What's a (non-contract) Absolute HD ($29.99) subscriber to do?
Current missing: BET HD, Encore HD (E), FOX Business Network HD, FOX News Channel HD, FX HD, MSNBC HD, MTV HD, NICK HD, SPEED HD and VH1 HD.
That was the whole basis of the HD Only, aka DishHD, aka HD Absolute plan: less money for
less channels. This package came out at the beginning of 2008 when Dish only had 30-something national HD channels. It was a great deal at the time, and as Dish continued to add channels to the package it turned into a
screaming deal -- arguably the best value in pay TV. But they're done adding into it; they're eliminating both the Platinum HD package and the HD only packages as options for new subscribers. It's uncertain how long you'll be able to stay on the plan, but you probably have a couple years left of being grandfathered into being able to keep that package.
Long term, as more channels go HD, the gap between any potential HD-only packages and a standard package is equalize out. (this is likely behind Dish's recent elimination of the TurboHD plans)
In any case, Absolute HD subscribers need to face the same choice that everybody else does: pick the lowest cost plan that includes all the channels you want, or accept the compromise of paying less but having to give up a few channels.