get lower channel number overtime and cut into ad overlays.



Roku has a similar setup. Make an app, if it has a strong, original linear component you could get channel assignment on The Roku Channel.



As mixed as my feelings are on the current media landscape, I can't help but feel a little excited interest when I scope out the apps in the Roku store.
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navychop
navychop
Hmmm. I think Roku will last. But will Firestick? With their backing, I guess so. Apple TV STB? Of Course. Walmart? Seems someone ought to go, but with their backing?….

Off brands have, as probably expected, very short lives.
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SatZach
navychop said:
Hmmm. I think Roku will last. But will Firestick? With their backing, I guess so. Apple TV STB? Of Course. Walmart? Seems someone ought to go, but with their backing?….

Off brands have, as probably expected, very short lives.
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All of those services have FAST Channels. FAST is a linear online broadcast stndrd. You notice how their linear channels all have some overlap? They are gettting paid for every second those streams are up without really having to do their own accounting. Best part is they don't even facilitate any of the stream bandwidth. Over glorified app stores on some android hardware. No reason NOT to stay in the game.
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klang
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in TV Shows

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Paramount+

Season 2 order already in hand:

'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' Renewed for Season 2, Tatiana Maslany to Guest Star in Season 1

I've not been optimistic about this show based on what I've read so far. Seems to be aimed at a younger audience. Interesting though that Tatiana Maslany will have some sort of role.
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harshness
harshness
Females wearing any clothing is unthinkable on Ferenginar.
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long_time_Dish
long_time_Dish
harshness said:
Females wearing any clothing is unthinkable on Ferenginar.
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Was never a huge of the Ferengi-centric episodes in Trek...
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Jimbo
Jimbo
long_time_Dish said:
Was never a huge of the Ferengi-centric episodes in Trek...
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Me either ...
They turned out to be a Poor adversary ....
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Foxbat
Foxbat
They got their proper due on "Deep Space Nine"
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long_time_Dish
long_time_Dish
Foxbat said:
They got their proper due on "Deep Space Nine"
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And too many episodes centering on/around them as well...
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SuperDish_Fan23
SuperDish_Fan23
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Its crazy how the ViP922 is so rare for no reason.

Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
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Strega
I looked for wrecked trains on ebay and those are hard to find too!
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Almighty1
Almighty1
I remember this in the news too...

www.nbcnews.com

$14,000 spent on rented rotary phone

A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now- outdated phone.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
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Bobby
Bobby
Almighty1 said:
I remember this in the news too...

www.nbcnews.com

$14,000 spent on rented rotary phone

A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now- outdated phone.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
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That is a misnomer. In the old days you subscribed to telephone service. That included the telephone line and one telephone. An extension cost $1 a month extra. So that $14,000 over 42 years was for the service not the leased telephone. There is no way they paid $28 a month for 42 years for a leased telephone.
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SuperDish_Fan23
SuperDish_Fan23
SuperDish_Fan23 said:
Why are ViP922s So rare? like its crazy how ebay has none, i checked everywhere, also, i got a ViP222k now, which is actually activated!
Click to expand...
Whoever still has their 922, please let me know i just wanna see photos of the ui and other stuff
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slow_poke_pete
SuperDish_Fan23 said:
Whoever still has their 922, please let me know i just wanna see photos of the ui and other stuff
Click to expand...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wL6dsORmXg
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telstar_1
Slicker guides never did much for me
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Almighty1
Almighty1
Bobby said:
That is a misnomer. In the old days you subscribed to telephone service. That included the telephone line and one telephone. An extension cost $1 a month extra. So that $14,000 over 42 years was for the service not the leased telephone. There is no way they paid $28 a month for 42 years for a leased telephone.
Click to expand...
Good point as part of that time mentioned was before I was even alive.

