$20 for HD is nuts

[dlsnyder]

The price won't go down. Bank on that. People are willingly giving the providers their $15 or $20 extra a month now for HD. When it becomes "normal" the providers can change the name of the packages and "cut" the extra fees, but they'll simply be built in to the package price.

Yeah, what he said. In less than 10 years (probably 3-5 years) the HD will be dropped from HDTV and people will forget about it. It will all be just TV, just like when we transitioned from black and white to color. When channel programmers start dropping their SD versions in 5-10 years will people even notice that the HD premium is still built in to the programming packages? I doubt it.

 

[MikeD-C05]

And once they get everything to hd ,look for everyone to start compressing the sh*t out of the picture once again , just like they did with sd. Right now you can see a difference between sd and hd but my bet is in the future it will look like sd looks today so they can fit all the new hd channels in. THen it will be a matter of saving money once again and people gravitating to the lowest programming pack.

 

[ScottChez]

Direct TV is Ala Carte HD.

With Dish its $20 or nothing.
========
$9.95 for all the HD channels that you normaly get in SD
$4.95 for the HD channels like HDNET, Smith, MGMHD that do not have SD counter parts (must have $9.95 package)
$5.00 for Voom.
=====
$20 with NO Ala Carte option

With DIrect TV
=============
$9.95 for all the HD channels that you normaly get in SD
$4.95 for the HD channels like HDNET, Smith, MGMHD that do not have SD counter parts
$0 No Voom.
=====
$10 to $15 Ala Carte depending on the package you want

 

[topjimmy]

I see no reason that the HD version of an already subbed channel should cost more. If cable was an option were I live, which it should be in a year, I will prob switch.

Later
Jim C

 

[garys]

I see no reason that the HD version of an already subbed channel should cost more. If cable was an option were I live, which it should be in a year, I will prob switch.

Later
Jim C

And they will charge you extra for the HD channels as well.

 

[robre]

I have balked at paying $20 for HD myself and have used my 622 for over a year with just OTA HD. But with the free 6 months of HD offer, I may take the jump. The way I look at it, I am already paying the $6 a month HD enabling fee for not having HD and for the privilege of watching the free OTA HD. So it really will only be costing me $14 more a month since I will not have to pay the HD enabling fee. So actually my bill will go down $6 a month for the first 6 months and then be $14 more per month than I am paying now. With the $6 savings a month, it is more like they are giving me 8 months for free. And I figure they will hopefully have a lot more HD by then making it worth the $14 extra a month, provided they do not raise the price, which is always a possibility.

 

[topjimmy]

And they will charge you extra for the HD channels as well.

Yes, but not $20. I will also get my locals in HD which Dish does not have. Look I'm not bashing Dish, for the three years I've had them it's been good. If it were not for them I would ONLY have OTA. My service has been reliable, and PQ on most channels is pretty good for SD. It does break my heart to watch a show in SD that I know is on HD if I had the damn package.

CPARKER we have almost the same setup, except I have a 522.

Later
JimC

 

[Andrewwski]

Cable cannot charge extra for HD channels that you already receive in SD. It's a regulation of some sort.

What they can do is charge more for the HD receiver than the SD one. In my case, it's $1.20 more each month.

So since I have cable, I could say I'm getting what you get for $20 for $1.20. Then I think of the fact that I only get 1 RSN, 6 locals (which I already get OTA), and and 7 national HD channels, and I think that I better not be paying any more than $1.20 extra. They also have three premium channels in HD which you get if you subscribe to them, and 4 on a special HD tier similar to D* for $5 extra.

 

[EricBskiVT]

When I decided that I wanted the HD upgrade within a few months, I dropped the Premiums. I had already dropped locals as I was getting them OTA. So I upgraded to HD and a DVR for only about $10 more per month. The premiums were replaced by Netflix so I get a much better choice of movies and watch them when I want to. I did add the DVR Advantage for an extra $1.03 to get local guide info.

 

[kb7oeb]

What they can do is charge more for the HD receiver than the SD one. In my case, it's $1.20 more each month.

Local cable here does the same thing but you can get your HD fees down to zero if you can use cable cards. Actually the cable cards are cheaper than a SD box so you save money adding HD.

