Back when the UI was written in flash, the HD UI was very slow, so they gave people the option to turn it off. Now that it has been rewritten in Haxe, turning off the HD menus isn't really necessary any more.
I was finally able to get Dish to send me the box. Have to wait until 12/11/14 to get it but they threw everything at me to get me to stay. Dish is great and if I was interested in having this type of pay TV service I would stick with them. Thanks Dish for 14 great years of service.
That won't happen because it would be political suicide for any politician that doesn't support legislation against it. However, that probably won't prevent selected events from going the pay route. I've heard rumors the Superbowl might go the pay route by 2021.
A friend of mine has DirecTV and he called to get some discounts. He threatened to cancel and they called his bluff and sent him boxes. He knew he screwed up but luckily the day after he canceled he got a call from the retention department and they gave him everything he asked for to keep him.
Same happened to me 4 years ago. I called to cancel directv and they called my bluff. Then a few days later I got calls all day and I finally answered and the lady offered new customer pricing. I was told before from my brother in law to call in and say you like the service and you're happy with it except the price. That you really don't want to leave but will have no choice if something can't be worked out.
Not difficult at all apparently. They offered me $10 off for 12 months or to put my service on hold for free for up to 9 months or brand new HWS to stay. Not bad considering I was just on the Welcome Pack, but since it wasn't what I actually wanted to do, it didn't matter.