Does Satellite providers offer On-Demand services?
- Thread starter stevenl
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No, But then again, A DVR from DISH or DTV (DISH is better) can record shows that YOU tell it to. On Demand are shows the CATV Co downloads for you without your choice.
With a DISH DVR you can have the receiver tune to channels while you sleep or away at work and record them. You create your own On Demand programming.
Here is a review of the DISH 625 DVR
http://www.dbsinstall.com/Dish_Network/Receivers/Dish_Network_625_Receiver.asp
With a DISH DVR you can have the receiver tune to channels while you sleep or away at work and record them. You create your own On Demand programming.
Here is a review of the DISH 625 DVR
http://www.dbsinstall.com/Dish_Network/Receivers/Dish_Network_625_Receiver.asp
I understand the concept of On-Demand and I think its the best thing to ever happen to tv since HD. Imagine not waiting for a show to come on HBO or showtime just turn to the on-demand channel and BOOM instant entertainment.. With a DVR id have to wait for it to come on and be recorded... With on-demand iControl the TV..
PS: Cable offers DVR to, its not an exclusive feature to dish.. However it apears on-demand is. Yet antoher reason to choose cable over frypans...
I think On Demand will be the way of the future. It will be interesting to see how far it goes. Imagen the Lifetime's, and Spike TV's of today strictly On Demand in the future?
That would be great.. On-Demand is the only way to watch TV.. Besides DVR'ed but who wants to wait for it to be recorded? Right now im watching "The Ringer" on Cinemax On-Demand...I dont even know when the next time it comes on the station itself...
The problem with On-demand is you have no control over WHAT you have access too. At least with a DVR, I control what is recorded. Go through your On-demand choices. Are you going to watch everything they force into that harddrive? If so, then maybe it is right for you. What I hear from CATV customers is they are tired of not being to watch what they want when they want it. They are restricted. On-demand was a quick and easy way to market against the DVR, which Satellite perfected with the DTV receiver TIVO combo. DTV screwed that deal up and now comcast will have TIVO. Watch On-demand fade away next year as Comcast with TIVO come on line.
People doesn't think while satellite pitches the DVR, you can have one with cable as well even if the operator doesn't "offer it" themselves. You can buy or lease a Tivo and set it up and pay them for the service. People just think since satellite pitches it, it's the only way to get one when all they had to do was go to the local electronic store and get one.
Nope an HD DVR with DirecTV is more like 300 upfront plus 5 bucks a month lease fee. On Demand is great and I'll give you "one" reason why. Better yet I'll give "one" word why.
1. "Dexter".
Sometimes I hear about a great show like Dexter about five weeks after it started. In my case the first 10 shows of Dexter were out before I heard how great the show was. So with Showtime On Demand I spent one entire night watching all 10 shows back to back to catch up. My only problem was that I was so pissed off having to wait two more days for the 11th show to premier which I watched live as I couldn't wait lol.
Also with all the HD Movies On Demand from Encore and Starz for example its much better to watch them On demand instead of recording them on the HD DVR. Just remember with only about 15 hours of HD recording a two hour movie takes up way more room when I nearly fill it just with Fox and CBS on their own. Also TNT will start offering movies in HDTV via On Demand for free and the best part they won't be edited for content nor time and will have no ads. You can't record that on TNT HD that is for sure. I believe its best to enjoy both On Demand "and" an HD DVR because both combined can give an experience that can't be beat. Just don't underestimate what real benefits On Demand can provide that you cannot get via a DVR. The Dexter example is the perfect example of what On Demand can do that a DVR cannot do.
Agreed, On-Demand has a harddrive far larger then your "dvr" (granted you can buy extra harddrives in some cases), But it has shows and movies you wouldnt record... But you might wanna watch. You get to see new shows/movies you wouldnt normally waste time with to find out if you like it or dont. And with on-demand if you dont like it you didnt spend anytime but pushing play.. with a dvr you have to wait for it to come on record it, learn it sucks then delete.. and on-demand usally is updated quite often if your in a good system.... And its also the way of the future.. Eventually with the technology of HUGE harddrives. and more Bandwidth capable systems, Eventually you will have an even larger liabrary to look at to find what you want to watch. With DVR you are limited to only what that station plays when it plays it.. With on-demand you decide when you want to watch and WHAT you want to watch... I cant wait for the networks to get their on-demand channels going.. Imagine an entire ON-demand section of "Family guy" or "the simpsons" or whatever shows you enjoy M.A.S.H anyone?
It doesn't matter if you have to wait for the dvr to record the show. Reason being by the time you are ready to watch it the show has been downloaded. So in my oinion it's just as good as video on demand.
Ron
What I mean by wait is like on HBO.. Say a movie you wanted to see you notice it comes on 3 days from now at like 12AM midnight. so isntead of waiting till that time, goto the on-demand station and click bam watch it right then and their..
When it comes to network tv, say i wanna watch HOUSE (my fav show) then i have to record it on my dvr wait about 30min then i watch it so i can ffwd the commercials.. FOX doesnt have an on-demand and they would show house on the network first then put it on-demand.. On-demand is great for catching up o na new show you just got hooked on..
SatelliteCompanies will have on DEMAND soon.
Do a search for DishONLINE.
I hope its better then Satllite internet service..
Understand but in my opinion it's not worth the $10+ that Comcast charges more than Dish where I live. Plus from what i've read Dish's dvr is better than Comcast's too.
Ron
Based on what I have seen, on-demand is a 'poor-man's' DVR. Instead of picking the conent to record or view, someone else does it for you. A DVR gives the user more control over when and what to record.
On-demand is a differentiator between wired and satellite service because wired has more bandwidth. Dish is attempting to simulate on-demand by using their DVRs as the storage device instead of a server at the cable company.
Personally, I have no use for it. There is always more to watch on my DVR than I have time for. If I want to watch a movie, I schedule the recording and watch (either during or after recording) it.
The on-demand offering would neither attract me or drive me away from a service (unless it made obtrusive to the point of annoyance - something Dish Network is working hard to do).
On-demand is a differentiator between wired and satellite service because wired has more bandwidth. Dish is attempting to simulate on-demand by using their DVRs as the storage device instead of a server at the cable company.
Personally, I have no use for it. There is always more to watch on my DVR than I have time for. If I want to watch a movie, I schedule the recording and watch (either during or after recording) it.
The on-demand offering would neither attract me or drive me away from a service (unless it made obtrusive to the point of annoyance - something Dish Network is working hard to do).
I think some of you must understand that this service was never intended as a DVR replacement ever. Its a specific service that is marketed towards a specific segment of customers. It just so happens that a very very high percentage of DVR customers are included within this segment. I see nothing wrong with a DVR customer enjoying the best of both worlds because the fact is that On Demand has quite a bit of content not even offered on any channel for recording. For example nearly all of the free movies On demand via Comcast aren't available on any of the normal channels. Also its not a big deal but Starz On Demand has what they call Early Premiers which are simply movies available about a month before they even air on the main Starz channel and many of them are in HDTV as well. Also some people can't seem to afford a DVR along with Starz for example so for them they might feel better off skipping the DVR and enjoying all the On Demand.
OK< but givent he choice i'd take the dvr any day of the week. The only thing that tempts me with On Deman and that is Howard TV.
ron
I agree that given the choice I'd also take the DVR without a doubt but the bright side is that nearly all cable company DVR boxes include tons of On Demand content for free. So it all again comes down to the fact that neither product is intended to replace one another but both products do seem to coexist very very very very well when used together.
Oh and does anyone notice I type specific words several times such as the word very above.
That is the side effect of watching Police Academy like a billion times lol.