While reports from the family's case focused entirely on the equipment rental charges, media records show that Ester Strogen originally started by paying $29.95 per quarter ($9.98 per month) in the 1960s for her combined telephone connection.
The actual base cost for standard residential telephone service over a 42-year period (spanning roughly 1964 to 2006) reveals how basic connection costs evolved compared to the equipment rental fees:

Historical Phone Service Rates
  • 1960s – 1970s Base Rate: Standard local phone service was heavily subsidized and tightly regulated under the Bell System monopoly. A basic landline package with unlimited local calling typically cost between $5.00 and $10.00 per month.
  • 1980s – 2000s Post-Deregulation Rate: Following the AT&T divestiture in 1984, base line service rates steadily climbed due to the introduction of subscriber line charges, touch-tone fees, and local infrastructure adjustments. By 2006, basic flat-rate local residential phone service hovered around $15.00 to $25.00 per month (excluding long-distance packages and taxes).
The True Lifetime Service Bill

Assuming an average baseline connection fee of roughly $12.00 a month over that 42-year span, the line connectivity itself would have realistically accumulated to approximately $6,000 in raw cash payouts.
When you bundle the actual service costs together with the escalating equipment rental fees, the total cumulative out-of-pocket phone expenses over those four decades easily crossed $12,000 to $14,000. Long-distance phone calls—which were billed entirely by the minute back then and could cost up to 15 to 30 cents per minute—would add significantly more to that historical total depending on usage.

The widely publicized calculation stems from a viral news story from 2006 involving a widow named Ester Strogen. Her family discovered she had been continuously leasing two rotary dial telephones from AT&T for 42 years.
The total cost—which actually came out to more than $14,000 by the time the lease was canceled—was calculated based on the following legacy telecom structure:
  • The Monthly Fee: At the time her granddaughters discovered the charges, the ongoing leasing fee was $29.10 per month for the two outdated phones.
  • The Math: Over 42 years (504 months), paying roughly $24 to $30 a month accumulates to between $12,000 and $14,600 ($29.10 × 504 months = $14,666.40).
Why did this happen?
Prior to the landmark breakup of AT&T ("Ma Bell") in 1984, consumers were legally not allowed to own their phones; they were required to lease them directly from the phone company.
When the laws changed and phone ownership became legal, AT&T spun off its rental division into a company called QLT Consumer Lease Services. Millions of customers, particularly elderly individuals who were used to seeing a single unified phone bill, simply never realized that the small recurring "equipment lease" line-item could be canceled by buying a cheap phone at a retail store.

Yes, leasing absolutely cost that much in reality, and the math is entirely accurate. However, the calculations performed by the family did contain one major historical nuance: they multiplied the final 2006 rate across all 42 years, which means the actual total cash paid out was likely a bit lower.
The original viral story focused on 82-year-old widow Ester Strogen from Canton, Ohio, who paid $29.10 a month for two black rotary phones until her family intervened in July 2006.
The reality behind how the cost reached that staggering total breaks down into two distinct phases:

Phase 1: The Historical Base Rate (1960s – 1984)

When Strogen first got the phones in the 1960s, renting was a legal mandate and cost a fraction of the 2006 price—usually just a few dollars a month.
  • The "Insurance" Mirage: In exchange for that fee, Ma Bell promised free, lifetime maintenance. If the phone broke, they replaced it instantly at no extra cost.
  • The Cost-Plus Reality: Because these solid-state phones were built like tanks out of heavy plastic and steel, they almost never broke. Consumers paid a continuous premium for decades for a repair service they rarely used.
Phase 2: The Deregulation Rate Hikes (1984 – 2006)

After AT&T was forced to break up its monopoly in 1984, the rental side of the business was shifted to Lucent Technologies and later a legacy holding company. To maximize profit off a shrinking customer base, they steadily increased the monthly rental fees over the next 20 years.
  • By 2006, the rental cost had quietly ballooned to roughly $14.55 per phone per month.
  • When the family discovered the $29.10 monthly charge, they looked back at the 42-year span and estimated the collective loss at over $14,000.
Even adjusted for historical inflation—where $2 a month in 1964 had the purchasing power of roughly $20 today—Ester Strogen and hundreds of thousands of other elderly Americans realistically paid thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for standard desk phones they could have purchased at retail for $10.