 

[tsduke]

I do think $20 is too much for the HD pack, but I pay it because I want it. Spending a few thousand on a HD set and not getting the HD pack is like buying your dream car and never putting gas in it to actually drive it.

 

[Tyralak]

When's the last time your phone bill went down? Or your gas bill? Electric? Ok so those are utilities and may not be fair in comparison. So pick a service that you have that's not a utillity and think about when is the last time they REDUCED the price.

Um, when I lived in South Dakota and was a member of an electric co-op. My rates went down some months.

 

[B_Kranski]

I am also in an electric co-op, but here, rates are rising since main costs are transporting coal to fire the coal burners. And since Diesel is up over $3.50 a gallon, (which if some of you don't know, Disiel is a by-product of producing Gasoline) so that price will likely all be passed on to the consumer in the end. Which means higher costs for food, fuel, and anything else that we consume. All I can say is at least the gas companies are making money.

 

[drdroo]

As long as Dish keeps the price at 20$, even when they add more channels, I'm fine with it. However, if they do raise and separate channels for higher cost (like DirecTV is now doing), I will be unhappy.

I believe, as part of my DIU+DVRA deal, I have a locked rate for the 18 month period. But I still wouldn't like this the same.

 

[RWB]

My dish bill will be ~$72 for AM200 and 722HD after the promo is over.
Yes thas rediculous for TV in my opinion but we do watch it everyday and watching SD on my 50" LG plasma after I've seen true HD, well it just ain't right.

Take the extra $20 out of the wifes beer money and enjoy the great picture. You'll be glad you did after it sinks in for a while.

 

[billybgame]

I really only switched to Dish because of the Big Ten Network and NFL Networks not being available or not available unless you paid more money, from Comcast.

I also was in disbelief about $20 for HD with Dish. But, with it being free for 6 months, it was somewhat palatable. Plus, even once the introductory period is over, my bill is still less than it was with Comcast.

HOWEVER, I had HD locals with Comcast, and had no idea I wouldn't get ALL of my locals(no WXSP which carries big time sports).

I plan to be moving, right around this fresh contract ends. If nothing is changed by then, and it all depends on where I move to, you can bet I'd be looking at other options again.

$20, after HD becomes the norm, will be outrageous. What ever happened to the satellite services being a cheaper alternative?

 

[drdroo]

Eh don't worry dude, cable'll either be 20$ or they'll not have the same amount of HD for a while as the satellite services do. As it goes I get my HD locals with a regular antenna, but I suspect we might see HD locals on the sats in the future once they put the new sats up.

 

[8bitbytes]

I really only switched to Dish because of the Big Ten Network and NFL Networks not being available or not available unless you paid more money, from Comcast.

I also was in disbelief about $20 for HD with Dish. But, with it being free for 6 months, it was somewhat palatable. Plus, even once the introductory period is over, my bill is still less than it was with Comcast.

HOWEVER, I had HD locals with Comcast, and had no idea I wouldn't get ALL of my locals(no WXSP which carries big time sports).

I plan to be moving, right around this fresh contract ends. If nothing is changed by then, and it all depends on where I move to, you can bet I'd be looking at other options again.

$20, after HD becomes the norm, will be outrageous. What ever happened to the satellite services being a cheaper alternative?

You answered your own question - you said after the introductory period is over your bill will still be less than Comcast..

 

[8bitbytes]

...
HOWEVER, I had HD locals with Comcast, and had no idea I wouldn't get ALL of my locals(no WXSP which carries big time sports).
...

Can you receive OTA channels? I get all of my locals and the next city as well over OTA in addition to the channels I get from Dish.

Dish 622 and 722 DVRs can receive and record OTA channels.

 

[billybgame]

You answered your own question - you said after the introductory period is over your bill will still be less than Comcast..

That doesn't mean I find it acceptable. That's still way too much money for TV. The things we accept in this day and age amaze me. But, then, I don't own a cell phone, so you see where I come from.

I'm pondering an OTA at the moment. Not sure what to do yet, but I'm pondering it. I would cut out the $5 for locals if I did that.