The exact out-of-pocket dollar amount Ester Strogen paid over those 42 years was never publicly determined, as neither AT&T nor the family had access to monthly billing records stretching all the way back to the 1960s.
The figures reported in the media are entirely mathematical estimates based on the 2006 rate. The two primary numbers used to define the "cost" are:
  • The Stated Media Total: More than $14,000.
  • The Exact Family Formula: $14,666.40. This was derived by taking her final recorded bill of $29.10 per month and multiplying it across the full 42 years (504 months).
What the True Cash Cost Likely Was

Because AT&T did not charge $29.10 a month back in 1964, the true historical cash sum she handed over was lower than $14,000. In the 1960s and 1970s, basic phone lease fees were generally bundled into standard service or itemized at just $1.00 to $2.00 a month per phone.
If we realistically assume she paid lower base rates for the first 20 years before the post-1984 deregulation price hikes took effect, a realistic estimate of the actual cash paid is between $5,000 and $7,000.

The Real Cost When Adjusted for Inflation

While the family's $14,000 calculation overestimates the raw cash paid, it actually underestimates the true economic damage when factoring in the time value of money.
Paying $2.00 a month for equipment in 1964 sounds minor, but due to severe inflation during the 1970s, those early single dollars had the purchasing power of roughly $20.00 each in 2006 terms. If you adjust every historical lower monthly payment upward to account for inflation, Ester Strogen realistically lost the equivalent of well over $15,000 in modern purchasing power by renting instead of buying.
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slow_poke_pete
telstar_1 said:
Slicker guides never did much for me
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me either. sometimes it seems like things disappear when they start changing sh*t around :biggrin
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slow_poke_pete
Strega said:
I looked for wrecked trains on ebay and those are hard to find too!
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you would be better off looking in ca for a train wreck to nowhere :biggrin :p
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jcrandall
jcrandall
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV Programming Forum

Channels on DIRECTV Satellite and not on Stream/Internet

So...DirecTV advertises the Choice package with 95+ bonus channels for Satellite customers. You don't want 90+ of the 95...

Excluding PPV, premium networks, infomercial, shopping, religion, and non-English programming, there are 7 channels on satellite that are not on streaming:
NFL Network, MavTV, FE TV, Free Speech, NASA, INSP, and Pursuit. I'm pretty sure a couple of those are public interest that they have to carry to meet an FCC quota on satellite.

I hope they get called out for this advertising because that is ridiculous. One big network, NFL, will probably get added to streaming when their next agreement comes up, and the rest are likely very low viewership.

What about streaming, what do you get extra with the Choice package that isn't on Satellite:
Two stations - one of which is an internet TV - Fox Weather, and Heros & Icons (a diginet). Nothing special here to look at either.

If they cleaned up a couple of their agreements, added a few public interest stations to streaming, they could probably have their lineups match. It's close now, if you take out all the garbage on satellite that they earn money on. If they can sell infomercials on satellite, why can't they on streaming, seems like a miss. A bigger miss, including those stations in the "bonus channels just for satellite customers." Pretty sad marketing right there.

1681344805401.png


Attached is a comparison sheet of satellite vs streaming for the three main packages if anyone is interested.

MOD EDIT: See Post #3 for an up to date list of what channels are available on sat but not on streaming/internet, see Post #21 for an up to date list of what's available in the app for streaming customers, but not for sat customers.
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DirecTV Sat vs Stream.pdf 46 KB
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KyL416
WNPX/28 Nashville (The new home of the Predators) and WMYD/20 Detroit (the new home of the Pistons) are testing on the stream server.
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harshness
harshness
One might get the impression that what DIRECTV does, or doesn't, is becoming far less consequential than it used to be.
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mario315
harshness said:
One might get the impression that what DIRECTV does, or doesn't, is becoming far less consequential than it used to be.
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KyL416
WPLG/10 Miami is now available to stream customers

The CW stations WCWW/25 South Bend and WBKP/5 Marquette are testing on the stream server

Last week they also added a bunch of CW stations that are still not available to sat customers:
WETM-DT/19 Elmira
WJET-DT/25 Erie
KLFY-DT/11 Lafayette LA
KARD-DT/15 Monroe
WVBT-DT/44 Norfolk
WTWO-DT/3 Terre Haute
WFXV-DT/34 Utica
KFDX-DT/4 Wichita Falls
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mario315
Well, that was fast ! DTV Stream brought back WTCN's HD signal today.

I have to assume the station signing up a week ago as the Miami Heat affiliate here (to carry their games) did the trick. NBA magic !!!

Or the station engineer took care of the problem after hearing about it.
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darren_s
KyL416 said:
WNPX/28 Nashville (The new home of the Predators) and WMYD/20 Detroit (the new home of the Pistons) are testing on the stream server.
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Channel 28 Nashville hasn't been added so far, correct?
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KyL416
WNPX Nashville and WMYD Detroit were added to stream about 2 months ago.

They also now have PRDTRS/651 for those in Predators territory outside of the Nashville DMA and PISTONS/663-2 for those in Pistons territory outside of the Detroit DMA.
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TheForce
TheForce
Supporting Founder Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Phone & Tablet Zone

Apple Event September 2026

Apple Fall Hardware Event takes place today, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. It marks the debut of new CEO John Ternus and the expected reveal of Apple's first foldable phone.
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comfortably_numb
comfortably_numb
Can't remember if I've posted this yet..


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfL5seXJyWU
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Foxbat
Foxbat
If you ponied up for an iPhone Duo, keep it away from anything other than your soft, fleshy fingertips. No fingernails, no dust, sand, dirt, or other particulate matter. And don't bend it more than it needs to. Zack has destroyed $2,000 of Apple hardware to get those views, which should cover his expenses.
​
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comfortably_numb
comfortably_numb
Foxbat said:
No fingernails, no dust, sand, dirt, or other particulate matter
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And definitely no medieval chain armor!
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harshness
harshness
comfortably_numb said:
medieval chain armor
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Aka "mail" or "maille".
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Foxbat
Foxbat
IFixIt has published their Teardown and they had some positive things to say about the iPhone Duo. It still showed some dust ingress into the hinge assembly but seemed otherwise well-sealed.
​

But with a considerable number of reports of the main screen dying with similar failures, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer for this phone.
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slow_poke_pete
comfortably_numb said:
Can't remember if I've posted this yet..


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfL5seXJyWU
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most carriers do. that's why they send updates that slow phones down!! i buy unlocked phones no effect to me
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slow_poke_pete
Foxbat said:
IFixIt has published their Teardown and they had some positive things to say about the iPhone Duo. It still showed some dust ingress into the hinge assembly but seemed otherwise well-sealed.
​

But with a considerable number of reports of the main screen dying with similar failures, AppleCare+ should be a no-brainer for this phone.
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hope you have apple care a screen job is 1000.00 :oops:. can we say over priced garbage!!!
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meStevo
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section

NFL 2026-2027 Season

Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
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rvvaquero
rvvaquero
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
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Yespage
rvvaquero said:
Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.
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Johnson built it, but without the Herschel Walker trade, it never happens.
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b4pjoe
b4pjoe
Yespage said:
Johnson built it, but without the Herschel Walker trade, it never happens.
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Jerry made himself General Manager after he bought the team but make no mistake Jimmy engineered that trade. As well as a lot of others at the time.
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rvvaquero
rvvaquero
Jimmy Johnson is a football guy. Jerry Jones is a marketer (hustler).

When I see a football player get a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct (like taunting) in a close game, I often wonder what he was thinking. Was he thinking, I'm doing everything I can to make this a better team and help win a championship? Or, was he saying to himself, I want everyone to notice how great I am?

Johnson inspires one, Jones the other.
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meStevo
meStevo
meStevo
Got to unfurl and hold the flag at Allegiant for the anthem today - amazing experience.
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

This Week in Tech 1107

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHoCBzfrdmQ


Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Tech 1107
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

This Week in Tech 1107

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYRNrj5MQzw


Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Tech 1107
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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